I feel like it's taken forever to get here - seeing as how I've worked since I was 15 and a half...but we're here now.
Just as of this past month, my wife and I combined broke what I considered our first major retirement milestone: $100K saved. Between 2 401K accounts, 2 Roth IRA accounts and 1 joint savings account.
I figured this was a blog more steered towards my #1 goal in life and it's been some time since I've updated everyone on my/our status. Well, not really, I guess I did talk about the market falling off less than 2 months ago. And I still think we've got farther to drop once all of this stimulus runs it's course through the market...
But I wanted to mention this to everyone because even though you may think we're doing alright - I'm unfortunately not as far ahead as I'd like to be.
This is one of my favorite retirement calculators.
Years ago I wanted to retire by 42. Then I kind of pushed it back seeing as how that was 15 years from now. Sure, I can still get lucky, but the chances of making it there are slim.
So I pushed it back a few years. I figured 45.
But the spending ended up being a lot higher in my life than I expected it to be (unfortunately not much of my doing) and my income hasn't really picked up until lately.
Now, since my layoff at the beginning of August I've decided 45 may just be a pipe dream (amazing how quickly I can change my dates - and all within a few years). I'm now pushing back my retirement age (for both me and my wife) to 52. I know, that is so far away - and from everyone I've spoken with that is nearing that age (or older) they laugh at me and say "that's so young!".
I know it is - but it's not really "retirement". It's "financial freedom". So every day instead of having to go to work, I will want to go work. And if I don't want to? No big deal. And with the days zooming by lately (anyone see where the past 2 months went?) I think my 30s and 40s will be gone before I know it (very scary).
So, per the calculator I linked, we have an 86% chance of making it to our goal of retirement at 52 and not out living our money with a life expectancy of 90. But that's assuming so many things (which is also scary). That assumes we continue to both have jobs and earn good money. It assumes a 7% yearly return on investment (IMO unlikely). It assumes inflation won't run rampant - which I think it will even within the next 3-5 years.
There are so many "ifs" right now that it's an extremely daunting task trying to account for them all. So the best I can do is just to continue to check off those milestones. Next up, $250K, $500K then our first cool million. My mini-goal is to be a millionaire in cash by the time I'm 40. It's unlikely but a boy's gotta have dreams right?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Typical Skeptic
I've always questioned 9/11.
But seeing this clip has solidified my belief that it was all part of a master plan - that the terrorists were just an easy scapegoat.
You can read more about it on wiki and the whole reason I got in to this - Charlie Sheen's 20 Minutes with the President.
I'd recommend getting straight to the numbered points that he makes.
Just remember - you are always expendable. Things are always just a "coincidence".
But seeing this clip has solidified my belief that it was all part of a master plan - that the terrorists were just an easy scapegoat.
You can read more about it on wiki and the whole reason I got in to this - Charlie Sheen's 20 Minutes with the President.
I'd recommend getting straight to the numbered points that he makes.
Just remember - you are always expendable. Things are always just a "coincidence".
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Rando Thoughts October 09
Haven't had one of these in some time.
So
Here we go.
Sometimes when I am petting my dog I expect her to look up at me and say, "Thanks."
Or something more than that. But just a couple words because, you know, an entire sentence might be a little too much to take on at that point.
I imagine myself freaking out. Dancing around the room. Going to grab my camera to record some video of her talking. Although I think it would be awesome and we'd probably become super famous millionaires from all the publicity, I kind of like the amount of non-talking she does. Even though her bark is enough to drive me mad.
That reminds me of the news I watched in Florida this past weekend. They showed a dog who could read. I didn't get it. Or, I was trying to figure out a way that the owner could've trained the dog to read without really reading. Like if he had the flash cards in the same order every time. Or if he was making secret gestures or changing his body language every time he changed a card. Because dogs can pick up on stuff like that. They have to. They can't talk. Or read. Yet.
