Stop Pissing Your Money Away Or Else.....

[GNBRETT]

You will end up like these people...... Elderly Americans Increasingly Declaring Bankruptcy in Retirement If you declare bankruptcy in your 30's or 40's you can bounce back. You certainly cannot in your 60's.

Did you guys know that 90% of Americans have less the $100k in the bank at age 65? That's quite sad! 10% of the population makes up 90% of our countries wealth so those numbers are dead on actually.

If at age 50 let alone 65 you do not have atleast half that amount ($50k) in retirement savings or investments then you need to seriously re-evaluate your life and how you spend money. Basically, GROW UP! That doesn't include your house either. A house is not an investment, it's where you live.

I would seriously have concerns about social security even existing 20-30 years from now and if you work under the table you may not even have enough credits to withdraw from SS. Don't know about you but that would scare the chit out of me if I didnt have a pension.

Not to mention what about Health insurance? Sure, you can get on Medicaid at age 65 if you even qualify but what about in your 40's or 50's or early 60's? One bad thing that goes wrong with you (healthwise) and it could wipe you out financially unless your an illegal immigrant of course. Make no mistake you WILL get sick or injured as you grow older. It's a FACT!

I enjoy my toyz like the rest of you but those of you who fail to seperate their wants from their needs and fail to prioritize and prepare for the future will find themselves miserable and broke as they grow older. It's supposed to get easier as you grow older, not more difficult.

Have any of you actually sat back and calculated how much money you have earned over the last 20 years or so vs. what you have to show for it? Im sure for most of you it's well over a million dollars!

You know what they say...... a fool and his money are soon parted! Working at Mcdonalds or wrenching at Pep Boys may be in your future if you don't smarten up. Most of my family members are about irresponsible as they come. I tend to learn from their failures.

My father use to tell me that if your working at age 65 because you have to vs. want to then you have failed in life period.

You only need to invest about $150 a week to beable to retire at age 55 let alone 65. If your 30 yrs. old and invest $150 a week for 25 years you will have about $250k. Enough to live on if you can collect SS and have no rent or mortgage. That's still not really a lot tho but more then 90% of the rest of the population has. Food for thought.....

Plug in the numbers for $150 a week for 25 years. 4% for cost of living, 8% return Growth Calculator

 

[Silver Fox]

Great post Brett. And that is exactly why my T has taken/is going to take me several more years to get to where I would like it to be.

I am planning on working until somewhere between 56 and 60 - and that will be long enough (well maybe another year longer - just had to get braces for my son's teeth, and still put him through college).

It will be interesting to see what our tax rate will be over the next decade and beyond, as well as what is going to happen to social security for those who have planned/saved for their future versus for those who have not.

 

[bison]

What a shame. Im 34 and have a hell of a lot more than $100k. I dont see myself going backward. I dont feel any remorse for those that fvcked themselves either. It is their choice. They all want to blame someone for their financial fvck ups but the money is theirs and they should have been more responsible with it. Leaving your retirement in the hands of some ball washing wanna be investor is a big mistake most of the time as so many found out. Instead of watching TV and planning their next vacation they should have watched the markets and put their time into their retirement. I find it amusing how so many want to use the housing bubble as an excuse as to why they are fvcked. What did they think was going to happen when you give a bunch of non qualified people all this buying power? To top that off you have a bunch of greedy investors/bankers closing deals faster than you can blink. A grenade with the pin pulled. I also find it funny how so many jack asses that owe so much are trying to tell me what to do with my retirement . I just say good f'in luck. If i dont have any kids ill be done at 52-53.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Easy to say when you have a cushy city job.:biggrin::biggrin: Everybody has different circumstances and sometimes sh!t happens in life that puts you behind the 8 ball too. Me, don't have squat for savings as have had some not so great things happen, expenses keep going up but not wages. Lots of people out there are responsible but just struggling to make ends meet.

Me? My retirement plan is to croak early so my family is taken care of. 70 is long enough for me.:smile:

 

[gn1160]

saving money

try raising 2kids 5 hundred thousand, add another 90 grand for college makes saving alot harder

 

[gsgns4me]

Sounds like a great plan. The only problem is $150/week = $600/month = one of my paychecks (more or less) for 2 weeks.

