Life/Work Balance of being a Mobile DJ

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... For me to save for retirement would require a change, for the worse, of my lifestyle now. and for others.

And I'm not the only one in this position.

As one who's retired, I'll admit to having some second thoughts. Did I retire too soon? I have a decent income, but MORE money would be nice. I'll be on Medicare soon... what will that be like? Healthcare is the biggest concern these days. I watch my in-laws struggle to make ends meet, having lived longer than they ever expected.

I never expected to make it to 60, so I never thought retirement would be an option. All the men of previous generations in my family died in their late 50's. So I have lived every day like it's my last. I've had a GREAT life and God has been very good to me. I just wish He had told me He wasn't taking me as soon as I thought![emoji1]

I've spent a ton of money in my life... some of it frivolously.[emoji1] Probably not smart. Bought a lot of cars... new cars. Had fun with them, but they're really bad investments. Bought a ton of computers, electronics, home entertainment systems, and TV's. Most of it I no longer own. Paring down... downsizing... giving stuff away and throwing stuff out. I realize stuff does not make me happy. Travel isn't my thing either. I'm a home-body. I hate to fly and I won't go anywhere I can't take my dogs.

Fortunately, I own my home. The wife just bought a new car.[emoji4] I thought we were over that, but no... we still like new cars. I had what I thought was my last car, but NO... traded it for a new Jeep just after I retired. Apparently, I didn't get any smarter.[emoji1]

One thing I can attest to... You can live on a lot less money when you're not working. My expenses are very minimal... clothing budget is almost nil. Gas budget is very small. We still eat dinner out a couple nights a week, and I eat breakfast out 3 mornings a week, but I prepare all our other meals, and we eat VERY well. I cook grommet quality meals.[emoji4] Cooking and cleaning occupies a lot of my time. Home repairs and maintenance takes some as well. I have plenty of time to play with my computers, to listen to music, and whatever else suits me. Yes... I still think about working, but then I think back about all the $h!+ I had to deal with, and then I know I'm much happier now.


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I need to start figuring out what my cash flow needs to be in the future. I think I have 7 years left on my mortgage, so my current plan is retirement around that timeframe (63-64) or sooner if I can get the numbers to work (or work has another "re-organization"). Been putting together a spreadsheet of all assets .. just need to start the calculations of monthly numbers (in and out) and determine when to start drawing some of them (like SS).
 
This is one of my favorite graphics as it relates to budgeting of all time, from Carl Richards:

I think the notion of retirement as the financial sector would have us adopt it is the biggest economic lie of all time.

The privatization of everything merely feeds a financial system that compels all money into a corrupted stock market system, where personal savings are bought at interest rates 6 times below the rate of inflation, unsecured loans are sold at usury rates near 40%, and actively billed to accrue as high as 300% while pension funds liquidate to one successive financial crisis after another.

The entire consumer financial planning industry is a relatively new idea born out of the patently evil concept of privatization of all things financial. Every financial instrument available to you now hinges on one thing - private equity largely unsecured in a global stock market, backed by the taxation of the very people at risk. The DOW volume flirting with 20k is not a success story - it's simply a measure of how much of our economy has been sucked into this great lie.

Our current President elect is a business man - the logical extension of government as a business battleground with the power to regulate the regulators. We allow politicians and business to speak of capitalism and democracy as though the words are interchangeable. They are not. Capitalism eats democracy anywhere and everywhere it is not properly checked and balanced.
 
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I need to start figuring out what my cash flow needs to be in the future. I think I have 7 years left on my mortgage, so my current plan is retirement around that timeframe (63-64) or sooner if I can get the numbers to work (or work has another "re-organization"). Been putting together a spreadsheet of all assets .. just need to start the calculations of monthly numbers (in and out) and determine when to start drawing some of them (like SS).

I'm planning on 65. :)
 
I need to start figuring out what my cash flow needs to be in the future. I think I have 7 years left on my mortgage, so my current plan is retirement around that timeframe (63-64) or sooner if I can get the numbers to work (or work has another "re-organization"). Been putting together a spreadsheet of all assets .. just need to start the calculations of monthly numbers (in and out) and determine when to start drawing some of them (like SS).

That bold line just hit me between the eyes. I have to admit, it makes me feel awful to think how much money I'm bringing in each month and yet, it seems to take every single penny to scrape by. I have a general concept of my major outflows but it kills me that, for all practically purposes, I come close to having a handle on where all my money goes to. Do any of you guys share this sentiment?
 
The entire consumer financial planning industry is a relatively new idea born out of the patently evil concept of privatization of all things financial. Every financial instrument available to you now hinges on one thing - private equity largely unsecured in a global stock market, backed by the taxation of the very people at risk. The DOW volume flirting with 20k is not a success story - it's simply a measure of how much of our economy has been sucked into this great lie.

