Study: Retirement at 65 no longer realistic for many

So, you're in your car, but you still can't start it, right? Did you have a spare set in the car?

I suppose Panama City is cheaper than Chicago, but at $55.00 a pop down there, you'd live pretty well if you opened 5-12 cars a day.

 

Wife had her purse in the car. And it is a major tourist town. He could have charged $120 and no one would bat an eye. And he was even set up to take credit cards on the spot.

 

Got it. Lucky you had a second set of keys.

There's a relatively new gadget called Square:

https://squareup.com/

It allows you to use your iPhone to accept credit cards and you don't need your own credit card processing account.

All of the food truck guys in Chicago are using it.

 

Or you could just join AAA, where opening your car is free. With the maps, travel planning service, towing service and taking the place of the local DMV for license renewal, its well worth the $60 or so a year.

 

YF, I use Square myself and it is a great device. Simple, instant invoice for the buyer and a good rate for credit transactions-2.75 percent flat fee.

Bob: I agree on the health care point. Without the ACA I'd be far more hesitant to do what I'm doing now, and if it gets repealed I'd have to reconsider my occupation. Never understood why the democrats didn't promote the bill in those terms. Then again there's a lot they did in that period I questioned.

 

Saw a musician friend of mine last night and she's got one of those things. Looked a hell of a lot simpler than the old carbon press thing she had a few years ago.

 

Really? I started my 401 at 26 or 27 and my prospectus still says I'm fucked. How much are you putting away per week? Because I'm not even close to being able to start nest egg.

 

Most of these formulas say you need 85 percent of your pre-retirement income in retirement.

I think that's nuts. Assuming your house is paid for and you qualify for Medicare, your two biggest expenses (mortgage and health insurance) won't exist. So you might be in better shape than the formula says.

I put away about $143 per week.

 

I am on the Budd Dwyer retirement plan

 

You don't have to be rich at 25 to fund your 401k. If you aren't putting enough into your 401k every week to at least the your full employer match, you are just throwing money away. I started my 401k when I was 23 and I was making a low-level starting journalist salary. I didn't go on crazy vacations. I didn't buy a big screen TV. I didn't have a nice apartment... but I won't be working when I am 75. It's a trade off. If you decide you have to have nice stuff immediately, don't expect to have an easier retirement.

 

My solution is to eat so many porterhouses and drink so many Guinesses that 65 is a remote possibility. I can do it. I know I can.

 

Jesus! If I could afford to put away $143 I wouldn't need to worry about retirement either. My paycheck is barely $60 above that.

Sigh. I guess that's why I work two jobs.