My grandfather has been telling me a lot of things over the past year about savings and his investments (much to the chagrin of my uncle) and I never realised how much thought goes into preparing for retirement.  My grandmother was forced into retirement when Mt. Sinai closed

 

I've saved in several personal savings account, have a 401k and Roth account, but I've spent far to much.  In the past I've saved for: 

[*]House emergencies and issues

[*]The event I lose my job

[*]My nieces and nephews

I've never really thought about retirement other than my 401, Roth and my will.

 

I need to get my stuff together.  I want to retire at 55, but will most likely retire at 70, cause I dont think I could just sit at home and do nothing.

 

I hope all you whippersnapper are contributing to your company's 401k.

---

 

https://www.wellsfargo.com/press/2009/20091105_Retirement

  When it comes to their retirement, America’s 50-somethings seem to be in a state of denial. Although the recent economic downturn has forced pre-retirees ages 50 to 59 to consider working years longer than they had hoped, their current rate of savings is unlikely to fund the retirement lifestyles they expect, according to fifth annual Retirement Fitness Survey from Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC).  Only 23% of pre-retirees are saving more for retirement than they were a year ago, the survey found. Most -- 57% -- are saving the same amount, and 20% are now saving less. 67% say their expectations for retirement have changed in the past year, and 56% now expect to work longer by an average of three additional years.

I will never be able to retire.  I will work until I drop dead and it's the same thing for mr. rockandroller.

^Ditto here.

 

Oh please.  You're too young to say that.

I will never be able to retire.  I will work until I drop dead and it's the same thing for mr. rockandroller.

 

You sound like my grand father, who retired 15 years ago.  But is always looking for "work on the side". 

^Agreed.  If we were younger, I wouldn't have to say that.  There would still be time to dig out and be able to prepare for retirement.  At 40, there is just not enough time.

^Agreed.  If we were younger, I wouldn't have to say that.  There would still be time to dig out and be able to prepare for retirement.  At 40, there is just not enough time.

 

Trust me...there is.

I have a decent start, mostly in my 401k. My last job (which eventually closed) was a start-up owned by a larger international company so one of the perks was a crazy 401 k match so I socked as much as I could  then and , and since then I have a much more convential match, so I am just putting away the minium to get the match.

 

I have 3 boys in 4 years but due to birthdays the will be all in college at the same time, So retirement doesn't scare me as much as college.....I definately haven't saved enough there.

I have a decent start, mostly in my 401k. My last job (which eventually closed) was a start-up owned by a larger international company so one of the perks was a crazy 401 k match so I socked as much as I could  then and , and since then I have a much more convential match, so I am just putting away the minium to get the match.

 

I have 3 boys in 4 years but due to birthdays the will be all in college at the same time, So retirement doesn't scare me as much as college.....I definately haven't saved enough there.

 

Well hopefully your boys will scholarship.  My brother and I are Irish twins, my parents had the same worry.  The one good thing I can say about OSU is they gave me a free ride.

^Agreed. If we were younger, I wouldn't have to say that. There would still be time to dig out and be able to prepare for retirement. At 40, there is just not enough time.

 

Trust me...there is.

 

Trust me, there isn't.  Feel free to PM me so we can take the discussion offline.

I have a decent start, mostly in my 401k. My last job (which eventually closed) was a start-up owned by a larger international company so one of the perks was a crazy 401 k match so I socked as much as I could then and , and since then I have a much more convential match, so I am just putting away the minium to get the match.

 

I have 3 boys in 4 years but due to birthdays the will be all in college at the same time, So retirement doesn't scare me as much as college.....I definately haven't saved enough there.

 

I feel the same.  We have 4 within 6 years, and I worry mostly about college...Big Time.  We have a 401k and IRA, but really, I just look at that as money to use from the recovery after college while I am still working.  Also, not to mention when the kids get married, especially the girls, what that cost will be.  Honestly, I really don't think ever of retireing, and I am fine with that.  Whast they call a "retirement fund" I look at as more my savings account for our older years.  I just hope the job I have after I turn 60 can be a little more streess free than now.

Girls are way more expensive.  My best friend and I hosted our neices  a slumber party this past summer and it was ridiculous. 

 

I look at how I grew up vs. some of my cousins families who all had sisters.  Girls need stuff for cotilions, Quinceaneras, proms, and other social events way before guys.  Usually a guys first big social event is prom.

