Slightly more detailed info on how much American retirees have saved...

[target2019]

Exactly the opposite for me. When I was growing up I had a great deal of respect for the US government and I was very patriotic. Not anymore, however after traveling around the world several times, I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Read into that what you like.

I actually came from the opposite direction. Not a flag waver, but have come to realize the great opportunities available.

 

[target2019]

Speaking of my iPhone 3, it's abandoned by Apple and I cannot update iOS. Quite a few apps no longer run. What the hell? I am pissed. It works well enough for me, and I do not care to carry a new phone as big as a tablet. Have I said I am pissed?

I've never been able to get my iPod to make calls.
Lol!
I have a three on dresser for four years. Can't bear to toss it. Maybe pair it with yours for a six?

 

[hnzw_rui]

Speaking of my iPhone 3, it's abandoned by Apple and I cannot update iOS. Quite a few apps no longer run. What the hell? I am pissed. It works well enough for me, and I do not care to carry a new phone as big as a tablet. Have I said I am pissed?

Honestly, you probably wouldn't want to update the OS anyway if given the option. New/updated firmware and apps are much, much, much more bloated nowadays and will likely just hang or crash constantly on older hardware.

Iirc, the 3G only has 128MB RAM and the 3GS 256MB. The iPhone 5 and higher have at least 1GB and even then, there are plenty of complaints about these devices being RAM-starved.

 

[dallas27]

Saving is adding to your resources. Investing may or may not add & can reduce them.

No, saving is the delay or forgoing of consumption. This is fundamental finance theory. Investing is just the transfer of consumption and value through time.


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[dallas27]

It is not a claim. It is a fact. When interest rates are driven artificially low to stimulate growth a DIRECT byproduct of that policy is transfer of wealth from savers to borrowers. That is a large aspect of the policy efficacy based upon the fact that borrowings dwarf savings in terms of impacting the economy.


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Sure, in theory, but what really happened was we printed money to move those rates, which displaced the savers in the risk-less asset classes, driving up the value of not only those assets, but also riskier assets. So I say again, assets that that savings end up in, from bonds to high risk stock have all benefited from Zirp.... So far. How it unwinds is scary part.


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[OrcasIslandBound]

Ever wonder if a thread has gone off the tracks?

 

[eytonxav]

Last June, the Government Accountability Office released a detailed report on, among other things, the current financial status of households between the ages of 55 and 64. The main goal was to measure the retirement savings for this group. Here's the distribution that researchers found.

From my perspective, I do not place much credence on any statistics coming from the Gummit.

 

[LARS]

Speaking of my iPhone 3, it's abandoned by Apple and I cannot update iOS. Quite a few apps no longer run. What the hell? I am pissed. It works well enough for me, and I do not care to carry a new phone as big as a tablet. Have I said I am pissed?

I find your lack of consumerism to be totally unAmerican; and, it is because of people like you that won't spend to keep the economy moving forward that the rest of us doing our part must suffer through such low yields.

NOTE: should be read while listening to Bare Naked Ladies "Never Is Enough".


http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/barenakedladies/neverisenough.html


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[NW-Bound]

I find your lack of consumerism to be totally unAmerican; and, it is because of people like you that won't spend to keep the economy moving forward that the rest of us doing our part must suffer through such low yields. ��

NOTE: should be read while listening to Bare Naked Ladies "Never Is Enough".

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/barenakedladies/neverisenough.html

Rub it in! We often feel guilty about it, so we have to give some money away so we can sleep at night.

Just look up on Quicken, and in the past 5 years (3/1/2011-3/1/2016) the category of Gifts & Donations makes up 14.35% of total expenses (income tax excluded). I am not religious, but if there's a God, I hope he/she will have mercy on my soul for not believing.

 

[NW-Bound]

Forgot to mention that this iPhone 3GS came from my children when they upgraded 2 years ago. Prior to this, I had no smartphone. This is still the only smartphone I have ever used.

I decided that the monthly data plan was worth it, just so I could use GasBuddy app when RV'ing. I would save enough money from gas to pay for it, plus tethering the phone to my laptop allows me to check on my portfolio while traveling.

PS. The phone is usually turned off.

PPS. The startup I cofounded with a couple of friends was engaged in helping carriers rolling out the then-new 1G digital phone (GSM). We were just one among many in this cottage industry back then, though we did have up to 20 employees and a few regional offices. This technology came from Europe back in the mid 90s. We were consulting them on the deployment of the wireless network and the testing. I was among the first few in the US who had a digital phone. However, I do not care to be constantly on the phone, so was never interested in the phone as a user, let alone smartphones. It's the same as drug dealers usually not using their merchandise.

 

[LARS]

Rub it in! We often feel guilty about it, so we have to give some money away so we can sleep at night.

Just look up on Quicken, and in the past 5 years (3/1/2011-3/1/2016) the category of Gifts & Donations makes up 14.35% of total expenses (income tax excluded). I am not religious, but if there's a God, I hope he/she will have mercy on my soul for not believing.

The only quality second to American consumerism is guilt! So you're one for two if that helps you out on the Earthly front. Your guess is as good as mine as to what might work at the Higher level...


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[ulrichw]

From my perspective, I do not place much credence on any statistics coming from the Gummit.

Really? Why?

Say what you will about the US Government, I've been impressed with the degree and relative speed to which they've adopted the Internet.

There is quite a bit of great data available on various government sites, especially of the economic variety.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has excellent data series that can be used to research employment related data. Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject

One of the best sites for general economic data is the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank's FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data): https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

The things not to trust (at least not without checking the sources) are the digested reports based on these data sources. The cool thing is that in most cases (as long as the reports quote their sources), it's easy for anybody to double-check the data underlying the reports and see if there are different conclusions one might come to.

 

[mh]

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