panicked about retirement
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| Sat, 05-30-2009 - 7:27am |
I'm only 36, but last night I nearly had a panic attack about retirement. As a result of a bad business...we have maybe $1000 in an IRA. We've been so concerned with keeping our head above water that we haven't been able to focus on it.
My husband starts a new job this week and will actually be taking a small pay cut in the beginning. The up side is that he will be getting much better hours and will be going back to school to complete his degree. We will need to take out a loan for whatever financial aid doesn't cover, but we think this will be necessary for our future. It will only take him about 1 year to finish. We are also looking into him re-enlisting in the Air National Guard and that may help with education significantly. When he is finished, he would like to become an Air Force Chaplain. We will end up with more debt in the process...but some financial security from the Air Force.
Is 40 too old to really start putting it away for retirement? That's about where we will be when we get our feet back on the ground. I've tried to find a calculator to crunch the numbers and see what we need to put away each month...but they are all so complicated.
Thanks for any advice...samey

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Ohhh I like this topic. I have been thinking about it on and off now for a couple of years. Everyone's situation is so different.
I am 35. Divorced two years ago. I have a wonderful bf now. We live in a small house that we don't actually pay anything for that bf's parents are not using. BUT. We bought the land around it. Not a little bit. A LOT. And we have a mortgage on the land. It is like a house payment. We do want to build a house in about 5 years. We just upgraded a car that we have payments on(will be done before we build the new house). I own a store and am paying off the land building, and I have a credit line and bills etc. I am working on the land and building right now if my credit line does not go over. Then I will work on the business credit line.
I don't technically put money away for my retirement yet. I do by building equity in my business. I will sell it at some point and get another job. Then I will have a lump sum to put towards the house we build or savings. I want to help my kids with school and I plan to have that saved up by the time they go as I have an amount in mind I want to help with. So after my land and building is paid off I will save for that as my ex is going to help them too. I will probably put some money away for retirement at the same time to get it started.
Sometimes I wish my life was cut and dry. Pay off credit card debt, save for college and retirement and pay off my house. But it is not. I'm not sure I would change that. I do enjoy what I do but know at some point I will grow tired of it. It is sooo much work.
I am going to have to work for a long time, but I have large goal. I want to be a new house owner, a land owner, and a business owner. I want it all!! LOL! And I am going to get it too because I am a smart, hard working lady that will MAKE it happen. And so will you!
Go Debt support group!!
What I have heard over and over is: 1. pay off debt, 2. save for retirement, 3. save for college. Not sure where mortgage comes into play. I know it is debt, but in my situation, the interest rate of my mortgage is much lower than what I earn on my investment, so I am not in a hurry and not making extra payment. Since it is a 15-year mortgage, I will have it pay off well before retirement anyway.
Having said that, everything I read about is very US-centric. From what little I know, you have a higher tax rate, but also more social services, the most important of all being healthcare. The service may not be the greatest, but it is important when you are considering the finances for retirement because people usually require more healthcare as they age. A while ago another poster mentioned an article stating about 60% of the bankruptcy in the US involve some kind of medical bill.
Anyway, it looks like you have a good plan, and I hope everything works well for you!
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