 

I don't know how you parents of daughters do it.  In the next 14 months, my niece has a prom, Quinceanera, and a sweet sixteen.

 

My brother is stressing out about college, he had 3 kids in less than four years.

 

 

 

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right:  Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right:  Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

 

you're in your 20s.  You have plenty of time.  15 years ago I felt the same way.

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right: Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

 

you're in your 20s. You have plenty of time. 15 years ago I felt the same way.

 

I'm 31, FYI...

For the middle class, it is my opinion that retirement hasn't become the goal people try to achieve, rather, being in the position to take a job as they get older that allows them more freedom, and less stress.  Think, semi-retirement.  You really can't retire completely, but you can focus your time on something else rather than your typical stressful and time consuming job.  On the other hand, say you don't have kids, I firmly believe you should not have a problem retiring at some point granted you did not build up a massive debt in some way when you were younger.

The link below has a couple of mini charts that I use to get a high, high level idea if I'm saving appropriately.  It has savings and debt ratios to compare to your salary as well as a percent of how much you should be saving.  It seems to be written with the reality that people tend to start saving in their late 20s, so I wouldn't worry if you're not even thirty yet and don't have tens of thousands saved up for retirement.

 

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/05/personal-finance-ratios-savings-to-income-debt-to-income-and-savings-rate-to-income.html

Ideally I was trying to put away 20% (including 401k match) of my gross salary and I did manage that for a few years, but right now it is more like 10% since we had the 3rd kid and are trying to finish the house and rennovate our double. I am just thankful that the house I bought in early 2005 has appreciated, so I have gained some equity in that. A lot of it is sweat equity. But I'll take it.  All this when my career is kind of in a holding pattern....

 

SHS you will be fine.

 

 

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right:  Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

 

you're in your 20s.  You have plenty of time.  15 years ago I felt the same way.

 

I'm 31, FYI...

 

You're still a baby!  ;D  ;)

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right: Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

 

you're in your 20s. You have plenty of time. 15 years ago I felt the same way.

 

I'm 31, FYI...

 

You're still a baby! ;D   ;)

 

Actually, you're not still a baby.  Keep up the good work!  Sounds like you are saving up some cash. 

I hate these financial threads, I don't know why I read them, I always leave depressed.  Oy.

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right:  Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc...

 

On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

 

you're in your 20s.  You have plenty of time.  15 years ago I felt the same way.

 

I'm 31, FYI...

 

You're still a baby!  ;D  ;)

 

Actually, you're not still a baby.  Keep up the good work!  Sounds like you are saving up some cash. 

 

You know what I mean.  He's still a young lad.  He's got plenty of time to work and save.

 

I hate these financial threads, I don't know why I read them, I always leave depressed.  Oy.

Be more positive, you never know what could happen tomorrow to change your financial status for the better.

 

My grand parents went from middle class to poverty (1963-1965) and back to middle class.  My grandfather lost his job and they survived on my grandmothers salary as a nurse.

 

My grand parents never took public aid/assistance and over the years bought their home, paid for it, helped their kids buy homes in the neighborhood, and managed to save close to 400k.

 

Never say never.

 

 

I think the main question is, how much money do you actually need when you retire.  I don't think any of us know what dollar amount we need.  As shs96 said, 'there's no f-ing way he/she will be able to retire based on the accounts thus far".  How does he/she know that though.  How do you know what you need.  Say you have 50k in an account at 31 that you have been doing since you were 22 (9 years).  At that rate, just quick math says you will have about 200k at 61.  If your house is paid off, how much more than 200 k do you need.  And also, lets not forget there will be alot more than 200k based on increased intrest.

 

Now for me, I would love to just have that 250k, keep working to cover our bills and pay off 4 colleges and weddings, and do some fun things that we always wanted to do. 

I know what you mean, but seriously, if I wasn't positive, I wouldn't even be alive, because finances are majorly depressing, everyone knows that who has struggled.  I consider myself very "rich" in many other ways than financial, much richer than most, and feel extremely lucky every day to have my little boy in my life now.

I know what you mean, but seriously, if I wasn't positive, I wouldn't even be alive, because finances are majorly depressing, everyone knows that who has struggled. I consider myself very "rich" in many other ways than financial, much richer than most, and feel extremely lucky every day to have my little boy in my life now.

