It's not just death.
I broke my collar bone 2 months ago mountain biking. Got titanium hardware now. Still haven't tried to put the backpack on, but the hardware could be a problem.
It reminded me of our (ok, "my") fragility. They considered not repairing it surgically, in which case I would have healed poorly, likely unable to lift my arm past 90 degrees from my torso. It would have changed my life, as I work with my hands and arms for a living.
So, as someone said above, enjoy life now. Plan for the future, but don't sacrifice your "now" in order to have some amazing future that may never happen.
As I said earlier, I've been saving for a thru hike (because it will NEVER happen if I don't save up for it), but I've also been doing sections of the trail since I started. I've come to understand the old saying: The journey IS the destination.
The biggest problem where I live you see 20-35 year old listed with no mention of cause. Most obituaries say after battling cancer or as a result of an auto accident. After asking around you find out they died as a result of an overdose of heroin or fentynol. It is a so large across the state, that we are among the top nationally for ODs. Medical Examiners are flood and consistently running behind with their regular autopsies.
Blackheart
You may we’ll be the exception (as was my Father) but most people I know who manage to retire at 55 have at least one member of the family who worked for the government (teacher, LEO, military, etc.) and has a defined benefit pension of some sort, and perhaps even some sort of “free” medical benefits.
Of those that work in the private sector, I expect a great many have concluded that “the magic number” for savings they once thought would put them on easy street going into retirement is a whole lot more than they imagined — when looking at how long it needs to last.
Either way, congrats on your achievement!
I can beat that for sad.
My dad's cousin - Uncle Bob - worked for decades for the airlines. All I remember him talking about was all the fun he would have when he retired. He was turning 65 and retiring a month later. His 65th birthday he comes out of the bedroom in the morning walking in to get his coffee. His lovely wife had just retired from teaching school the previous month. She turns to say good morning and he hits the deck! Docs said he was dead from a massive heart attack before he hit the floor. Course, he had been morbidly obese as long as I had known him. He never saw a day of retirement but his wife, she has been to some wonderful places since then. Truly one of the nicest guys you could ever know.
https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White
I'm planning to hit the trail on my birthday in April, 2049, the day I turn 90 to become the first 90 year old thru hiker. I'll do a flip flop. Start at HF and hike north first. Then fly down to to Springer and hike back to HF. I'll put a $100 bill under a rock where I start at HF. If it's there when I get back, I'll use it to buy myself a beer. BTW, don't tell anyone about the money. I really want that beer.
My retirement at 56 involves no free or even reduced health insurance, but a very modest pension, about half or maybe slightly less than we need to live on, so it's about drawing on savings, which of course for most, is the key.
Quite simple for a lot of folks, yet they don't listen to the sages of personal finance: Starting relatively young, put at least 10% of your paycheck into some sort of diversified investment. Period. How many on here do that? I realize some just plain cannot, but those that can, yet don't and choose to drive a new car every 2-3 years, etc, etc, well, if you cannot retire before 60, you're making different choices than I and my wife made. Save and live frugally! Then start playing in your 50's. Still plenty of time to enjoy the grandkids too....
Retirement and backpacking should come as no surprise.
Apparently retired Geezer Boomers are the fastest growing group of backpackers.
Have fun Y’all!
Wayne
It’s a tricky question, but I do know that even a modest pension has tremendous value — especially if it is guaranteed by the government and is indexed to inflation.
To pick a number out of the air, I cannot help but wonder what the financial gurus would see as worth more (in an objective, mathematical sense) for a person your age — a$15,000 pension guaranteed by the government and indexed to inflation, or $500,000 in the bank?
I get your point, though. I am struggling with my own magic number now.
Last edited by rickb; 03-26-2018 at 20:47.
Amen to this! Hard to believe folks really can't save 10%. I ask my kids often how different life would be for them if their paycheck was 10% less. They seem to get it, but never start saving, always with that line "I just can't afford it".
Another aspect of it is that they aren't interested in learning about things like stocks, investments.
Finally my son - at 38 - started some kind of plan. Called Acorn. I think he said it's tied to his credit card or debit card, so if he spends 1.10, they round up to the next dollar - so, in this case they take 90 cents - and that goes into a diversified portfolio. Dividends are reinvested. So far, he's got 15 cents in dividends! Hey -- it's a start!
No thanks. I'm not interested in spending my time studying obit statistics. So, without crunching the numbers, I can just repeat - you'll find both. Young folks do die before they should, but folks overall live longer. So, hard to make your plans based on what you read in the obits. IMO
It would be interesting to see how much each member thinks the could have saved to retire...I bet we would get an interesting variety of perspectives
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Let me go
To answer your question the $15,000 pension vs the $500,000 in the bank would probably provide about the same amount of yearly income in today's environment provided you invested the $500,000 in something other than a saving account or CD. Vanquard, Fidelity etc. have calculators online that can help you figure out how much you will need to retire, how long your savings will last etc. Check out this link https://investor.vanguard.com/retirement/
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Nothin’ beats pullin’ a “nooner ‘r sooner” on a Friday and tellin’ the boss to go pound sand!
Huh? You’re already retired, so that $15,000 pension isn't growing is it? Aren't you tapping into it already? What is the thinking that this could be equal to $500,000?
Or, are you saying that your pension is paying you $15,000 / year?
If that's the case, that's better than 500,000 in the bank . That would be a 3% return on 500,000 which so far is better than bank cds. Rates are slowly rising, tho...Keep checking back every few months...
https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White