Best long term choice

“For those of you who are retired or just about their, your kids are gone or nearly so. Looking back at the choices you and your spouse made to plan and prepare for this time, what stands out as choices you are really greatful for and what are some regrets (doesnt matter if its a regret of action or inaction). I am not necessarily talking about money and investments (though they can certainly be included). Of course if you arent near retirement etc but have been planning for it what will be what are things you have done, will do or would like to. Thanks!”

“I would like to retire period. I mean, I hope I make it to that point. One thing I try to do is spend money now and save in the 401K. I am not too fond of saving saving saving for a time that which I have no idea if I will be there. I am here now and will try to do all the things I want to do and still save for retirement, as much as I can.”

“Wow, this is a really deep subject,

for which I think, in a 'this world sense' there are no answers outside of ourselves

pensions, retirement plans, even social security might not pay or might not pay enough.

I have been quilty of living for the 'here and now' but luckily made a few key decisions which might allow some sort of retirement to do just what I want to do, largely because my needs are few, and I would be content to hang out here on the farmstead and go nowhere. I've been a lot of places and hope to go to some more before that time.

But, as an answer to the question:

'get up early',

very few posts here between 5 and 7 in the morning.
last edited: 1/17/06 6:34:30 PM”

“best "actions":
buying a house that will be payed for before retirement age.
getting out of credit card debt and save up the cash for the items you just cant live without (gear..heh)..slavery sucks and when you use credit cards for instant gratification...you are a slave to those toys..even when you are done playing with them.
healthy living...laugh thru the storms...
go out and play a LOT...
mostly, enjoy the NOW ...dont put off for retirement the fun you should be having today
i want to be able to answer a resounding Yeah! hell yeah! when , as i lay dying some great voice from the universe asks me if i had a fun life. and if no one asks...i will want to be thinking it while heading toward the light.”

“I hear ya on the credit cards, Om. Got mine down significantly, and glad I took the 42 years to pay them off seriously, cause it would have been true had I just paid the minimum due.”

“Best long term plan is to save for your future and pay all debts at the end of the month. Young people listen to me closely. Save, save, save, save, save! Have a great life do good things have fun but don't get into debt. Don't make yourself powerless to the bank. Use this simple interest calculator and see what your money can do long term. Assuming you are 25 and plan to retire by age 65.

Try this one enter $10,000 initial investment, $500 monthly investment and 10% annual growth for 40 years. Wanna guess what that equals? http://www.unistarfcu.org/calc_wealth.htm

I know what many of you are going to say. "I don't want to live when I'm 65 I want to live now, so I'm spending it now and I'll worry about tommrow, tommrow." Don't fall into that trap. I have a ton of fun in my life. The money I save has never held me back from having tons of fun. In fact knowing that I have met my savings goals, allows me to spend with less guilt when I'm out having a good time. Start with what ever amont you can afford and try to save more as bills are paid off and raises are given. I started with 50 bucks a month, then another $50 per month, then another $100 per month, then another $500 per month, then another $1000 per month. Now up to %50 percent of my income goes to savings. You can do it I know you can. I have been doing it since I was 23, it only gets easier the older you get. I don't have some high flauting job. Today I was out in the cold rain, pipe wrenches in my hand working on pumps. I am just a blue collar worker and yes, I do wear my name on my blue gas station worker style uniform shirt. It is not about what you make or how you make it, it is what you do with it. We backpackers hate waste by our nature. Put that natural conservative and I mean true conservative nature to work for yourself. I doubt I am alone here, I know many of you are doing the same thing I did. Keep it up and know true freedom.

http://www.unistarfcu.org/calc_wealth.htm”

“Financial planning, this one helped, just planning, another good one. Being able to take good advice at a young age, one of the best choices I made. These have all worked for me, but being born with that silver spoon. Was Priceless”

“Very sound advice.

I would agree with OM and I think you guys are doing a great job of this already. Don't wait for retirement to do what you love. Involve your children but encourage them to develope their own passions.

This along with the financial stuff and you'll reach retirement being able to build on an already full life showing the young-uns that is important to actually live it. If you don't happen to reach retirement age, you hopefully will be able to acknowledge no regrets.

Great question birch!”

“As opposed to Wolfeyes beliefs, I believe in planning for old age, but still having some fun now, but I am not going to count on just the 401K. Everyone with one should at least contribute whatever your company will meet.

