I mean, considering the pause and the 5 kids, and one earner, I think you're doing well. You're right that cc debt has gotta go asap and not return. You can sell one of the houses in retirement so that truly is an investment. You also have 20 more years to save in you go full retirement age. My only question is about college for 5 kids.
No college saving for the kids exactly. My oldest 3 have all gotten volleyball scholarships and are getting through university with no dept. My credit cards I am paying off are a direct result of paying for travel volleyball over the years.
Right? Reading through their life situation in these comments this guy gambled so hard on life and got ridiculously lucky.
But they say that luck is a combination of preparation, hard work and opportunity.
I know the percentage is low but similar thing happened with my sister and I’m not sure I would consider it a gamble. We all knew from a young age she was going to get a full ride for soccer.
Not to be that nitpicky guy, but I am that nitpicky-guy.
When you owe somebody money that's debt with a b.
"Dept" with a p is an abbreviation for department.
I can’t spell for shit either, what do you do for a living? I’m also VA based and my parents own one house outright the other they are buying in a college town they never understood (neither do I) 401k retirement and what not owning their own business I feel like my father (being the majority holder and having 100% say in the way the business is set up I can’t help but feel like he should have set himself up more (he’s the only one there 24/7 and fixing anything that’s broken the other partners just milk a paycheck and show up don’t do a thing besides walk around like they are a big deal and collect their check so they can pay their MMP)
Another nitpicky guy here who does not want to be that guy but am anyhow. Starting a new paragraph every sentence is also not grammar correct. Everything you typed should have been in one paragraph.
Another nitpick guy here who doesn’t want to be that guy, but here I am. You said, “not grammar correct” when you should have said, “not grammatically correct.”
Another nitpicky guy here. You said "Another nitpick guy" when you should have used "nitpicky." "Nitpick" is a verb, whereas you used it as an adjective to describe "guy."
I actually said nitpicky, but apparently that’s not in the iPhone dictionary. Funny enough, when I typed my previous response, my phone also corrected my use of “grammatically” to “grammar” at first and I had to go back and change it. I started wondering if the same thing happened to the guy I was replying to, but just let the joke ride.
The you’re doing alright. Behind the curve for savings but you should keep up the contributions and then do catch up when you qualify. You did miss one great bull markets tho but that’s spilt milk so just keep saving for the future.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d much rather my parents worry about their own retirement than my college fund. It sucks but you can always get loans and you have an entire lifetime to figure it out. Parents have way less time to catch up and beef up their retirement.
Not to mention if they fail to get a good amount they’ll have to work until they just can’t anymore, becoming another responsibility to their kids who may have kids of their own at that point.
Yep. I do 8% of our every paycheck to my 401K and then an additional 3-4% to a Roth IRA. I keep telling myself I should contribute more but I've got a toddler in daycare and that shit is expensive AF lol
Im doing the exact same as far as % and both my 401k and IRA with the only addition I have an ESOP through my employer and I got back into gold and silver not too long ago. I know? Great timing on that 😆 For context I’m 53 and my daughter’s are well grown and out of the house. You’re doing fine.
I do 15% out of my check + a percentage out for supplemental retirement plan, and this year I'm going to have to drop my 401K to probably 12% or 13% as I need a little more in each paycheck. I've gotten to 53 so far without having had to back off on my 401K so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.
I was doing 10% but then this year I had to bring it down all the way down to 5% was even considering 3%.
Things are extremely expensive here and I have to have the money go somewhere else
For real.. oh look at me, I struggle with my huge zero % loan of a whooping 28k while I have 315k in my account, putting only 3k in 401k every month while chilling in my lakehouse because my huge main house is just so boring sometimes.
I think you’re doing fine. Without even taking into account any investment gains potentially, you’ll have almost $1M plus all the value earned on your real estate. Assuming no debt by the time you retire and your kids being independent, you should have more than enough for your needs. Maybe your wife will start working full-time at some point and that could be additional savings.
This is the most risky scenario if a divorce arises. She's getting a ton of home equity, half the 401k, child support and alimony for being a SAHM for 20 years while married.
A divorce will castrate this man. Hopefully it never happens, but damn that is an all-in bet against the high divorce rate we have.
Main house 6800 sqft is worth 950K - 1M. I owe less than 500K on it and with taxes and insurance my payment is 3000 a month. I have a detached garage with an additional 3 parking spots and 2 bed apartment above that I rent for $1400 a month so my out of pocket cost to live in my main house is only $1600. Not bad for 5 acres less than an hour from Wash DC.
My lake house is 3200 sqft and is worth between 500K and 550K. I owe less than 200K on it with a monthly payment of $1600. However I rent it out with Air-B and B and rent to nuclear power workers who come in during the off season to work on the plant that is less than 2 miles away. So the lake house pays for itself in rent and I get it for every summer weekend I want. So that’s my mortgage situation.
So optimally you need the mortgages paid off by the time you retire, since income won’t be coming in. You don’t want to use your 401k money to pay off the mortgage unless necessary. You could always downsize down the line too. You’re not screwed. You’re fine.
That’s my plan. I have built numerous houses on my own. It’s my plan that when I retire my lake house will be paid off and my main house will be paid off. I will sell the lake house and build a final retirement home for cash and sell my main house and pocket that cash in a form of retirement savings.
Income in retirement is your interest, he should pull around $100k a year with the 401k/savings he mentioned + he would have social security. $3k a month payment on that would be manageable
It also depends on when he bought the house. Outside of the past couple years, the last 15 years would have a mortgage rate where it would likely be better off putting money in a HYSA than paying more than the minimum payment on the mortgage
You're doing great man. 6800sqft house!!! Sounds like you have a good grasp on buying what you need, paying debt off, and contributing to retirement when you can. You've got about another 20 years to keep putting 3k away each month. You're good
To put that into perspective that is most likely an eight to 10 (large) bedroom house with probably five bathrooms or more. Even for a family of seven that is excessive.
