Tip of the day

Yup, 30 min phone button pushing automated 'resolution' call, I will get 'their' version in 5 days. Don't pay attention to back/institutions to follow actual rules. 401k wasn't supposed to get rmd (hers - cashed mine out yrs ago - get better return elsewhere) for corona years but they did anyway. Also supposed to be able to make charitable contributions direct from bank to charity and not get taxed. Nope! Nobody follows the rules. Yet we are supposed to follow them. You also have to watch them on RMDs, if you extend the annuity payout to 99 yrs.
 
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Winelover said:
Sound advice from both 462 & Snakeoil. I retired in 2008 and financially secure. However, I did it on my own, following advice I received from my father (don't buy anything on credit) and reading. Not about to pay financial advisors................it takes away from any profit. Never paid a dime in interest, in all my 70+ years. Credit cards pay me to use them.
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Key component of that is getting yourself into the position to be able to do that. You did of course, not so easy for many.
 
Good ideas. Talk to your kids about money. My folks never, ever discussed financial matters in front of me. I was pretty ignorant into my late 40's.

Live within your means.
 
Winelover said:
Life is a series of choices............key is to recognize and make the best ones.
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Of course. Thing is many of those choices are far different and far more difficult for some than for others. Your choices worked out quite well for you, same choices for others wouldn't even be possible.
 
Bret4207 said:
Good ideas. Talk to your kids about money. My folks never, ever discussed financial matters in front of me. I was pretty ignorant into my late 40's.

Live within your means.
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Took me a long time to realize that the way pop did things wasn't smarter than how everyone else did things, so I got a late start on my own "future." Just didn't know no better. Never questioned it or looked into it, but one day I got to thinking and realizing how everyone else his age was actually quite well off and he still had effectively nothing.

Money in mason jars not only doesn't grow - it SHRINKS. What looks like a pile of money while you save it for decades looks like a few months' stay in a care facility when it's time to use it.

We've always lived within our means, but it's not enough to just live conservatively, you have to plan for a future which NOW seems will be luxuriant, but assuredly, what seems luxuriant TODAY will be meager TOMORROW.
 
Rick said:
Of course. Thing is many of those choices are far different and far more difficult for some than for others. Your choices worked out quite well for you, same choices for others wouldn't even be possible.
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No matter how well you've planned, "luck" has a way of intervening when it comes to an unexpected medical situation, which can sink someone quickly and completely.
 
Jeff H said:
Took me a long time to realize that the way pop did things wasn't smarter than how everyone else did things, so I got a late start on my own "future." Just didn't know no better. Never questioned it or looked into it, but one day I got to thinking and realizing how everyone else his age was actually quite well off and he still had effectively nothing.

Money in mason jars not only doesn't grow - it SHRINKS. What looks like a pile of money while you save it for decades looks like a few months' stay in a care facility when it's time to use it.

We've always lived within our means, but it's not enough to just live conservatively, you have to plan for a future which NOW seems will be luxuriant, but assuredly, what seems luxuriant TODAY will be meager TOMORROW.
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I was darned lucky I landed a job with a retirement pension because I never gave it thought when I was young. Actually, it wasn't luck, it was a lot of very hard work, some native intelligence and a few good choices (don't do drugs kids!) that got me that job. Anyway, "retirement" was too abstract an idea for me to focus on at 25 or 35 or even 45. I intended to work till the bitter end, which on my job was 57 and then they booted you no matter how bad you wanted to stay. I think for most people the idea of preparing for something 35-40 years down the road is also too abstract, too distant. There are few people that seem to have the natural inclination to think that far ahead. My hat is off to them, but they are a minority.
 
When the kids hit 17 years old. The wife explained checking accounts and credit cards. She co-signed for each of them for their own checking accounts and made them responsible for what happened in the accounts. Two of them learned from the experience. And one still doesn't have a clue.
 
Bret4207 said:
...Anyway, "retirement" was too abstract an idea for me to focus on at 25 or 35 or even 45....
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I don't each economics, I teach industrial automation.