This is total and utter nonsense.
 
First, it's all a guess. I'm like a sieve with free money, though at some point I see a lot of that slowing down. I lose 3/4 of my mortgage bill .. but keep the 1/4 in taxes. Lose a lot of income taxes, but gain some on distributions.

As I said, first step is calculating what I can comfortably get by on, assuming a bit of travel and such .. and go from there.

Biggest considerations are when to start taking the distributions (401K, Pensions, SS, etc.). Not taking SS for a while gets a bigger payout, but if I don't live long enough, I may not get past the knee in the curve .. so a guess again.

I am banking on wining Powerball, so that will help ....
 
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Folks, I'm not trying to one up anyone. Not trying to be seer or the next DJ rallying warrior. But all this crap you're wondering about I have lived. My DJ career paid for my bills; travel, living, insurances of all kinds and needs, house, vehicles, business, vacations; all of them (zero debt for 20 years) but especially retirement.

By most of the comments, most of you have really looked how social security benefits are calculated, not just on age but on your "REPORTED" income over a three years span. Sometimes age isn't the biggest factor as is your earnings. The last thing in the world anyone should do is go on Social Security after the three lowest years of earnings. You will take a beating.

Then, should you take Social Security at age 63, or 64, or 65, or 66, or 67, what are you maximum allowable earnings before you have to give Social Security back? It's only about $12K-14K. An how long do those limits remain in force? It was 67 1/2 but I believe it's more like 68 now.

Did you know that when you reach 71 1/2, you are MANDATED by law to withdraw a percentage of your entire retirement portfolio based on your age and that of your spouse? The higher the average of you both, the bigger the percentage... and it's 100% taxable. For some people, it's no big thing at 71 1/2 but if you both live 20 more years, will you have any retirement monies left other than social security?

I'm 73 and I have traveled down every one of these highways, some times twice because of dramatic market changes, including losing most of my retirement investments in the crash of 2002 and then f'ing again in 2007 ( close to $500,000 on paper and another $100,000 of principal. ) Fortunately, I geared up, got busy, booked everything, going balls to the wall for several years and poured everything possible into SEP accounts which (Thank you, Jesus Christ for your mercy... and Debbie Christopher, my Edward Jones financial guru for your expertise) have grown back into the big black column.

So take my learned, credentialed (evidenced by some visible deep financial scars), and experienced advice now. Get off your butt if you are 45 or older and get educated on age related finances so there won't be a shred of guesswork.
 
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I'm maxed out in what I can get from SS .. have been for a long time, so there is no 3 year thing. I will be drawing well before 71, as that was the oldest any male in my direct tree ever made it to. But there are benefits and negatives to almost everything. And it's still a guess as to when I'm going to the great event in the sky, so calculating the tradeoff of earlier money vs more robust monthly payments, still makes sense to contemplate.
 
Let's be honest. The folks who are retiring now, or trying to...
started their careers thinking they were good to go.
Now, they don't even see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So, it's not always a matter of proper planning...
unless you plan to hide all of your money under your mattress.
 
I am honest, Mike. People who are not adequately prepared for retirement were among that segment that erroneously thought their government would take care of them, that living on less that $2,000/month was not only doable, it was luxurious. None of them figured in school, property, health, and social security income tax. The ones who, IMHO, have gotten a real bad shake were those employees of companies that have gone under, pension plan and all.

Everything is about proper planning! Always has been, always will be.And that means contingency planning as well.

With your family tree history, Steve, based on those actuarials, dictates some rather logical routes to consider taking an early out.
 
It adds up fast, doesn't it?
I can't do a whole lot about mortgage or utilities - considered the first, move to a smaller/cheaper house but that's not truly possible (only owe 82k and taxes are 2400 a year..with I think less than 10 years to pay - and i know this place, the good the bad and the ugly of it.) I've insulated, have a 98% eff heatpump furnace..can't cut bills to much..maybe 5% if I live like a monk a yurt or something. LOL

insurance is another big expense, and life insurance just jumped big time, as did internet fees. None of this is likely to do anything but go up.

I have money in an IRA - statement came today. To live off the interest i'd need to have $1,500,000 in the IRA. Well...if one saves 10% i'd have to make 15,000,000 to do that. OK, a bit less with interest accumulation. So excel tells me i'd have had to put $890,000 in there 30 years ago. You know, just abotu $30, oo o PER YEAR in retirement savings for 30 years...to earn $30k a year in interest.

Yeah, right - this is the kind of BS sorta thing the investment industry won't tell ya. And I have money in a mutual fund too..told 'yeah, it will double every 5 years, 10 if things are bad"...well, it has yet to double, been waiting since 1994. The math above shows you it will not double even after 30 years - at 1.7% which is what my IRA paid last year. and that's notbad today, is it?