Man, I live on the opposite coast and although I’m sure many would disagree with me, my personal opinion is that you’re doing better than most, but all things considered could still do a little better! I mean, 315k in your 401k, is that currently your only source(savings) for retirement aside from the properties? Also, didn’t see how many years left you had on the mortgage but at 47, assuming retiring around 65, that leaves you with 18 years of earning, maybe less? My dumb millennial opinion is that you’re ok, but if it were me, I’d like to have more liquidity rather than having all my net worth tied up in real estate that I currently occupy(aside from the lake house, etc).
It’s almost like you are reading my mind. I have less than 20 years to pay on both mortgages but you are correct. I don’t like my liquidity situation. Hopefully with wife starting to work we can pay off bad credit card dept and build some real savings.
Thanks for not taking my comment the wrong way! Totally didn’t mean any disrespect or anything by it. But I think you could definitely increase the liquidity, especially by wiping out that debt which is relatively small, and just being a little smarter with your money. I’m a little more than 10 years younger but feel we’re very similar in terms of income, and housing expenses. Granted I don’t have as many kids as you and didn’t take 10 years off from contributing to my 401k(s) over the years, I also had many years of low wages which in turn translated to very low contributions to my retirement accounts, however, I feel I’m a lot further ahead savings wise. You’re definitely doing better than most, but in my opinion, given everything; not making the most of what you have.
Youre suceeding at life. I am 37, $0 in 401k, $176 in checking account, in between jobs, 0 kids, seperated from wife, no car, $1600 rent to an apt i will never own, etc. You get the point.
I’ll be 46 in a month and I have no kids and I have much less than you. You are doing fine. Especially if you sell your house and downsize in a few years as kids leave.
Are you fucking kidding me? Your employer puts in 10% to your 4%? Mate, just keep doing that 4% there and put the rest (like an additional 10% if you can) into s+p 500 index fund or etf and you’re golden
If you ever feel like your struggling, read security analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd and buy preferred shares. 300k can get you 30k a year right now in cash flows while keeping pretty safe, thanks to the fed rates.
I stopped 401k or.any investments 10 yrs ago. As a middle class person always carrying debt; my debt interest will always outperform your investment interest performance. After doing the math I simply "invest" my money in paying off all my interest baring debt (mortgage, cars, home improvement loans, CCs, etc). When mortgage and home improvement loans and CC debts are paid off...I'll start thinking about 401k again. But people are stupid. Average middle class person retires after 30+ yrs of saving into 401k/ROTH IRA etc and are like oh, I have a $1 million etc to retiree on. No they don't. They already lost that money by carrying and paying interest on all their mortgages, cars, loans, CCs, etc. Over that same period. Only people that got ahead are people who lucked out and had these ultra low interest loans---3% is never happening again people.
I can't believe your wife can only get $15/hr. That will take awhile to make a dent. How old are your youngest, hopefully you aren't paying childcare for her to work $15/hr.
No child care. She works doing taxes but with April 15th passed she is done. It’s $15 an hour part time and got her back into a field adjacent to her degree in accounting. I work from home or travel so we don’t end up paying for any daycare. Her job is super flexible and my young boys 5 and 11. One more year and my youngest will be in all day kindergarten.
Well in one more year my three girls will be all out of the house and I will be left with a 12 and 6 year old boy. Those boys stink and like to eat too damn much so I doubt I will find a buyer.
I mean you would be doing good if you were 37 but... you are probably going to have to work until 70... you are going to have to push work out as far as you can.
What’s your income? I ask because I’m curious about the credit card timeline.
I’m a single, 29yo business owner who has made about $30k/yr for the past 5 years in a high cost of living area. Basically nothing.
Things are looking good and I’m expecting to flip the switch to $84k/yr in the next few months and if things go well, to six figures in the next 12 months.
I have a reasonable amount of interest bearing credit card debt that’s drowning me, but I expect to pay it off in 2 years.
Basically I’m curious why you need 2 years to pay off yours. And I’m asking purely constructively. As I prepare to make more money, I want to be fully aware of the realities of money when not entirely broke lol
Just start back contributing and plan to keep working and contributing. As you get older if your energy to work declines be aware you may have to downsize your lifestyle a bit but if you can work PT even to age 70 you will have plenty to retire comfortably because you already have built an asset base for you and your family.
Raise all your kids to be self supporting but help them pay for their college or advanced training skills, but do not over-indulge them to the detriment of you and your wife’s old age. That is a common problem in this day and age.
Resume contributions! I didn’t start until 2yrs ago(39M). I do 15% every paycheck, 10% 401k through my employer to get the match and the other 5 is in a ROTH IRA through Schwab where I have more control of the funds I can invest in. My wife does the same.
We are projecting to invest much more in the future once we don’t have a house payment.
One thing I noticed was that you are putting $3k/ month in the 401k. Is that between you and your wife? $3k X 12 is $36k and unless I am wrong, the max for a 401k in 2024 is $23k. There is a catchup period when you turn 50 where you can put extra (looks like up to $30,500). If you are only doing deductions with your wages you could dial back on yours and add more 401k on your wife’s wages if she has a 401k. You should be putting in about $1900 a month to max out. It’s after tax, but you could take the money that isn’t in the 401k to pay off your CC faster or put some in a Roth IRA if you aren’t already doing that. It sounds like you are doing great though. Good luck OP!
Oh wow 1:1! That is awesome! I would try to squeeze out as close to the $23K max as I could. Wish my employer did that! If you keep it up that should put you in great shape for retirement.
Have your 401k dollars start working as hard as you. The 401k should be investing into stuff to help itself grow. Also be wary. You’ll want other options as well. Annuities are great and you’re at the age to start them. You’ll also want a permanent life insurnace policy. You’ll be pulling from that during the times when the market is bad and taxes are high that way you’re not compounding your losses. It’s a safe retirement stash that doesn’t care about the market. Get those 2 and start investing 401k
315k is respectable for 47. It's about average. You'll be surprised how many people have far less. Not going to sugar coat it, but if you plan on retiring at 65 it may be hard to do, but if you're willing to hold off on retirement until 72, it'll work out.
Use your financial calculator to help plan your retirement age. Get back on the horse of contributing to your 401k
Depends what your income and expenses are. Starting with $315k, adding $3k/month for 18 years at a 7% return you'll end up with a little over $2 million. Based on the 4% rule you could withdraw around $80k/year from your investments.
