What do y'all do for a living?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

You want taxes come to Canada man, land rates are absolutely insane. USA has it's own issues, place is balkanised to death and all this talk of less government yet they layer government like it's a cake with so much power given to each municipality. But yeah, cheaper cars. I just bought a 2019 FPace, 80k KM for $24K all in with taxes, dead set double that back home.

Not flaming, but after reading a lot of your posts... let me get this straight, you are an expatriated Aussie living in Canada, and bitching about how the US (and its 50 States) sucks?

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Not flaming, but after reading a lot of your posts... let me get this straight, you are an expatriated Aussie living in Canada, and bitching about how the US (and its 50 States) sucks?

It's just an observation, it's totally different to the impression we have in AUS. There's way, way, way more layers than it looks from the outside. We had an office in Kansas and I was staggered at the red tape and headaches.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Not saying you're wrong at all. It's your life. But, you can absolutely live an exciting life being young and saving money too. Instant gratification and "me too!" can be a dangerous thing, especially at a younger age. Saving, being patient, and goal setting are important things to learn. Starting out with super nice cars, a big house, etc. often leads to one upping yourself on the next purchase. It's only natural to want to upgrade to something nicer. That can be a big problem if your paycheck doesn't support those upgrades thus you start borrowing and dig yourself into a huge financial hole and working for the rest of your life or worse, being forced to retire early because of health and then living at a poverty level.

I bought fun Japanese cars when I was young and modded them and learned to work on them. Same with my first cheap house. I learned a ton. I slowly upgraded over the years. The amount of money I've saved learning to do repairs on cars, home, electronics, etc. has saved me $$$$$$ and that allowed me to save a lot of that money in my investments. Huge snowball effect. HUGE.

Lastly, I want to leave money for my kids all the while enjoying it too. That's why I plan to retire at 53ish (i.e. soon).

For sure, and my point was not intended to be mutually exclusive of saving vs spending.

If you are familiar with the book I referenced it is more contextualized in terms of doing things when you will receive the most enjoyment vs when you have the most money. Understanding that say a ski trip at 40 years old when you are in good physical health may be different than at 65 when your body may not be in the same shape. If you delay the ski trip and save for 25 years, sure you can probably then afford to take 3 ski strips instead of just 1. But at 65 if your knees and back hurt, your kids are now adults with kids of their own, and perhaps some friends you would go with are no longer living will the trip be the same? Would the investment in this trip at 40 in good health, with young kids who still live with you, and with good friends who are alive and healthy be worth sacrificing 3x the amount of trips in 25 years with unknown future enjoyment?

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

For sure, and my point was not intended to be mutually exclusive of saving vs spending.

If you are familiar with the book I referenced it is more contextualized in terms of doing things when you will receive the most enjoyment vs when you have the most money. Understanding that say a ski trip at 40 years old when you are in good physical health may be different than at 65 when your body may not be in the same shape. If you delay the ski trip and save for 25 years, sure you can probably then afford to take 3 ski strips instead of just 1. But at 65 if your knees and back hurt, your kids are now adults with kids of their own, and perhaps some friends you would go with are no longer living will the trip be the same? Would the investment in this trip at 40 in good health, with young kids who still live with you, and with good friends who are alive and healthy be worth sacrificing 3x the amount of trips in 25 years with unknown future enjoyment?

This is very, very true. 'Tis a balance.

[F60TRPR]

ITAM (It Asset Management) Business and Data Analyst. IT guy

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

For sure, and my point was not intended to be mutually exclusive of saving vs spending.

If you are familiar with the book I referenced it is more contextualized in terms of doing things when you will receive the most enjoyment vs when you have the most money. Understanding that say a ski trip at 40 years old when you are in good physical health may be different than at 65 when your body may not be in the same shape. If you delay the ski trip and save for 25 years, sure you can probably then afford to take 3 ski strips instead of just 1. But at 65 if your knees and back hurt, your kids are now adults with kids of their own, and perhaps some friends you would go with are no longer living will the trip be the same? Would the investment in this trip at 40 in good health, with young kids who still live with you, and with good friends who are alive and healthy be worth sacrificing 3x the amount of trips in 25 years with unknown future enjoyment?

Agree 100% with this. 100%.

I'd also add taking care of your body, trying to eat right, stay active (keep moving at the least), etc. is a must. There is no way in hell that I want to go down the path of my Boomer parents and all the health problems they had (father deceased) and have (80 y/o mother in bad shape). Their opinion is surgery and drugs are the fix rather than putting in the work and taking responsibility for one's health best you can. I don't want my kids to have to care for me like I do my widowed mother. It is a ton of time and stress.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Agree 100% with this. 100%.

