by Simon 48 Replies latest social family
SIMON:
It was very good of you to post this and it is almost a humanitarian gesture to help a lot of ex-JWs (and current ones who lurk here).👍
Many JWs who are born-ins and denied education (even in practical things) are lacking in knowledge about something as important as retirement.
Thankfully, I ignored the religion's criticisms and never quit my full-time job, and am retired now!
You might want to dedicate a section of the forum for practical advice like this!
You might want to dedicate a section of the forum for practical advice like this!
Thanks, I have some ideas for better forum categories. Just have some technical things to change first but watch this space (well, not this space ... there will be a space ... watch for that space)
I think the biggest factor for exJWs is the mental effort to face it. Retirement planning is one of those things that you don't need to to today, or tomorrow, or the day after that ... but at some point it becomes more and more difficult if you don't.
Making an honest assessment is the first step but I wanted to try and remind people not to get too down if they do that and see things as hopeless - it never is, you can always make things better.
Have your savings automatically deducted from your paycheck so you never even think of it as money to spend. My husband has always diverted 6% of his income to his 401k. That's the max they provide a match for (88%). We've never missed that money because we haven't had to move it anywhere. It's always been automatic. Now, we've finally got 6 digits saved for retirement!
Also, in addition to life insurance, consider disability insurance, especially if you do physical labor. The likelihood of being disabled is shockingly high. If it happens at work, you will be covered, but if it doesn't, you are faced with a devastating possibility of not being able to work and support yourself. Our policy covers 50% of my husband's income for up to two years and it's very inexpensive. And, yes, my husband has hurt himself. His body is pretty beat up from 25 years of physical labor.
Good advice, all. We have done pretty well except I graduated from college with lots of student debt right after the economy melted down and have not found a good, permanent job. So, student loans are killing our financial health right now.
Oh, almost forgot. If you have investments that wil automatically rebalance themselves, definitely sign up for that option.
We have a fund that we keep 80% stocks and 20% bonds. If one sector or the other is making more money and we're too heavy in either category, it automatically reinvests the entire amount with the appropriate split.
This manages your risk and does it for you automatically.
I believe in automaticity. It makes your finances lazy-proof.
What happen if you have medical expenses. A JW ex-friend had a nice
nest egg, but his medical expenses depleted his nest. His insurance only
covered a certain amount. You have this other friend that never saved a penny,
but he have a guarantee incomes until the day he dies and unlimited health care, substantial income that comes in every month and no agency can touch.
It's a bitch growing old....Which guy is better off????
Thank you Simon for starting this very educational and necessary topic as many of us are at the age where we are starting to think retirement.
Good advice Simon, but this something to watch for.
Failing health could drain your retirement saving.
www.investopedia.com/retirement/07/ long-term-care.asp
Giordano: Dubstepped: I'm looking at a Roth IRA invested in good index funds from here to retirement.
"in his recently released letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett gives us a glimpse into how he views long-term investing. As arguably the greatest stock picker of our time, his perspectives may surprise you.
Buffett describes advice he has left in his will as to how the trustee should invest money Buffett is leaving for his wife. Here’s Buffett’s advice:
“My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10 percent of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90 percent in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.)”
I left the organization early so I started a Roth IRA in 1998 and a 401k in 1995. I still plan to work another 25 years so i should be sitting decent at 63.
Even if you're 50 you can save something before 65. But really, any financial advice is so dependent on the person. How old are you? Are you healthy to continue working for another 10, 15, or 20 years? What country you live in? Taxes are a big factor. Try deciding on various tax accounts in your early twenties, and not having a clue what tax laws will exist in 45 years.
One thing too is for me retirement is not a big deal but my daughter and future children education is. I starting paying for my daughters education when she was born. It will be paid off before she is 12, all four years. I don't even plan on retiring but working or doing what I like. That is what retirement means to me. Having the financial ability to do what I want and not worry how much that "job" pays.
I would like to join Dr. without borders and help provide nursing care, but can't afford to do that now but hoping I can when I retire.
My advice to financial well being is:
