Article - 35% of Millionaires won't be able to retire

[aaronc879]

For us it is probably food that is one of the more expensive items. We don't specifically budget it but it seems like we spend about $200 a week at the grocery store for 2 people. This includes some Keto foods, toiletries, cleaning supplies, but even so, with ground beef at $5 to $6 a pound (heck, even the cheap stew meat cuts are now $5 to $6 a pound), groceries add up. $800 a month is $9600 a year JUST in food. This isn't dining out either!

I basically eat like a broke college student. I spend under $2000/yr on food even with the recent inflation. That includes drinks(99% water). I buy almost everything on sale and/or in bulk. I don't order in or dine out unless someone else is paying.

 

[CRLLS]

For us it is probably food that is one of the more expensive items. We don't specifically budget it but it seems like we spend about $200 a week at the grocery store for 2 people. This includes some Keto foods, toiletries, cleaning supplies, but even so, with ground beef at $5 to $6 a pound (heck, even the cheap stew meat cuts are now $5 to $6 a pound), groceries add up. $800 a month is $9600 a year JUST in food. This isn't dining out either!

The two of us spend right around $200 every 2 weeks. That includes other cleaning and toiletries stuff like your list. We try to get steak when it is about to expire and freeze it to save a bit. Food has increased incredibly over the past 2 years. That does not include alcohol, another line item on the budget Our above cost does not include when we are inviting family such as birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas where we can have between 6 to 16 guests. During those shopping visits we can blow that $200 easily. DW has already started her Christmas baking such as fudge, cookies etc. This is only 1 week after Thanksgiving.

 

[Fermion]

I'm not even talking about shopping at Whole Paycheck. This is wal-mart pricing. I made a crockpot roast the other day, using 5 pounds of brisket at $5.69 a pound, a bag of baby carrots ($1.29), a bag of those small multi colored potatoes ($4.49...when did potatoes get so expensive!), celery ($1.59), a large sweet onion ($0.59), can of low sodium beef broth ($1.29).

I used a few other things we already had (chopped garlic, olive oil to sear the brisket, salt, pepper, rosemary, etc.)

Sill, add it up and that was nearly $40. Now granted it did last for 3 days of dinner for the two of us and one lunch but still, that is not including breakfasts, snacks, or the cleaning supplies and such.

Its pretty easy IMO to spend $150 to $200 a week on food even if you don't eat out.

 

[Beldar]

We're pro-frugal entertainment ourselves, like free concerts in the park, hiking, rush tickets, college events, beach parks, free museum passes from the library, seat filler memberships, reciprocal museum and garden free entry programs, Facebook specials and a bunch more. If I'd known how much cheaper retired life was going to be, we could have retired much sooner than we did.

I have to agree. DW & I maintain our pre-ER lifestyle with ease on much less than our working life income. We planned our financial life very carefully and realized after discovering this forum we could ER with very little risk. But everyone's expectations are different.

_B

 

[ESRwannabe]

I basically eat like a broke college student. I spend under $2000/yr on food even with the recent inflation. That includes drinks(99% water). I buy almost everything on sale and/or in bulk. I don't order in or dine out unless someone else is paying.

Same here. Anything I can throw into a crockpot, sandwiches, anything with ground beef, and soups are what I usually eat. Ditto on just drinking water.

 

[Markola]

I actually remember the first “A Million Isn’t What It Used to Be” article that I ever read, which was in Money Magazine as a teenager in the mid 1980s.

 

[old medic]

For us it is probably food that is one of the more expensive items. We don't specifically budget it but it seems like we spend about $200 a week at the grocery store for 2 people.

We hit the store yesterday to restock some stuff...2 full chickens and 5 lbs hamburger, 3 lbs deli sliced ham and cheese. rest of the cart full of fresh veggies..... $91
Spent more at the beer store

 

[Fermion]

We hit the store yesterday to restock some stuff...2 full chickens and 5 lbs hamburger, 3 lbs deli sliced ham and cheese. rest of the cart full of fresh veggies..... $91
Spent more at the beer store

But I was including things like beer, coffee, toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries, coffee, random snacks, coffee...in the $200 a week.

If I just go with food, maybe it is more like $100.

 

[scrabbler1]

We hit the store yesterday to restock some stuff...2 full chickens and 5 lbs hamburger, 3 lbs deli sliced ham and cheese. rest of the cart full of fresh veggies..... $91
Spent more at the beer store

Sometimes, my shopping list has few items, mostly not meats. I pick out maybe 9 items, go to self-checkout, and BLAMMO! $42!

 

[marko]

Yeah I always disagree with those people who say money doesn't buy happiness.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy the most remarkable substitutes.

 

[aaronc879]

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy the most remarkable substitutes.

Money can't buy happiness but it can buy pizza and that's pretty much the same thing. Replace pizza with beer, wine, chocolate or whatever works for you.

 

[Fermion]

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy the most remarkable substitutes.

I always think of it as money can't buy happiness but lack of money can cause misery.

 

[marko]

Money can't buy happiness but it can buy pizza and that's pretty much the same thing. Replace pizza with beer, wine, chocolate or whatever works for you.

On a serious note, IMO, I view money as stored energy.

 

[scrabbler1]

I always think of it as money can't buy happiness but lack of money can cause misery.

