Personal Retirement Funds

[pilotyip]

wonderfull, needaraise, Good for you, but you are out of touch with rest of the real world out here. There is an element of luck and timing that has a lot more to do with your position that skill and desire.

 

[Dangerkitty]

Dangerkitty,

Are you suggesting that I pay off $55000 in student loans before I start a 401(k)? Some of those rates are obscenely low (in three years 15k of that will be at 1.825%, the rest is at 6.5% give or take) and if I accelerate payments at a rate I would consider to be obscene (1,000/mo given my income) it would still take 4 to 5 years to pay off. Is the total interest I'm paying on the loan worth sacrificing the 100% company match on my 401k at this point?

Yes, that is what I am saying. I know it sucks to miss out on company matches with 401k's but use that as your motivation to get out of debt, FOREVER.

You stated that if you make obscene payments to pay down your debt it would take you 4-5 years to pay it off. Well, what if you pay half that? Then it's going to take you 10 years to pay that off. If you pay off your debt and pay it off NOW you can then use your biggest wealth building tool (your job) to start building a financial nest egg for the future.

I dont know your situation, but if you could somehow take on a second job and bring in some extra income then you could really bust your tail to get your debt paid off. Think about it. What if you paid $1,000 a month towards your debt and got another part time job bringing in another $1,000 a month.

With $2,000 a month going towards your debt you could have that loan knocked out in just over 2 years or so. You then have nothing in your way developiing a HUGE pile of cash for your future. I know it would suck for a few years trying to get all that paid off but you will be in a much much better financial position if your do so.

Most people are resolved to the fact that the will never get out of debt. Thats why people who seem rich are actually flat broke.

Being in debt is only a scam brought on by the banking industry and the credit card agencies that have been adopted by the general public. When you are deeply in debt you have no chance getting financially secure unless you break that cycle. Being in debt only means you are getting the banks wealthy.

 

[needapayraise]

wonderfull, needaraise, Good for you, but you are out of touch with rest of the real world out here. There is an element of luck and timing that has a lot more to do with your position that skill and desire.

Luck, timing, skill or desire is irrelevant. The fact is that I'm here and there are still places where you can safely and comfortably retire on a company retirement plan alone. My personal saving and investments are just icing on the cake.

Regardless of whether you have a company retirement plan or not the old adage of pay yourself first is still generally good advice.

 

[JohnDoe]

quote:
"The fact is that I'm here and there are still places where you can safely and comfortably retire on a company retirement plan alone."



Still find it hard to believe, with everything that has happened in this industry over the last 4-5 years, that some people still think it "can't happen to me."

 

[needapayraise]

quote:
"The fact is that I'm here and there are still places where you can safely and comfortably retire on a company retirement plan alone."



Still find it hard to believe, with everything that has happened in this industry over the last 4-5 years, that some people still think it "can't happen to me."

I'm not in the same "industry" as you. I don't work for an "airline". I'm willing to "risk" that my "primary" retirement funds will come from UPS. I'm also investing and saving on my own, so that's icing on the UPS retirement cake.
Let's look at what's happened to UPS in the last 4-5 years as you stated. UPS has made record profits and has had it best years in it's history during that time frame. Once again, UPS in NOT an airline. We are not subject to the problems in the airline industry.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Luck, timing, skill or desire is irrelevant. The fact is that I'm here and there are still places where you can safely and comfortably retire on a company retirement plan alone. My personal saving and investments are just icing on the cake.

Regardless of whether you have a company retirement plan or not the old adage of pay yourself first is still generally good advice.

he's 39 and banking on that UPS pension to be there in 30yrs

sounds like a Delta pilot to me.

scary.

 

[bafanguy]

... pension to be there in 30yrs

sounds like a Delta pilot to me.

scary.

Don't worry, we've been slapped by the first lesson with the "final" lesson to follow shortly.

 

[pilotyip]

Reminds me of when I was jumpseating in the DAL cockpit back before 911. I talking to the pilots, both had been in the reserves as pilots one USAF and one USN. They had both stopped drilling in the mid 90's after about 14 years of service. I mentioned that the military retirement at age 60 was something I was really counting on. I felt it was worth keeping in my back pocket since my spotted career had no pension. They both said it would be not much compared to their DAL retirement, and it was not worth giving up family time, and QOL to drill for another 6 years. I wonder if they are calling any guard and reserve unit right now?

 

[needapayraise]

he's 39 and banking on that UPS pension to be there in 30yrs

sounds like a Delta pilot to me.

scary.

Boy, you pax guys are sure jaded, and with good reason, about pensions, but UPS is NOT an airline! As much as I hate working here, this place has been in business almost 100yrs and is one of only a handful of AAA rated companies in the world. Our pension is going to be in the SAME plan as the managers. If they go after ours, they will be going after their own and you and I know that aint gonna happen. UPS has also been it's most profitable SINCE 9-11. I know it's hard for someone that doesn't work here to understand, but this place is a profit generating machine and I'm more that willing to stake PART of my retirement plan on having a UPS pension in 21yrs.

 

[Immelman]

I have been maxing out my 401k for a while now. If you can afford it, its great if for no other than to see the portion of your paycheck going to King George being greatly reduced. Remember, 401k contribs skim off the top, before taxes come along... so for every dollar you put into the 401k, ~70 cents or so is what comes out of your net pay.