When I get badgered into recruiting and advising tasks, I don't talk about industrial automation - I talk about economics.
 
Retirement is a three legged stool: first is a place to live that you own debt free (except for taxes and maintenance) second is SS and Medicare (don't be like my barber and never declared all of his earnings and now has no SS) and lastly a defined benefit pension ( rare now) or 401K or 457 of maxed out private savings.

It is very nice at age 75 having more money coming in than I can spend for my simple life style. Since I lived frugally my whole life, now I have lots of money.
 
It is a shame that our schools do not teach kids the basics of saving. I realize that kids probably will not see the value, but like many other things you thought were useless when learning them turn out to be valuable later in life.

And yes, I realize that those who truly struggle and live from hand to mouth may never be in a position to save a dime. We can't save them all. But for those who can, you need a plan and need to follow it. I have a neighbor who worked for UPS. Their Teamster pension was the envy of a lot of other corporate employees. Friend of mine ran a gun shop after he retired from NYNEX. He was telling me that his UPS guy was retiring and was going to make more in his pension than my friend made as a salary. Well, that bubble has burst. Teamster pensions took a major cut. The neighbor's plan was to sell his house here, move to FL, buy a condo (he hates yard work), buy two new cars and enjoy life. He's been retired 3 years now. They just towed away one of their cars because it died. They are down to one. He drove tandem rigs for UPS and made big bucks. He spent it all on vacations, parties, expensive restaurants, etc.. while he was working. I suspect he is going to die in NY. I feel bad for him. He had the American dream going for him and the economy ruined it. But he could be fat and happy if he had not relied 100% on the Teamster pension. It's kinda sad, actually.
 
teamster.org

Pension Solution Was a Long Time Coming for Teamsters

More than two decades of work by the Teamsters to save the retirement nest eggs of a million-plus hardworking Americans came to fruition today when President Bi
teamster.org teamster.org

Your tax dollars at work. American Rescue Plan (ARP) From that article . . .

Under the new law, money to assist eligible plans will come directly from the U.S. Treasury Department in the form of grants which would NOT need to be repaid. ($1.9 trillion). Plan participants will receive 100 percent of their earned pension benefits. Affected members and retirees are encouraged to contact their pension fund in the coming days to find out more information specific to their benefits.
 
Rick said:
teamster.org

Pension Solution Was a Long Time Coming for Teamsters

More than two decades of work by the Teamsters to save the retirement nest eggs of a million-plus hardworking Americans came to fruition today when President Bi
teamster.org teamster.org

Your tax dollars at work. American Rescue Plan (ARP) From that article . . .

Under the new law, money to assist eligible plans will come directly from the U.S. Treasury Department in the form of grants which would NOT need to be repaid. ($1.9 trillion). Plan participants will receive 100 percent of their earned pension benefits. Affected members and retirees are encouraged to contact their pension fund in the coming days to find out more information specific to their benefits.
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Proof you should never trust a union or the Federal Gov't.
 
American Rescue Plan Only have to rescue pension plans that have crooks at the head. Pension plan yearly gives a statement of solvency. CALPERS and Teamster bosses don't invest properly (I didn't say not wisely). So they need Fed money to feed the bosses.
 
Not to be a nit-picker, and I contributed to this tangent. But since this is supposed to be the tip of the day...

If you like a bite to your food, but are not a fan of the vinegar taste in products like Frank's Redhot, see if your local market has Cholula Sauce. This is a Mexican hot sauce that IMHO, pretty goes well with just about anything but ice cream and chocolate cake. They make several versions so be sure to read the label. I like the original recipe. But they made a Habanero version for those who cannot get enough pain. It's great for any Mexican dish, but also good on hot dogs, burgers, scrambled eggs, etc..
 
I seriously have had Cholula and chocolate cake together by accident when saving a clean dish at suppertime by putting cake on my dinner plate. It wasn't bad.
 
heat and sweet is never a mistake.

the original Cholula is in my top 5 sauces for sure, it's not hot but it sure is flavorful.
another of my favorites is red and yellow [both together] Curry mixed in catsup/ketchup.
 
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