I'd also add taking care of your body, trying to eat right, stay active (keep moving at the least), etc. is a must. There is no way in hell that I want to go down the path of my Boomer parents and all the health problems they had (father deceased) and have (80 y/o mother in bad shape). Their opinion is surgery and drugs are the fix rather than putting in the work and taking responsibility for one's health best you can. I don't want my kids to have to care for me like I do my widowed mother. It is a ton of time and stress.

Sorry to hear this. It's my future as well with boomer parents who spend like there's no tomorrow and take zero care of their health unless it's some expensive treatment or surgery cure all.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Sorry to hear this. It's my future as well with boomer parents who spend like there's no tomorrow and take zero care of their health unless it's some expensive treatment or surgery cure all.

Believe or not, geriatric sex can be better than ever. Really!! BUT, you must take care of yourself. Testosterone for men and estrogen for women, combined with good health, in general and the it's more fun than ever.

Not career advice, but we veered into life advice. I'm 78, with sound savings and freedom to travel as I please, including Nurburgring in June.

[maticCRO]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Believe or not, geriatric sex can be better than ever. Really!! BUT, you must take care of yourself. Testosterone for men and estrogen for women, combined with good health, in general and the it's more fun than ever.

Not career advice, but we veered into life advice. I'm 78, with sound savings and freedom to travel as I please, including Nurburgring in June.

Hahaha 78y young man driving an M4 staying active in bed and going to the Ring, now that is GOALS in life Sir, kudos to you. Hope you live to be 100 and enjoy every moment

[RockCrusher]

Wrote software -- mostly embedded software -- for the last 30 years I worked. From 1990 to 2020. (Before that was a journeyman machinist, optical technician and between my 2 times working as an optical technician I trained/worked as a welder.)

[Phillies8008]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Believe or not, geriatric sex can be better than ever. Really!! BUT, you must take care of yourself. Testosterone for men and estrogen for women, combined with good health, in general and the it's more fun than ever.

Not career advice, but we veered into life advice. I'm 78, with sound savings and freedom to travel as I please, including Nurburgring in June.

I have a friend who used to be a nurse in a retirement home and she said the level of sex going on there was insane, like the 70s never ended.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Phillies8008

I have a friend who used to be a nurse in a retirement home and she said the level of sex going on there was insane, like the 70s never ended.

Ah yes, the seventies...

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Moe2Moto

The last paragraph shocked me, retiring at 53. What do you do for a living? What will your living style be once you retire? And how do you plan on stretching the amount you saved over the rest of your life?

Cliff notes: Enjoy life, but live within your means and have a plan for the future because chances are you're living into your late 70s or 80s.

I'm an environmental consultant and have been since 1998. I started at the bottom making $22K/yr back in 1998. I've worked my way up slowly over the years and I'm paid decently, but nothing like friends in business like accounting, marketing, etc. I'm probably one of the lower ones in my group of early 50 somethings. My wife was mostly a stay at home mom from when our first child was born in 2004. She only brings in around $10K-20K/yr now which basically covers my daughter's club volleyball costs.

When we bought our first home in KC for $120K back in 2000, my grandmother gifted us $40K to help with the $10K down payment we had already massed. That $50K down payment on a $120K house made a huge difference for us by lowering our payment substantially. We used that "extra money" to invest. My wife and I always made sure to be investing about 8-10% of what we made (also included employer 401K matches in this equation). As I made more money, we funneled more into investments. Over time, we refinanced our current home from a 30 yr to 15 yr loan. We paid off our current house in 2013. Our house, while very nice for us, is very old and small compared to what my friends have. I've directly managed our investments since 2013. Prior to that, I had a financial advisor which was a mistake. My portfolio would be much larger if I had done it myself from the start. We've never carried CC debt. We haven't had a car payment since 2015. All cars bought since 2015 have been bought with cash.

I'm a car guy and a DIYer. Up until 2012, I had never owned a new car. I always had fun cars that I modified and made my own. We've saved mountains of money with me maintaining / fixing / renovating our cars, home, and other stuff. That saved money is applied to other things like investments and things we want. My wife and I can have expensive tastes, but we don't buy a lot of it and we never buy anything that we can't buy outright. Patience is key, not instant gratification. I bought my 2011 Cayman for $31K in 2022 and my 2018 M2 in 2024 for $38K. What I paid for those two amazing used cars is what most people pay for a new F150.