My cousin emailed me this link. I try to do my part to help out with the environment. I hardly ever consume anything (cause I'm cheap). I don't drink bottled waters. I recycle even though they don't do curbside pick up here. Yes, I have to bring my recycling all the way to the local recycling center here. After letting it pile up for 2 weeks it's usually time to bring it in.
But seeing this kind of stuff is heart breaking. I know I shouldn't care, heck I ate probably an entire chicken today - but these birds were free. Not like farm raised animals who are going to be killed regardless.
I see stuff like this and think, "It's useless. We're screwed." But then I wonder if one of my theories about the human race will become true. If we'll start to decay as a species instead of evolving. And because of the decay there will be less of us, therefore less consumption. Throw in the whole drive for leaner, more efficient processes = less jobs = less money to buy food = war possibly? Probably not - they'll probably be some talking head on TV pounding the table about the "resiliency of the human race". See how I changed those last two words there? Because in the future it'll be different. A little.
I saw my senior manager and her husband at the grocery store this evening. And it was kind of odd seeing as how I was just busting my arse for her a couple hours prior. It was almost like seeing your teacher at the grocery store. Kind of awkward...but not as bad. It's easy to run in to coworkers out here because they take over half of the property that we're currently living in.
As we walked out of the grocery store I was thinking, "I wonder where those two stand in their circle of friends and family?" Being a senior manager at one of the largest companies in the world is definitely going to have it's perks. And her husband works there too. She's already talked to me about her 401k cause I had shared that I had an interest in finance related things. So I know where she stands there (and I'll leave the readers hanging on for something that I won't publish) but I don't know how she stands socially.
I mean, from what I've seen she's really given up a lot of her life/soul in to this company - and I see it in my wife's mother too. Both women sticking with their jobs for over 20 years - companies that have paid for their lives, but at the same times have taken a majority of it away from them. Terrible to think about it that way but...I do.
Anyway, I couldn't help but look at them in the grocery store and almost see a 30 year reflection of the wife and me. Would that be us in 28 years? Are they happy? Obviously they're still together so they must have done something right.
But every story is different. And the best I can do is take the good from other relationships and try to apply it and leave out the rest.
I'm getting no sleep. I feel like I nap every night. Usually I get 6 hours a night of sleep and that's "good enough". I like to get 7. But now I'm getting 5 at most, sometimes 4. Because I'm still trying to live my "pre-overtime" life outside of work, fitting in all my standard activities (blogging *cough*) while working all day.
I am always told, "You can't keep burning the candles on both ends."
It's, "I can't" never did anything. It's "did" that did it.
Probably screwed that up, because I always do.
I am struggling with buying this Garmin GPS. Why? Because it's almost late October. Which means November is coming up. Which means that Black Friday/ridiculous holiday deals are almost here.
But here's the problem: We have family coming in for Thanksgiving. We'll "need" the GPS by the time they get here. ("Need" is in quotations because we've lived without it this far, so why do I need it now? Ugh...)
We drove across the country with a borrowed GPS - one not as cool as this one, but still pretty awesome. And it made life a little bit easier. I was skeptical at first, but after it got us to 3 destinations properly (without any crazy u-turns) I trusted it.
So...to put it in list form:
Pros: "Need" to drive around (for vacations, back across the country)
Saves time/paper by not needing to print up directions anymore
Saves time by not getting lost anymore after reading said printed directions
Saves anger/frustration from getting lost (which happens about 10% of the time - e.g. really lost and having to ask directions)
Gives us the ability to find healthier options/more interesting for food on road trips instead of just going to the nearest McDonalds.
Cons: Money. Always the money. Can I buy this cheaper in a month?
MSN direct services is free for 3 months after puchase. Wouldn't I want this service on the drive home from Charleston to Seattle? If yes, shouldn't I wait until at least December (assuming we go home in February?)
I've lived so long without one, why purchase one now?
A better one will always be coming out 2-3 years from now and I'll be wishing I had a new one which = more $$$
Sometimes the voices in the GPS are annoying/they don't have any funny ones (for free).