Looks like my retirement future involves being a greeter at Wal-Mart and selling counterfit Viagra at the dead pecker bench in the mall.:frown:

 

[GNBRETT]

Easy to say when you have a cushy city job.:biggrin::biggrin: Everybody has different circumstances and sometimes sh!t happens in life that puts you behind the 8 ball too. Me, don't have squat for savings as have had some not so great things happen, expenses keep going up but not wages. Lots of people out there are responsible but just struggling to make ends meet.

Me? My retirement plan is to croak early so my family is taken care of. 70 is long enough for me.:smile:

Well, easier because I don't have kids yes. But easier because of my job not really since only about 5% of the department max out their deferred comp.

In fact, the more money people make the more they tend to waste, not save. 90% of the population has failed to save properly. Not just those who do not make as much money as others, its mostly everyone, 90%. The numbers dont lie.

The problem is everyone is going to go thru some time of hardship in their life usually. But the people who save 10-20% of their pay from day one started early. TIME is the most critical aspect of a retirment savings either into bonds, mutual funds, whatever... Its not DOLLAR amount like most people think. It's TIME and discipline to ensure that you pay YOURSELF first every week, not the CC company as most do.

It's a choice we all make like Bison stated. If your maken $100 a week then you should be saving $20 a week atleast. If ur maken 1000 then $200 is the minimum. Anyone just about anywhere can save $50 a week if they had to. They might have to give up some luxurys in their life but can easily do it. Im sure many spend that in cigarettes and beer alone. In fact, id bet its probably double that for many. If you can work overtime then a large portion if not all of that should be going towards your retirement, not your motorcycle, or jetski or boat or whatever.

I work as many overtime road jobs as possible. Is it hard? No, but it still sux ballz standing in the 100 degree sun for 8-10 hrs. straight dealing with azzholes. People get caught up in their tax bracket thinking they don't make enough to save. BS, everyone can, most just choose not to and cannot seperate wants from needs. That's the bottom line.

The problem is people either charge everything and pay rediculous interest rates or they say "When I pay this off im gonna start saving".... yea right.

70? 20 years from now most people will be retiring at 70 so you better plan on living longer then that. By then late 80's will be common.

A lot of people will be retired as long as they worked. If they live to 85 and retire at 60 as many do or did and lived another 25 years then you will be retired for 25 years just as long as you worked.

The other problem most have is they think it's too late to start. It really never is. It's just more benificial to start early and avoid getting in over ones head with debt which is most peoples problem true immediate problem. Their long term problem is discipline or lack of it with their money.

 

[WeSS]

retirement

Easy to say when you have a cushy city job.:biggrin::biggrin: Everybody has different circumstances and sometimes sh!t happens in life that puts you behind the 8 ball too. Me, don't have squat for savings as have had some not so great things happen, expenses keep going up but not wages. Lots of people out there are responsible but just struggling to make ends meet.

Me? My retirement plan is to croak early so my family is taken care of. 70 is long enough for me.:smile:

I agree 100%. You hit the nail on the head. Not all of us soak people for work and pay them dog$hit. Not all of us got it made and get paid to do hardly nothing and live the good life. Some of us actually work hard and contribute to society and don't get much in return. I know quite a few people with good educations that are unemployed down here in the septic tank of the united states called Florida. I too plan on living life and croaking before I get to old that I can't get around.

 

[Pat]

Bye bye middle class! We simply do not have enough people saving enough money to keep a middle class going. There is going to be major class differences in another few years I'm afraid. My parents are as guilty as anyone. They have never really lived beyond their means, but they didn't save what they should have to be able to retire and be self sustaining either. They do not have any assets that they can live off the interest of and are too scared to realize what the future holds to for them to talk about it.

I know my parents are in a much better situation than most in their late 50's, but it still weights heavy on my heart as I do not want to see them struggle or have to make tough decisions for them later.

 

[GNBRETT]

Bye bye middle class! We simply do not have enough people saving enough money to keep a middle class going. There is going to be major class differences in another few years I'm afraid. My parents are as guilty as anyone. They have never really lived beyond their means, but they didn't save what they should have to be able to retire and be self sustaining either. They do not have any assets that they can live off the interest of and are too scared to realize what the future holds to for them to talk about it.