 

:clap:  There you have it!  How is Baby Roller?

 

 

I think the main question is, how much money do you actually need when you retire.  I don't think any of us know what dollar amount we need.  As shs96 said, 'there's no f-ing way he/she will be able to retire based on the accounts thus far".  How does he/she know that though.  How do you know what you need.  Say you have 50k in an account at 31 that you have been doing since you were 22 (9 years).  At that rate, just quick math says you will have about 200k at 61.  If your house is paid off, how much more than 200 k do you need.  And also, lets not forget there will be alot more than 200k based on increased intrest.

 

Now for me, I would love to just have that 250k, keep working to cover our bills and pay off 4 colleges and weddings, and do some fun things that we always wanted to do. 

 

That is what scares me the most. 

I know what you mean, but seriously, if I wasn't positive, I wouldn't even be alive, because finances are majorly depressing, everyone knows that who has struggled. I consider myself very "rich" in many other ways than financial, much richer than most, and feel extremely lucky every day to have my little boy in my life now.

 

:clap:   There you have it!  How is Baby Roller?

 

babyRNR is doing great.  He starts solids on Thanksgiving Day! We are feeding him sweet potato.  My crunchy (and cheap) ass is going to be making all his baby food, so I've got avocado frozen for week 2, and then maybe we'll do a fruit like pears. I'll PM you a picture, MTS.

I know what you mean, but seriously, if I wasn't positive, I wouldn't even be alive, because finances are majorly depressing, everyone knows that who has struggled. I consider myself very "rich" in many other ways than financial, much richer than most, and feel extremely lucky every day to have my little boy in my life now.

 

:clap:  There you have it!  How is Baby Roller?

 

babyRNR is doing great.  He starts solids on Thanksgiving Day! We are feeding him sweet potato.  My crunchy (and cheap) ass is going to be making all his baby food, so I've got avocado frozen for week 2, and then maybe we'll do a fruit like pears. I'll PM you a picture, MTS.

 

Thats not cheap, my mother breast feed us and my grandmother made baby food as well. 

 

I turned out just fine!

I have 3 boys in 4 years but due to birthdays the will be all in college at the same time, So retirement doesn't scare me as much as college.....I definately haven't saved enough there.

 

Don't send them to college right after high school if it's going to bankrupt you and/or them. The biggest financial mistake I made was going to college right out of high school. In retrospect, it would have been smarter to work and save up some money first. Of course I didn't really think this depression would hit so soon, but sh!t happens. Always be prepared for sh!t to happen. It would have been much smarter to graduate with money in the bank as opposed to graduating with $80 to my name. Many people have made the same mistake I did (graduating broke and/or in deep debt), but the stakes just keep getting higher every year. I would not want my kids to repeat my financial mistakes.

 

College is only getting more expensive (though there will always be tons of loans available), and there is no race to get degrees. There are still plenty of other ways to make money, and as Matt Lauer once said, "college will always be there." You can got to college whenever the hell you feel like it.

 

Thats why I tell the kids to study hard and make good grades.  It's makes selecting and being accepted to a college that much easier.

Also, as an aside, am I the only one on this board that thinks that children should put themselves through college?  I certainly won't be able to afford to "send" my kid to school, but even if I were filthy rich, the most I would pay is maybe 50% of his costs to go to school.  I think you should put yourself through school.  Loans, grants, and working through school is how I did it and most of the other people I know did it.  But it seems people who became parents in the 90s and 2000s feel you're supposed to pay your child's full ride?  I just don't agree with that, but I know I'm in the minority.

C-dawg how old are you? I was the last of tution increase cap classes at ohio state schools. I know tution basically doubled from the time that I started in 1997 to when my brother started in 2002. i think hios freshman class had a 15% increase there first year.

Also, as an aside, am I the only one on this board that thinks that children should put themselves through college? I certainly won't be able to afford to "send" my kid to school, but even if I were filthy rich, the most I would pay is maybe 50% of his costs to go to school. I think you should put yourself through school. Loans, grants, and working through school is how I did it and most of the other people I know did it. But it seems people who became parents in the 90s and 2000s feel you're supposed to pay your child's full ride? I just don't agree with that, but I know I'm in the minority.

