I just missed these two because I decided to save for retirement

[CSdot]

Idecided I might want to retire in 10 years at age 54. I ran the numbers and I have enough set aside in various retirement accounts that it is very doable. While I don't have to retire, since the house will be paid off and the kids' college funds will be fully funded, I at least want it to be an option.

 

I met with a financial planner and told him I need to save up enough money to live one between 44 - 59.5 when I will be legally old enough to tap my retirement savings. No problem he says. I transfered a chunk of money from savings to seed the account, then set it up to direct draw $3,000 per month. Using a conservative rate of return, I am told I will have more than what I told him I expect to need.

 

However, since I redirected some of my mad money to this savings plan, I will need to cut back on my coin purchases. I just missed these two:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231245756978?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331210993748?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

 

 

 

 

[x2rider]

I'd put retirement off for another 6 months to get that one :-)

 

[orifdoc]

This to me is an immensely interesting thread. I don't think there are that many people in the US who have an actual retirement plan. For them, it's something they'll figure out when/if they get there. Perhaps the membership here is skewed a bit to the upper end of the economic ladder and perhaps the membership here does a little better than average when it comes to planning......... but then again, maybe not. We all know that as a group we aren't perfect models of well-rounded individuals.

 

Anyone who can plan well enough to be able to retire at 54 is doing something right in my book. Kudos to the OP. It's not simply a matter of earning more either. Without some self-imposed discipline, most people will tend to spend just a little more than they make, regardless of the actual numbers. The temptation to splurge on a really nice coin is hard to resist, especially with the devil on your shoulder whispering that it's actually just an "investment".

 

I've always thought that if I used designated retirement money to fund a coin purchase that I'd be on thin ice. Obviously everyone comes at this differently. I imagine many dealers have their entire retirement plan right there in the display case. Perhaps hobbyists who view their collection as their primary retirement plan will make out just fine. There is a very real possibility that these "non-traditional" investments will perform better than a supposedly safer 401k. We all know the "mortgage the house to attend the auction" story.

 

..... always interesting to think about.

 

[CSdot]

Thanks orifdoc. Not sure I will retire at 54, but want to have the option. I have always been good at planning and compartmentalizing things (like investments).

[Mark T]

If you retire that young make sure you have plenty to keep you busy otherwise you will be bored to tears. I am not sure where you live but to be comfortable I would plan on having about 2 million saved up if you retire that early. What do you do for work now ??

 

[CSdot]

I am a partner at a large regional law firm. My wife is a judge. If I retire early I might not be living the Ferrari lifestyle (I like the 328 in your avatar), but we should be able to travel.

[Mark T]

I am a partner at a large regional law firm. My wife is a judge. If I retire early I might not be living the Ferrari lifestyle (I like the 328 in your avatar), but we should be able to travel.

 

 

What exactly is a Ferrari lifestyle ? If you are a partner in a Regional Law firm and your wife is a Judge you both have a very nice combined income and should have no trouble retiring early as long as you save.

 

[CSdot]

I started squirreling away money in my 20s when I started my career. Whenever I got a raise, I would up the monthly amount I would contribute to my tax deferred accounts. If I got a $10,000 raise, I would increased what I set aside per year by $2,500. That way my standard of living would increase by a portion of my raise, but so would my piggy bank. Since I never lived off of the full amount of my raises, I never really noticed going without. I shifted to contributing to our Roth 401(k) when we started offering it some years back. I am note sure if that makes sense or not (I am told I am the only one who contributes to the Roth 401(k) at my firm), but really I like the idea of getting my money back tax free.

 

Additionally, I avoid debt where possible. When I buy real estate, I get a 15 year note, but I pay cash for autos, vacations, large and small purchases. My kids' college funds are nearly funded.

 

I have a healthy emergency fund. That way if something bad happens, I can absorb it without having to borrow money from the bank because I am my own bank.

 

As for finding something to do, I can always pick up a professorship at the local college or law school, a judgeship, or maybe something completely outside of my area of training. I have recently considered taking up acting, and my friends are trying to talk me into running for local office.

