So I always made a decent living as did my wife but we were very judicious about how we spent our discretionary cash. We bought a used Popup camper when we first got married and camped. That was vacation. 2 weeks trout fishing in Maine. Great times and cheap.

I'm not gonna get into a life story but I think you get my drift.

You should live as you can afford to live. You need to always be aware of the fact the SSI will not allow you to retire without eating dog food twice a week.
You NEED to put away for retirement! Don't be mislead that you can live on SSI. We didn't and now we can retire with a sense of confidence and peace.

Thanks for making me feel a little better guys :) I KNOW I got a little "ranty, sideways and sort of off topic" in my last post. It's just so hard to understand sometimes and I know I shouldn't be comparing my situation to others and I don't live life stewing over what I don't have that others do but lately (what I call "the gap") seems more and more baffling to me! It all started with my curiosity over the retirement thing. Oh well typical of me to get sidetracked :) I will be ok!

Manicures, haircuts, color, clothes, shoes, vacations, new cars every two year.... yup, that would be my ex-wife's MO. Don't know about what she and new husband have done about retirement, but the message to my kids is not one about what reality....

If people can not save now....just think when Obamacare kicks in and your hours R cut from 40 to 29 hours....most that own property and have a mortgage will need a second job....will not be able to spend more time with family and could only enjoy skiing, boating and vacation until their charge card is exhausted.

The average pack of cigarrets cost 8-10 bucks per pack...take the 8 bucks a day x 7=56 bucks if U R a one pack a dayer x 52 weeks =$2,912...U have to be a rich person to smoke in the first place....and doubled if married and both smoke....stop smoking and start saving

Jenn the difference beteeen those other people who seemed to have so much more than you is thier house will never be paid for, nor will anything else. They probably lease the cars they drive. Have numerous credit cards, we only ever had one. Never charged to it what we couldn't afford to pay off evrr month. And dont worry, somehow those windows will get replace.
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We have a close friend who we have known for 25 years. She drives a 20 year old car that is beat to s#@*&, bald tires, etc, etc. Constantly complains about not having any money. Yup, you guessed it, her and her boyfriend both smoke a couple of packs a day. I don't get it.:smash:

I've been trying to max my 401K the past few years. I wasted a few years without contributing- catching up!!

It's fun to play around with the 401K calculators to see the potential in thirty-odd years.

Still need to diversify though- Roth IRA, some mutual funds, maybe some high-risk stocks. I need to speak to a financial adviser.

Our government discriminates when it comes to the Roth IRA and many other things for that matter. They exclude people from participating at certain income levels.....
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If I ever make $114,000 a year, I'll probably be able to live without the Roth!

I get the concerns. But we have made the sacrafices now for our future. Financial advisor, and maxing out both our 401K's. we have a slush fund that never gets touched. Whats left over goes to play time. Work hard, play hard.

The government thinks so as well
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This has been a very informative thread so far and made me get off my butt and take a serious look at what if I'm doing the best I can with my retirement savings. I've been with the same company 30 years and started 30 years ago slowly each year increasing the deduction from my paycheck. I just initially picked what co-workers agreed to invest in, and not risky, and let it ride. The problem I'm having is, at 56, after 30 years of dedicated service I think I'm being unceremoniously phased out. I'm scared I'm going to be forced to break the one most important rule about retirement savings I've learned, and that's under no circumstances touch that money for any reason until you retire. My wife and I aren't extravagent in our spending so I'm just praying when the time comes I can find something for a few years just to keep the lights on. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I think a financial advisor is in my future, too, as some others have mentioned.

I feel that a lot of the reason people get into financial issues is they were never taught about money, I never was. Why in the world finances are not taught in our schools is beyond me. You get all kinds of useless classes, I have a 13 year old in school right now so I know, but nothing about how to deal with money in your life. I also agree a financial planner is an important person to have in your life for guidance.

about 30 years ago we looked for a financial adviser without affiliation with any large brokerage firm. Once we found him, it has been the best money spent for the return. And we have a plan towards a goal. I don't have the stress of trying to figure that stuff out, they do it all.

Agree a fee only advisor. Having a diversified portfolio involves foreign investments that are hard to pick and follow. A good advisor will use an investment house to post and keep your securities where you can track them 24/7 on your computer.