Retirement?

Can you lighten up? It was a snide way of noting that some of us are pretty unsophisticated about this stuff as compared to the person who deals in it for a living.

 

My parents paid for our undergraduate educations. I'll give them that. That's definitely not nothing. And they never made a big deal about it. But my dad was absolutely obsessed, otherwise, with the idea that his kids were grow up lazy. The day I turned 16, I had to go out looking for a part-time job. One summer I came home, and on day 1 stopped into the newspaper office that day to let them know I was available to string. I remember the old man bitching me out that night because I went out with friends instead of already scoring an assignment.

It's sad, though, because he was unhealthy and mad at the world by the end. I doubt he could have told you what law school either of us went to. He just didn't give a shit any more. And here it worked - both kids highly educated and gainfully employed doing something that impressed people. (Although it shouldn't.) All he had ever wanted.

 

My primary longterm objective is to leave my daughter as comfortable and free of financial stress as possible. I'm paying for her education and she will eventually be left with considerable assets if I do this right. She's also gotten off to a great start herself and has maxed out her contributions to her Vanguard account the first two years since graduating, so she's starting her professional life in very good position. Keep in mind that at some point in the future she will also take over as the primary guardian for my son who has Down syndrome.

 

I started saving in my early 20s.

All it meant was I got fucked even harder in 2008.

 

My brother says the same thing, and I don't get it.

The market came back. Came way back and then some. Unless you just bailed in 2008 and said "Fuck it. I'm out", how did 2008 cripple the typical 401(k) investor? Just seems like Dollar Cost Averaging nirvana to those who stayed the course.

 

I was laid off a few months later, and I opted to take the few grand I had left in a lump-sum payout, because more shit happened and I needed cash.

 

I made an even better investment before that - I bought a house I planned to flip in a few years. Why throw money away on rent!

 

@cranberry and @The Big Ragu have regular financial planning meetings at which they hash out retirement plans for one another. They've recently discussed having one in the press box at Lincoln Financial, but word is that the folks in charge there are pretty particular about discussion tone and volume.

 

@cranberry? Your turn ...