No. of Recommendations: 18
My father made a casual mention of becoming a millionaire late in life. Obviously in the era he started working, around 1958, a million dollars was something special for someone to shot for. According to my estimate, $1M in 1958 would be close to $11M in today's dollar. I guess he thought it was a nice thing to see before he passed away in late 2021.
Of course many workers of his time were covered by a solid pension so his pension and social security covered his expenses. My brother and I were able to split what savings he had at the end. His biggest expense was probably taking care of my mother, especially the last year in assisted living with a very rare disease.
I think most people now with a solid job don't view $1M as anything special. Obviously there are some people out there knowing that it will never happen for them.
For most people trying to get to $10M+ now is probably as difficult as getting to $1M was in the 1950s/60s. Certainly not impossible for a couple w/o kids and solid jobs but for the vast majority of people not something attainable. And really not even needed.
I'm not sure what my uncle has overall but I know almost all of his RMDs in his 80s go directly to charities. He has been doing this for a long time.
No real point here although being happy is more important than chasing $$$. I've always selected jobs that interested me but didn't require long hours because I knew once my time is gone, I can't get it back. No regrets at all.
Happy New Year.
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 7
I'm not sure what my uncle has overall but I know almost all of his RMDs in his 80s go directly to charities. He has been doing this for a long time.
It is nice to have this flexibility. My only reason for not putting it all in an annuity and taking up golf is if my spouse or I start having massive health care expenses. If I could be guaranteed a nice massive heart attack at age 90 it would be much easier to plan my finances. But even with Medicare and decent health insurance some of these long-term health expenses are very worrying. And Jim's "get a delayed annuity and spend the rest" works only if you have some cap on potential expenses. So I keep trying to increase the port, just because the future is unpredictable. And because I like hanging out here, listening to smart folks disagree.
Rgds,
HH/Sean
No. of Recommendations: 11
<<richinmd
My father made a casual mention of becoming a millionaire late in life. Obviously in the era he started working, around 1958, a million dollars was something special for someone to shot for.>>
Hmmm... two things I identify with:
1958 The first year I earned a real pay check doing a real job. Had to, if I wanted my own car and buy clothes that I liked; AND
$1,000,000 Hmmm, I thought... 1,000,000 socked away in an account at a safe 6%, $60,000 A YEAR! I could live on that!
Things changed a little in the interim. The Mil is there, and then some, but somebody changed the "safe at 6%" bit.
Worked a little longer than I anticipated on the front end. 45 years uninterrupted. Some years good, some really good, others not so good.
Healthier than I have a right to expect.
But it all paid off, so I have no complaints. Well, maybe except for the fact I could have spent more time with kids and family. But they turned out fine, too, in spite of it all. All degreed (along with several of the grandkids), no jail, no drugs, no divorces.