If you have longevity in your family, you really can't turn your back on that and not be prepared. If you live to a ripe old age, who wants to be poor at that time? If you die early, you won't know what you missed or didn't do inorder to save for old age:) But really, you can't live your life monetarily like every day is your last.

Please don't make me give the example of the 83 year old man who works in Walmart and no, his wife isn't dead so that he does it to get out or for company. He needs the money.
last edited: 1/17/06 7:51:15 PM”

“Thanks so much for the good advise!

I think I was vague, it isnt the money aspect (we have been putting money aside since we were 22 or so). Its Life choices, for example.

A while back I had some serious car issues, I had to decide wether or not to replace the car. I opted to dump $2000 and a bunch of work into a 12 year old car, I dont regret it a bit, runs like a champ.

Not the best example but all that comes to mind. I will always work in some capacity, those who know me can vouch for my hyperactivity.

Back to the choices, when you look back as you planned (planning) your retirement were there decisions you made or advise you got about planning, maybe family issues or kids or long term goals.

I ask this because I am looking back at many choices I have made. I dont see any patterns of good or bad decisions, but both spattered about. My goal is to look back and say to myself 'self, you made a great choice when you did X".

Again, thanks for the input!”

“Birch, don't judge the past with good decisions vs. bad decisions. You made those decisions with the knowledge and mindset you had at the time. Are you more wise now? Of course. That's really what its all about. Doing the best with what you've got at the time, and growing. That's what we're meant to do in life (IMO).


I just got off the phone with my G - we've decided to put off the house hunting for 6+ months. I want SO BADLY to own my own home again, I can taste it. But, its not the right time. I'll come, just not right now. Purchasing a house right now would put us into a ton of debt, and would be a wrong "life" choice. Sucks to have made that decision, but its the right one.

I also talked to my dad tonight about wills and trusts and life insurance. Knowledge is power, and I think I sort of have a handle on what to do to protect myself, and my spouse, in the future.

(I know, I'm not close to retirement, but thought I'd throw my $0.02 in. :))”

“In the last few years, I have been trying to live with the hindsight that I will have in 10 or 20 years when making important decisions about life. It's not perfect of course, but I certainly am making much better choices these days.

I also try to look at things objectively and advise myself as if I were a friend asking me for advice who was faced with similar issues. (Does that make sense?) Then I follow that advice.”

“Best life choice: staying very involved in my children's lives when it was difficult. I am so reaping the rewards of that one. Finances: Bateauxdriver said it best, save till it hurts and then a bit more. Start young and keep doing it. If you don't have the discipline to deal with credit cards, don't have one. The freedom now to put my hand in my pocket and buy the toys I want is so rewarding. I also take great joy in spreading it around a little, and have a few charities I support way more than I ever thought I could. It just feels good.

Now the interesting discussion would be what were the poorest life choices you've made. That's a whole other story.
last edited: 1/17/06 9:34:32 PM”

“Shawn has a good point that I neglected. I personally think giving to others is an important life decision, no matter your age. Doesn't have to be monetary, just has to be done. Giving of time is often more important than money.

Thanks for reminding me, Shawn!”

“Spending time with my daughters while they were young was the best investment I could have made. There is a period of time, several years in fact, when their social lives are just too demanding to allow for time with Mom and Dad. The fact that I spent time with them at a young age, and we had fun together then, helps to nurture our relationships through the adolescent years when they could perhaps rebel or try to separate from their parents. To quote a man I much admired and respected, "No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home".”

“worrying about the future and not enjoying the day to day stuff. The kids grew up to fast and now I wish I had cherished their younger years when it was their younger years. Know what I mean?”

