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CNN - How did you do it?
Old 09-28-2014, 11:07 AM   #21
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CNN - How did you do it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
back in 2006 cnn's money magazine and fidelity investment magazine both did a feature story on us. it was fun working with them on it.

Wow! Do you have a link to it that you want to share?


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Old 09-28-2014, 11:51 AM   #22
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I have usually tried to contribute as much as the plan would allow (often less than the legal limit due to plan rules) but I will never be close to 1M in a 401k. If nothing else the fees in the company 401k will make me want to roll the money out of the 401k as soon as I can. Folks with 1M in a 401k must have worked for a single employer for a long time. Most of my employers didn't stay in business that long.
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Old 09-28-2014, 01:42 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by clifp View Post
I'm reading the stories of the good savers while listening to the woe is my broken egg retirement movie. How come they don't make movies about every day folks saving enough for their retirement?
Because everyday folks just don't have enough CONSISTENT income.

This is a tough crowd on here. Not much empathy at all. But life happens.

The everyday folks that make 30k to 50k with gaps in employment will not save enough for retirement. But they will get by.

Do you really want to see a retirement savings movie about a UAW worker making $15hr in the right to work states?
Or a guy at Walmart making $13hr and paying for his own health insurance?


There are millions of people in this demographic and they are everyday working folk.

They are busy just keeping the lights on and putting food on the table.

I will get flamed now because I guess am showing too much empathy.

Yes, some working folks will be able to save if life cooperates. But most working folks not so much.
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Old 09-28-2014, 02:35 PM   #24
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I don't think there is any danger of you getting flamed, but you are likely to get some reasoned disagreement.

In my opinion, it has nothing to do with empathy, or lack thereof, but rather the fact that earning a lower than average salary simply does not mean someone cannot save.

I earned in this range for the first 10 years of my career and saved steadily. Did I have a new iPhone, iPad, big screen tv, new car, etc? Not a chance. I used all disposable income to invest (in real estate at the time).

I recognize the differences in lifestyle, but to say that savings are unattainable at anything but high salaries is just not factual. It's all about choices.


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Old 09-28-2014, 05:14 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by tmm99 View Post
Wow! Do you have a link to it that you want to share?


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i will have to see if it is still up on their site. it was 2006.

in fact i wonder if it is still here, i posted it when it was first done.
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Old 09-28-2014, 06:05 PM   #26
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Yes, some working folks will be able to save if life cooperates. But most working folks not so much.
Not a flame, but an example of how it can be done. We haven't seen much of him since that thread but if true it is an example of how it can be done. Difficult? Yes. Unusual? Very much so. A pizza delivery driver within a few years of being FIRE:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ars-72212.html
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CNN - How did you do it?
Old 09-28-2014, 06:20 PM   #27
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CNN - How did you do it?

I agree with most of Willers' comments.

I recall taking the bus home one night and realizing I only had enough coins to feed the pets or me. The pets won. I asked for help, and a friend made some really fine beans.

I didn't start saving, but paid down debt (college, car, credit card).
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Old 09-28-2014, 06:34 PM   #28
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I recognize the differences in lifestyle, but to say that savings are unattainable at anything but high salaries is just not factual. It's all about choices.
Among my relatives and acquaintances, I can find many examples of people with lower incomes who DID save for retirement and many examples of people with higher incomes who did not. It would be simple and convenient for the class warfare point of view to be able to say that all the retirement systems are biased against middle income people, but that just doesn't seem to be so. Everything financial has some bias toward people with more money - which is kind of unavoidable since having more money is part of the definition of "people who have more money" This should be irrelevant.

What we seem to be seeing is more like many retirement funding options have been suffering from "you can lead a horse to water but cannot make it drink" in that making sensible options available doesn't mean that people will take advantage of them. Society used to tolerate this with very dismal consequences for people who didn't have the means to take care of themselves. SS systems are addressing this (as are other social service programs) by providing minimal anti-poverty support. But now people are trying to drum up support for the idea that these programs need to do more - that people who do not take advantage of the existing options to save for themselves - or that people who FOR ANY REASON have less than comfortable retirement should be better provided for or made to participate in some new programs that will provide a cushier lifestyle. The debate here is much more about politics and much less about financial reality.
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Old 09-28-2014, 07:29 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by purplesky View Post
Because everyday folks just don't have enough CONSISTENT income.

[…]
Yes, some working folks will be able to save if life cooperates. But most working folks not so much.
But those working folks will not need a million dollars in a 401(k) or retirement plan to live the retired lifestyle to which they are accustomed.
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