Life/Work Balance of being a Mobile DJ

[IceBurghDJ]

They've been forecasting the end of SS for 40 some years now. so far it's still around.

you can do anything you want, make 3 days a week your days off and ignore the phone. HOWEVER remember that everything is a trade off, a compromise.
If you take sun/mon/tue off and don't return calls/emails until wednesday some of those prospects will have gone elsewhere, some will have experienced a less than stellar communication speed from you. May not matter to you, to your bottom line, to your happiness.

I think parts of the earth will become difficult places to live - lack of water, cost of water, recurrent flooding, fires, 120F temps in the summer are pretty much a given now and will only get more so over the next 10, 15 years.

The fix is simple..but nobody is willing to make the sacrifice - yet. The transition would be horrendous - but temporary. To go on the way we are is less painful now but long term, it's gonna be a lot worse.

You see people...Were all F***ed in the future!

Social Security will be gone by 2036 unless Trump and his team can figure it out because I know the politicians, and our typical government won't be able to.

I know I won't be able to retire. Also, by then the polar ice caps could melt, and The Earth could be a rough place to live...Why work my tail off 60+ hours a week. Working crazy hours is for the young and hungry to get experience under their belts. At 34, I'll pass. I want a solid 2 days a week off, and on weeks where I end up working 6, I want to be able to take another day off the following week to keep things balanced. Working 6 to 7 days every week all the time? Nope...Done with that at this point in my life. I want to work enough to live, not work my life away.

I also actually agree with Proformance on his assertion that
"retirement as the financial sector would have us adopt it is the biggest economic lie of all time.
"

...and I don't agree with him often at all.

 

[Ausumm]

Social Security will be gone by 2036 unless Trump and his team can figure it out because I know the politicians, and our typical government won't be able to.

The baby boomers are retiring right now...so SS is a little stressed out.
Another reason is the decline of the middle class. Like most things tax-related, SS depends on a strong middle class.
A lot of people are not working or working less, so there are less people contributing.
It's not as tragic as politicians make it out to be.
The pol's yelling the loudest are the ones who want to privatize it.
Not to make it better, but to satisfy their Wall Street lobbyists who want to profit from it.
And in 2008, we all saw what happens when you invest your retirement money in the stock market.

 

[rickryan.com]

And in 2008, we all saw what happens when you invest your retirement money in the stock market.

And what about all those other years where the returns have been there?

 

[tunes4046]

And what about all those other years where the returns have been there?

I lost a lot in 2008 but I didn't panic a reassed my position I still invested in the stock market and I am multitudes ahead of where I was then

 

[Ausumm]

And what about all those other years where the returns have been there?

I was referring specifically to those who lost big in 2008.
Just trying to point out that the market is coin toss, which is not a good if you're planning to retire on it.
While SS may not last forever, you can definitely see it coming....
and there's no chance you will lose all you have invested in one bad afternoon.

I lost a lot in 2008 but I didn't panic a reassed my position I still invested in the stock market and I am multitudes ahead of where I was then

You might wanna check your spelling. Unless you meant that you actually re-assed yourself!

 

[steve149]

You might wanna check your spelling. Unless you meant that you actually re-assed yourself!

Makes sense to me .. He lost his a$$ .. and was able to fund a new one.

 

[rickryan.com]

I was referring specifically to those who lost big in 2008.
Just trying to point out that the market is coin toss, which is not a good if you're planning to retire on it.

The stock market CAN be a coin toss, if you're looking at a short-term window. However, if diversified properly, with a long term view, it's a very, very safe bet and it absolutely has magnitudes better returns than the miniscule that you get from SS.

 

[Albatross]

In a single year, the market is just better than a coin flip. But given time, it puts the odds very squarely in favor of investors:

 

[Handinon]

However, if diversified properly on an International basis, with a long term view, it's a very, very safe bet and it absolutely has magnitudes better returns than the miniscule that you get from SS.

Rick - I slightly modified your statement just for clarity, which I agree 100% with.

 

[Ausumm]

The stock market CAN be a coin toss, if you're looking at a short-term window. However, if diversified properly, with a long term view, it's a very, very safe bet and it absolutely has magnitudes better returns than the miniscule that you get from SS.

The market is fine for your own personal investments/retirement plan.
Social Security was never intended to be profitable, and offer massive returns.
It was intended to help out people who couldn't afford to invest on their own.
If you wanna play the market ON TOP OF your SS...that is your choice AND the best option.

 

[steve149]

Rick - I slightly modified your statement just for clarity, which I agree 100% with.

I might still bet locally for the near future ...

The market is fine for your own personal investments/retirement plan.
Social Security was never intended to be profitable, and offer massive returns.
It was intended to help out people who couldn't afford to invest on their own.
If you wanna play the market ON TOP OF your SS...that is your choice AND the best option.

Though, it doesn't get any returns if whatever is held in reserve is used on an ongoing basis to fund other things and not allowed to get at least what we get in secured instruments.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

The market is fine for your own personal investments/retirement plan.
Social Security was never intended to be profitable, and offer massive returns.
It was intended to help out people who couldn't afford to invest on their own.
If you wanna play the market ON TOP OF your SS...that is your choice AND the best option.