I know my parents are in a much better situation than most in their late 50's, but it still weights heavy on my heart as I do not want to see them struggle or have to make tough decisions for them later.

I agree, the middle class is sinking fast.

The unfortunate fact is those of you that do not save properly will end up placing a huge burden on your kids just as many are now faced with having to take their parents into their own homes because they are not self sustaining and cannot bear to see them in some sort of nursing home.

My parents dont need me fortunately but if they did it would be hard for me to get ahead. I still would tho, just not at the same rate.

So not only do you burden yourself but you burden your family as well for not excercising financial discipline throught ones life.

And that's true, most are too scared to sit down with themselves or spouse and budget their future and put if off and say they will do it next year, not likely. Add college into the mix and can forget owning a toy unless ur maken $100k+.

I aint sayen its easy. Im just sayen its necessary.

 

[84BuickGNYorkPA]

I'm guessing you guys know all about a simple investment tool called, "The Rule of 72"

Chuck

 

[KevinB]

I really don't have sh!t for savings but don't have any debt besides house and 6 months left on a car. Don't own a credit card. My situation is because my wife and I choose to have 3 kids and my wife stays at home with them instead of going to a daycare. My Buick is not funded by our bank account but by doing small side jobs and wheeling and dealing in parts....I see it that without being into buicks I would not have these side jobs so its a wash. I'm 32 still have sometime to save. If I'm not able to retire when I'm 65, I accept that. Main reason is we decided to have kids. May not be rich when I'm older but I'd rather have a family with some grand kids and what not. Money left behind when I die will not remember me but hopefully my kids will lol.

 

[TurboRegal84]

Brett,

Great post! Where can you get an 8% return on your money?

Another thing to keep in mind is INFLATION.

If you take the approach of putting money into a savings account you will yield interest rates of around 1%. Current inflation charts are putting inflation around 2%+. Using this math the money that you save is actually going down in value unless you choose to invest in commodities which rise with inflation.

 

[imjoesnuffy]

I consider myself to be one of the richest people in the world. Not due to money though. I have a great wife I dont have to worry about or over and she puts up with me. Three great kids. We are all in good health, and I will receive military retirement pay and insurance benefits in 3.5 years. I can provide for them and put a roof over their head.

According to the investment calculator listed above, I will be worth 625,000 when I retire. Sad to say I'm not sure that will be enough, but my house will be paid for by then. Once my kids are out of school I will definitely be maxing my IRA contributions.

 

[Pronto]

If you do not have a 401K then you have to do automatic investing in an IRA. Just putting something away for the future is better than nothing. I do have some issues though with all the recommendations from "experts" on how much to save and insure. When you add it all up you need to make about 300k to "save and insure" for everything as well as raise a few kids and own a house and car. It's kind of silly since not many people make that kind of dough. One thing is sure, if you are lucky enough to get old even if you have money you still are OLD.:frown:

 

[jasjamz]

Good post Brett! I am 30.
12 years ago I learned that nobody knows better that you whats best for you. We learn from mistakes. Wheither it be our own or others.
If you know what lies hidden in a dark alley you can try to steer people away until you are blue in the face. In the end they will feel the pain you tried to save them from because they found another dark alley or went down that one when you weren't looking!
Now if they learn from that lesson... great. However, history seems to repeat itself many times over.

 

[turboc87gn]

Thats y you buy nice quality things when you are young including your toys and keep them its not that hard If you have things before you have kids and a $hit load of responsibility then its easier to maintain and pay stuff when you got a family off that it is to have to try to start at square 1...You got your whole life build them up and make them what you want as long as you start with good stuff,be it your car,your house etc etc...Use your head,dont do dumb stuff like buy things from rent a center and piss you $ away payin rent smoking cigs ,drinkin ,partying excessively....Start your credit young and use it wisely it a lot easier to go thru life if you dont spend 20 years fixing the mistakes you made when you were young, like eminem says you get 1 shot in this day and age theres no time and leeway for you to screw up and try over you screw up now a days and thats ur A$$....