 

I get your point.  We have 4 kids, and if they all want to go to college, we are going to try our hardest to pay for as much of it as we can.  My wife and I both paid our own way with loans etc, whcih we paid off eventually.  That dosen't mean they have to though.  I  would just like to pay as much as we can for them though.  Simply somethiong I want to do.  That is mostly the reason I did pick up the paper route.  they are only 1, 3, 4 and 6 at this time, so we do have time.  If we can't we can't though.  But RnR, I really do understand your point.,  It should not be expected to be sent to school by your parents.

 

And C-Dawg, I get your point, but if I can't pay for it, I will urge them to take out loans.  My wife and I both did it, and for 7 years, we made it priority to pay them off.

I always heard when I was a kid that "if you don't go right away you'll never go".  That's definitely the case for most people because most people are quitters. 

 

Also, saving for retirement is a totally different situation depending on what if any money will be passed down and how many siblings there are.  If you're like me and the oldest son of an oldest son, your grandparents will be relatively young.  I could easily make it to 45-50 years old with grandparents still ticking and possibly exhausting their savings in retirement homes.

 

I became quite cynical about the world when I realized, upon leaving the house for college, just how many idiots out there have inherited large sums of money.  It's especially frustrating when you watch somebody blow $40,000 on drugs.

 

 

 

Also, as an aside, am I the only one on this board that thinks that children should put themselves through college?  I certainly won't be able to afford to "send" my kid to school, but even if I were filthy rich, the most I would pay is maybe 50% of his costs to go to school.  I think you should put yourself through school.  Loans, grants, and working through school is how I did it and most of the other people I know did it.  But it seems people who became parents in the 90s and 2000s feel you're supposed to pay your child's full ride?  I just don't agree with that, but I know I'm in the minority.

 

I put myself through school. Now I'm hoping I can pay off the student loans before I start paying for the kids' college ;-) .  I'm like a couple other posters 3 kids in 4 years, each a grade apart. I want to pay for it, so they don't have to deal with the debt handicap right out the door like I've had to.

 

Retirement is easy. I'm over-insured for life insurance. I just have to make it long enough accomplish the college goal, then croak, and it's easy street for the wife, and I'll finally get some sleep.

^*increases mr. RNRs life insurance*  :)

I've been trying to avoid looking at my 401k too much for the last year but it's doing a lot better the last few months. Fortunately I have a really lousy pension plan in addition to the 401k, so put together I should be ok someday. (The fun of being a government employee, lousy pay, but put together a lousy pension and a 401k with a small match and retirement planning works out ok).

 

I've been planning and investing for years based on the assumption that I'll only be working till I'm in my mid 50s, but if the market doesn't do as well as I'm assuming or something, hopefully I can just stay at my job a few more years. If I do actually retire someday, I'd have to find some kind of volunteer work or something, because if I sat around the house all day, my wife and I would probably kill each other.

 

I agree that college costs are scary, both of the short smelly people I keep seeing around the house will be in college at the same time as they're about a year and a half apart. They are going to have to choose between earning scholarships, taking out a lot of student loans, or discovering the joys (and savings) of a community college education (We'll think about CSU). And they can forget staying in a dorm unless they can get someone else to pay for it; our house is a hundred yards from the bus stop for a reason. Seriously though, there isn't an option of earning a scholarship for retirement, so college savings has taken a backseat in our budget to retirement savings.

 

And I agree RnR, I paid for most of my education myself (well scholarships, grants, and the GI bill helped) and I don't think it unreasonable to expect my kids to put up part of the cash themselves too.

I plan on retiring in 15-20 years (can in 15 more) and I'm only 28.  The only retirement investments I currently have are my state sponsored plan and a smaller 457 plan.  Retirement investments is something I honestly know nothing about.  Once I retire from my current job, I plan on working at least 20 more years in a yet undecided field.

Also, as an aside, am I the only one on this board that thinks that children should put themselves through college?  I certainly won't be able to afford to "send" my kid to school, but even if I were filthy rich, the most I would pay is maybe 50% of his costs to go to school.  I think you should put yourself through school.  Loans, grants, and working through school is how I did it and most of the other people I know did it.  But it seems people who became parents in the 90s and 2000s feel you're supposed to pay your child's full ride?  I just don't agree with that, but I know I'm in the minority.