More distractions in the car = higher probability of accidents.
Seriously. I have been thinking about making this purchase for a month. This is how painful it is to be me in regards to spending on something I don't need.
That's it for now. Time to brush my teeth and get my 4 and a half hours of sleep. Usually when I write this fast I miss key words in my writing so...yeah.
So
Here we go.
Sometimes when I am petting my dog I expect her to look up at me and say, "Thanks."
Or something more than that. But just a couple words because, you know, an entire sentence might be a little too much to take on at that point.
I imagine myself freaking out. Dancing around the room. Going to grab my camera to record some video of her talking. Although I think it would be awesome and we'd probably become super famous millionaires from all the publicity, I kind of like the amount of non-talking she does. Even though her bark is enough to drive me mad.
That reminds me of the news I watched in Florida this past weekend. They showed a dog who could read. I didn't get it. Or, I was trying to figure out a way that the owner could've trained the dog to read without really reading. Like if he had the flash cards in the same order every time. Or if he was making secret gestures or changing his body language every time he changed a card. Because dogs can pick up on stuff like that. They have to. They can't talk. Or read. Yet.
My cousin emailed me this link. I try to do my part to help out with the environment. I hardly ever consume anything (cause I'm cheap). I don't drink bottled waters. I recycle even though they don't do curbside pick up here. Yes, I have to bring my recycling all the way to the local recycling center here. After letting it pile up for 2 weeks it's usually time to bring it in.
But seeing this kind of stuff is heart breaking. I know I shouldn't care, heck I ate probably an entire chicken today - but these birds were free. Not like farm raised animals who are going to be killed regardless.
I see stuff like this and think, "It's useless. We're screwed." But then I wonder if one of my theories about the human race will become true. If we'll start to decay as a species instead of evolving. And because of the decay there will be less of us, therefore less consumption. Throw in the whole drive for leaner, more efficient processes = less jobs = less money to buy food = war possibly? Probably not - they'll probably be some talking head on TV pounding the table about the "resiliency of the human race". See how I changed those last two words there? Because in the future it'll be different. A little.
I saw my senior manager and her husband at the grocery store this evening. And it was kind of odd seeing as how I was just busting my arse for her a couple hours prior. It was almost like seeing your teacher at the grocery store. Kind of awkward...but not as bad. It's easy to run in to coworkers out here because they take over half of the property that we're currently living in.
As we walked out of the grocery store I was thinking, "I wonder where those two stand in their circle of friends and family?" Being a senior manager at one of the largest companies in the world is definitely going to have it's perks. And her husband works there too. She's already talked to me about her 401k cause I had shared that I had an interest in finance related things. So I know where she stands there (and I'll leave the readers hanging on for something that I won't publish) but I don't know how she stands socially.
I mean, from what I've seen she's really given up a lot of her life/soul in to this company - and I see it in my wife's mother too. Both women sticking with their jobs for over 20 years - companies that have paid for their lives, but at the same times have taken a majority of it away from them. Terrible to think about it that way but...I do.
Anyway, I couldn't help but look at them in the grocery store and almost see a 30 year reflection of the wife and me. Would that be us in 28 years? Are they happy? Obviously they're still together so they must have done something right.
But every story is different. And the best I can do is take the good from other relationships and try to apply it and leave out the rest.
I'm getting no sleep. I feel like I nap every night. Usually I get 6 hours a night of sleep and that's "good enough". I like to get 7. But now I'm getting 5 at most, sometimes 4. Because I'm still trying to live my "pre-overtime" life outside of work, fitting in all my standard activities (blogging *cough*) while working all day.
I am always told, "You can't keep burning the candles on both ends."
It's, "I can't" never did anything. It's "did" that did it.
Probably screwed that up, because I always do.
I am struggling with buying this Garmin GPS. Why? Because it's almost late October. Which means November is coming up. Which means that Black Friday/ridiculous holiday deals are almost here.