 

There are a lot of things I would like to try in life, and I don't want to be locked into working a job just to survive like many people I know. I want to do a job because I want to do it. With financial freedom, that is possible.

 

 

[CSdot]

I am a partner at a large regional law firm. My wife is a judge. If I retire early I might not be living the Ferrari lifestyle (I like the 328 in your avatar), but we should be able to travel.

 

 

What exactly is a Ferrari lifestyle ? If you are a partner in a Regional Law firm and your wife is a Judge you both have a very nice combined income and should have no trouble retiring early as long as you save.

 

I remember the first time I drove a Ferrari. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Heart racing, pure excitement.

 

Now if they could just design them so the placement of the wheel well doesn't make reaching the pedals so uncomfortable. That said, they are still beautiful cars.

[Mark T]

I have 2 IRA’s , a Roth and a conventional . I have only contributed to the Roth over the last 10 years. I will take the tax free aspect over the Roth VS the tax deduction of the conventional IRA. I never had any issues with the wheel getting in the way of me reaching the pedals in my Ferrari. I am short so maybe that helps. Getting in and out of the car is a pain , especially when you have a bad lower back like I do .

[CSdot]

Maybe the 348 is the one I am thinking of with the awkward foot area. I went the Amelia Island car show a couple of months ago. The rare car market is heating up. I looked at a 512BB, but it was night time and I almost got trapped in the car because they hid the door latches so well.

 

I still have a passion for the early 70s targa top Dinos. Nice looking 6 cylinder car.

[MJ]

Health insurance is a reason a lot of folks continue to work

 

 

MJ

[mtnstyne]

Retirement? What is that? I never planned on living as long as I have.

[Mark T]

I noticed that the exotic car market has picked up . There are still to many 328’s on the road , eventually they will be more collectible. I bought my 328 in 2003 with 29 K miles. It now has 37 K . I drove it a lot the first few years , now I maybe put 400 miles on it a year. I want to keep the miles low however you need to drive these cars , they don’t do well if they just sit around. I remember maybe 25 years ago you could pick up a DINO for under 30 K . Now you pay on average 200 K

[RWB]

" DINO" --- as in Fred Flintstone?

[Walkerfan]

" DINO" --- as in Fred Flintstone?

 

Named to honor Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari's son and heir Dino Ferrari.

[CSdot]

Retirement? What is that? I never planned on living as long as I have.

 

Too bad we don't have a "like" button on this forum. (thumbs u

 

One reason I want to enable myself to retire if I want is my father and grandfather were dead before they reached 65.

[CSdot]

I noticed that the exotic car market has picked up . There are still to many 328’s on the road , eventually they will be more collectible. I bought my 328 in 2003 with 29 K miles. It now has 37 K . I drove it a lot the first few years , now I maybe put 400 miles on it a year. I want to keep the miles low however you need to drive these cars , they don’t do well if they just sit around. I remember maybe 25 years ago you could pick up a DINO for under 30 K . Now you pay on average 200 K

 

The one in my post above went for $429,000. http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1065066

 

328s are great looking cars. More stylish than the 308, but more practical than the 348. If I remember correctly, the 328 was the last model without power steering. There is something to be said about a car where you can feel and interact with the road like that. These new exotics, with their automatic shifting devices, etc, are a different animal.

[rrwwss49]

Retire as soon as you can reasonably afford to. Being unleashed from work is a beautiful thing.

[mailman1959]

I can retire anytime after next July when I turn 56. I will have 27 years in the P.O., will try to stick it out for 3 more years if I have no health problems to get my full pension. I will have 29 years of putting money in my IRA, I should be able to collect at least as much as my current salary with pension, social security, and my IRA. To any of you young collectors I would advice putting money in your IRA to max your contributions before buying any high priced coins. You can always buy coins, you only have that year to max your contributions.

[originalisbest]

This would be a pipe dream for myself and I suspect many others. Try retirement if im lucky, a severely underwater condo, no way currently to fund a childs college education, barely making it paycheck to paycheck with an ever increasing credit card debt load. Any discretionary purchases are at $20 or so and those have to be carefully considered.

 

Depending on one's pov, the op's problem is not much of one to write home about.