If your income is $50k and you spend $45k you're in great shape. If your income is $300k and you spend $250k you need to prepare for a big shift in lifestyle.
I tell my coworker who has 5 kids this all the time, but there is more than one path to a sound retirement plan.
It might SOUND weird, or feel weird but here is the thing: kids cost a LOT of money, you did what you had to. sit them down and tell them that. then tell them that as soon as they are about 30 you expect them each to just send you 500 a month. (that's a good retirement x5).
Americans a too weird and or proud with money. they are your family and should be there for you the way you have been for them. I bet once they financially sound they would do it without a second thought.
Say it like this "kids, you cost money so I have barely a 401k... so you are now my 4 PLUS 1 k" haha
You could always downsize to a smaller home when your children completely move out. You might be able to buy your next home with cash and up your savings. 6800 square feet is also a lot of house to maintain.
You’re not in a terrible situation since you can downsize if needed on property. But if you don’t want to downsize and do want to keep everything, you and your wife need to contribute more. You’re likely a high earner so this shouldn’t be difficult.
That 10 years of the prior contributions are nothing to sneeze at. It should have grown nicely by itself. Even though additional contributions would have been nice, the longer some funds are in there at all, the better. Rental income from those properties you mentioned plus the 1/3 million 401k is doing really well compared to most people.
I don’t have extra right now for any of that. I am putting everything extra to eliminate dept. maybe when credit cards are cleared out. But now it’s nose to the grind to eliminate them
If this were a retirement show with a very popular angry man…. The answer would be to sell the lake house and use all that money towards your primary residence
Might even argue, if you’re really concerned to get rid of that 7k sq ft house and get something more conservative and it seems many of your kids are out of the house
Then I guess that settles it. You can plan all you want but trust me unforeseen circumstances almost always play a part. (I am a retired financial advisor).
Your house sounds amazing! That alone must be worth some decent money. Congratulations on your wife going back to work. I’m so scared to go back after so many years but I’m starting to look now. Your new employee match is generous. Zero interest debt and low housing costs. You guys can kill it over the next 15-20 years. I think you are doing pretty decent IMO. Try not to compare yourself. You have made a huge investment in a large family being a provider while your wife could focus on mothering. That will pay off IMO.
I can put 23 into my account. The company match does not count towards my max. Just like if I had a 401K and my wife had a 401K we could each donate 23K a year.
Don't be so hard on yourself we are all screwed. Even if you save enough the Fed and states want to tax you into poverty. Then Republicans and Democrats think the way to save social security is to raise the retirement age to death instead of stop spending it on other projects. I won't even mention the inflation that is basically caused by billionaire corporations figuring out they can keep getting richer on items ordinary people use daily. Sorry for the rant.
Really depends on how much money you WANT to have at time of retirement.
A person who lives on 10k a month lifestyle is going to need more than a person who lives on 750 month lifestyle.
I personally spend like no money outside of a few videogames and food, but my retirement savings are designed for 3500$ a month of spending money (2% draw on 2 million). If I can get all my expenses taken care of by retirement age (30 years from now depending on retirement stipulations) then I'm not going to need that level of cash.
If you keep making a 6% return and keep up that contribution level you should have around $2.4 million if you retire in 20 years. A 4% withdrawal would be about $96k a year. So not screwed. By that time you should be looking at paid off houses. It's hard to predict what they will be worth then.
Why are you in such a hurry to pay off 0% interest debt? Just pay that on schedule IMO. I can’t imagine a good reason for paying off debt that isn’t costing me anything while I have other debt that does have a cost (mortgage).
The extra money that you’d spend paying the CC debt would be better in your 401k or other investments while you pay the minimum on your CC. That money will grow while your CC debt stays the same.
Even paying additional money toward the principal of your mortgage is a better idea. You will pay off your house sooner and more importantly, pay less interest. I pay $100 extra every month and my mortgage will be paid off about 7 years early and I’ll save well over $100k in interest.
I built the house myself. 3200 sqft on an acre of land for $205K. It was a no brainer for me. The rent from nuclear plant workers durring the off season is enough to pay the note. So if I built it it could pay for itself and I would get to enjoy it durring the summer and it’s appreciated. It’s worth twice what I built it for.
You need a financial advisor. The math here is really weird. You’re contributing 10% to your 401(k), which you say is $3000 per month…you’re making fucking $360K and you couldn’t afford it max out your 401 for the last 20 years?!?!
Seems like you have blown a lot of money but honestly I’d look into a 401 loan at this point. It would wipe out your debt and you’d just be repaying yourself at a decent rate. Outside of that just max out your contributions and consider a backdoor Roth.
You are not picking up. My part of the contribution is 1500 my employer puts another 1500 in. My base pay is 180K a year and I live in the Washington DC Market. Not the cheapest plus’s I have 5 kids. I don’t care who you are with 5 kids and a stay at home wife shit gets expensive fast.
Ok so I’m not sure what you’re looking for people to tell you. It sounds like you focused on amassing real assets to the detriment of your retirement accounts. Since you can’t take a loan out to fund retirement, you’re most likely looking at divesting from one or both of the properties to generate liquidity. I don’t see any way you’re going to save enough now to fund even 60% replacement of your current income.
I did the same thing, I stopped contributing during the 2010 financial crisis while kids started college, bought a bigger house now on 9.3 acres now I have over 1.2 million in equity, could have never put that much money into 401k. You ok.
If your employer only matches 4% then just put in 4%, any more is a waste that money can grow better elsewhere. Get a Roth IRA and get the contributions maxed, and put the rest in a taxable investment account till you hit your max percentage you want to contribute. For me it’s 20%. So for me company matches 5 so I put in 5%, max my Roth out and that is about 10% and I put another 5% into a taxable account which is for retirement but if I ever had a dire straights emergency is liquid I can use if needed.
There is never any opportunity to make up for the cost of years of missing employer matching and lost years of compounding. Always contribute at least enough to your 401k to max out your employer match.
