A delusional couple wants to retire

[steveark]

I guess it worked. We are all taking about it! It smells fishy to me.

 

[Koolau]

I guess it worked. We are all taking about it! It smells fishy to me.

Heh, heh, not sure that's fish. Smells a bit stronger to me.

 

[WWDog]

I had to have a conversation with a life long friend one time to inform him he wasn't ready to retire. I was already retired and set for a comfortable retirement. It was difficult in two respects. First the shock that I knew I was giving him was not an easy thing to do. Second I had to deliver that message without revealing what my personal finances were. He was not in bad shape, but not in shape to retire comfortably without fear of going broke. It worked. He got a good job teaching flight school in a foreign country with all taxes paid. Soon after getting that job he realized that his vehicles were on the down hill side of their lives and purchased one good vehicle that was paid for quickly. He paid off his mortgage and put some more money in the bank for retirement. That few extra years with very hard saving made the difference.


Fast forward to today. I see a lot of people that are not cognizant of the economic situation this country could be going through in just a few short months. The message is even more significant than my life long friend got several years ago. The severity of the situation is very much up in the air depending on what happens economically. All I can say is Be Prepared!

 

[corn18]

I found myself in a worse position. $200k of consumer debt (4 car loans, RV loan, owned a dressage horse and trailer) and a $475k mortgage on a house worth $380k. And I was making $300k a year. Spending $3k more a month than I made. Kids were heading off to college and I was signing up for $50k / year unsubsidized loans. Yikes!

 

[street]

It would be sad if those scenarios are made up. It sends a bad message for people that are in those same situations and think they can retire safely.

 

[Vacation4us]

I recently watched a YouTube video on average savings by age. Essentially 46% of Americans die with less than 10k of savings and the average savings for a 60 yo was around 140k.

Clearly the people on this site are the abnormal ones. It’s good to be abnormal.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Yeah 7% seems way out of whack especially with excellent credit.
New Subaru's can be had right now for 0% for 63 months

Auto loans have interest rates all over the board. A very low rate like 0% is not real because a cash buyer can walk in and negotiate a lower purchase price than a buyer with 0% interest can. There is a cost to that auto loan they have to make up for with the selling price. The 0% is offered because they are having trouble selling all the cars that come off the production line. It's an incentive to buy (and it works). But it should be looked at the same way a discount off the MSRP is looked at. Sometimes you get a discount off MSRP and a 0% rate. This means they really want to move the stock out.

 

[rk911]

I found myself in a worse position. $200k of consumer debt (4 car loans, RV loan, owned a dressage horse and trailer) and a $475k mortgage on a house worth $380k. And I was making $300k a year. Spending $3k more a month than I made. Kids were heading off to college and I was signing up for $50k / year unsubsidized loans. Yikes!

so, how did you clean that up?

 

[corn18]

so, how did you clean that up?

I signed on to savingadvice.com in Oct 2013. I wanted some advice on whether to pay off my cars with my next bonus. Instead of answering my question, they asked a bunch of questions about my overall financial situation. That really irritated me. I pushed back quite a bit, but for some reason, they felt the need to push harder. I make $300k a year, who are they to say I can't afford 4 cars? Someone recommended I read the book The Millionaire Next Door. I did. That changed everything. My wife read it, too. And we decided to stop the madness. I was very fortunate that my high income allowed us to get it all fixed pretty quick and now we are retiring this Mar thanks to this forum and bogleheads.org

I feel so blessed that the folks on savingadvice.com were willing to help me and not dismiss me. Of course I had to make the decision to stop, but they stuck with me and never stopped helping. I am still active there and try to help other folks if I can.

I will say that spending is a lot like addiction. You have to want to stop before anyone else can help. And denial is a salve that helps you ignore the inevitable bad result.

 

[rk911]

I signed on to savingadvice.com in Oct 2013. I wanted some advice on whether to pay off my cars with my next bonus. Instead of answering my question, they asked a bunch of questions about my overall financial situation. That really irritated me. I pushed back quite a bit, but for some reason, they felt the need to push harder. I make $300k a year, who are they to say I can't afford 4 cars? Someone recommended I read the book The Millionaire Next Door. I did. That changed everything. My wife read it, too. And we decided to stop the madness. I was very fortunate that my high income allowed us to get it all fixed pretty quick and now we are retiring this Mar thanks to this forum and bogleheads.org

I feel so blessed that the folks on savingadvice.com were willing to help me and not dismiss me. Of course I had to make the decision to stop, but they stuck with me and never stopped helping. I am still active there and try to help other folks if I can.

I will say that spending is a lot like addiction. You have to want to stop before anyone else can help. And denial is a salve that helps you ignore the inevitable bad result.

congratulations on taking that first step and for sticking with it! well done, sir.

 

[corn18]

congratulations on taking that first step and for sticking with it! well done, sir.

I hope everyone on here realizes how much they help people. It really is amazing to see a community like this so willing to share their knowledge and experience to help others. Makes this hard ass, type A fighter pilot feel good!

 

[Amethyst]

That's a good insight into yourself. Very easy to overspend on $300K, when you're around the big earners who make a million a year. You look at the cool stuff they have and say, "Hey, why can't I have that too?!"

But you were too smart to follow that path forever, so good on you.

I make $300k a year, who are they to say I can't afford 4 cars? .

 

[MichaelB]

That's a good insight into yourself. Very easy to overspend on $300K, when you're around the big earners who make a million a year. You look at the cool stuff they have and say, "Hey, why can't I have that too?!"

At the corporate executive level the peer pressure to consume is unbelievably strong. They definitely want people who cannot afford to leave and are willing to push to the extremes to earn generous stock, rsu and option awards.