Or you could invest your money that would go into an IRA or Savings account or into stocks for something with a greater return IF you hit Big...Constantly purchase lots of Mega Millions and Power Ball Tickets! If you hit, the return is much, much, much, much more higher!

 

[steve149]

Or you could invest your money that would go into an IRA or Savings account or into stocks for something with a greater return IF you hit Big...Constantly purchase lots of Mega Millions and Power Ball Tickets! If you hit, the return is much, much, much, much more higher!

Though the Average Rate of Return is closer to 0.

 

[Handinon]

I use ATM's, so I don't often go inside the bank. When I do, the typical conversation with the teller, who is prompted to ask anyone with a certain amount of money in their accounts to ask if they are interested in a CD, goes like this - "You want me to tie up $10,000 of my money for one year, and at the end you give me $10,026 ??" No.

 

[IceBurghDJ]

SS is figured so that you'll collect for 10 years. If live beyond that you WIN! If not, well, thanks for your support.

As can be seen, the stock market was very profitable, in real terms, in the 1950 to 1965 and 1983 to 2000 periods. On the other hand, it didn't perform well from 1965 to 1983, and neither it did for the last decade. Still, during these periods, it partially worked as a shelter from inflation. S&P 500: Total and Inflation-Adjusted Historical Returns

So if were relying on the market at the right time -great. If not, well ramen is cheap and there's always spaghetti and rice.

From 1950 to 2009 the real adjust rate of return is 7%. BUT none of us were investing in 1950, were we?
If you look at each of the 6 decades individually, 3 were good, in the double digits, 2 were negative and the last one was below average.

So yeah, 50/50 crapshoot whether you'll be invested during a good decade or a bad one.
I had money in there in the 90s..14%? LOL Not for me.

The stock market CAN be a coin toss, if you're looking at a short-term window. However, if diversified properly, with a long term view, it's a very, very safe bet and it absolutely has magnitudes better returns than the miniscule that you get from SS.

 

[Jeff Romard]

In a single year, the market is just better than a coin flip. But given time, it puts the odds very squarely in favor of investors:

View attachment 31497

Is that 11.1 pre tax or post tax?

 

[Albatross]

Is that 11.1 pre tax or post tax?

It's showing a pre-tax return. Post tax depends quite a bit on what type of account you have it in, how long you remain invested, and your other income levels. 11% assumed rate or return is likely too rosy if we're looking at the next 10-20 years though. I won't go too deeply into the capital asset pricing model, but stock returns assume a risk premium over the "risk free rate" which is generally measured by treasury bonds. The risk free rate is much lower today than it has been historically. So, even if the risk premium remains constant, stock returns likely won't mirror the levels they have over the last 50 years.

But from an individual investor's perspective... total return isn't particularly important. Real return is. How much are your assets growing in relation to inflation. If the real return stays healthy, then most investors will be ok.

 

[Jeff Romard]

It's showing a pre-tax return. Post tax depends quite a bit on what type of account you have it in, how long you remain invested, and your other income levels. 11% assumed rate or return is likely too rosy if we're looking at the next 10-20 years though. I won't go too deeply into the capital asset pricing model, but stock returns assume a risk premium over the "risk free rate" which is generally measured by treasury bonds. The risk free rate is much lower today than it has been historically. So, even if the risk premium remains constant, stock returns likely won't mirror the levels they have over the last 50 years.

But from an individual investor's perspective... total return isn't particularly important. Real return is. How much are your assets growing in relation to inflation. If the real return stays healthy, then most investors will be ok.

I'm no expert on the subject but from what I've read an average investor that has a base income of $50-$100,000 a year needs to get about 7% just to beat taxes and inflation

 

[IceBurghDJ]

I don't know the numbers, just MY numbers.

$4500 invested in 1994 is today $8200. When I take it out, if I do so after 59 1/2 of course, I'll have to pay income tax on it since it's a regular IRA.

So if I did that today I'd pay 15% federal, PA doesn't tax retirement savings/pensions/iras. (it why so many old people live here)

I'll get about $7,000.
So if we look at RoR over 23 years it's around 2%..(maybe less). Inflation is that, or more IME, over that time period. Better than burying it the backyard perhaps, but not much.

This is why i'm no fan of the market - it's a big scam by the bankers and wall street in general. I don't have the statements from the past 23 years, but if I only make $108 a year on average, I bet their fees are half that and their profits at least that.

And my wife's 401k, since she left her employer and it's in 'the market' isn't doing any better.

I'm no expert on the subject but from what I've read an average investor that has a base income of $50-$100,000 a year needs to get about 7% just to beat taxes and inflation

 

[Proformance]

This is one of my favorite graphics as it relates to budgeting of all time, from Carl Richards:

The problem with that graphic is the word "need" because it is an undefined assumption based on someone else's representation of how things are or ought to be. Before buying into an idea I think it's important to determine who's "need" is being met.

I know a lot of people who keep working until they meet the grave. They don't do it out of need.