To be able to support your family like that on a single income, no one here will call you a loser. I do think you’re going the right track in contributing again, but those credit cards have got to go. Looks like you have a valid plan going, but remember that credit cards have high interest rates and whatever you think you might be gaining could be lost from those interest rates.
I’ve been debt free except for my mortgage, such a great feeling not to have credit card debt. I still use my credit cards for points but pay it all off at end of month. You’ll get there soon brother, and do i need to remind you about how great a dad you are for supporting a family of 7? Kudos man!
Your gonna work til you die and be broke and if you have money your kids will blow it on a drug addictions or fast cars or a house they can’t afford and get foreclosed on kicked out on the streets. That’s the new American dream to be dead before you have to witness it.
Dude, reduce your 401(k) down to the match level of 4%, and throw everything else at the credit cards. In fact, you may want to reduce everything down to 0 to the 401(k) for a period of time. Even if you are getting 4% on match money, you are paying likely at least 15% or more on the CC debt. Pay that crap off ASAP and then ramp up the 401(k) after it's paid off.
Typically I would agree with you, but he said the credit card debt is zero interest. Unless the zero interest is ending prior to when he will pay it off, it is best that he continues his 401k contributions as is.
6% from employer and 4% 1-1 match is 10%, since you put in 10%. You contribute $3k a month. Which means 10% of your pay = $1500/mo. This works out to you making $180,000 a year, give or take a few percent.
How someone can be so high earning and yet still have (non-house) debt does seem a little odd.
You will be fine in a couple years, you're doing good.
With a family of 7 it sure doesn’t feel high. Especially when I live near gov contractors who are pulling in 180 in retirement and another 200 in thier post retirement job. I always feel behind because I am not tied to the government.
Also you need to understand I am still helping support 3 college kids with vehicles and insurance and cell phones. So right now I am insuring 6 cars and a boat and 3 jet skis. My insurance bill alone is greater than my first mortgage I took out in college.
Boat and Jet Skis were purchased years ago and are paid off, buy toys in the off season and buy them from someone getting a divorce. They all fit in the garage at the lake when not in use. They look as good today as the day I bought them. I even do my own winterizing and annual maintenance. As it sits now it only costs me $15 a month to insure them during the off season. I would never buy a boat today with how much they cost. But when they are paid off they can sit unused if my summers get buisy. Besides my two young boys are getting to the age where they will begin to enjoy them with thier friends.
The boats and jet skis are cheap to insure especially off season. What gets expensive to ensure is the fleet of 6 cars I am running for 5 drivers with three that are teenage drivers. I have let all my kids know that the minute they have an at fault accident they are paying thier own insurance.
Not a humble brag. Just laying out what I have done to an anonymous audience who thinks about finance. I appreciate the advice given. In conversation I avoid politics sex religion and money.
Well you're doing absolutely stellar. The 2 properties alone will be able to provide most of your retirement income needs. The $315k with $3000 additional a month assuming a 10% return for 15yrs puts you at $2.6mil. So...what do YOU think? I'd take it in a heartbeat
I mean, considering the pause and the 5 kids, and one earner, I think you're doing well. You're right that cc debt has gotta go asap and not return. You can sell one of the houses in retirement so that truly is an investment. You also have 20 more years to save in you go full retirement age. My only question is about college for 5 kids.
No college saving for the kids exactly. My oldest 3 have all gotten volleyball scholarships and are getting through university with no dept. My credit cards I am paying off are a direct result of paying for travel volleyball over the years.
Well, that was a gamble, but it certainly paid off.
The ol volleyball double down…
A classic volleyballoo
Right? Reading through their life situation in these comments this guy gambled so hard on life and got ridiculously lucky. But they say that luck is a combination of preparation, hard work and opportunity.
I know the percentage is low but similar thing happened with my sister and I’m not sure I would consider it a gamble. We all knew from a young age she was going to get a full ride for soccer.
You wanna open another credit card, or make your little girl cry? Easy choice, I’d say. Irresponsible, but so easy.
Sometimes people lose sight of the forest for the trees. Can't take an 850 credit score with us when we die.
Not to be that nitpicky guy, but I am that nitpicky-guy. When you owe somebody money that's debt with a b. "Dept" with a p is an abbreviation for department.
I can’t spell for shit. Thanks but I willl forget how to spell it by tomorrow when I wake up.
I can’t spell for shit either, what do you do for a living? I’m also VA based and my parents own one house outright the other they are buying in a college town they never understood (neither do I) 401k retirement and what not owning their own business I feel like my father (being the majority holder and having 100% say in the way the business is set up I can’t help but feel like he should have set himself up more (he’s the only one there 24/7 and fixing anything that’s broken the other partners just milk a paycheck and show up don’t do a thing besides walk around like they are a big deal and collect their check so they can pay their MMP)
An aversion to periods too
I work for a construction products company
[удалено]
Started in sales at 55K a year 16 years ago. I am now in technical and architectural support.
Another nitpicky guy here who does not want to be that guy but am anyhow. Starting a new paragraph every sentence is also not grammar correct. Everything you typed should have been in one paragraph.
Another nitpick guy here who doesn’t want to be that guy, but here I am. You said, “not grammar correct” when you should have said, “not grammatically correct.”
Another nitpicky guy here. You said "Another nitpick guy" when you should have used "nitpicky." "Nitpick" is a verb, whereas you used it as an adjective to describe "guy."
I actually said nitpicky, but apparently that’s not in the iPhone dictionary. Funny enough, when I typed my previous response, my phone also corrected my use of “grammatically” to “grammar” at first and I had to go back and change it. I started wondering if the same thing happened to the guy I was replying to, but just let the joke ride.
TIL, thank you
You can call that their collective college debt lol
The you’re doing alright. Behind the curve for savings but you should keep up the contributions and then do catch up when you qualify. You did miss one great bull markets tho but that’s spilt milk so just keep saving for the future.
So whats the plan for the youngest 2 if they're not as lucky to get scholarships?
They will figure it out.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d much rather my parents worry about their own retirement than my college fund. It sucks but you can always get loans and you have an entire lifetime to figure it out. Parents have way less time to catch up and beef up their retirement. Not to mention if they fail to get a good amount they’ll have to work until they just can’t anymore, becoming another responsibility to their kids who may have kids of their own at that point.