Another thing is you gotta enjoy life while you are sharp and smart enough to do so..Saving is one thing but how many times have you heard people that save thier whole life only to have to spend it all on doctor bills cause you cant get aid until you are dirt poor and have used all your assets ,i dunno about you but ill be d@#n if im gonna save my whole life to buy some doctors wife a new $100,000 fur coat...,Or an old person has all thier lowlife aint $hit family bleeding them dry and living with them cause they get a check every month,and thier kids and grandkids that amounted to nothing in life live with them so they can help "take care" of them...

Its a fine line to walk save enough to take care of yousrelf in your upper years but dont work yourself retarded to the point of not being able to enjoy ur life and not having time to teach your kids how to live and good values so they can do well in life too..instead of having to depend on you when they are 30 and 40 years old..Whats the point of trying to do stuff you could have been doing in your 20s,30s and 40s when you are 60 + cause all you did ur whole life is work and save... The only hot chicks that will want you are after your wallet,your reactions are slowing, muscles deteriorating,you cant think or hear or see as well ur doodad dont work as good you need viagara, cialis etc...some stuff you need to do while you are young and make it count..

What gets under my skin is how when you appear to be doing well everyone has an opinion and assumes you have $ when the reality is you spent ur $ wiser and invested in things you can see and touch,especially when you have toys and then you come up on hard times people will say things like sell your car you dont need that or you dont need to rent ur shop etc you got 4 and 5 cars you dont need those..typical consumer mentality,sell everything and use it up till its gone then find something else...how is it that you can be penalized for taking care of your things and living your life a lil different..Its perfectly ok to be broke and ask for help if you got a cigarette habit and a car payment and cable, but if you dont smoke, no cable and 4 paid off nice older vehicles you bought cheap and put together ,and for instance my part of the rent at my shop is $233 a month, then ur supposed to sell your cars and get rid of your shop cause to the masses those things are "luxuries"...They denied my dad his social security the first time, when he got colon cancer even tho he paid 30 yrs plus into it,and he couldnt get help cause they say he has too many assets(cars)/bank acct savings but if you add all his old cars and bike value together its not as much as 1 high end suv would cost..He got approved the second time (after a year and a half) a month ago after hiring a lawyer and my grandparents his girlfriend and i pitched in to pay his bills in the meantime, kinda off topic but not really...

 

[INEEDAGN]

I find it odd that there's a thread on a car forum titled "Stop pissing away your money." If we all did that, the cars for sale forum would be jam packed with these money pits and all of these nice vendors would have to choose another line of work.

LOL

But seriously, those without kids have it a LOT easier. Not that there's anything wrong with not having kids, it's as much a financial decision as any other factor. With 2 kids, and being in our mid 20's, we currently put away as much as our employers will match and are careful to avoid credit cards, etc. We COULD do better, I'm sure, but I ain't wasting my youth saving money for an age I probably wont live to see. I don't pay enough attention to my own health to make 80+.

 

[justin84]

10 years from now retirement will be a complete joke. I started saving for my retirement at 16! I am glad I did!

 

[GNBRETT]

Brett,

Great post! Where can you get an 8% return on your money?

Another thing to keep in mind is INFLATION.

If you take the approach of putting money into a savings account you will yield interest rates of around 1%. Current inflation charts are putting inflation around 2%+. Using this math the money that you save is actually going down in value unless you choose to invest in commodities which rise with inflation.

Average annual inflation rate is 3.34% since the early 1900's. The market is very volatile right now so I see cost of living dramatically increasing over the next 10 years. Just signs of the times. More people means less space so demand goes up and so does price.

I have averaged 9% on my investments. Thats nothing great. Its OK. 8% is pretty standard unless you want something more secure like a municipal bond for example. When I get closer to retirement in a few years I will switch to something less aggressive.

Putting money into a saving is not gaining any amount of money. in fact, its deteriating because the cost of living is growing faster then their investment.

Savings is only a place to set aside some cash when you need it quick to say buy a car for example.... lol... bad example but I would never tell anyone to put more then maybe $30-40k somewhere like that. And maybe another $20k at home but that would definately be it for a savings account. Nothing wrong with some commodities.