 

RnR, I understand your point but I think that it can be ok in some instances. My parents paid for undergrad but they had a lot of conditions on it. First was you will get a degree that you can get a decent job with, second was they would only pay for state tution (which was a lot more affordible at the time) anything over that was my dime. I had to pay for living expenses with money that I saved up during breaks and from working at school. I know I had a good deal and I could have chosen a more expensive school but I weighed my options and it just looked better at a state school.

 

I will probably do the same for my kids, if I can afford it.

 

BTW the biggest mistake I see is people taking out huge loans to go to small private schools for a BA or BS, save on the undergrad, do well and get into a first rate Grad/Profeesional School. You can get a return on a Grad degree, BAs and BSs not so much.

 

 

Edit: Rich that was an awesome post!

 

I think the main question is, how much money do you actually need when you retire.  I don't think any of us know what dollar amount we need.  As shs96 said, 'there's no f-ing way he/she will be able to retire based on the accounts thus far".  How does he/she know that though.  How do you know what you need.  Say you have 50k in an account at 31 that you have been doing since you were 22 (9 years).  At that rate, just quick math says you will have about 200k at 61.  If your house is paid off, how much more than 200 k do you need.  And also, lets not forget there will be alot more than 200k based on increased intrest.

 

Now for me, I would love to just have that 250k, keep working to cover our bills and pay off 4 colleges and weddings, and do some fun things that we always wanted to do. 

 

This is a good point.  I don't really know how much money I'll need. 

 

Unfortunately my goal is "enough so I can do whatever I want" and I know I'm not quite there yet ;)

 

What is weird, when thinking about it, is my lifestyle hasn't necessarily changed from age 22 to now.  I still do pretty much the same thing, I just manage to spend more money doing it.  Too many upgrades I guess... lol.  Reality is if I spent the same amount of money when I was 22 as I do now...well, I don't even want to think about it.  But needless to say, I'd have a lot more money!

Also, as an aside, am I the only one on this board that thinks that children should put themselves through college?  I certainly won't be able to afford to "send" my kid to school, but even if I were filthy rich, the most I would pay is maybe 50% of his costs to go to school.  I think you should put yourself through school.  Loans, grants, and working through school is how I did it and most of the other people I know did it.  But it seems people who became parents in the 90s and 2000s feel you're supposed to pay your child's full ride?  I just don't agree with that, but I know I'm in the minority.

 

Nope, my Grandparents feel the same way.  My mother and father were split.  I studied hard and applied for every grant.  My brother got a partial athletic scholarship.  My parents paid the other half, but my father made him work it off.

 

Most of the kids in my family received some sort of academic scholarship and 5/6 received athletic scholarships.

 

My nephew is looking at colleges now.  My brother wants him to attend OSU, but unknown to my brother, my nephew is looking at NYU, Pratt, Corcoran, Art institute of CHI with CIA as a last resort.  Each of those is ~30K.  I want my nephew to be happy, but at the same time, like my brother, I want him to attend OSU like our Uncle who was the first person in our family to attend OSU, then the 27 of my 30 cousin attended.  However, I was forced to attend OSU, it's not what I wanted to do.

 

I want my nephew to go to the school that is the best fit for him, although that's going to put my brother and I at odds, as I know what it's like not to attend the school you want.

CBC, your points are good.  If I were well off, those would be the kinds of conditions I'd offer my son for college - we'll pay for tuition (only) at a state school.  Anything beside/beyond that is your own doing.  Thus my "50%" offer - tuition is only half - there's room and board, books, etc.  So we're kind of saying the same thing. 

 

I do disagree though that getting your bachelor's from a cheap and/or state school is fine and that it means nothing, whereas education beyond that is more heavily weighted.  While I don't work directly in recruiting at my job, I am involved in conversations about it, and I don't think that bears out.  One of my bigger regrets is I wasn't able to go to a better and/or private school for undergrad; had I done that, I might have gone on to further education and been able to get a better job today.  At the state school I went to, 85% of my education was phoned in and required very little effort other than coordination of schedules to manage the workload, but no deep thinking or research was required save for few and certain classes.  I had a very great professor who gave me a glimpse of what it would have been like to go somewhere where college was taught at a much higher level by better professors, where the work was harder but you got more out of it, and I would have been more challenged by it, more excited doing it, felt more of a sense of accomplishment for completing it and doing well on the work, and would have wanted to pursue something more.  As it was, when I was done, I couldn't wait to be done with the worthlessness of it - classes where you only had to read the book, show up for the midterm and the final and still get a B+, classes with "busy work," classes so big they were "dumbed down" to the lowest common denominator, etc.