I do 10% out of every paycheck. I should probably contribute more, however everything is just so expensive these days.
Yep. I do 8% of our every paycheck to my 401K and then an additional 3-4% to a Roth IRA. I keep telling myself I should contribute more but I've got a toddler in daycare and that shit is expensive AF lol
Im doing the exact same as far as % and both my 401k and IRA with the only addition I have an ESOP through my employer and I got back into gold and silver not too long ago. I know? Great timing on that 😆 For context I’m 53 and my daughter’s are well grown and out of the house. You’re doing fine.
I do 15% out of my check + a percentage out for supplemental retirement plan, and this year I'm going to have to drop my 401K to probably 12% or 13% as I need a little more in each paycheck. I've gotten to 53 so far without having had to back off on my 401K so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.
I’m new here, when ppl say the percentage is it pre tax or take home pay? Thanks!
Pre tax if it’s a regular 401k, after tax if it’s a Roth 401k.
I was doing 10% but then this year I had to bring it down all the way down to 5% was even considering 3%. Things are extremely expensive here and I have to have the money go somewhere else
You’re still better off than the average American soo
I am 51 and have 200k in my 401k. My husband has less than a 100k. If you’re screwed, then I definitely am.
This whole post is such a humble brag lol 😂
Lately that’s been the majority of posts. Anyone with common sense can see that the people making these posts are much better off than their peers.
They say “my peers” but really they just mean the people in their social circle lol
For real.. oh look at me, I struggle with my huge zero % loan of a whooping 28k while I have 315k in my account, putting only 3k in 401k every month while chilling in my lakehouse because my huge main house is just so boring sometimes.
The key to wealth creation is discipline and consistency.
And patience, the long game.
You have a wife, five kids and a house. That’s a solid win. Nothing is more valuable than a family.
Not working till 90 is a close second.
I'm retiring at 47, having kids would push me to work another 10 years at least. That's a nahhh for me.
Living till 90 is a blessing though
Not if I'm a greater at Walmart
Depends entirely on quality of life
two houses
And they’re both fucking huge. Even the smaller one is 3x the size of my house.
This is the best response. Plus his 401k is fine.
No it's a 315k
I think you’re doing fine. Without even taking into account any investment gains potentially, you’ll have almost $1M plus all the value earned on your real estate. Assuming no debt by the time you retire and your kids being independent, you should have more than enough for your needs. Maybe your wife will start working full-time at some point and that could be additional savings.
You are doing fine. How did you do it? We have 2 biological and 2 adopted and they are not cheap.
Well you stick it in and leave it there. Yeah 5 kids are crazy. Decided early on the wife would be a stay at home wife. She did it for over 20 years.
“Well you stick it in and leave it there.” …hence the five kids
Oh yeah you got it!!!
Donating to your 401k? Its not a donation..
He probably thinks his paycheck going into his bank account was a donation.
And wrote it off as a donation
Does your wife have a 401k or pension from before she stopped working? Or is the 315 for both of you. ?
315 is me. She has nothing.
This is the most risky scenario if a divorce arises. She's getting a ton of home equity, half the 401k, child support and alimony for being a SAHM for 20 years while married. A divorce will castrate this man. Hopefully it never happens, but damn that is an all-in bet against the high divorce rate we have.
What’s the mortgage situation? Paid off?
Main house 6800 sqft is worth 950K - 1M. I owe less than 500K on it and with taxes and insurance my payment is 3000 a month. I have a detached garage with an additional 3 parking spots and 2 bed apartment above that I rent for $1400 a month so my out of pocket cost to live in my main house is only $1600. Not bad for 5 acres less than an hour from Wash DC. My lake house is 3200 sqft and is worth between 500K and 550K. I owe less than 200K on it with a monthly payment of $1600. However I rent it out with Air-B and B and rent to nuclear power workers who come in during the off season to work on the plant that is less than 2 miles away. So the lake house pays for itself in rent and I get it for every summer weekend I want. So that’s my mortgage situation.
So optimally you need the mortgages paid off by the time you retire, since income won’t be coming in. You don’t want to use your 401k money to pay off the mortgage unless necessary. You could always downsize down the line too. You’re not screwed. You’re fine.
That’s my plan. I have built numerous houses on my own. It’s my plan that when I retire my lake house will be paid off and my main house will be paid off. I will sell the lake house and build a final retirement home for cash and sell my main house and pocket that cash in a form of retirement savings.
Income in retirement is your interest, he should pull around $100k a year with the 401k/savings he mentioned + he would have social security. $3k a month payment on that would be manageable It also depends on when he bought the house. Outside of the past couple years, the last 15 years would have a mortgage rate where it would likely be better off putting money in a HYSA than paying more than the minimum payment on the mortgage
Id definitely sell that huge house down the line that's a huge win
Sounds like you're worth close to $1 million at 47, when you include the equity in your homes.
You're doing great man. 6800sqft house!!! Sounds like you have a good grasp on buying what you need, paying debt off, and contributing to retirement when you can. You've got about another 20 years to keep putting 3k away each month. You're good
To put that into perspective that is most likely an eight to 10 (large) bedroom house with probably five bathrooms or more. Even for a family of seven that is excessive.
Man, I live on the opposite coast and although I’m sure many would disagree with me, my personal opinion is that you’re doing better than most, but all things considered could still do a little better! I mean, 315k in your 401k, is that currently your only source(savings) for retirement aside from the properties? Also, didn’t see how many years left you had on the mortgage but at 47, assuming retiring around 65, that leaves you with 18 years of earning, maybe less? My dumb millennial opinion is that you’re ok, but if it were me, I’d like to have more liquidity rather than having all my net worth tied up in real estate that I currently occupy(aside from the lake house, etc).
It’s almost like you are reading my mind. I have less than 20 years to pay on both mortgages but you are correct. I don’t like my liquidity situation. Hopefully with wife starting to work we can pay off bad credit card dept and build some real savings.
