Living below your means is a terrific way to go; highly recommended.

 

Listen,

I know someone who saved during her life. Next year she has to take the required minimum distribution on her IRA. I hope she can survive on 168k per annum.

Some people are good at spending. some are good at saving - sometimes, too good!

Tell her to take a friend on a trip around the world before she can't.

 

I always vote for happiness. Life is hard, but also short. The decisions are always tough - no matter which way you choose to go. There's a book - "Your Money, Your Life" that changed my life. I'm currently trying to find the right balance of fun and hardwork - which can be difficult.

 

I always vote for happiness. Life is hard, but also short. The decisions are always tough - no matter which way you choose to go. There's a book - "Your Money, Your Life" that changed my life. I'm currently trying to find the right balance of fun and hardwork - which can be difficult.

It really depends on so many things because there are so many types of hard work, so many working conditions, so many co-worker types, so many kinds of bosses,

 

It isn't hard to build a megabuck if you start in your 20's?
My first job paid $1 per day. My second job paid $1 per hour.
If you think stashing 50 cents a week or 50 cents a day back then would make me comfortable now, you're nuts.
A year of savings in 1965 would be worth about $500 now.

Here's an example: A grade school teacher said to me, "If Columbus had put $1 in a bank when he arrived here, he would own half of New York today." I opened an account, number 780032494 at American Fletcher National Bank in 1965 and memorized the account number because I intended to retire on that money. After a year, I checked to see how much interest I had earned and the bank said they closed the account for non-activity. That's what I learned about savings and compound interest by actually trying it.

Another thing I'd like to address is inflation. Just as the $1 per hour in 1964 was useless for building a megabuck, what's a megabuck going to be worth in 2056? A million dollars was Fat City in 1970. Now, it's not. What's it going to be worth in another 40 years?

I used the tcmtech method. I have a paid for house and (2) paid for cars. That keeps me out of the housing rental market and the car payment market. If I had those two payments, I'd be eating Ramen noodles. I also have a friend who was playing, "flip that house" when it all went bust. Now he hopes he will retire on a teacher's pension. So, there you have it. I put my money into a place to live. I feel pretty safe here. Property taxes always go up, but way slower than paying rent. Other people try to build cash reserves. Some of them bet on the wrong horse. I like my net worth under my feet.

 

It really depends on so many things because there are so many types of hard work, so many working conditions, so many co-worker types, so many kinds of bosses,

That may be true - but I've always found that I'm either happy, or not... not usually in between. I left a job at Lockheed Martin last year where I was building spacecraft to go to Mars and other places. It was a cool job and very stable - everyone wanted to know more at parties, but I HATED it. The boss was a jerk, the amount of actual design was minimal, the amount of backstabbing was incredible, and the benefits were good, but getting worse. I left to go to a small business with similar pay and worse benefits, but a level-headed boss, good teammates, a good product, and a real team.

I chose happiness.

@#12 - I agree with you about having a house paid under my feet is very important, and I've always driven paid for cars and lived relatively close to work. I'm sorry that you experienced the bank problem you experienced. Bank savings accounts are awful for long term investments. However, I have made a TON of cash in the stock market. Not only is a retirement account a place to stash money but compounding interest helps that money grow more quickly all of the time. Putting money in a retirement account is also a tax write off when done right. I have been doing a solid mix of the two my entire life and I have been served well.

 

I'm sorry that you experienced the bank problem you experienced.

No big deal. If I had received 5%, compounded annually, that $1 would be worth $12 now.
The whole point of the bank account was an experiment called, "reality testing".
Teacher said, so I checked.
Teacher was wrong.
I didn't put my money in a savings account after that.

 

No big deal. If I had received 5%, compounded annually, that $1 would be worth $12 now.
The whole point of the bank account was an experiment called, "reality testing".
Teacher said, so I checked.
Teacher was wrong.
I didn't put my money in a savings account after that.

Sounds like that if that $1 had been $100k then it would be $1.2M today... your teacher was right.

 

Sounds like that if that $1 had been $100k then it would be $1.2M today... your teacher was right.

Can you tell us about jobs that allowed someone to squirrel away $100k in 1968?

 

Sounds like that if that $1 had been $100k then it would be $1.2M today... your teacher was right.

Don't be a wise guy. The teacher said, "One Dollar"
If I had a job that paid $100,000 per hour (or even $10,000) to a high school student in 1965, I would have saved a lot of it! (Probably in the form of real estate).

 

Don't be a wise guy. The teacher said, "One Dollar"

Can you tell us about jobs that allowed someone to squirrel away $100k in 1968?