I plan on retiring in 15-20 years (can in 15 more) and I'm only 28.  The only retirement investments I currently have are my state sponsored plan and a smaller 457 plan.  Retirement investments is something I honestly know nothing about.  Once I retire from my current job, I plan on working at least 20 more years in a yet undecided field.

 

Damn!  I wish I had your balls to quit my job on x date and start my own firm.  I know one day I'll be "relieved" of my duties and then will be forced to "get my hustle on". 

 

I think the main question is, how much money do you actually need when you retire.  I don't think any of us know what dollar amount we need.  As shs96 said, 'there's no f-ing way he/she will be able to retire based on the accounts thus far".  How does he/she know that though.  How do you know what you need.  Say you have 50k in an account at 31 that you have been doing since you were 22 (9 years).  At that rate, just quick math says you will have about 200k at 61.  If your house is paid off, how much more than 200 k do you need.  And also, lets not forget there will be alot more than 200k based on increased intrest.

 

Now for me, I would love to just have that 250k, keep working to cover our bills and pay off 4 colleges and weddings, and do some fun things that we always wanted to do. 

 

This is a good point.  I don't really know how much money I'll need. 

 

Unfortunately my goal is "enough so I can do whatever I want" and I know I'm not quite there yet ;)

 

What is weird, when thinking about it, is my lifestyle hasn't necessarily changed from age 22 to now.  I still do pretty much the same thing, I just manage to spend more money doing it.  Too many upgrades I guess... lol.  Reality is if I spent the same amount of money when I was 22 as I do now...well, I don't even want to think about it.  But needless to say, I'd have a lot more money!

 

Thats how life is and as I've said to David and C-Dawg, what you make today will be different than in 10 years.  The majority of us had to start from scratch with nothing.

RnR, I understand your point. I guess that we really have two levels of state schools in Ohio. One's that are considered nationally and sort of a second tier that exists in the education production realm. Neither level is a Harvard or Yale but if you plan on going to Grad school, you can still excel at the upper state schools and get into a very good grad program.

 

It's a tough call either way. Lost of $$$$ at stake

 

I wish that my parents had stressed further education. The dealings I have at work really have opened my eyes on how the world works. I keep meaning to go back, but I can barely function as I am now. I can't imagine school on top of this...

Similarly, that my sister and I both went to college and got degrees make us the most educated members in the history of our families on both sides.  We were encouraged to go to "college" but nothing beyond that was even something people thought about - college for an undergrad degree was considered the ultimate thing you could obtain. I mean, my Dad didn't even graduate from high school! (he got expelled for punching out his gym coach - yes, my cantankerous nature is genetic).  I have a cousin who went to a trade school to become a nurse, but I don't believe any of my other cousins on either side, and that would be probably around 40 people, even got a bachelor's degree.  I think a couple of my one uncle's children went to college but they dropped out before finishing.  A couple went into the military, some got factory jobs, the others went on to menial work like waitressing or Kmart or whatever.  My sister, who has always been more driven than me in academic matters, went on to get her Master's.  And for what? She is a secretary.  She makes less money than I do and has to answer someone's phone all day and ask for permission to go to the bathroom.  Makes me glad I didn't bother pursuing it. 

I plan on retiring in 15-20 years (can in 15 more) and I'm only 28.  The only retirement investments I currently have are my state sponsored plan and a smaller 457 plan.  Retirement investments is something I honestly know nothing about.  Once I retire from my current job, I plan on working at least 20 more years in a yet undecided field.

 

The secret is to work in the public sector. I might become a schoolteacher someday just to get in on that health insurance plan and SERS. The real private sector (companies with no bailouts) has become a mess. The best-paying and least stressful job I've ever had was with the public school system. There is just no substitute. They set you up for life. When it comes to retirement, I don't think any private sector job can beat the public sector. The public schools are excellent employers with far and away America's toughest union. And I've never met so many people who loved their jobs. There's a reason so many people are switching their major to education these days.

 

My dad is retiring at the end of the year and is about to start collecting his state pension.  Both he and my mom get health coverage for the rest of their life...not a bad gig.

