Quote:
Originally Posted by Scanner
Gee DisneySteve,
You really think that? You really think you can't live on $900,000 in savings in retirement? (plus SSI?)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scanner
I totally dig what you are saying, DS. . .people have gotten "paranoid" and you are basically saying you have bought into it a little bit, clamped down and are saving as much as can and have that multi-million dollar goal more than ever. Everybody is saving now.
I tend to operate from the "I don't have to run real fast. . .just faster than you to escape the bear." So, my retirement goals have dropped a bit. I originally wanted $1,000,000 but I'll take $800,000 at this point (and my health! and a 10 hour/week job!).
In other words, the bear has been charging but I am doing "okay" and as long as I finish "okay." That is, a B- is okay, don't need that A+, lol.
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I think if I've planned for a retirement based on a next egg of $1.5 million and suddenly found myself retired with only $900,000, yes, I do think that would be a problem. It would probably largely derail my retirement plans and result in me working longer or going back to work if I had already stopped. I'm not suggesting that I couldn't get by on 900K. I probably could, but it wouldn't be the lifestyle that I envisioned and saved for, especially if we remain in NJ and property taxes continue to climb at the rate they have for the past 15 years. I think that's exactly the situation many retirees now find themselves in. Guys in their 70s going back to work because of the losses they suffered in their retirement accounts and rising expenses. I'd much rather save more now and try and avoid ending up in that situation.
You are willing to scale back your retirement to one where you spend 20% less. That's fine. Personally, I wouldn't want to make that kind of cut so I'm willing to try and do what I can now to avoid it.
My mom is 79. She doesn't have a ton of money but gets by okay. She just had a large CD mature and finds herself rolling it over at less than half the interest rate it was earning. If she was dependent on that interest income, she'd be in trouble now. Fortunately, she has enough saved to absorb that drop in income without altering her lifestyle, which is already pretty basic. Lots of other people her age aren't so lucky. When their 5% CD renews at 2%, they need to make cuts in spending. Saving a little more while they were working could have lessened the impact today.