We've got two great kids, one is in college and one is in HS. The one in college is a smarty pants and is basically on an academic scholarship. His 529 we set for him pays for his living expenses so there is little out of pocket for us to cover. He'll have money leftover in his 529 when he graduates. The other is smart as well but also is a great volleyball player and she's got a full ride to play D1 VB plus some money. She has a 529 as well so she's pretty well set too.

Once my daughter leaves for college next year, my wife and I will move and downsize to a ~1,500 ft2 home and update it for max efficiency and low clutter. I'll build myself a nice standalone garage for my toys. For what we sell our current home for should cover most of the next house, garage, etc. Maybe tack of another $100k.

In a nutshell, the ways we've saved money has allowed us shove money into investments all while having many of things we want and enjoy. I don't feel like we've missed out on much as all.

Mapping out how much you need to live off of in retirement is difficult and daunting. I've used all sorts of online resources like Bogleheads.org, retirement books, and websites like this: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/ With my daughter's club volleyball fees and expenses plus her overall costs to us ending next year, it will free up a decent chunk of money for us. I estimate needing enough money for about 30 years or so of retirement. Our goal is to leave our kiddos $1M+ when we're gone which seems very likely. We also plan to gift our kids a healthy amount to help with a home down payment as we know just how much that helped us. My college son is also managing his own investments with a Roth IRA and my daughter plans to do the same when she turns 21. You can never start too early.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Believe or not, geriatric sex can be better than ever. Really!! BUT, you must take care of yourself. Testosterone for men and estrogen for women, combined with good health, in general and the it's more fun than ever.

Not career advice, but we veered into life advice. I'm 78, with sound savings and freedom to travel as I please, including Nurburgring in June.

That's the goal my friend. 100%!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Cliff notes: Enjoy life, but live within your means and have a plan for the future because chances are you're living into your late 70s or 80s. ...

Mapping out how much you need to live off of in retirement is difficult and daunting. I've used all sorts of online resources like Bogleheads.org, retirement books, and websites like this: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/ With my daughter's club volleyball fees and expenses plus her overall costs to us, it will free up a decent chunk of money for us. I estimate needing enough money for about 30 years or so of retirement. Our goal is to leave our kiddos $1M+ when we're gone which seems very likely. We also plan to gift our kids a healthy amount to help with a home down payment as we know just how much that helped us. My college son is also managing his own investments with Roth IRA and my daughter plans to do the same when she turns 21. You can never start too early.

Since this a car forum, I am extremely happy with the Cayman and M2 I have. I could have bought a brand new Cayman GT4 but that wouldn't make me substantially happier than what my old and slow Cayman provides. I love driving and working on cars. It is my passion. The experience is what I crave. I have no desire to be the fastest or flashiest on the street.

Good story, my saga started in 1969 at $9,600 per year, so adjust all the numbers accordingly.

That retirement bugaboo is tough. Finding an advisor that isn't stuck in the 1950s is close to impossible. I don't have a suggestion there, because I've search for someone to turn my friends to. NO MUTUAL funds, ETFs and direct stock investments are a beginning, combined, this is important, with stop losses. Investor Business Daily recommends Stop Losses and you can read up on it there.

IME, MOST people are incompetent investors and most of the advisors are also, because the classes and corporate guidance they receive is rooted in the 1950s. Most regular people just don't receive training and experience to be good investors.

Worry about your own retirement before worrying too much about your kids. Hopefully your kids will be wealthier than you, if you raise them and educate them well. If they're not, that's their problem, just like it was your problem.

SPY and QQQ are some broad, market-
based ETFs for starter investors.

Simple rules for Finance 201:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly isn't true.
• Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.
• Diversify, diversify, diversify...
• Hedge your bets (stop losses)
  Market timing seldom works and often works against you.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

That's the goal my friend. 100%!

Good luck, my friend.

Oh, number one piece of advice, IF YOU HAVE A SEXUAL PROBLEM go to a doctor. I have too many dumb ass friends with ED that haven't talked to their doctor. DON'T GIVE UP! There are solutions.

Oh, BTW, if you take a hair loss treatment, read up on the side effects. ED is often a side effect. Better to be bald than the alternative...

If your doctor or her doctor is reluctant to provide sexual solutions, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR.

The voice of experience, here.

[spazzyfry123]

Career path has now pivoted to limp members!

Jokes aside, I think this is a fantastic discussion sharing each others' experiences. Not where I visioned this thread going, so I take back my dad comments. Rock on.

I don't think that I ever actually answered the question. Engineer here.

[OC40]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Rock on.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by OC40

Even with my crude sense of humor, I didn't catch that when I typed it out...

