Comments on: A Closer Look At Money Magazine’s Retirement Benchmarks http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Craig http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-227221 Craig Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:13:13 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-227221 So where is someone going to get this hypothetical 9% per year on their savings? The stock market has gone up about 13% in the past 8 years total, not per year. (^DJI was at 11,114 on 4/6/00, it’s now at 12,609.)

Bonds are paying about 3.4%. Real estate is nose diving.

Here’s another problem with this formula: Assuming I get to 3.5 times my salary at age 40 (I did), how do I get to 5.8 times my salary by age 45, in just five years? After taxes, I only take home 3 times my single-year salary in five years, and there’s stuff like food and housing to pay for from that.

]]> By: nitsuj http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-15103 nitsuj Tue, 03 Apr 2007 04:54:51 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-15103 Nice article just one question … how realistic is the 9% interest?
You should/could get this from Stocks/funds but it’s not definite.
So how much can you be sure of getting… about 4%? maybe 5%?
How do the numbers look then? – I’m not saying the numbers are wrong just asking for a ‘realistic’ comparison.
Thanks

]]> By: Chris http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-14959 Chris Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:41:00 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-14959 The problem with the plan of working till 75 is that often times it’s impossible. What happens when you have back problems and can’t work in that ideal shop in that flower store any more? You have to have something to fall back on, and it has to be a big something to last you the rest of your life. Yes, lots of people work into old age, but the difference is if they are forced to or not.

]]> By: TiP http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-14894 TiP Mon, 02 Apr 2007 06:15:33 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/01/a-closer-look-at-money-magazines-retirement-benchmarks/#comment-14894 Hasn’t the whole concept of retirement, as in a total leisure lifestyle without any income at all, sort of become passe at this point? I don’t know of many people who think they’ll be retiring at 60, let alone 65. Certainly most of us expect to work at least part time even well into our 70s.

It seems to me that a better plan than retirement is to find some kind of work that you enjoy doing and that you’ll be able to do well into your 70s. I suspect that most people 45 and under won’t be “retiring” in the oldschool sense until about 75, so best to find something you enjoy doing.

I also don’t think that the oldschool retirement is healthy at all. Best to keep body and mind active.

Oh, and one more point: I often think that retirement is wasted on old age. Better to take that year or two off when you’re still healthy enough to travel. I did this a few years ago when I was 39 – took a year and a half off to travel (inexpensively), study, write, etc. I called it my first retirement. I hope to take another year or so off around age 50.

My father retired a few years back at 65, but my parents are not able to travel because of my mother’s back problems. That showed me that waiting to enjoy life really isn’t a good plan. Best to enjoy now.

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