But here's the problem: We have family coming in for Thanksgiving. We'll "need" the GPS by the time they get here. ("Need" is in quotations because we've lived without it this far, so why do I need it now? Ugh...)
We drove across the country with a borrowed GPS - one not as cool as this one, but still pretty awesome. And it made life a little bit easier. I was skeptical at first, but after it got us to 3 destinations properly (without any crazy u-turns) I trusted it.
So...to put it in list form:
Pros: "Need" to drive around (for vacations, back across the country)
Saves time/paper by not needing to print up directions anymore
Saves time by not getting lost anymore after reading said printed directions
Saves anger/frustration from getting lost (which happens about 10% of the time - e.g. really lost and having to ask directions)
Gives us the ability to find healthier options/more interesting for food on road trips instead of just going to the nearest McDonalds.
Cons: Money. Always the money. Can I buy this cheaper in a month?
MSN direct services is free for 3 months after puchase. Wouldn't I want this service on the drive home from Charleston to Seattle? If yes, shouldn't I wait until at least December (assuming we go home in February?)
I've lived so long without one, why purchase one now?
A better one will always be coming out 2-3 years from now and I'll be wishing I had a new one which = more $$$
Sometimes the voices in the GPS are annoying/they don't have any funny ones (for free).
More distractions in the car = higher probability of accidents.
Seriously. I have been thinking about making this purchase for a month. This is how painful it is to be me in regards to spending on something I don't need.
That's it for now. Time to brush my teeth and get my 4 and a half hours of sleep. Usually when I write this fast I miss key words in my writing so...yeah.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Business Acumen
I've been thinking a lot about my first year at my previous job a lot lately.
Because one of the things that kept popping up out of probably one of the smartest guys I've ever worked with was his drive to constantly build his business acumen.
Sure, I understood what the words meant, but admittedly 5 and a half years later I still don't feel that I've gotten to that same point that he was at. To me it was like he was chasing something that couldn't be caught.
Within a year he was moving on to something better - and I missed him as a coworker, but I knew he couldn't stay in such an easy position. He was bored and unhappy. I was bored and loved getting paid for doing barely anything. I got in to a routine and I left "well enough" alone.
I worked with people I never felt really challenge me. Rarely did I ever learn on the job, and although it was fun and easy going most of the time - I'm starting to now realize what I was missing out on.
In my new position, every day I am impressed.
People that surround me get things almost immediately. They communicate effectively and concisely.
There is no time to waste. There are deadlines to meet, stress levels are high, and every day feels like a battle.
Every day in my last job felt like a retirement home in comparison. Waking up, reading the newspaper, checking what's on the menu for lunch and dinner tonight. Maybe watch a couple of old movies on Turner Classic and then get in my prime time law and order. Yes. That is what it will be like to be old.
The problem is that I've been stuck in a position for so long dealing with people who (sadly) I believe are at or below my level that I've got a lot of catching up to do. Not only do I have to learn the language (the company has their own online acronym dictionary), I have to take up a critical role within this company down here - after never being with the company before, this being midway through my 5th week with them.
The learning curve has been steep. And I've said to everyone I've shaken hands with, "I'm here to help out. I'm a sponge and I'm going to soak up as much as possible as quickly as possible."
Because no one wants to take time out to train the "new guy" and get him up to speed. In my last job we had books on how to learn the job we did. There was nothing for me. It was, "Get in, get your hands dirty and learn as you go." I've heard that's how training has been for everyone - but in this type of environment I'm not so sure.
So today, one of the things I was impressed by was the level of communication. And sure, it was just employees talking to one another - but it reminded me of my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Schultz. Who talked to us using what I like to refer to as "big words". And how using more descriptive/precise words would help us out in the future someday. Unfortunately for me that someday is yesterday and to this point I haven't implemented any of the vocabulary I've learned over the past 27 years.
