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Plan? What Plan?
Old 11-13-2009, 12:22 PM   #1
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Plan? What Plan?

Interesting that six out of ten folks don't even have a clue where they are going. I wonder how many of them will go on vacation next year in their family auto and not look at a map to make a plan? Yet, they have not planned for ER? Note: None of this applies to any of the folks that post here regularly, I suspect.

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The survey of 1,742 consumers found that 51% of respondents listed building a retirement fund as one of their most important financial concerns. Forty percent cited managing retirement income.

Yet 64% of respondents said they did not have a financial plan, and only 17% said they have a financial plan that they update regularly.
Consumers Lack Financial Plans, Survey Says
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Old 11-13-2009, 12:32 PM   #2
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The 'FIRE PLAN' is the first thing to get burned when you reach the 'FIRE'...
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Old 11-13-2009, 12:41 PM   #3
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I'm sure many of those folks figure they don't have any extra money each month to save, so what is the point of coming up with a plan when there is no way to fund it. After all, they spend 105% of their income.

Many probably have "win the lottery", "inherit", or "social security" as retirement plans simply because they spend all they earn and then some.
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Old 11-13-2009, 12:49 PM   #4
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Well, what kind of a plan do you think these people mean? I don't have anything written down--just a rough idea of how much my total portofolio will need to be when I retire.

What do other folks have as a "plan"?
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Old 11-13-2009, 01:24 PM   #5
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I agree with FUEGO that most folks I know are living paycheck-to-paycheck, or maybe putting a little away in savings each month. I'm FIREd now, but most of the people I know have no plan to retire! They just expect to keep on working until ....?
I do have a detailed plan, and it consists of an excel spreadsheet I created to show all the various income streams (pensions, CDs, Bonds, savings, soc. sec.). The spreadsheet shows each year's estimated budget, and exactly where the money is coming from for the next 14 years--by then both DH and I will be on medicare and soc.sec., and no "new" income streams will be coming in. It's pretty detailed and I've added in future expenses for new cars, computers, fence, roof, new furnace, etc...
I really like my plan, it reassures me that everything is on track, and so far so good--but we've only been FIREd for 2 years.
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Old 11-13-2009, 01:31 PM   #6
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My plan is to save what I can without making painful sacrifices while focusing on building my net worth and accumulating assets that produce income/returns. I have a dollar figure in mind ($X,X00,000) and an estimated annual expense figure in mind. I know it will be roughly 7-10 years before I hit that target so there isn't much point to developing a detailed plan today since things will likely be different in 7-10 years. That's a plan as far as I'm concerned.
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Old 11-13-2009, 02:03 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by FUEGO View Post
....Many probably have "win the lottery", "inherit", or "social security" as retirement plans simply because they spend all they earn and then some.
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Originally Posted by rocketdog View Post
I agree with FUEGO that most folks I know are living paycheck-to-paycheck, or maybe putting a little away in savings each month. I'm FIREd now, but most of the people I know have no plan to retire! They just expect to keep on working until ....?......
Sadly, a lot of the folks that I know...including my older siblings...have "plans" like that! Most of them figure on working until they are drug out by their boots. And if something happens to them where they are no longer able to work, they'll probably just end up on the public dole, living in a homeless shelter or public housing unit....all the while complaining that they deserve better.

My siblings don't need a very comprehensive retirement plan anymore, because they no longer plan on retiring. They've thrived living paycheck to paycheck, and have lived like royalty thanks to credit cards and easy credit. One plans on working full-time until 66 or 67, then continuing to work part-time after that to make ends meet. The other plans to work until......

I probably spend more on vacations each year, than either of them have saved up for their futures.

Being the 'baby' of the family, I learned many things from my older siblings....#1 has been what NOT to do when it comes to financial matters!!!
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Old 11-13-2009, 02:22 PM   #8
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My view is slightly skewed as I work for a government entity and people routinely retire at 55, 56 with a COLA's pension and health benefits. Western PA is not a high cost area and most of my friends who retire, if not all of them, own their homes free and clear, their kids are grown, they have some savings, they don't live high on the hog. Some of them get a little part-time job but others don't. Same is true for members of my family. I guess birds of a feather really do flock together. I'm sure if I moved out of my little circle more I would find things to be vastly different. Well, I know I would.
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Old 11-13-2009, 02:29 PM   #9
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Surveys are only as good or bad as the questions being asked and the audience. If they got a lot of youngsters who are still trying to get a real job out of college that would skew the results. I never had a plan written down. When the stress and BS meter were consistently pegging the red-zone I did some back of the envelope pencil scratching. Took two weeks off and went back and gave two weeks notice. Still enjoying FIRE at the five year mark and have more money now than when I exited Corporate America.
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Old 11-13-2009, 02:38 PM   #10
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Of course they don't have a plan. They think the government will take care of them.
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Old 11-13-2009, 03:07 PM   #11
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I'm sure many of those folks figure they don't have any extra money each month to save, so what is the point of coming up with a plan when there is no way to fund it. After all, they spend 105% of their income.