 

[Love This Community]

I recently watched a YouTube video on average savings by age. Essentially 46% of Americans die with less than 10k of savings and the average savings for a 60 yo was around 140k.

Clearly the people on this site are the abnormal ones. It’s good to be abnormal.

Isn’t this good that 46% Americans planned so well that they left only less than 10k of savings?....[emoji12]

 

[Love This Community]

I signed on to savingadvice.com in Oct 2013. I wanted some advice on whether to pay off my cars with my next bonus. Instead of answering my question, they asked a bunch of questions about my overall financial situation. That really irritated me. I pushed back quite a bit, but for some reason, they felt the need to push harder. I make $300k a year, who are they to say I can't afford 4 cars? Someone recommended I read the book The Millionaire Next Door. I did. That changed everything. My wife read it, too. And we decided to stop the madness. I was very fortunate that my high income allowed us to get it all fixed pretty quick and now we are retiring this Mar thanks to this forum and bogleheads.org



I feel so blessed that the folks on savingadvice.com were willing to help me and not dismiss me. Of course I had to make the decision to stop, but they stuck with me and never stopped helping. I am still active there and try to help other folks if I can.



I will say that spending is a lot like addiction. You have to want to stop before anyone else can help. And denial is a salve that helps you ignore the inevitable bad result.

Great story Corn and Congratulations on making a U-turn. Lifestyle creep is very dangerous and I remind myself of this all the time. For us it’s the house +RE taxes that was a huge upgrade from our condo.

Your story reiterates the importance of saving and spending side of the equation ( no matter how much one earns).

 

[G8tr]

At the corporate executive level the peer pressure to consume is unbelievably strong. They definitely want people who cannot afford to leave and are willing to push to the extremes to earn generous stock, rsu and option awards.

Yes and no. In Sales, I would agree. It's because they're inherently competitive. Other departments vary widely. The CFO and COO at one of my prior companies both drove 15+ year old cars and rarely wore high end suits. They dressed and presented well, and also took nice vacations, but nothing extravagant.

As for equity awards, you're absolutely right that the company wanted its executives to be "hungry" for success. This naturally translated into higher profits for the company.

 

[Gumby]

At the corporate executive level the peer pressure to consume is unbelievably strong. They definitely want people who cannot afford to leave and are willing to push to the extremes to earn generous stock, rsu and option awards.

When I first joined my law firm, the oldest partner told me "the firm likes you to have a big mortgage".

 

[corn18]

While I was incredibly fortunate to turn things around while I was making a boatload of $$$, if I had just saved 15% of my income from age 22-42 while I was in the military, I could have retired 5 years ago. So that is what I am teaching my kids.

 

[l8_apex]

Yeah, we need to know what's the home's value?

At, say, $350k they have a lot fewer options than if it's worth $1,350k.

Yes, I'm always annoyed when one of these articles appear that's missing a key data point.

 

[Dean56]

I know a few people who spend every penny they earn, have large credit card debt, expensive car leases, one couple just re-financed for a 30-year mortgage in their late 50's...and they don't care. They just buy what they want when they want an seem to be enjoying life.

Sadly, this is more prevalent than you think. I know a couple that are 74 years old and have zero chance of retiring. They lease new cars every 2 years, spend every dollar they make and are still working to support themselves.

 

[Dean56]

I hope everyone on here realizes how much they help people. It really is amazing to see a community like this so willing to share their knowledge and experience to help others. Makes this hard ass, type A fighter pilot feel good!

+1

I started reading this forum 4 years ago. I too appreciate all of the insight & info that is shared here. I am working towards ER and whenever I question myself I just login and start reading what others have posted. In no time, I have my confidence back and ER seems attainable.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I signed on to savingadvice.com in Oct 2013. I wanted some advice on whether to pay off my cars with my next bonus. Instead of answering my question, they asked a bunch of questions about my overall financial situation. That really irritated me. I pushed back quite a bit, but for some reason, they felt the need to push harder. I make $300k a year, who are they to say I can't afford 4 cars? Someone recommended I read the book The Millionaire Next Door. I did. That changed everything. My wife read it, too. And we decided to stop the madness. I was very fortunate that my high income allowed us to get it all fixed pretty quick and now we are retiring this Mar thanks to this forum and bogleheads.org

I feel so blessed that the folks on savingadvice.com were willing to help me and not dismiss me. Of course I had to make the decision to stop, but they stuck with me and never stopped helping. I am still active there and try to help other folks if I can.

I will say that spending is a lot like addiction. You have to want to stop before anyone else can help. And denial is a salve that helps you ignore the inevitable bad result.

Great story corn. Reminds me of an old boss I had. He was always telling me I should spend more money. He was a slave to all his stuff. I did not want to be like him.

 

[pb4uski]

When I first joined my law firm, the oldest partner told me "the firm likes you to have a big mortgage".

Very true. One of the joys of being FI late in my career was that I could say what many people were thinking but were hesitant to say because some of the powers that be didn't want to hear it... but they still needed to hear it. I still needed to be diplomatic about it but I could be more bold than those who more desperately needed the paycheck. Partners and clients loved it.

 

[teetee]

Let's suggest to moderators to open a new forum named 'Funny Dreamers' for stories like this.

 

[Amethyst]

It is certainly different in the civil service high ranks, especially when security clearances are involved!

If you have too many nice things, people get suspicious.

At the corporate executive level the peer pressure to consume is unbelievably strong. They definitely want people who cannot afford to leave and are willing to push to the extremes to earn generous stock, rsu and option awards.