 

I'll have to ask him once he's settled into "retirement" but looking back, while he was working in the private sector, he worked longer hours, seemed more stressed, yet made more money.  In the public sector, he worked less hours (from probably 60 to 35 per week), had a cushy retirement package, but had to deal with a lot of other BS (like the general public).  He was still paid well, but not as much.

 

It's give and take I guess.

I was the first in my family to get a bachelor's degree - my mom's deal was that she would pay for 12 quarters/8 semesters of state university tuition/room/board/books.  If I got any C's or less, I would have owed her the money back for those credit hours because "I didn't give you this opportunity so you could screw off!"  Ultimately I went to Toledo on a full academic scholarship, so she paid for two years of graduate education at OSU instead, and I took out loans for the remaining two years.

 

As for retirement, I was first eligible for 401K at age 30, but over the last nine years I've gradually ramped it up to the max contribution + match.  Luckily no kids to put through college, so I'm looking for retirement in about 20 years at 59/60.

I plan on retiring in 15-20 years (can in 15 more) and I'm only 28. The only retirement investments I currently have are my state sponsored plan and a smaller 457 plan. Retirement investments is something I honestly know nothing about. Once I retire from my current job, I plan on working at least 20 more years in a yet undecided field.

 

The secret is to work in the public sector. I might become a schoolteacher someday just to get in on that health insurance plan and SERS. The real private sector (companies with no bailouts) has become a mess. The best-paying and least stressful job I've ever had was with the public school system. There is just no substitute. They set you up for life. When it comes to retirement, I don't think any private sector job can beat the public sector. The public schools are excellent employers with far and away America's toughest union. And I've never met so many people who loved their jobs. There's a reason so many people are switching their major to education these days.

 

My dad is retiring at the end of the year and is about to start collecting his state pension. Both he and my mom get health coverage for the rest of their life...not a bad gig.

 

I'll have to ask him once he's settled into "retirement" but looking back, while he was working in the private sector, he worked longer hours, seemed more stressed, yet made more money. In the public sector, he worked less hours (from probably 60 to 35 per week), had a cushy retirement package, but had to deal with a lot of other BS (like the general public). He was still paid well, but not as much.

 

It's give and take I guess.

 

Keep in mind too that in the private sector you work year-round. Some people literally work every day, including holidays and weekends. With teaching, you work about 180-200 days a year. It's the greatest job in the world. The benefits and time off are unmatched. In some states, you don't even need a teaching certificate, just have to convince them you'll work towards one while teaching.

 

Very true...private sector, he worked for himself so technically he could take of whenever but of course that affected his bottome line.

 

Public sector...6 weeks paid vacation and government holidays off.

My parents seem to have experienced what most people here are talking about.  They came from families that really struggled to pay for college, and much of the ownus was on them to get an education.  Both my mom and my dad were the first people in their families to go to college, and they both had/have very successful careers.  My case is very different from theirs.  My dad went to Carnegie Melon on a full ride for Chemical Engineering, and my mom now has her Doctorate and is pursuing yet another degree.  When it came time for my sister and I to look at colleges (my little sister is just about to start looking too...weird.), my parents stressed that they only would let us look at schools that they thought would put us in the very best position.  My mom works at UC, and she absolutely refused to let me go to UC unless I was in DAAP even though tuition would be free.  For me, my college decision was less where I wanted to go, and more about what school my parents thought would make me most successful later in life (not to make it sound like I had no choice, as I did). 

 

I'm too young to think about kids or retirement or anything, but when the time comes to think about these things, I absolutely plan on following the route my parents did, and make college the utmost priority for my children. 

^ Wow, complete opposite of my parents. I was the first in my biological family to go to college. My parents grew up priveleged on the east side of Cincinnati and have completely mismanaged their money. They saved no money for their childrens' education, they are constantly in debt, have no retirement, and spent my brothers' college funds that my grandfather set aside for them on their own bills.

When it was time for me to co-op in the DAAP program, I did them all in Chicago with not even a dime from my parents. At one point I had to go to a check-and-go in the middle of the co-op term because I was so broke. This is in contrast to most of my DAAP friends whose parents gave them a couple grand when they co-oped out of town "just to be safe." Now, one of my brothers has dropped out of school and the other one is struggling to pay his rent and is looking for a job even though he has a full load as an anthropology major at UC.

Moral of the story: Life comes at you fast. Plan ahead.

 

 

what's DAAP?  Just curious.

College at UC.  Design, Art, Architecture, Planning.