re: How are average earners able to prep for the future?

“materiality mentality of the boomers”

We weren’t all like that.I joined the Navy at 18,put $20/ month in to mutual funds which were just becoming a thing.Saved another $20/ month in savings bonds so I saved $40/month and only started at $105/month before taxes.
Time went on as I got promoted I upped my savings,long story short when I got out I had $4000.00 saved cash and saving bonds,only made little over $14,000 my 4 years.
Went to nursing school on GI bill and savings,in Navy reserve and selling plasma,worked as orderly last semester.

Graduated and worked 2-3 jobs to get ahead.Married a nurse at 30 but we were frugal.Bought cheap starter house,drove cheap cars,had a small cheap boat,eating out was rare,on special occasions only.

I started in the stock market with extra money here and there,did pretty well with that.
We started buying land from cousins that inherited tracts of family estate,accumulated 130 acres.
Built house at 50 for 1/3 of what we qualified for.

When 401 K’s became available we both maxed out 15% of salaries.

Wife became NP and that helped a lot.
Stared drawing S.S. at 70,wife at 69.She still works 2 days a week,mostly to subsidize grandson in college.
She still drives cheap cars(Prius’s) I have a Highlander that was $50,000,by far most expensive vehicle we’ve ever had.
We still rarely go out to restaurants.
We’ve been lucky,to be sure,our health is good .Neither of us take any meds so we’ve had little in way of medical expenses other than 2 surgeries I’ve had and she’s had 1.
I don’t feel deprived,we fished a lot for years,had beagles for 20 years which we all enjoyed,deer hunt every year for many years(still do).

My only regret is that we didn’t take more vacations when her sons were young.We went on a few to Arkansas and Texas but we would get a cabin or motel with kitchenette and fix most of our own meals.
Thing is,neither of us ever went on family vacations growing up so the idea was kinda foreign to us.

I’m pretty content as a senior citizen,we are well off financially.

quote:

---

My friend is having to relocate and forced to home shop in this market, houses that were $400,000 just 5-6 years ago in the area he’s looking are now $650,000-850,000. They have over $240,000 yearly income, he wanted to make an offer on a $670,000 home but backed off when he found out that with $135,000 down his note on a 30 yr loan would be over $4500 a month including escrow.

---

I would have no issue renting in this market till I figured it out.

Most are probably counting on an inheritance

quote:

---

It's easy. We recognize that we will work until we die. I got 45 or 50 more years left here at best before I can rest. That's it.

---

It’s really messed up how Biden keeps cooking up these fake wars and only sending money instead of sending us millenial meatbags to the grinder


We’ll never get to go on a grand adventure, just back into the wage cage every day til they give us the Canada shot

quote:

---

Next 10 years. A huge chunk of boomers retiring don’t have a lot saved either.

---

Financial illiteracy is a huge, inter-generational issue.

I'm a first gen college student. A ton of my family members have maybe 100k in an actual retirement account, if anything. Their retirement plan is social security, which for some of them I will say their SS check was actually a raise for them compared to working by the time they retired

All the time I get "you don't need to save so much, you gotta have money to live now"... "enjoy your life in the present"... Theres a lot of that mindset in the working class.

Our company was thinking about changing their retirement plan from them paying 10% whether you contribute or not to giving you 8% instead but then having a 3% match on top of that, so you would get 14% total by contributing 3% yourself. The blue collar guys are pissed because most of them don't contribute any and won't even with a match.

And then you have the younger generations wearing all these expensive clothes that they finance on shite like Affirm. Don't get me wrong, BNPL (buy now pay later) can be really helpful. If I can get something for 0% that I would have to otherwise eat into my savings with I'll do it, but I read a story about people having hundreds of dollars per month in Affirm payments for clothes.

And America today is basically a huge shopping mall. If we don't operate in massive debt and spend constantly, the whole thing shuts down. Damned if you do.

quote:

---

Next 10 years. A huge chunk of boomers retiring don’t have a lot saved either.

---

This. I've come to the realization that a lot of the older folks aren't going to retire because they can't or don't want to. Job market and wage increases will remain screwy until they all move out

quote:

---

Job market and wage increases will remain screwy until they all move out

---

Wage increases are why people will work longer.

They spent a lifetime making less (pre- inflation).
Now a bus driver makes $20.39/hour plus benefits.

quote:

---

don’t have a lot saved either.

---

This is the key. Everyone can afford to buy cigarettes, spend $200 a month on Cox/Comcast, $275 a month on mobile services, go to the beach once or twice a year, buy cars they don't actually need, go out to eat 2-3 times a week, etc., but can't be bothered with a 401k or IRA.

STOP. SPENDING. MONEY.

quote:

---

STOP. SPENDING. MONEY.

---

I hate to say that I still live like i'm in poverty on this board but I got a 30 rack of high life and a 3 lb sack of tube meat for maybe like 10% more that i would've paid like 10 years ago. $20 for the 30 rack, $11 for the tube meat

I did notice all the stacks of chips in the checkout line, a medium sack of doritos is like 7 bucks now rip


as long as you just live normal and cook everything it's really not that bad