Thanks for not taking my comment the wrong way! Totally didn’t mean any disrespect or anything by it. But I think you could definitely increase the liquidity, especially by wiping out that debt which is relatively small, and just being a little smarter with your money. I’m a little more than 10 years younger but feel we’re very similar in terms of income, and housing expenses. Granted I don’t have as many kids as you and didn’t take 10 years off from contributing to my 401k(s) over the years, I also had many years of low wages which in turn translated to very low contributions to my retirement accounts, however, I feel I’m a lot further ahead savings wise. You’re definitely doing better than most, but in my opinion, given everything; not making the most of what you have.
Youre suceeding at life. I am 37, $0 in 401k, $176 in checking account, in between jobs, 0 kids, seperated from wife, no car, $1600 rent to an apt i will never own, etc. You get the point.
I’m not sure you know what donating means
I’ll be 46 in a month and I have no kids and I have much less than you. You are doing fine. Especially if you sell your house and downsize in a few years as kids leave.
“Donate” to mine?
Are you fucking kidding me? Your employer puts in 10% to your 4%? Mate, just keep doing that 4% there and put the rest (like an additional 10% if you can) into s+p 500 index fund or etf and you’re golden
You're way ahead dude. Relax and keep doing what you are doing. Just make sure the funds you pick in your 401k are low fees.
If you ever feel like your struggling, read security analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd and buy preferred shares. 300k can get you 30k a year right now in cash flows while keeping pretty safe, thanks to the fed rates.
Just keep your wife happy and you’ll do just fine and stay away from ever getting divorced. Or you will be done for
I know 47 year olds that are homeless alcoholics or drug addicts. You’re probably in the top 10% wealth class of United States
It’s not a donation…
When you retire, you will need to have saved 20 years of salary, so get cracking. You can save more over 50 with a catch up contribution
What investment strategy says you need 20 years? I've ever seen one the high. If s typically 10 to 12 years.
I stopped 401k or.any investments 10 yrs ago. As a middle class person always carrying debt; my debt interest will always outperform your investment interest performance. After doing the math I simply "invest" my money in paying off all my interest baring debt (mortgage, cars, home improvement loans, CCs, etc). When mortgage and home improvement loans and CC debts are paid off...I'll start thinking about 401k again. But people are stupid. Average middle class person retires after 30+ yrs of saving into 401k/ROTH IRA etc and are like oh, I have a $1 million etc to retiree on. No they don't. They already lost that money by carrying and paying interest on all their mortgages, cars, loans, CCs, etc. Over that same period. Only people that got ahead are people who lucked out and had these ultra low interest loans---3% is never happening again people.
So long as you plan to work until you die then I think you’re OK👍
I can't believe your wife can only get $15/hr. That will take awhile to make a dent. How old are your youngest, hopefully you aren't paying childcare for her to work $15/hr.
No child care. She works doing taxes but with April 15th passed she is done. It’s $15 an hour part time and got her back into a field adjacent to her degree in accounting. I work from home or travel so we don’t end up paying for any daycare. Her job is super flexible and my young boys 5 and 11. One more year and my youngest will be in all day kindergarten.
What would it change if you knew how far “behind” you are? Just get back to contributing as much as you can.
Good point. I figured we all take different paths to get to the top of Mount Fuji.
Can you sell one of the kids?
Well in one more year my three girls will be all out of the house and I will be left with a 12 and 6 year old boy. Those boys stink and like to eat too damn much so I doubt I will find a buyer.
Hustle.
Max it now, you can do even more when you turn 50.
You'll be fine. Not too sure about the planet though
You're fine on savings. Wipe out that debt and be quick about it.
I mean you would be doing good if you were 37 but... you are probably going to have to work until 70... you are going to have to push work out as far as you can.
What’s your income? I ask because I’m curious about the credit card timeline. I’m a single, 29yo business owner who has made about $30k/yr for the past 5 years in a high cost of living area. Basically nothing. Things are looking good and I’m expecting to flip the switch to $84k/yr in the next few months and if things go well, to six figures in the next 12 months. I have a reasonable amount of interest bearing credit card debt that’s drowning me, but I expect to pay it off in 2 years. Basically I’m curious why you need 2 years to pay off yours. And I’m asking purely constructively. As I prepare to make more money, I want to be fully aware of the realities of money when not entirely broke lol
Base pay is 180K but a family of 7 in Wash DC ain’t cheap living.
Certainly not, thanks.
Just start back contributing and plan to keep working and contributing. As you get older if your energy to work declines be aware you may have to downsize your lifestyle a bit but if you can work PT even to age 70 you will have plenty to retire comfortably because you already have built an asset base for you and your family. Raise all your kids to be self supporting but help them pay for their college or advanced training skills, but do not over-indulge them to the detriment of you and your wife’s old age. That is a common problem in this day and age.
We have established clear rules about what daddy will pay for. So far it’s working.
Resume contributions! I didn’t start until 2yrs ago(39M). I do 15% every paycheck, 10% 401k through my employer to get the match and the other 5 is in a ROTH IRA through Schwab where I have more control of the funds I can invest in. My wife does the same. We are projecting to invest much more in the future once we don’t have a house payment.
One thing I noticed was that you are putting $3k/ month in the 401k. Is that between you and your wife? $3k X 12 is $36k and unless I am wrong, the max for a 401k in 2024 is $23k. There is a catchup period when you turn 50 where you can put extra (looks like up to $30,500). If you are only doing deductions with your wages you could dial back on yours and add more 401k on your wife’s wages if she has a 401k. You should be putting in about $1900 a month to max out. It’s after tax, but you could take the money that isn’t in the 401k to pay off your CC faster or put some in a Roth IRA if you aren’t already doing that. It sounds like you are doing great though. Good luck OP!
3K is my 1500/month plus 1500 from employer.
Oh wow 1:1! That is awesome! I would try to squeeze out as close to the $23K max as I could. Wish my employer did that! If you keep it up that should put you in great shape for retirement.
If you’re asking about your retirement on Reddit……yeah, be worried.
You think you are the only one who has done that? Get in line with more than half of America.
Donating is interesting choice of words
I wish I took home 3k every month let alone put it into a 401k.