Similarly, having money allowed me to buy my way out of misery, where misery=the long, tiring, often sickening commute to my job even as infrequent as 2 days a week.

 

[NW-Bound]

We are nowhere near millionaires... Truth be told we aren't even quarter millionaires. But feel confident in our 6-legged retirement stool.

Nowadays, people have no pension.

And if they retire young long before SS and rely totally on their savings, that's a one-legged retirement source of income.

Like dis.

 

[NW-Bound]

I always think of it as money can't buy happiness but lack of money can cause misery.

"Lack of money is the root of all evil" – George Bernard Shaw

 

[rodi]

I'm surprised no-one picked up on the line in the article

While not everyone needs public assistance in retirement, 38% said they won't be able to retire without it.

I assume they mean SS. And I know there are plenty of people on this board (a very atypical selection of people compared to the general population) who could still be comfortable with no SS... But most folks (including myself) assume SS will be there... my retirement would be much more frugal if SS were taken away. I'm not collecting yet - but I input it in firecalc when I run firecalc...

 

[cyber888]

I don’t find this (not having sufficient funds to retire) surprising at all. I am willing to bet the vast majority of the 26 million plus "millionaires" in America are millionaires because of basically one single asset: their home.

Indeed, I would go further to say a substantial majority of these millionaires probably could not afford to buy their own homes at current market.

Their wealth is FED induced housing inflation.

I agree. My brother's home in California is $860K-$880K, but he doesn't have anywhere that much liquid asset to retire.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

The happiest person in the world, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk, a group not known for their extravagant spending habits or designer wardrobes - How to Be Happier According the World's Happiest Man (businessinsider.com).

I like to buy books on happiness research, at the library sales for $1. I find them to be real money savers. Most of the things that make people happy according to research really don't cost a lot - having a good social network, forest bathing, music, being near water, exercise, mindfulness, expressing gratitude, volunteering, meditation, etc.

In the longest running study in the U.S. on happiness, social connections were the biggest factor - This Harvard study reveals how you can be happier and more successful (cnbc.com)

Of course you are not going to be happy if you can't afford basics like good medical care, housing or reliable transportation. But after that there is a lot one can do to be happier without spending a fortune.

 

[NW-Bound]

The happiest person in the world, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk, a group not known for their extravagant spending habits or designer wardrobes - How to Be Happier According the World's Happiest Man (businessinsider.com)

Ummm... This is too hard for me.

I don't need Louis XIII Cognac to be happy, never having a taste of it. I don't even need XO Cognac, of which I still have a half dozen of bottles.

Buddhist monks don't eat meat, nor drink. I probably need at least a bit of moonshine once in a while. And bacon. It's easier for me to get happy that way.

 

[LARS]

The happiest person in the world, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk, a group not known for their extravagant spending habits or designer wardrobes - How to Be Happier According the World's Happiest Man (businessinsider.com).

I like to buy books on happiness research, at the library sales for $1. I find them to be real money savers. Most of the things that make people happy according to research really don't cost a lot - having a good social network, forest bathing, music, being near water, exercise, mindfulness, expressing gratitude, volunteering, meditation, etc.

In the longest running study in the U.S. on happiness, social connections were the biggest factor - This Harvard study reveals how you can be happier and more successful (cnbc.com)

Of course you are not going to be happy if you can't afford basics like good medical care, housing or reliable transportation. But after that there is a lot one can do to be happier without spending a fortune.

Happiness is a fool's errand. Strive for contentment and you might actually get there…

 

[ESRwannabe]

The happiest person in the world, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk, a group not known for their extravagant spending habits or designer wardrobes - How to Be Happier According the World's Happiest Man (businessinsider.com).

I like to buy books on happiness research, at the library sales for $1. I find them to be real money savers. Most of the things that make people happy according to research really don't cost a lot - having a good social network, forest bathing, music, being near water, exercise, mindfulness, expressing gratitude, volunteering, meditation, etc.

In the longest running study in the U.S. on happiness, social connections were the biggest factor - This Harvard study reveals how you can be happier and more successful (cnbc.com)

Of course you are not going to be happy if you can't afford basics like good medical care, housing or reliable transportation. But after that there is a lot one can do to be happier without spending a fortune.

It is interesting that people like to live near and be in the water so much. Humans have a lot of unusual features adapted for semi-aquatic environments. I've always thought that the "aquatic ape theory" might be true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquatic_ape_hypothesis

 

[ESRwannabe]

Nowadays, people have no pension.

And if they retire young long before SS and rely totally on their savings, that's a one-legged retirement source of income.

Like dis.

I'm banking on the pogo stick strategy from 46 to 60.

 

[scrabbler1]

I'm banking on the pogo stick strategy from 46 to 60.

I have been pogo-sticking quite well since age 45 (and I am 59 now).

 

[ESRwannabe]

I have been pogo-sticking quite well since age 45 (and I am 59 now).

That's awesome. If you don't mind, were you able to primarily live off of a "fallen angels" type high yield bond fund, i.e. relatively high credit quality for "junk bonds", in a taxable account the whole time or did you have to switch up strategies with the interest rates going to near zero?

It should be a pretty good time for bonds again going forward, at least for a little while.

My taxable account is pretty much all in the SCHD etf which is IMHO a really good dividend growth etf. Current yield is a little over 3%. Historical div growth has been 7% or higher every year so far.

https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/products/schd