4 ms·

IMO a major issue is the expectance of someone else to take care of "me". I know that I'm retired for ~30 out of 80 years of my life and thus have to save ~3/8t

IMO a major issue is the expectance of someone else to take care of "me". I know that I'm retired for ~30 out of 80 years of my life and thus have to save ~3/8ths of my income, else starve. (Yes, some modifiers for tax brackets, compounding blah blah...) In the past people's children were the "investment" that paid the dividends into old age. Now we no longer have children to bear the burden. Yet we spend the normally sacrificed dollars on lattes, world travel, iphones (and whatever icon of excess you choose). I realize many people say its "hard" to save these days. But I also think there is some spectrum involved with doing what pays vs what one "wants" and ensuring one's lifestyle matches their actual ranked income in a society. (ie, if you earn on the 10th percentile, then you probably should be spending on the 10th percentile on dinners out or whatever icon of excess you want to pick on.)

gedy 9y ago
I hear a lot about the nickel and dime stuff on how to save, but most people get eaten up by interest on home and education loans and medical costs. The other issue is interest rates being so low it amounts to a war on savings that neither party seems to willing to do anything about.
- Rebelgecko 9y ago
  You can't have it both ways. Increasing interest helps people that save but hurts people that are taking out loans.
- JoshTriplett 9y ago
  > The other issue is interest rates being so low it amounts to a war on savings I used to think this; then I discovered index funds, and stopped keeping money in a savings account.
  - njarboe 9y ago
    How did you feel in the 2008 crash? No snark, just wondering how that was versus a savings account.
    - maerF0x0 9y ago
      VTI is up ~200% since the bottom. If he bought (dollar cost averaging) and held. Probably feels great.
      - njarboe 9y ago
        He would feel great now. Just wondering his attitude when his "savings" dropped ~50% 2008-2009. Most people can't handle saving a million dollars over 25 years and have it drop in half over 6 months. The pain is too much. Avoiding this situation (and other reasons) is why pensions are better for most people.
    - JoshTriplett 9y ago
      The best way I ever heard it described was "the market is on sale right now".
      - fibbery 9y ago
        So you invested in the run up to the crash as well? Or only started investing in 2009+ (also known as a sweet summer child :)
    - imtringued 9y ago
      If you don't need to liquidate it doesn't matter.
snuxoll 9y ago
Jobs are a huge motivation in paying for the retirement of our senior citizens. The more people we can get to go into retirement the more jobs are open for the younger generations, and then we also get the societal feel good of taking care of the elderly after they've (likely) worked their butts off for 40+ years. Well, at least until the robots come - then retirement will be the least of our issues.
mulmen 9y ago
So for the 10th percentile of earners dinner is an excess? Does this income allocation apply in the other direction? If I start selling $10,000.00 chicken sandwiches should the top earners by income buy from me because that's their place?
- maerF0x0 9y ago
  How about a $2000 hamburger? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbvg_jiL64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbvg_jiL64

gedy 9y ago

I hear a lot about the nickel and dime stuff on how to save, but most people get eaten up by interest on home and education loans and medical costs. The other issue is interest rates being so low it amounts to a war on savings that neither party seems to willing to do anything about.

Rebelgecko 9y ago
You can't have it both ways. Increasing interest helps people that save but hurts people that are taking out loans.
JoshTriplett 9y ago
> The other issue is interest rates being so low it amounts to a war on savings I used to think this; then I discovered index funds, and stopped keeping money in a savings account.
- njarboe 9y ago
  How did you feel in the 2008 crash? No snark, just wondering how that was versus a savings account.
  - maerF0x0 9y ago
    VTI is up ~200% since the bottom. If he bought (dollar cost averaging) and held. Probably feels great.
    - njarboe 9y ago
      He would feel great now. Just wondering his attitude when his "savings" dropped ~50% 2008-2009. Most people can't handle saving a million dollars over 25 years and have it drop in half over 6 months. The pain is too much. Avoiding this situation (and other reasons) is why pensions are better for most people.
  - JoshTriplett 9y ago
    The best way I ever heard it described was "the market is on sale right now".
    - fibbery 9y ago
      So you invested in the run up to the crash as well? Or only started investing in 2009+ (also known as a sweet summer child :)
  - imtringued 9y ago
    If you don't need to liquidate it doesn't matter.

snuxoll 9y ago

Jobs are a huge motivation in paying for the retirement of our senior citizens. The more people we can get to go into retirement the more jobs are open for the younger generations, and then we also get the societal feel good of taking care of the elderly after they've (likely) worked their butts off for 40+ years. Well, at least until the robots come - then retirement will be the least of our issues.

mulmen 9y ago

So for the 10th percentile of earners dinner is an excess? Does this income allocation apply in the other direction? If I start selling $10,000.00 chicken sandwiches should the top earners by income buy from me because that's their place?

maerF0x0 9y ago
How about a $2000 hamburger? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbvg_jiL64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJbvg_jiL64