Not being a wise guy... just using your logic to prove a point. Returns on $1 are awful - you have to put more skin the the game to make it payoff. I think you missed your teachers point, and you're still balking at the idea 50 years later. To be fair, real estate is [usually] the best investment you can make for the very reason that someone cannot take your home away from you once you own it. If a level I engineer saved 10% of their income (~$10k) for JUST 10 years they would have invested $18k (with a company match of 8% (which were unfortunately in the form of a pension in 1968)), and it would be worth ~$175k today. That's a 10x return in 50 years.

I just don't want to give some young person here the idea that investing in the stock market is a bad idea... because it's not.

A new post to follow since this one is going WAY off topic.

 

To bring this full circle, I guess money is a bit of a means to an end. Most people I know think they need $2M in a retirement account to retire. I call BS. If the house is paid off... as little as 750k will do just fine - that's somewhere around $1.2M in total assets - almost half. If your friend is a banking executive with 35 years experience I'd really hope that he has a boat load of assets. If not, I hope I'm not banking at his bank.

Choose happiness - always.

 

To bring this full circle, I guess money is a bit of a means to an end. Most people I know think they need $2M in a retirement account to retire. I call BS. If the house is paid off... as little as 750k will do just fine - that's somewhere around $1.2M in total assets - almost half. If your friend is a banking executive with 35 years experience I'd really hope that he has a boat load of assets. If not, I hope I'm not banking at his bank.

Choose happiness - always.

Bankers are different from financial advisors or stock brokers. The goal of a banker is to make money for the bank, not their customers and not the employees. Just because he is good at making money for the bank doesn't mean he is good at managing his own money. In my experience, a dentist's kids have rotting teeth, the barber's kids have long hair and the preacher's teenage daughter is usually pregnant. I would not bet that the banker has a lot of money left after sending his three kids to college - Penn state is one of the most expensive state schools in the country with few scholarships.

 

A banker has to know how compounding interest makes money... That's the primary principle behind how a bank works! If a banker hasn't figured out how to apply that same principle to his personal life... shame on him... he's ruined the opportunity for his personal life and his family tree. Regardless if his kids have gone to college or not, or where they've gone to college. And if he's really cashed strapped - I might just tell him to move for the job 300 miles away because he's earned it.

My guess / hope is that your neighbor was just bitching because he doesn't like his job. We all have those days.

 

I suppose a catastrophic event in his life that caused him to bankrupt might change my mind on if he should have enough cash or not. But really, most of those things are insurable.

 

If your Computer Science degree is the only reason you are a software , it’s time to re-explore your options. Likewise, if you think you can’t successfully launch a tech startup because you don’t have a background in tech, think again. The scope of fields in STEM is broad, and the types of jobs found in these fields are diverse. These innovative industries are dynamic and always changing. The trick is finding a cozy niche that allows you to exercise your strengths while tickling the curiosity and whims of your playful inner child.

 

I know this is not engineering but it seems to be a theme that some of us may face as out careers approach retirement. I was wondering if anyone here has already faced it or if you know anyone with a similar experience.

My neighbor is a banking "executive" about 55-years old. He thinks of himself more as a troubleshooter and business development guy but, after talking to him, it seems he has worked in most every part of banking. Branch manager, regional director, something with loan management, he's created loan "packages" and refinance programs and credit card programs, implemented various software systems, you name it - mostly for a regional bank (20+ years).

The concept of special programs has been centralized at HQ a few years ago and He doesn't want to move out of this area (western PA) to go to HQ about 300 miles away so he is kind of stuck doing various internal consulting / mentoring / quality projects. He hates it all because it seems like make-work that does not get implemented, just his analysis and reports and an occasional trip to HQ for presentation to management.

He is constantly looking for a new job - back to a branch manager or regional director type job. The catch is, he can't find a job that pays anywhere close to what he is making today (salary plus benefits). The jobs that are interesting to him are paying $30k to $50k less than his current package. Some is cash and some is 401k match and some is other like medical. Anyhow, that is a big chunk of change and he is just in a funk - does he ride the bench while the ride lasts - until he retires or his employer give hime a package or shows him the door. Or, should he find something that makes him feel successful and interested and engaged? He just finished paying for 3 kids to get through college so he is not flush with cash but, kind of on the cusp of willing to live with unhappiness for the money but, at the same time, unhappy.

Any advice? Experience?

I suggested accelerating the mentoring and to get a hobby.

Find a job that you are interested about. You must consider in terms of income, comfort and accessibility ( location)