Boom-bust-boom is what I relying on to retire in less than 20 years. Things can be bust now and for another 5 years while I accumulate. I will sell on the way up to retire.
I couldn't help but think that he was talking about the kind of people that don't post on the ER forum. He talked about people using their houses as piggy banks, about percentage investing in 401K's and IRA's going down, about fewer people putting anything away in savings, and so on. Actually, the article made me feel pretty smug about my financial situation right now.
Yes, I agree that the non-LBYM'ers out there who haven't really thought about retirement are going to have problems.
I live in a fairly new fast growing, semi-wealthy area. The keeping up with the Jones is out of control here. I suspect in a small midwestern town it is much different. I don't know where you live.
Um, does anyone here personally know someone who cashed out the equity in their home, ran up their credit cards, and other wise went into a binge when told to "go shopping"?
Could you explain what or who is J6P?The semi-wealthy are as willfully clueless as J6P.
On one hand, I'd laugh this off, saying that people are reaping what they sow and that people who overconsume and have to keep working will keep the economy and Social Security afloat.Yesterday, I heard something I thought was the stupidest idea ever. Something about a debit card attached to your 401k? I just happened to hear it on TV, and that's got to be the worst investment [-]vehicle[/-] scam ever to provide to Americans who are not inclined to save. Retirement crisis? Can you see a future president/congress "rescuing" these unwary investors who were preyed upon by those "lying, scheming, bad" mutual fund companies? Cashing out the equity in your home, running up credit card bills, tapping your 401k are all aspects of a retirement crisis and they are mostly due to a lack of individual responsibility.
Um, does anyone here personally know someone who cashed out the equity in their home, ran up their credit cards, and other wise went into a binge when told to "go shopping"?
This attitude is, of course, built into the 15% interest rates they charge. They know that as unsecured debt they will be the last creditors in line to collect from an estate and they get nothing if there's nothing left after secured debt is paid, so they have to build that "cost" into their rates.Her attitude is: "when I die, the girls can sell my condo and keep whatever is left. Screw the credit card companies"..........
The semi-wealthy are as willfully clueless as J6P.
The economy has a lesson for them.[/quote
This is a very brilliant, insightful and true statement. You've made my day!
I take J6P to be an abbreviation for "Joe Sixpack". I see pain ahead, and not just for retirees, but I really don't know what to do about it. I feel like I am watching a slo-mo car crash. The 4% rule may not bear out for us, being stuck between rising inflation and a falling market.