So my face turns bright red when I'm sitting in the middle of a meeting table, my senior manager in front of me and the room being filled with all of her direct reports - the 4 top managers at the factory. She poses a question directly to me, which I had an answer for. But...it sounded stupid. That's the only way I can put it. I gave her part of the right answer (where another manager picked up from) but in comparison to everyone else that was speaking at the meeting I sounded like a 5th grader in a college lit class. I'm sure no one else other than me took it that way (they were all buried in their blackberrys anyway) but still, there's no reason I should feel that way.
As an example (and maybe this is standard at your office, but at my previous one it was not) here are some vocabulary words I heard in the meeting today:
-Indignant
-Prescient
-Galvanize
-Tertiary
-Inflammatory
-Languid
-Reticent
I don't know if any of you use these words in your daily dialogue, but I sure don't. So maybe that's one part of this "acumen" thing I've always wondered about.
One might say it's piqued my curiosity on the subject. Or at least I can hope to avoid feeling "stupid" in front of people in the future.
Because one of the things that kept popping up out of probably one of the smartest guys I've ever worked with was his drive to constantly build his business acumen.
Sure, I understood what the words meant, but admittedly 5 and a half years later I still don't feel that I've gotten to that same point that he was at. To me it was like he was chasing something that couldn't be caught.
Within a year he was moving on to something better - and I missed him as a coworker, but I knew he couldn't stay in such an easy position. He was bored and unhappy. I was bored and loved getting paid for doing barely anything. I got in to a routine and I left "well enough" alone.
I worked with people I never felt really challenge me. Rarely did I ever learn on the job, and although it was fun and easy going most of the time - I'm starting to now realize what I was missing out on.
In my new position, every day I am impressed.
People that surround me get things almost immediately. They communicate effectively and concisely.
There is no time to waste. There are deadlines to meet, stress levels are high, and every day feels like a battle.
Every day in my last job felt like a retirement home in comparison. Waking up, reading the newspaper, checking what's on the menu for lunch and dinner tonight. Maybe watch a couple of old movies on Turner Classic and then get in my prime time law and order. Yes. That is what it will be like to be old.
The problem is that I've been stuck in a position for so long dealing with people who (sadly) I believe are at or below my level that I've got a lot of catching up to do. Not only do I have to learn the language (the company has their own online acronym dictionary), I have to take up a critical role within this company down here - after never being with the company before, this being midway through my 5th week with them.
The learning curve has been steep. And I've said to everyone I've shaken hands with, "I'm here to help out. I'm a sponge and I'm going to soak up as much as possible as quickly as possible."
Because no one wants to take time out to train the "new guy" and get him up to speed. In my last job we had books on how to learn the job we did. There was nothing for me. It was, "Get in, get your hands dirty and learn as you go." I've heard that's how training has been for everyone - but in this type of environment I'm not so sure.
So today, one of the things I was impressed by was the level of communication. And sure, it was just employees talking to one another - but it reminded me of my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Schultz. Who talked to us using what I like to refer to as "big words". And how using more descriptive/precise words would help us out in the future someday. Unfortunately for me that someday is yesterday and to this point I haven't implemented any of the vocabulary I've learned over the past 27 years.
So my face turns bright red when I'm sitting in the middle of a meeting table, my senior manager in front of me and the room being filled with all of her direct reports - the 4 top managers at the factory. She poses a question directly to me, which I had an answer for. But...it sounded stupid. That's the only way I can put it. I gave her part of the right answer (where another manager picked up from) but in comparison to everyone else that was speaking at the meeting I sounded like a 5th grader in a college lit class. I'm sure no one else other than me took it that way (they were all buried in their blackberrys anyway) but still, there's no reason I should feel that way.
As an example (and maybe this is standard at your office, but at my previous one it was not) here are some vocabulary words I heard in the meeting today:
-Indignant
-Prescient
-Galvanize
-Tertiary
-Inflammatory
-Languid
-Reticent
I don't know if any of you use these words in your daily dialogue, but I sure don't. So maybe that's one part of this "acumen" thing I've always wondered about.
One might say it's piqued my curiosity on the subject. Or at least I can hope to avoid feeling "stupid" in front of people in the future.
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