Many probably have "win the lottery", "inherit", or "social security" as retirement plans simply because they spend all they earn and then some.
Do you know my sister? She claims she cannot save anything for retirement because she doesn't make enough money (which is totally bogus). She made it clear that she is counting on a hefty inheritance to pay for her retirement. I still think it qualifies as a plan though. She is mooching off my parents and, as long as she stays on their good side, there is no doubt she will inherit considerable wealth. So why not?
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Old 11-13-2009, 03:42 PM   #12
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Do you know my sister? She claims she cannot save anything for retirement because she doesn't make enough money (which is totally bogus). She made it clear that she is counting on a hefty inheritance to pay for her retirement. I still think it qualifies as a plan though. She is mooching off my parents and, as long as she stays on their good side, there is no doubt she will inherit considerable wealth. So why not?
Are you sure you are not my brother, incognito?
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Old 11-13-2009, 04:16 PM   #13
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Are you sure you are not my brother, incognito?
Interesting that your brother doesn't capitalize the first letter of his name. Guess he's one of those guys who goes through life trying to avoid being noticed, eh?
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Old 11-13-2009, 04:23 PM   #14
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Interesting that your brother doesn't capitalize the first letter of his name. Guess he's one of those guys who goes through life trying to avoid being noticed, eh?
Ah, incognito, the younger and dumber brother of Inigo:



My name is incognito montoya, you killed my retirement, prepare to die!
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Old 11-13-2009, 04:46 PM   #15
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One child asks his parents "So what is your retirement plan?"

Parents smile and answer "Our retirement plan is YOU".

:-o
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Old 11-13-2009, 04:57 PM   #16
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I actually didn't start seriously thinking about retirement, until about I was in my mid 40's. I didn't have a budget; I had no idea how much I was spending each month.

All I can say is I am glad I have always maxed out on my 401K.

I am also glad that I have never been an extravagant spender, and maybe because of that my pay was always more than I would ever spend anyway, so money just kind of accumulated and I ended up putting it away.

I now have a budget and I have a much tighter control over my finance.

In hind sight, I would have been much better off if I started saving consciously much earlier, but I guess it's better late than never.
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Old 11-13-2009, 05:42 PM   #17
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Given that a lot of the people who fail to plan will end up living at the expense of taxpayers and those who provided for their retirement, it makes a strong case for a mandatory retirement savings regime like Australia's. As someone who does save and thinks he will be well prepared for retirement, I would resent the interference with my financial freedom, but I resent the higher tax burden even more.

It makes an even stronger case for better financial education in schools.

Although I had a comfortable upbringing, I got the message on the need to save early in life when my summer jobs at university and my first job post graduation gave me a window seat to observe a number of people who lost their businesess, their homes and, in some cases, their marriages in the lengthy recession which followed the 1987 share market crash. I am glad that I had that education early in life.
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Old 11-13-2009, 05:51 PM   #18
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We never had a plan. In addition to maxing out 401Ks we banked at least all of one person's take-home pay. We didn't think it was for retirement so much as our "take this job and shove it" insurance plan -- a guarantee that we could live on one person's income if one of us quit or lost our job.

Once we got a free financial analysis. They guy said we certainly were big savers and asked if we were going to retire early. It was an aha moment and spurred us to think about what it would take and when that might be. But we never did have any "plan" other than a target savings goal.
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Old 11-13-2009, 06:13 PM   #19
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I think that what concerns me is having an income stream in retirement. When our house is finished - we did all the work ourselves - then we will have two homes paid for free and clear. The real estate crash somewhat dampened our elated feeling of security, but it will be nice to have monthly rental payments from one of the houses. For now, we are still putting away any money above and beyond living expenses. I feel very fortunate; people I know are having a difficult time because of credit card living, etc. I am conflicted between feeling genuinely sorry for them, and wanting to shake my finger....

I never thought I would actually be grateful to learn some tough lessons about financial responsibility. I think those people (my parents, now deceased) from the "Great Depression Generation" era have lots to teach me.
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Old 11-13-2009, 06:24 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by tmm99 View Post
All I can say is I am glad I have always maxed out on my 401K.

I am also glad that I have never been an extravagant spender, and maybe because of that my pay was always more than I would ever spend anyway, so money just kind of accumulated and I ended up putting it away.

So you have had a plan, but did not call it a plan or did not realize that it was a plan. But, it was your Plan.
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