My parents and grandparents never contributed to 401k, retirement, etc. Grandparents grew up during the depression, didn't trust banks. My parents spent more than they made, and now live on Social security only. My lesson was learned early, and decided to do the exact opposite of what my parents and grandparents did. I started contributing to my 401k in my early twenties. I never maxed out my 401k until recently. Contribute at least to get company match, it's free money!!! Wife and I now max out our 401ks. Stay out of debt, spend less than you make. Have an emergency fund! Most folks are just a few missed paychecks away from bankruptcy.

Bet he is gonna say real estate [/quote]
yes real estate. I stretched myself at the bottom of the housing bubble bust and bought another house...Yes, in Las Vegas. Granted I was stationed at Nellis doing a joint Navy job but we got aggressive and had the down payment for a foreclosure (Vegas was SO FULL of them at the time). we bought a house that was built in 2007 (and sold then for $284k) and we paid $102k...today that house is being rented for $1350 / month and my mortgage is roughly $550. I could drop that house tomorrow for $240k. I should have bought 3 of them and stopped putting money in my 401k. my 401k has barely made anything over the last 10 years. just my 2 cents.[/quote]

That's a great story. We bought our beach property and our mountain property back when land prices were low. Unfortunately for your suggested strategy, this ain't 2007 anymore.
[/quote]
yeah, I do admit we got lucky on the timing, but that was part of the considerations we were taking into account. I wish I was a lucky with vehicles as I am with houses..

I wonder if anyone has ever done a study if you took that money and gambled it how well it would work out? I know a guy that quit gambling but when he was hard in it he was making North of $150k a year on sports betting. Just curious since everyone says that the stock market is a gamble.... well why aren’t they buying lottery tickets?

I would bet, no pun intended, it wouldn't consistently work out as well as the stock market over the long term.

Fundrise is an option for those interested in real estate investing. It's similar to stock, but you own real shares of real properties. You can only cash out during certain periods. I've looked into it but haven't pulled the trigger. You can google funrise.com.

My Father in Law is 83 and still works! He never got into the State retirement system because he listened to bad advice plus he supports his fifty year old son and his family! He has been working at the same place for sixty years. Sad!

[ started contributing to my 401k in my early twenties. . . Stay out of debt, spend less than you make. Have an emergency fund! Most folks are just a few missed paychecks away from bankruptcy.[/quote]

I Have 4-5 different 401k's plus i always save during the month ( average 4-600 each month). I learned the value of a dollar at a young age as well as many did.( dad called me tight wod since i was around 12 ) I aint rich but im comfortable thank goodness!!

I've seen that too....

It's interesting.

Have some neighbors who have a new 4x4 truck and a new big SUV, take caribbean vacations, kids have more toys than ours ever had, eat out all the time, etc. Thought they were making mega $ but now in financial trouble with their mortgage. Seems they are better at spending $ than saving it. Guy has zero saved for retirement! Can't understand it.

Well after looking at those numbers I’m in fantastic shape. I’ve been funding my 401k for 19 years. (Just turned 40)

I saw an article where it listed state by state what an individual needed to retire. Alabama total was a little over a million dollars. Probably to live comfortably.

I meet with Fidelity next week to take a look at my numbers and what the guessamation is for my numbers in the future. Since I'm within that 10 yr window of retirement.

I plan to be dead by 83!
Thats why I retired at 48!

You do not need a million dollars, I can witness to that personally.
But you do need to be debt free.

I retired at 51

We have over 60 employees and have a 100% match up to the first 4%. We only have a handful of employees who participate, but yet the majority of them drive nicer cars than me. They are giving up free money. It works out better for me of course if they do not participate as the owner, but I want them to all be financially secure and wish they would. When you go to buy a car, it's a complicated process to get them to tell you the actual price. All you get is the monthly payment. They know that is all people care about. People think a car payment is just a part of life.

I'll admit that Dave Ramsey has some flaws in his plans, but for the overwhelming majority of people, it's solid advice.

Don't borrow money on depreciating assets and live within a budget.

Debt free is the Key!!! I've got a friend who was pretty fortunate to retire with a couple million bucks. He lives like a king on $70k/year since he has no debt.

I started late in life in getting my 401(k) going, but am pouring in a ton of money to catch up - along with a major contribution from my employer (14% - yes, you heard that right).

I see it all the time with my new, younger, employees. I try to be the father figure and explain to them the importance of contributing, yet they either fail to contribute at all, or do so with such a small percentage that it won't do a dang thing for them. Oh well....I know that I'll be capable of full retirement between 58-62!

Getting in debt up to your eyeballs when young and just getting started is a killer. Debt free makes one sleep much better too

Makes ya shake your head why most of your employees are leaving that $ on the table.

Again, these numbers are so individual. 1 million might be fine for someone for 30 years, another may burn through that in 4 years.