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Good story, my saga started in 1969 at $9,600 per year, so adjust all the numbers accordingly.

That retirement bugaboo is tough. Finding an advisor that isn't stuck in the 1950s is close to impossible. I don't have a suggestion there, because I've search for someone to turn my friends to. NO MUTUAL funds, ETFs and direct stock investments are a beginning, combined, this is important, with stop losses. Investor Business Daily recommends Stop Losses and you can read up on it there.

IME, MOST people are incompetent investors and most of the advisors are also, because the classes and corporate guidance they receive is rooted in the 1950s. Most regular people just don't receive training and experience to be good investors.

Worry about your own retirement before worrying too much about your kids. Hopefully your kids will be wealthier than you, if you raise them and educate them well. If they're not, that's their problem, just like it was your problem.

SPY and QQQ are some broad, market-
based ETFs for starter investors.

Simple rules for Finance 201:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly isn't true.
• Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.
• Diversify, diversify, diversify...
• Hedge your bets (stop losses)
  Market timing seldom works and often works against you.

I've learned that investing is quite simple when starting out and I wish I learned earlier just how easy it really is. I was intimidated and a bit lazy. After I figured how much I really was paying my advisor annually to "manage" my investments, I started my research.

1) Open a Roth IRA yourself at a place like Fidelity and the like as soon as you can and buy S&P 500 index funds and a well known bond fund. 90% in the S&P 500 index funds and 10% in the bond funds.

2) If you are offered a 401K, fund it up to the employer match. Buy more S&P 500 index and bond funds, if available. Go much heavier on the bond funds in the 401K. Like 70%+.

3) Continue to pile as much as you can comfortably afford into the Roth IRA. If you push up against the annual limit, then push more to the 401K.

4) If you have plans to retire early, open a brokerage account and buy S&P 500 index fund and a known low fee international fund. This money will be used to fund the time between retirement and the time you can tap into your retirement accounts (i.e., Roth IRA and 401K). The advantage here is you'll only pay capital gains taxes on your sales. There's no age requirement to sell. I also funnel certain brokerage account dividends to a money market account that makes 5%, to buy things like cars, furniture, fund home repairs, etc.

5) NEVER buy actively managed funds. Never. Stick to funds with low fees (i.e., expense ratios) that are under 0.1%, ideally more like 0.05%.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I've learned that investing is quite simple when starting out and I wish I learned earlier just how easy it really is. I was intimidated and a bit lazy. After I figured how much I really was paying my advisor annually to "manage" my investments, I started my research.

1) Open a Roth IRA yourself at a place like Fidelity and the like as soon as you can and buy S&P 500 index funds and a well known bond fund. 90% in the S&P 500 index funds and 10% in the bond funds.

2) If you are offered a 401K, fund it up to the employer match. Buy more S&P 500 index and bond funds, if available. Go much heavier on the bond funds in the 401K. Like 70%+.

3) Continue to pile as much as you can comfortably afford into the Roth IRA. If you push up against the annual limit, then push more to the 401K.

4) If you have plans to retire early, open a brokerage account and buy S&P 500 index fund and a known low fee international fund. This money will be used to fund the time between retirement and the time you can tap into your retirement accounts (i.e., Roth IRA and 401K). The advantage here is you'll only pay capital gains taxes on your sales. There's no age requirement to sell. I also funnel certain brokerage account dividends to a money market account that makes 5%, to buy things like cars, furniture, fund home repairs, etc.

5) NEVER buy actively managed funds. Never. Stick to funds with low fees (i.e., expense ratios) that are under 0.1%, ideally more like 0.05%.

In our OP's lifetime, the stock market is likely to lose 40 to 60% of its value a time or two, so even with an S&P 400 ETF, like SPY, you want to have stop losses in place. I set mine based on the volatility of the specific stock, but generally around 8% for non-taxable accounts and 15% on taxable accounts.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by dcstep

In our OP's lifetime, the stock market is likely to lose 40 to 60% of its value a time or two, so even with an S&P 400 ETF, like SPY, you want to have stop losses in place. I set mine based on the volatility of the specific stock, but generally around 8% for non-taxable accounts and 15% on taxable accounts.

Yep, big swings can and do happen. I've weathered all the financial storms between 2000 and now. I never moved my money. Just let it be and it always recovered and quite substantially. Sometimes it takes a few years. Regardless, the ups have HEAVILY outweighed the downs by a substantial margin. My portfolio lost 45% of its value during the subprime mortgage crisis between 2008-2012. If you get out when you sense a fall or are within a fall, it's very hard to know when to get back in.

Time in the market far outweighs timing the market.