JHZR2
Staff member
We do that already. Good example to set for kids. You don’t need millions to do it.
But good point.
How far will $1 Million go in retirement in your state?
- Thread starter gfh77665
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But good point.
Chart confirms that on average, Florida is just about as expensive to live as Maryland and Virginia.
Respectfully, the world revolves around money. Sometimes a special gift can jumpstart generational well being.
Just my 2 cents... All good.
And the timing of that gift can be critical.
I've always wanted to pass down a good bit of money to my kids. But as things played out, I realize that by the time I'll probably go, they'll all be old enough to be on a stable footing and unlikely to need it and/or it won't have as big of an impact on their life. If I gave them money, long before I go, it could have a more meaningful impact on their lives.
Timing is only everything.
My Mother told me, "If you wait too long to help, it may be too late." I won't tell you my father was a mean man...
My wife told me, "You have family now. You take care of them." This was in regards to family members I did not know; my nephew passed away tragically leaving his wife with 2 sets of twin girls. They have become a bright spot, and highly meaningful, in my life.
Having come from homelessness, my perspective may be different from others. I know the other side of life.
This is our strategy.
We struggled along for years. A few hundred bucks when my kids were babies would have meant much more at the time than my parents or inlaws entire estate would now.
It's interesting to hear perspectives on how much is needed. My parents are long retired and don't have millions saved up, but with Canada pension plan, and my mother's indexed pension, they don't extract much from savings year over year yet(they are in their late 70's), even while doing some world travels. They haven't paid a mortgage in 30 years though, and their house has been maintained well so its not costing much at all. They keep active and eat right and have been fortunate to avoid any serious medical issues.
To me it seems nuts to have a mortgage or car payment going into retirement, (unless its nearly interest free) but I guess not everywhere is as affordable to live now as it was when they bought.
They did almost buy a monster mcmansion house in their mid-life crisis/materialist stage in their early 50's, which would've been good to sell now given the huge increase in prices here, but if real estate stayed flat like many states, it would've been a tremendous money suck for decades...
To me it seems nuts to have a mortgage or car payment going into retirement, (unless its nearly interest free) but I guess not everywhere is as affordable to live now as it was when they bought.
They did almost buy a monster mcmansion house in their mid-life crisis/materialist stage in their early 50's, which would've been good to sell now given the huge increase in prices here, but if real estate stayed flat like many states, it would've been a tremendous money suck for decades...
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
With the going rate, I should be good to go for a solid 2.25 years. Pretty pumped.
I guess I still don't understand the consternation about it.
My retirement income plan has it factored in. If this income plan now requires 75% of my pre-retirement salary as retirement income target, so be it. That just means my account balances need to be higher.
If I don't want a mortgage accounted for in my retirmenet, I could retire with less in the bank, but it'd need to be paid off.
It's not like I'm taking a retirement plan that doesn't account for it and all of sudden trying to stuff a mortgage payment in it.
Thats a generalized guidline, but many would not agree with it. There are better ways, IMO, than committing to 4 or 4.7 per year, regardless.
One strategy it to "bank" any annual return above 4% in a cash equivlent account, then utilize those funds when the market is down or flat, to prevent from pulling more out during a downturn. Say a portfolio makes 9% in a year. Use 4%, and bank 5%. The next year is down 8%, so instead of pulling and locking in a loss, use the 4% of the 5% in the cash account you just set aside. And so on. This would for the most part let you run mostly on positive market returns instead of eating up principal waiting for market downturns to reverse and recover.
IMO, it's back of the napkin number, not some serious must-do thing. Everyone's actual plan is different.
JHZR2
Staff member
Point is simply that you can affect others’ lives without having excess $MM in the bank. Reality is that some of the biggest impacts to most folks’ lives has been made through folks that don’t have $MM.
Having more money is obviously beneficial to have more of an impact. It is not a prerequisite to making an impact…
Sometimes a big gift does people worse, if they don’t have the mindset and discipline. That mindset and discipline ultimately is imparted to most folks by others with less means, when you look at the population and the numbers.
Look at folks that get a free car and destroy it, or folks that win the lottery and are broke years later.
No disagreement there. A large gift has to be for a special need; generally once in a lifetime. The recipiant has to make a solid case with expected results, and above all, commitment. The need has to be life changing, depending on the value.
College.
Home down payment help for those with special needs. There are variations of home associated help.
Cheap ($5K; $10K max) work/school car. So I can do more oil changes and check tire pressures...
Medical.
JHZR2, as you point out, there are all kinds of help. Spot on. A pair of shoes can be amazing. I also believe there are people in my life for a reason.
I show my grand nieces my Schwab account. Why? So I can tell them if I can do it, there is no denying they can do it, if they want it. And I tell them if you want this now, go buy a lottery ticket because I don't know about short term methods. It takes time, commitment, mistakes. But the answers are there if you are willing to seek them out. And one day you may be able to change someone's life.
Again, as you say, there is more to it than money. We have been taking one of my grand nieces to the Stanford U Astronomy Lectures. Walk the campus with her... She wants more... And I couldn't be more pleased. There is no one in her life who has the background to do this.
We gave our 3 adult children down payments for their house…. 4th child in a few years so another gift to help them buy something they can afford in a decent area.
ZERO money for weddings, no birthday or Christmas presents.
Most colleagues their age wish to be in the same housing situation with help from parents.
Military and tuition reimbursement at their jobs paid for their educations so we felt it was fair to help with buying a house.
ZERO money for weddings, no birthday or Christmas presents.
Most colleagues their age wish to be in the same housing situation with help from parents.
Military and tuition reimbursement at their jobs paid for their educations so we felt it was fair to help with buying a house.
Are there weird rules around that? I've always had banks ask me questions about where the downpayment was coming from, and whether it was borrowed.
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One of our best friends, imho give a lot to their kids. Ice hockey, golf, prep school, Lexus at 16, and for the daughter, similar.
She quit ice hockey before the hitting started and there were only 3 girls on her team, so she switched to field hockey and lacrosse, prep school.
They're just ordinary people, not CPA partners like some of the other parents. I would argue, is all of that a must. It's a huge sacrifice, and admirable. I'd love to be your kid!
Sometimes I think parents feel really good when they give something to their own children, which I respect. But there are other times, I feel it's too much and I hope deep down inside the kids appreciate the actions. One pet peeve I have is a 16 y.o. doubling the parents' auto insurance.
I do look in the mirror. With hand me downs factored in, my budget for my own kid and ice hockey has no limit. If he were at the level of the Jr. Flyers, I'd do the $30k/yr it costs. For others up in New England, think of the Boston Junior Whalers.
She quit ice hockey before the hitting started and there were only 3 girls on her team, so she switched to field hockey and lacrosse, prep school.
They're just ordinary people, not CPA partners like some of the other parents. I would argue, is all of that a must. It's a huge sacrifice, and admirable. I'd love to be your kid!
Sometimes I think parents feel really good when they give something to their own children, which I respect. But there are other times, I feel it's too much and I hope deep down inside the kids appreciate the actions. One pet peeve I have is a 16 y.o. doubling the parents' auto insurance.
I do look in the mirror. With hand me downs factored in, my budget for my own kid and ice hockey has no limit. If he were at the level of the Jr. Flyers, I'd do the $30k/yr it costs. For others up in New England, think of the Boston Junior Whalers.
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What's the point in retiring unless you can do it in Caligulan splendor?
I 'retired' 23 years ago today. There's still not enough time in the day for all the things I want to do.
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That’s the thing. Living it up now, means no splendor then. I’m willing to bet many don’t care either and have no intention of paying debts off. Otherwise math often doesn’t add up imho