Oh wait, inflation is more than that..so i'm LOSING day by day...

One can say a house is a better investment..or is it? I can show you math for either position. Rental properties have potential like little else, but like anything 'good' there's more work and more risk.

if I put that 30k a year into buying rental properties i'd have a paid off one to rent every 4th year..so 7 properties worth 1.2m or more AND be getting about $84,000 a year in rents after expenses.

No wonder trump is rich, huh? LOL

But if the avg household in the US makes 44k a year..you cannot save 30k a year. I did taxes for a lady that puts 9% in her 401k, matched by the employer (county govt). she makes 60k a year so that's 11k a year. Of course to get to 60k she's been there for 30 years and is now 62. But even IF she could put 11k a year in there for 30 years and get double the rate..it won't be enough to live on if she lives a normal life expectancy.

That bold line just hit me between the eyes. I have to admit, it makes me feel awful to think how much money I'm bringing in each month and yet, it seems to take every single penny to scrape by. I have a general concept of my major outflows but it kills me that, for all practically purposes, I come close to having a handle on where all my money goes to. Do any of you guys share this sentiment?
 
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State and federal workers get a nice pension..and this will no doubt be the next crisis. Much of big business has defaulted on it's pension responsibilities..and gov't is next for the same reasons - can't afford to pay it.

As of this year 2/3 of the IRS employees are eligible to retire. I'm sure most of gov't is similar - the baby boomers are are retiring in all areas.

In PA the teacher's pension fund is in crisis - in 2010 it cost schools 5.4% of their budget..this year 32%. Yep, 1/3 of their budget goes to pension obligations.
And that money has to come from somplace..budget cuts and rising taxes of course, but even that will not be enough. the only option left will be to cut pensions...so much for retirement planning, huh? LOL

Pennsylvania's pension crisis just got worse, and the Legislature must act

Last month, a modest but sensible pension reform bill fell three votes short of the necessary 102 for passage.

The proposed legislation would have changed the retirement plans for future state government and public school employees and would have allowed new employees to choose from three new benefit plans; a 401(k) plan or one of two hybrid plans that are a combination of a defined-benefit and contribution plan. Current or retired employees who are part of the State Employees Retirement System and Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System would not have been affected.

The new plan structure would have lowered payments by the state and school districts by some $2.6 billion over three decades, though it didn’t provide any short-term savings nor would it have lowered the state’s whopping $60 billion pension debt. But at least it could have stopped the bleeding.
 
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I am honest, Mike. People who are not adequately prepared for retirement were among that segment that erroneously thought their government would take care of them, The ones who, IMHO, have gotten a real bad shake were those employees of companies that have gone under, pension plan and all.

I was not talking about government help.
I was talking about those same people you referred to.
People who invested in their retirement their whole lives,
and were inches away from retirement when their company folded or when the market bit the biggie!
It's nice the HAVE a contingency plan.
But MOST people are lucky to have a work-based retirement plan...
and certainly cannot afford to fund a plan of their own.
 
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I was not talking about government help.
I was talking about those same people you referred to.
People who invested in their retirement their whole lives,
and were inches away from retirement when their company folded or when the market bit the biggie!
It's nice the HAVE a contingency plan.
But MOST people are lucky to have a work-based retirement plan...
and certainly cannot afford to fund a plan of their own.
Everyone CAN fund their own plan .. IRAs can be done at the same time as pensions or 401Ks .. definitely takes will power. There will be some that did all the right things and got hit. There will be many more that merely hoped someone else would handle all that (pensions, etc.). I decide a while ago to not assume anything will be there when I retire. I want to make sure if SS is insolvent, I'm OK. If my 401K tanks, I'm OK (just not as good). I have diversified and only had all my eggs in one basket back in the late 90s .. got burned and moved on.
 
You see people...Were all F***ed in the future! :D

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.
 
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.

Social Security is 75% a flow from currently employed people, to those eligible for benefits. So, as long as there continue to be employed people in the world, it doesn't go away entirely. It might become means tested, or reduce estimates, but the likelihood of it going away entirely is very, very low. Especially given the above noted fact that many people aren't doing nearly enough to prepare.
 
My dryer is ill..it's over 20 years old. takes 2 hours to dry anything even on high..$500ish would get me a new one. I could just hang the clothes to dray and put that 500 into my retirement account.


Buying a new dryer would be a big winfall for you. The older ones aren't energy efficient and if it's taking that long to dry a new one would likely pay itself off in a year

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

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.

The guy has bankrupted himself 4 times...Do you really think he will treat your money any better?

SS would be fine if the government would stop using the overages in other places