“birch,

i've posted before to you before (under another name), and hiked with sass once, but that doesn't matter. hahaha

things i'm happiest i've done:

as others have said, stay out of unnecessary debt. credit cards, line of credit, etc.

put money in your 401k, retirement funds, what ever you want to call it. save money! you don't miss it if it doesn't come to you.

spend as much quality time with your kids as you can.

now, the really deep stuff.

teach your kids as young as possible that their decisions decide what happens for them. set up rules, set up rewaqrds and set up consequences, then let them make the decisions. your job as a parent is to hold them to the outcome of their decisions. don't show anger, be matter of fact with them.

example:

birch: "you need to bring home A's and B's on your report card. C's will be acceptable, but will not get you any rewards. if you come home with all A's and B's, we'll go to Chucky Cheese and have a celebration. any C's and things stay status quo. any D's and there will be no sleep overs (substitute whatever gets ther attention here) until the next report comes in and you have A's and B's. the choice is yours"

hold your child(ren) to these obligations, and make sure you hold them to it for the duration of the period stated. if they come home with less than was stated, be matter of fact.

example:

birch: "you got a D in history. according to the thigns we talked about, there'll be no sleep overs until the interim comes out and you've brought your grades up."
be matter of fact about it and show no emotion one way or the other. this shows that they made the decision not to try as hard as was necessary and they have to deal with the consequence.

they will do what is needed before you know it. it saves you heartburn (not heart ache because it sucks) worrying about them deciding things.

trust me, it works. it is the best thing you can do for them and you. then you can worry about the other stuff needed for retirement without worrying about them knowing how to make the right decisions. they won't always make the decisions you want them to, but then you give them "guidence". they will learn how to weigh consequence with decision when they're faced with things.

to me, money matters for retirement (later in life) are important, but the most important thing is to teach you children to be good people and make smart decisions.

you'll be alright. i think you and sass have good heads on your shoulders.

your friend,

the bag boy”

“i forgot to mention, lead by example.

let them know of decisions, moral stands, whatever, that you make and let them know the good and bad that comes from them.

fess up when you're wrong, point out the good that comes from being a good person.

it all has a part to do with how they'll turn out and they'll become intelligent, people that anyone will be proud to know.”

“and how your kids turn out will mean more than anything in the world to you when they reach an age where you need to let them go.”

“Shawn you da man. I'd follow you on any trail. I'd have to follow you because I couldn't pass you. Shawn is right about your family and especially kids. Share with them your life, give them your time and care. Tough choices must be made at times. I missed the Cheaha hike last weekend because, I thought I needed to be with my family more. I saw pics of Dayhiker with his son Reece on that very trip. I don't think anyone can doubt that Dayhiker is a good daddy. What a great investemnt in the future. One of my greatest desires is to spend more time with trail talkers. I love you people.”

“live for the day, and if something falls in your lap embrace it”

“My advise:

When you retire and look back on your life decisions, look back on them as you should look back on them now. That is, give life and your decisions in your life your best. Some days our best isn't as good as it is on other days but always give the best you have at the moment. Then, when you look back, don't be too hard on yourself. "Yes, I made a mistake but look what came of it." If you learn from your mistakes, then it isn't so much a mistake as it was a learning opportunity that made you a better person today. So, if you can't understand my ramblings, what I'm trying to say is this...

Don't worry about the mistakes you've made or will make because you're going to make mistakes. It is impossible to avoid all mistakes, even with careful planning.

I am who I am today because of the decisions I've made in life. My failures as well as my successes have made me who I am; a better and stronger person.”

“i'm pretty sure i love you sunshine.....you're a wise woman.”

“Birch is CHEATING!!!


He's looking for what everybody else did that they would have done different now that they KNOW BETTER.

Its like lyra or embear asking what choices we'd all make raising our kids!!!!!


GEEZ!!!!!”

“Learn early how to love to invest.”

“again, thanks. Lots of good stuff.”

“Hey bagboy I wanna love sunshine, dibs!”

“This is why I return to TT every day, to scan the threads for some bit of wisdom. This is one of the better threads to hit the TT page. You younger folks would do well to heed the advice given so far. In my own experience, I made a slew of mistakes, but luckily learned from them. I will retire in one year with a decent pension, no huge amount, but enough to allow me to work at what ever next profession I desire. The education field, I hope. I have no plans of retiring in the sense of sitting in a Lazyboy, waiting to die. God willing, I will work at something, even as an old man. I have attempted to keep needs and desires within ballance over the years. And have suucceded most of the time. It can not be overstated, that is, the importance of saving and investing. The earlier the better. I would highly suggest to those with young children, to invest in an account for their kids college education. Many states offer a pack that is quite a bargain, and tax exempt also. Wish I had! Another lesson learned the hard way.”

“batauex - made my day.