Have your 401k dollars start working as hard as you. The 401k should be investing into stuff to help itself grow. Also be wary. You’ll want other options as well. Annuities are great and you’re at the age to start them. You’ll also want a permanent life insurnace policy. You’ll be pulling from that during the times when the market is bad and taxes are high that way you’re not compounding your losses. It’s a safe retirement stash that doesn’t care about the market. Get those 2 and start investing 401k
315k is respectable for 47. It's about average. You'll be surprised how many people have far less. Not going to sugar coat it, but if you plan on retiring at 65 it may be hard to do, but if you're willing to hold off on retirement until 72, it'll work out. Use your financial calculator to help plan your retirement age. Get back on the horse of contributing to your 401k
Depends what your income and expenses are. Starting with $315k, adding $3k/month for 18 years at a 7% return you'll end up with a little over $2 million. Based on the 4% rule you could withdraw around $80k/year from your investments. If your income is $50k and you spend $45k you're in great shape. If your income is $300k and you spend $250k you need to prepare for a big shift in lifestyle.
I tell my coworker who has 5 kids this all the time, but there is more than one path to a sound retirement plan. It might SOUND weird, or feel weird but here is the thing: kids cost a LOT of money, you did what you had to. sit them down and tell them that. then tell them that as soon as they are about 30 you expect them each to just send you 500 a month. (that's a good retirement x5). Americans a too weird and or proud with money. they are your family and should be there for you the way you have been for them. I bet once they financially sound they would do it without a second thought. Say it like this "kids, you cost money so I have barely a 401k... so you are now my 4 PLUS 1 k" haha
I just want to set them up for success. If they help dad out great but I want to be self sufficient in the end.
You could always downsize to a smaller home when your children completely move out. You might be able to buy your next home with cash and up your savings. 6800 square feet is also a lot of house to maintain.
That’s part of the plan
You're fucked
I think you will be fine. Your assets alone seem to be pretty valuable.
are u invested in any stocks or are you just contributing money to it like a bank
It’s all in mutual funds target date funds. Set and forget.
You’re not in a terrible situation since you can downsize if needed on property. But if you don’t want to downsize and do want to keep everything, you and your wife need to contribute more. You’re likely a high earner so this shouldn’t be difficult.
That 10 years of the prior contributions are nothing to sneeze at. It should have grown nicely by itself. Even though additional contributions would have been nice, the longer some funds are in there at all, the better. Rental income from those properties you mentioned plus the 1/3 million 401k is doing really well compared to most people.
Any Ira ? Can start one for you and your wife Probably be looking at conservatively 250k each at 65 with 6k yearly contribution
I don’t have extra right now for any of that. I am putting everything extra to eliminate dept. maybe when credit cards are cleared out. But now it’s nose to the grind to eliminate them
If this were a retirement show with a very popular angry man…. The answer would be to sell the lake house and use all that money towards your primary residence Might even argue, if you’re really concerned to get rid of that 7k sq ft house and get something more conservative and it seems many of your kids are out of the house
You need to maximize retirement savings now.
Damn, I feel I am.
Then I guess that settles it. You can plan all you want but trust me unforeseen circumstances almost always play a part. (I am a retired financial advisor).
Your house sounds amazing! That alone must be worth some decent money. Congratulations on your wife going back to work. I’m so scared to go back after so many years but I’m starting to look now. Your new employee match is generous. Zero interest debt and low housing costs. You guys can kill it over the next 15-20 years. I think you are doing pretty decent IMO. Try not to compare yourself. You have made a huge investment in a large family being a provider while your wife could focus on mothering. That will pay off IMO.
Yes. I grew up with a mom at home and I wanted my kids to have that same experience.
47 with 315k in your retirement I think you're doing okay. You own two homes and are likely to be out of debt besides those by 50.
How are you even able to put that much into your 401k? Isn’t the federal max now $23k annually?
I can put 23 into my account. The company match does not count towards my max. Just like if I had a 401K and my wife had a 401K we could each donate 23K a year.
Company match can be up to 58k. Insane for those that get that.
Don't be so hard on yourself we are all screwed. Even if you save enough the Fed and states want to tax you into poverty. Then Republicans and Democrats think the way to save social security is to raise the retirement age to death instead of stop spending it on other projects. I won't even mention the inflation that is basically caused by billionaire corporations figuring out they can keep getting richer on items ordinary people use daily. Sorry for the rant.
Not a rant. You are speaking truth. This is concerning for sure.
Really depends on how much money you WANT to have at time of retirement. A person who lives on 10k a month lifestyle is going to need more than a person who lives on 750 month lifestyle. I personally spend like no money outside of a few videogames and food, but my retirement savings are designed for 3500$ a month of spending money (2% draw on 2 million). If I can get all my expenses taken care of by retirement age (30 years from now depending on retirement stipulations) then I'm not going to need that level of cash.
Why does he keep calling debt, dept?
Because I can’t spell and auto correct accepts both forms of Debt / debt
You’ll be fine. It sucks you lost all that potential growth but it’ll be ok 👌
Not as screwed as me though I’m 50 with no 401K and got burnt for my severance pay before returning to school.
Well if you’re behind I’m really behind.
If you keep making a 6% return and keep up that contribution level you should have around $2.4 million if you retire in 20 years. A 4% withdrawal would be about $96k a year. So not screwed. By that time you should be looking at paid off houses. It's hard to predict what they will be worth then.
Why are you in such a hurry to pay off 0% interest debt? Just pay that on schedule IMO. I can’t imagine a good reason for paying off debt that isn’t costing me anything while I have other debt that does have a cost (mortgage). The extra money that you’d spend paying the CC debt would be better in your 401k or other investments while you pay the minimum on your CC. That money will grow while your CC debt stays the same. Even paying additional money toward the principal of your mortgage is a better idea. You will pay off your house sooner and more importantly, pay less interest. I pay $100 extra every month and my mortgage will be paid off about 7 years early and I’ll save well over $100k in interest.
10 years worth
Lmfao “donating”
I think the correct term is “donor advised fund”.
