asacimesp

FREE!!!!! Hahahahahahaha...... you must be joking. My wife is by far my most expensive "asset".

BobZ

Never meant to say they arent.

Its just that taking the marital off ramp midstream is just about the most damaging financial event one could experience.

gloopy

Maybe, but a gaggle of 6 figure college spending per head gives it a run for the money

NoDeskJob

Or just let them foot their own bill.

mispoken

I usually hear real estate (typically from real estate investors) that it’s the best way to make money. I question that. I’ve read arguments on both sides and confirmation bias will probably lead you to info supporting you particular style.

For me, investing in securities is the ultimate way to create wealth, because I’m lazy. It’s not capital or time intensive (although it can be if you want) and you can easily generate outsized returns and income with leveraged options. It’s not as scary as it sounds and can be done so conservatively if you take the time to learn how to use them. For me, this is part of my plan to generate additional growth while I’m working and income while I’m in retirement.

If all goes well, 30 years from now my retirement account should be quite hefty and that coupled with some leveraged options, I think generating enough to live off of will be possible very conservatively. But then again, a lot can happen between now and 30 years from now.

I do believe that real estate should be part of everyone’s portfolio, though either through physical ownership or a good REIT.

badflaps

The only thing that saved me from a sad retirement was real estate.

flap

Funny you mention the age angle.

Previous communications showed average account balance by age. We told the record keeper that there was not much value in those numbers from a motivational standpoint, as there are 23 and 50 year olds in the same new hire class.

By showing average account balance by years of service, a pilot can look at a single item and see how they stack up.

It opens a conversation and makes them look at their own savings habits, their choice in investments, and potentially the effectiveness of their advisor.

If you think you are doing fine as their are two commas, maybe a good thing to see that the average account balance for other people hired at the same time is 50% larger than yours.

Yes this but a single data point in a large retirement readiness picture, but typically it is the single biggest data point.

crewdawg

Oh man, insinuate that to some and you better have your flack jacket on! However, to an extent, I don't disagree.

TED74

The problem is, it isn't a data point. It's data, but you can point to where it lies if you don't know what their other holdings are, or if they have 5 or 35 years to retirement. If you're 25 and have $1M, my hat's off to you. If you're 50 and have $1M, you might have some work to do. If you just left the military two years ago at 50, have a DPSP of $80k, that data could make one cringe. But he might also have a full O-6 life-long pension and $2.5M in the TSP (that aren't reflected in this report). How is this limited picture helpful?

If someone only wants a single data point and wants to motivate (or congratulate) themselves, they should consider plotting their years-to-retirement vs. savings as a function of annual income. See if you're where professional estate planners suggest you be.

But I give... if this data will complete your personal financial evaluation, then have at it. I've heard crazier things before.