> How exactly will my 401k lose half it's value before I retire? Are capital owners going to stop making money or something? Believe it or not, markets go both

> How exactly will my 401k lose half it's value before I retire? Are capital owners going to stop making money or something? Believe it or not, markets go both up and down. While it's true that the S&P 500 has shown great paper profits most of the time, for the longest time, other markets haven't been that lucky: http://www.thebubblebubble.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/nikkei.jpg http://www.thebubblebubble.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ni... We haven't seen the end of a historically unprecedented low-interest phase yet. Even without a breakdown in nominal terms, at current rates of asset price inflation, a million dollars might not afford you a porty-potty in one of the better areas of the country. > It's not what you earn, it's how much you have left over after you pay the bills. Generally speaking, purchasing power in the US is higher and the tax burden is lower. Of course it really depends on where you live. If people earn more, prices will be higher as well. There is cheap housing in the US and expensive housing in Europe. You have to compare "similar" cities, e.g. San Francisco with London: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=San+Francisco%2C+CA&country2=United+Kingdom&city2=London https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou... Also, for socialized healthcare, you will generally pay more than 10% of your paycheck, however high that may be.