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I’m terrified of retirement. I’ve got about 30 years to go, and I’m only just now seriously thinking about saving for retirement. My two greatest fears are that

I’m terrified of retirement. I’ve got about 30 years to go, and I’m only just now seriously thinking about saving for retirement. My two greatest fears are that I will retire and have to take a part-time job to make ends meet, or worse, there’s a health crisis that completely wiped us out financially. Our plan is to slowly develop a small real estate portfolio of rental properties to bring in secondary streams of income, as well as some investing, 401(k), and hard assets. But it’s absolutely terrifying. Aside from 401(k), what are some of the ways that you were saving for retirement? Investments? Stocks? Assets and real estate?

brianwawok 5y ago
> there’s a health crisis that completely wiped us out financially Do you have at least catastrophic health insurance? This is a fear you can solve for not that much money.
kevinventullo 5y ago
IRA’s get you a little more tax shelter on top of the 401(k).
splistud 5y ago
If a man is physically fit to work in some capacity, and has learned to live on little income, that man has little to fear. By all means learn to save and invest, but it's not as important as staying healthy, and learning what things you spend money on that are unnecessary to your life, health and happiness.
goostavos 5y ago
I completely share the medical fear. The cost of american health care is absolutely terrifying. I'm only in my 30s, but got a taste of a bleak future when I had to get a whole suite of tests done to weed out what my doc thought may have been a major illness (turned out to be nothing, thankfully!). Those multiple x-rays, an MRI, and visits with specialists basically deleted a chunk of my HSA savings (even with my "good" insurance). fwiw, retirement wise (baring a health event deleting everything), I just do the "invest everything" strategy outlined in books like I Will Teach you to be Rich and Get Rich Slowly. I only keep 7mo of "emergency" cash liquid. All tax protected accounts get maxed out, and everything else goes into an index fund.

brianwawok 5y ago

> there’s a health crisis that completely wiped us out financially Do you have at least catastrophic health insurance? This is a fear you can solve for not that much money.

kevinventullo 5y ago

IRA’s get you a little more tax shelter on top of the 401(k).

splistud 5y ago

If a man is physically fit to work in some capacity, and has learned to live on little income, that man has little to fear. By all means learn to save and invest, but it's not as important as staying healthy, and learning what things you spend money on that are unnecessary to your life, health and happiness.

goostavos 5y ago

I completely share the medical fear. The cost of american health care is absolutely terrifying. I'm only in my 30s, but got a taste of a bleak future when I had to get a whole suite of tests done to weed out what my doc thought may have been a major illness (turned out to be nothing, thankfully!). Those multiple x-rays, an MRI, and visits with specialists basically deleted a chunk of my HSA savings (even with my "good" insurance). fwiw, retirement wise (baring a health event deleting everything), I just do the "invest everything" strategy outlined in books like I Will Teach you to be Rich and Get Rich Slowly. I only keep 7mo of "emergency" cash liquid. All tax protected accounts get maxed out, and everything else goes into an index fund.