Bestwifeever
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2007
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In TV series "Hart to Hart" (1979-1984), the "self-made millionaires" drive a Rolls Royce and fly private.
And had Max, their chauffeur/butler/manservant (I loved that show).
In TV series "Hart to Hart" (1979-1984), the "self-made millionaires" drive a Rolls Royce and fly private.
And had Max, their chauffeur/butler/manservant (I loved that show).
In TV series "Hart to Hart" (1979-1984), the "self-made millionaires" drive a Rolls Royce and fly private.
I'm not a young dreamer, but I have two comments:
1) One important step to FIRE, IMO, is to learn to ignore what 'everybody else is saying'. You will be trying to march to the beat of a different drummer, the others are just noise.
2) A 40,000 COLA'd pension is worth about a million, as is $40,000 in SS (which a couple might be receiving). Many of those studies don't factor in the 'phantom value' of pensions/SS.
-ERD50
Or for anyone, of any age, who can happily live on ~ 30K/yr or lessHaving $1 million is a different story for older folks who are within striking distance or already collecting Social Security and Medicare.
Tim
With most pensions non-cola this makes a huge difference. A lot of $$$ are parked in 401K/IRAs where taxes are due so it's not like you have NW in "cash" like the pre 401k/ira era. My retiree medical is essentially paying cobra. Also have to pay for own eye/dental premiums and deductibles.
Medical premiums = 18K
Medical deductibles =10K
Dental prem/deduct=5K
Eye prem/deduct/glasses=5K
Taxes=20K
Total=50K
This 50K get added to my estimated yearly expenses. Adds up fast.
Does anyone else get sick of hearing that a million dollars isn't what it used to be or isn't that much money anymore?
+1
Anyway, in my opinion, if a single person cannot retire on a million dollars then it is by choice. Either they are insisting on living in a high cost area, or traveling a lot, or living like a rock star, or something like that I guess. I think that a million dollars is quite a fortune for a single retired person who is living a middle class lifestyle in fly-over country and doesn't want to travel extensively.
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Or for anyone, of any age, who can happily live on ~ 30K/yr or less
Your numbers are much higher than mine (for a couple). Unless you have significant dental and vision issues to contend with I wonder if you would be much better off just paying for dental work, eye exams and glasses. Mine would be a fraction of your $10k (~$1.5k a year for the two of us for dental and vision costs).
I found that individual insurance was less expensive than my COBRA for similar HDHP benefits.
Don't you mean total $58k? How would you be subject to 35% in taxes ($20/$58) in retirement?
The effective tax rate on my IRA withdrawals will be lower than what I would have paid in taxes while I was working, so I'm ahead of the game there.
Wow. That's crazy cheap. That almost just covers the cost for 1 cleaning+short exam here, and we are not a high cost area. And insurance is happy and says the charge is in line.Dental- 2 cleanings yearly $150 total
Wow. That's crazy cheap. That almost just covers the cost for 1 cleaning+short exam here, and we are not a high cost area. And insurance is happy and says the charge is in line.
Mulligan, you are finding all the deals in health care, I have to say.
Yeah, add bitewing x-rays and it is over $200 here.Joe, it would be $85 but they knock $10 off for paying cash. I probably benefit not only from a low cost area, but probably people just wouldn't or couldn't pay for it if they charged more. I had all the XRays done a year and a half ago, so that bill was higher, $165. My teeth feel fine, and I felt cheap so I skipped the XRays this time. Health insurance is the good ol underwritten plan that is going to probably yanked away from me next year. Eyes, well I am being cheap, but I don't need a doctor to tell me I need to buy glasses. I know that, so I bought the readers. Still have 3 inches left in arm extension, if I don't want to use the readers.
Yeah, add bitewing x-rays and it is over $200 here.
I've never understood vision plans offered at work, so I agree with you there. They seem to be insurance to buy designer frames? Not necessary.
It is important to get the pressures checked every now and then. In LBYM spirit, you can usually get this done at community "health fairs" that many providers pool together to do as a public service for free. Just have to search for them.
I think you've hit the nail on the head with that. Although, taken as a literal statement, a million dollars is obviously not worth what it used to be, people who say things like this are making more of a value judgement, by implying that it's not worth even trying to accumulate. It's a very pessimistic and short-term view.One problem I see with the "$$$ isn't what it used to be" attitude is that it discourages a good number of people from even trying to accumulate anything.
Or, if you have $2M or more, should you be called a multi-millionaire then?