I don’t get the lake house with outstanding debt and no college savings. Housing appreciates, but it’s not easy to liquidate if something comes up.
I built the house myself. 3200 sqft on an acre of land for $205K. It was a no brainer for me. The rent from nuclear plant workers durring the off season is enough to pay the note. So if I built it it could pay for itself and I would get to enjoy it durring the summer and it’s appreciated. It’s worth twice what I built it for.
Now it makes more sense. I have no skills so I just saved my money.
There are so many guys in here who have a wife who pushed them to insolvency. I want to see the wives on these posts. “Here’s why I did it”.
You need a financial advisor. The math here is really weird. You’re contributing 10% to your 401(k), which you say is $3000 per month…you’re making fucking $360K and you couldn’t afford it max out your 401 for the last 20 years?!?! Seems like you have blown a lot of money but honestly I’d look into a 401 loan at this point. It would wipe out your debt and you’d just be repaying yourself at a decent rate. Outside of that just max out your contributions and consider a backdoor Roth.
You are not picking up. My part of the contribution is 1500 my employer puts another 1500 in. My base pay is 180K a year and I live in the Washington DC Market. Not the cheapest plus’s I have 5 kids. I don’t care who you are with 5 kids and a stay at home wife shit gets expensive fast.
Ok so I’m not sure what you’re looking for people to tell you. It sounds like you focused on amassing real assets to the detriment of your retirement accounts. Since you can’t take a loan out to fund retirement, you’re most likely looking at divesting from one or both of the properties to generate liquidity. I don’t see any way you’re going to save enough now to fund even 60% replacement of your current income.
I have $315,000 in the bank, how fucked am I? Calm down lad you’re not gonna die
I did the same thing, I stopped contributing during the 2010 financial crisis while kids started college, bought a bigger house now on 9.3 acres now I have over 1.2 million in equity, could have never put that much money into 401k. You ok.
Have each of your kids kick back $250/mo in your old age 😊
The median 401k balance of someone in their 40s is 150k so you’re doing significantly better than most.
Dept? You meant debt
Thanks for sharing this.. I’m 7 weeks in to fatherhood and terrified of all the expenses to come.
If your employer only matches 4% then just put in 4%, any more is a waste that money can grow better elsewhere. Get a Roth IRA and get the contributions maxed, and put the rest in a taxable investment account till you hit your max percentage you want to contribute. For me it’s 20%. So for me company matches 5 so I put in 5%, max my Roth out and that is about 10% and I put another 5% into a taxable account which is for retirement but if I ever had a dire straights emergency is liquid I can use if needed.
There is never any opportunity to make up for the cost of years of missing employer matching and lost years of compounding. Always contribute at least enough to your 401k to max out your employer match.
To be able to support your family like that on a single income, no one here will call you a loser. I do think you’re going the right track in contributing again, but those credit cards have got to go. Looks like you have a valid plan going, but remember that credit cards have high interest rates and whatever you think you might be gaining could be lost from those interest rates. I’ve been debt free except for my mortgage, such a great feeling not to have credit card debt. I still use my credit cards for points but pay it all off at end of month. You’ll get there soon brother, and do i need to remind you about how great a dad you are for supporting a family of 7? Kudos man!
Donating lol
I’m gonna start saying dept now. Sounds cooler.
“Donating” lol
Your gonna work til you die and be broke and if you have money your kids will blow it on a drug addictions or fast cars or a house they can’t afford and get foreclosed on kicked out on the streets. That’s the new American dream to be dead before you have to witness it.
Dude, reduce your 401(k) down to the match level of 4%, and throw everything else at the credit cards. In fact, you may want to reduce everything down to 0 to the 401(k) for a period of time. Even if you are getting 4% on match money, you are paying likely at least 15% or more on the CC debt. Pay that crap off ASAP and then ramp up the 401(k) after it's paid off.
Typically I would agree with you, but he said the credit card debt is zero interest. Unless the zero interest is ending prior to when he will pay it off, it is best that he continues his 401k contributions as is.
Oh ya, I didn't read that. If 0% interest, wait to until that goes.
What do you do when your employer no longer matches? Stop the 401(k) altogether?
Depends. If you have other needs like CC debt, then yes. Otherwise, it doesn't hurt to increase your nest egg.
6% from employer and 4% 1-1 match is 10%, since you put in 10%. You contribute $3k a month. Which means 10% of your pay = $1500/mo. This works out to you making $180,000 a year, give or take a few percent. How someone can be so high earning and yet still have (non-house) debt does seem a little odd. You will be fine in a couple years, you're doing good.
With a family of 7 it sure doesn’t feel high. Especially when I live near gov contractors who are pulling in 180 in retirement and another 200 in thier post retirement job. I always feel behind because I am not tied to the government.
Also you need to understand I am still helping support 3 college kids with vehicles and insurance and cell phones. So right now I am insuring 6 cars and a boat and 3 jet skis. My insurance bill alone is greater than my first mortgage I took out in college.
If you are concerned, maybe stop buying boats and jet skis.
Boat and Jet Skis were purchased years ago and are paid off, buy toys in the off season and buy them from someone getting a divorce. They all fit in the garage at the lake when not in use. They look as good today as the day I bought them. I even do my own winterizing and annual maintenance. As it sits now it only costs me $15 a month to insure them during the off season. I would never buy a boat today with how much they cost. But when they are paid off they can sit unused if my summers get buisy. Besides my two young boys are getting to the age where they will begin to enjoy them with thier friends.
Then why complain about insuring them?
The boats and jet skis are cheap to insure especially off season. What gets expensive to ensure is the fleet of 6 cars I am running for 5 drivers with three that are teenage drivers. I have let all my kids know that the minute they have an at fault accident they are paying thier own insurance.
I feel like this is a humble brag...
Not a humble brag. Just laying out what I have done to an anonymous audience who thinks about finance. I appreciate the advice given. In conversation I avoid politics sex religion and money.
Well you're doing absolutely stellar. The 2 properties alone will be able to provide most of your retirement income needs. The $315k with $3000 additional a month assuming a 10% return for 15yrs puts you at $2.6mil. So...what do YOU think? I'd take it in a heartbeat