I hope to do alot of what steppenwolf has done and that's travel. You can't mention a place he hasn't been. One of the things my biz partner and his wife attribute their kids being so well rounded is that they traveled. They also attribute the kids full ride scholarship to the amount that they were read to as kids. That's something we do each night. Unless it's super late, they each get a book read to them each night. We alternate who reads to which kid.

Great topic birch. You and Sass are in the same place in life as my family and it's great to see this discussion. Everyone in our age group with little ones has to be asking all of these very questions. How to balance work, family, church, civic envolvement,...... It's so tough.”

“This is a topic I've been thinking about for a bit.

This is my eighth year as a teacher. It's been a very good and mostly enjoyable job. We got a new principal in the past year who is difficult to work with.

And it's funny because I was kind of locked on to working this job until I hit the 30 years of service mark.

But I've been trying to think a little bit out of the box on this in the past month. Maybe it's just the January blahs.

I'm very early in this, but I can...
a) Work to create a better relationship with my boss.
b) Try to find a teaching job an hour east near my single, elderly dad.
c) Move back to Wisconsin with my wife.
d) Work 3 more years to get vested in my pension plan.
e) Work 15 more years to reach 30 years of service credit and draw a full pension.
f) Go to law school or information school or B school and prepare for another career.

Probably the best option is to work harder to improve relations with my boss. And develop some alternatives.

I am most proud of what I've done to be a good husband, son and brother.

Interesting times for old lurker.”

“What a great thread. This has been very inspiring.
I'll add a couple things. Remember to take care of yourself. We have obligations to future, family, jobs etc, but don't neglect yourself. Whatever it is that makes you happy or rejuices your battery.
Love everyone, even the ones you'd just asume bump off the edge of a cliff. Everyone we meet in life has something to offer. Its up to us to figure out what it is and take advantage of it. You'll be a lot happier person for it.
Unplug your TV!
Listen to lots of music...its food for the soul.
Strive for knowledge. Read Read Read..
Remember the passion of your youth. Life is like a relationship...the honeymoon phase ends...the passion for life dwindles and you slip into a "comfortable" lifestyle. Don't be afraid to spice it up. Make a career change, move...chase your dreams.
Keep family and friends close to your heart.”

“Great words IJ. I feel like I just re-read Tuesdays with Maurie on that one.”

“The secret to a good life is regularly turning your mattress.

Do this and all else just naturally follows.”

“getting one of those memory foam thingys to go on top of the mattress is also a nice touch...”

“Now you're complicating things.

Simplify, simplify...”

“My in-laws got a memory foam mattress. They hate it.”

“my wife and I really like ours, only problem is its too comfy.........”

“

"Simplify, simplify..."
viOLin

I have. I now have pills to help my memory. So now I guess I no longer have to turn the mattress over. I never could remember to do it anyway. But I could use help to remember to take my pills!”

“Lol, nowslimmer, my wife never can remember to take hers either............and I can't remember to remind her..................”

“I'm with Hobbit. The best thing I ever did was to quit my job as a professional engineer to stay home with my kids in the afternoons. My wife, self employed, kept them in the mornings. We had no benefits that we didn't pay for ourselves now did we get sick or vacation days. If we didn't work, we didn't get paid. Money was tight at times so we made do with what we had.

After 10 years I went back to work as an engineer, mostly because we have a downs syndrome son and the cost of health insurance was getting to be to high (pre-existing condition, no one else would take us and our existing company just kepty going up every year).

Now we are MAKING more money, but that isn't the same as HAVING more money. Now babysitters and afterschool programs take care of our kids. Dinner time is not what it used to be. For 10 years we sat at the table with home cooked meals and plenty of time to talk about our day or play a board game after dinner. Now I rush from work to race my kids to their different afterschool events - basketball, soccer, karate, etc, - and end up ordering pizza, a bucket of chicken, etc. Then we check homework, get them to finish whatever chore they might have skipped, before you know it its bath time and bed time. We rush, rush rush.

Having more money doesn't make you happier.”

“I'm with Hwyway, the best thing I ever did was quit my engineering job 5 months ago to go back to school. I'm digging this whole teaching thing. I no longer wake up in the morning and absolutly dread getting out of bed. I only wish that school started later in the day. :)


And did RL call himself old? Jeesh, ain't he younger than me? And I'm not old yet!”