Retirement/investment musings

Jonathan Cook wrote:
Wayne wrote:
Yeah, _no_ one in America seems to be thinking about where they'll
live when they retire. My wife and I are fortunate, we're 2.4 years
into a 15 year mortgage. Last year we paid more on the principal than
on interest (that doesn't happen until like year 22 in a 30 year
mortgage). Our local paper just ran a story on the impact of all the
ARM and interest-only mortgages ballooning up in 2007 and 2008. Late
2006, and 2007 especially, are going to see alot of people losing their
homes.

Being greedy I plan on buying a new house next year, so I hope you
are right.\greedy


Not everyone is so fortunate as Mr. LaCourse but most middle class members
can and should put something away, there's enough tax advantages to it to
make it foolish not to try. Saving for retirement retirement may be hard
for some but so is working until you're 80.

Absolutely. Back a month or so ago, the statistics came in and in
2005, America's (personal) net savings rate was _negative_. This
has not happened since 1930 and 1931. Yet we are hardly in a
depression! You may call me pessimistic, but our whole country is
living on credit, and when China calls in the Tbills (or even just
stops buying them), and our economy dips enough so that all these
people leveraged to the max on credit can't meet their obligations,
or just simply can't meet the mortgage when their ARM rates soar,
our country is in a heap o' trouble.

Call me chicken little, I guess.

Okay chicken little. :-)

I don't think the sky is falling, but I do find it amazing how little
people
(especially the boomers) are thinking about retirement. I mean,
NEGATIVE
savings!! How the hell do you do that? I read a year or two ago that
the
average boomer had less than $10K saved for retirement.

If you start work around age 20 and retire around age 65 you've got 45
years
to accumulate "something". You can argue that 5 or 8% might not be
sustainable, but compound anything for 45 years and you've got some
decent savings. When I point this out to the boomers I know, the
response
has been that they'll just work until they die.....ummm, good luck with
that.

Sorry for the rant, but I've got in-laws who have $0 saved for
retirement and
are pushing 60. Sure hope they can live on social security, cause I'm
sure not paying for their lack of planning (directly).
- Ken

On 11 Apr 2006 13:38:07 -0700, "
wrote:

I don't think the sky is falling, but I do find it amazing how little
people
(especially the boomers) are thinking about retirement. I mean,
NEGATIVE
savings!! How the hell do you do that?

Debt! Especially credit card debt, not to mention mortgages and
second mortgages for the kids to go to a good school. Debt! Big debt
with large interest rates.

" wrote in message
oups.com...

Jonathan Cook wrote:
Wayne wrote:
Yeah, _no_ one in America seems to be thinking about where they'll
live when they retire. My wife and I are fortunate, we're 2.4 years
into a 15 year mortgage. Last year we paid more on the principal than
on interest (that doesn't happen until like year 22 in a 30 year
mortgage). Our local paper just ran a story on the impact of all the
ARM and interest-only mortgages ballooning up in 2007 and 2008. Late
2006, and 2007 especially, are going to see alot of people losing their
homes.

Being greedy I plan on buying a new house next year, so I hope you
are right.\greedy


Not everyone is so fortunate as Mr. LaCourse but most middle class
members
can and should put something away, there's enough tax advantages to it
to
make it foolish not to try. Saving for retirement retirement may be
hard
for some but so is working until you're 80.

Absolutely. Back a month or so ago, the statistics came in and in
2005, America's (personal) net savings rate was _negative_. This
has not happened since 1930 and 1931. Yet we are hardly in a
depression! You may call me pessimistic, but our whole country is
living on credit, and when China calls in the Tbills (or even just
stops buying them), and our economy dips enough so that all these
people leveraged to the max on credit can't meet their obligations,
or just simply can't meet the mortgage when their ARM rates soar,
our country is in a heap o' trouble.

Call me chicken little, I guess.

Okay chicken little. :-)

I don't think the sky is falling, but I do find it amazing how little
people
(especially the boomers) are thinking about retirement. I mean,
NEGATIVE
savings!! How the hell do you do that? I read a year or two ago that
the
average boomer had less than $10K saved for retirement.

If you start work around age 20 and retire around age 65 you've got 45
years
to accumulate "something". You can argue that 5 or 8% might not be
sustainable, but compound anything for 45 years and you've got some
decent savings. When I point this out to the boomers I know, the
response
has been that they'll just work until they die.....ummm, good luck with
that.

Sorry for the rant, but I've got in-laws who have $0 saved for
retirement and
are pushing 60. Sure hope they can live on social security, cause I'm
sure not paying for their lack of planning (directly).

Well, Jon....Ken.....welcome to Earth. Is this your first visit? Buckle
up, now. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Wolfgang

On 11 Apr 2006 13:38:07 -0700, "
wrote:

(snipped)


I don't think the sky is falling, but I do find it amazing how little
people
(especially the boomers) are thinking about retirement.

Boomers have lived, until recently, all their lives in an expanding
economy and with excellent prospects (well, the white educated ones
have). I think they can't quite grasp what's apt to happen to them
later. They've figured it in their minds, but it hasn't touched their
hearts.

I also think they don't want to grasp it. It'll mean they'll be
_old_. That's one reason they think they'll be able to work until
they die. Really old and the least bit infirm is hard to grasp in a
society that puts the old folks away in nursing homes. It'll come to
them with various kinds of infirmities. Though my husband thinks
that, and I'm sure he's right. In that he'll die right about the time
he has to quit working. He loves the job he's got now. He got
downsized from a 'good' job and found his low pay job working for the
city at the golf course and he's happier with his work than I ever saw
him before. When he was on severance pay, he was miserable. He
couldn't get another 'good' job and he didn't have anything to do.
Should he be stuck in that position again, I suspect he'll just fade
away.
--

r.bc: vixen
Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher, etc..
Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless.
Really.