#RetirementGoals: Can you still catch up if you started behind in your late 30s? 🤔 Let me share a bit of my story with you. Life hasn’t been easy – from being homeless to finally mastering a new skill at 30 and earning $30/hr. But with $35k in student loans and no retirement plan, the road to financial stability seems far-fetched. 😓 Ever felt like the world is changing too fast for us to keep up? When is it time to just live for today and stop worrying about tomorrow? Let’s chat and figure this out together! 💬💰🤷♂️ #FinancialFuture #LateStart #RetirementWorries
You’ll be fine! Not as good as if you started in your early 20s, but it’s never too late!
Everything is different. You screwed up you got caught you paid. You move on. Got plenty of time get to it
We all have our own path and you definitely don’t have to follow others footsteps.
“At what point does a person just accept the world and economy is different…”, I feel your entire statement (too lazy to type it out). As time goes by (ex. Get married, have kids, etc.) your opinion will change. As soon as I was engaged, my money mindset changed. When we got pregnant, my money mindset changed again.
What I can say with a certainty, is many look back and think, “I should have saved more”. Delayed gratification serves a benefit to all. Yes, it may seem tough and miserable now, but it pays dividends towards your future.
You don’t just accept anything, because it’s better to retire with something than it is to retire with nothing. It’s never too late to start and you’re still young enough to “catch up.” At least if you save up something you’ll have options when you get to that point. The alternative of having nothing is much, much worse.
> At what point does a person just accept the world and economy is different than it was decades ago and live for today instead of missing out to plan for the future?
I don’t understand what the “live for today” thinking means. You can’t outlive end-of-life care. You can’t outlive your body or mind decaying with age.
You can either start preparing now for your body’s changes to have a comfortable end-of-life or you can end up homeless or have minimal care services (if you qualify, a gov provided facility with the worst everything).
What do you expect to happen if you choose “live for today”? Do you think your 85 year old self will be excited to live under a bridge?
Yes, I didn’t start until I was 40. I’m 61 now and doing well but I plan on working full time until I’m 70.
>At what point does a person just accept the world and economy is different than it was decades ago and live for today instead of missing out to plan for the future?
My dad started doing that in the 90’s.
Anyway, he’s 78 now and trying to live off a teeny-tiny social security check.
This “I’m going to live for now” BS is just you giving yourself the excuse not to save for the future. It’s coming if you’re ready or not.
30 years of compounding interest will still be pretty good growth. Just start with what you can, every time you get a pay bump reassess what you can. If you have a 401k that pretax amount getting taken out will probably change your take home less than you think.