I'm just wondering how people think about money/financial security. I'd be curious to see people's thoughts on the age at which you should have 1MM saved.
really at 30?? Everyone would love to pick that option but come on...lets have more objectivity, anyways at 30 your taking more long term risks because you have at least 30 working years ahead.
crap,I meant to put a never option for folks that think they never will hit a million, or don't care because they're not concerned about material wealth that much. my bad folks.
yeah, thats a little ridiculous but i was wondering if anyone had such expectations or hopes. i think it's pretty damn impossible myself, but perhaps there are young entrepreneur types here that could get there and thinnk theey should. that's the only way it's possible at 30 i htink.
My dad has been practicing medicine for about 25 years now, and he has made around 150-200K/year his entire career. He still doesn't have 1MM in liquid cash to retire. Reason for not having enough savings is very poor investment decisions. I figure that I, along with my other brothers will have to bail mom and dad out one day when it comes to retirement funds.
unless i own a business, i dont see how its possible before i'm 50. And i'm not 30 yet. Best I can do on investments is a 12-15% return
For someone under 40 right now, I don't think 1 million will be enough. Better make 2 just to be sure. It's entirely possible that we could go a decade with 0% returns from the stock and real estate markets. I would suggest that young people try to find work they enjoy and get used to it. You guys may not be retiring till you're 75. Some people are risk takers and some are not. Some people get burned once and never try again, some people will keep taking risks no mater how badly they have failed. Know you're own risk tolerance. For some of us being able to sleep soundly is the more important thing.
My police department matches 2:1 on my retirement. I only need to save up about $300,000-$400,000 and I will have all I will need.
What with the current economic climate, I think you're poll is increasingly unrealistic since you can't really short your 401k. But having said that, I project I'll hit it when I'm 48-50. I personally don't know anyone putting more into retirement than me, but I didn't get started until I was 26. Still, it's very difficult to project because obviously the only number that matters when you calculate these things (other than your contribution) is the projected growth. I'm pretty much using 9%, especially with all of the questions about the economy both short and long term, but I know a lot of people my age are tempted to assume something more like 12%. I think that's over-optimistic.
And your life expectancy. And the number of years you have/plan to work, and the inflation rate, and your desired comfort level at retirement and whether you ever get a catastrophic illness. Freaking retirement homes run $3000 a month now. How about if you have to kick in for your parents? I don't see why ethical suicide is such a taboo. It's a perfectly rational economic decision. When life costs more than it returns you should be able to liquidate the asset.
I live comfortably, but to save and invest to get that kind of money, IMHO, will take time...Unless I hit the lotto or rob a bank... But $1MM doesn't go as far as it use to...
Just from 401ks, I can see 1 million dollars for a couple by 50 and for a single person by 60. If you start a businesses and do well (less 5% chance?), I could see those numbers drop to 40 or less.
Never underestimate the power of living below your means and saving. My wife and I are well on our way to being there before we are 40 and we don't make huge salaries (about market price for our professions). We save almost all of her salary and live off mine. Even if returns are almost stagnant, it will only add a few years to our goal. I also think the goal is attainable if that is your MAIN goal. If a wife or a family is not your main goal, you can work jobs that become your life, basically, but have high financial rewards. Work expat overseas, contract into the middle east, work 18 hours a day for an investment bank, etc. All of these jobs don't promote attaining a traditional family, or at the very least make it very difficult, but they could make you rich for sure.
Go into finance most EDs at IBanks gets paid over 1 mil assuming you reach ED by 40 (very conservative) you could be a millionare by 35 or earlier
My wife's step mother started very late and just hit $1 million in net worth. She's 60 now, but she was dead broke at 40 (bad divorce) and has been fairly conservative in building her asset base. Until recently, she was making $90,000 per year, but she hadn't been making that much over the entire 20-year span, and she lives like a person making $25,000 per year (she's a very hippy-dippy person, though, so the relatively spartan lifestyle is natural to her). So, given her 20-year time span to accrue that kind of net worth, I would say that a slightly above-average person could easily hit $1 million in net worth some time in their 40s.