[thebeav]

no way currently to fund a childs college education

 

I'm sorry to hear of your situation, and yes, I'm sure many of us are in that boat.

 

I was just talking about this stuff with someone yesterday. Where does it say that we have to finance a childs education. When I was a kid, I worked my tail off and saved the money and paid for my own education (we're not talking Ivy league here). My friends had cars at 16, I didn't. It wasn't easy but it worked for me. ALL my friends that are around my age have bought their kids a car at a young age. Why ? I questioned them all and reminded them that no one bought a car for them. They earned their own and appreciated it.

 

As a parent, you may want to carry your child into an easy early life, but you're certainly not required to.

 

I hope your personal situation improves original.....

 

Paul

[originalisbest]

no way currently to fund a childs college education

 

I'm sorry to hear of your situation, and yes, I'm sure many of us are in that boat.

 

I was just talking about this stuff with someone yesterday. Where does it say that we have to finance a childs education. When I was a kid, I worked my tail off and saved the money and paid for my own education (we're not talking Ivy league here). My friends had cars at 16, I didn't. It wasn't easy but it worked for me. ALL my friends that are around my age have bought their kids a car at a young age. Why ? I questioned them all and reminded them that no one bought a car for them. They earned their own and appreciated it.

 

As a parent, you may want to carry your child into an easy early life, but you're certainly not required to.

 

I hope your personal situation improves original.....

 

Paul

 

I appreciate it, and was just venting more about my personal situation, vs. the OP's. Hopefully my take doesn't come off harshly at the OP, as I would love to be where he is currently. Just my envy showing.

 

It is a fact I would envy anyone in a position like the OP's and wouldn't mind being there myself. But, my situation isn't going to remain as sticky as it is right now forever (maybe another year of it?) -- it's a combination of an unusual childcare situation that's very expensive (mostly because we're doing things by the book, and not paying under the table as we've seen many do) which tacks on a great deal of state and fed taxes on top of what we pay for the childcare itself. Add to that the assessments associated with my underwater, under-constant-repair condo (never buy a condo, kids! Boy, will I tell my daughter that) and that's the "perfect financial storm" I'm currently in. There's a bright spot though, gold seems on a downtrend again, so perhaps in the future, I can replace the pieces I've had to sell recently to help make ends meet, maybe for the same or less money. You never know.

 

As much as I have things to complain about, there are others worse off and I should've remembered them before posting in the first place. I do have a pretty decent job and feel lucky to have kept it even while trying to tackle too many external expenses.

 

I think your point about a kid working to pay their own way is well-taken, certainly any money I've earned myself means more than simply getting a gift check, as appreciated as such a gesture is. But I feel very strongly, mostly, about getting my daughter to adulthood without a financial burden to deal with right out of the gate, as it's no less than my wonderful parents did for me.

 

To keep this back on track with coins, I commend the OP's resistance to getting the ones he was eyeing, as they're quite nice, and would certainly tempt me to part with funds as well. Sheesh. TMI -- I apologize to the OP. Good luck on your retirement plans.

[CSdot]

Originalisbest-

 

Although I meant the OP to be more poking fun at myself about my silly problems, now that I re-read my OP it does come off sounding a little like "let them eat cake." I apologize for that. I am so use to seeing coins and collections on this site that are so far above anything I will ever be able to afford, that I lost sight of how fortunate I am having what I do. Thanks for refocusing my attention on that issue.

[originalisbest]

Originalisbest-

 

Although I meant the OP to be more poking fun at myself about my silly problems, now that I re-read my OP it does come off sounding a little like "let them eat cake." I apologize for that. I am so use to seeing coins and collections on this site that are so far above anything I will ever be able to afford, that I lost sight of how fortunate I am having what I do. Thanks for refocusing my attention on that issue.

 

No worries CSdot, the same applies to me. Particularly as I reread my post and realized it comes off only as "woe is me" when I have a consistent job I enjoy, while others are looking for work.

 

I will say, good luck on your retirement, and great job on arranging your priorities, I would do no different! And you have nice taste in coins, too!

 

I think as far as seeing a coin that costs 6 or 7 figures, it seems so out of the bounds of possibility to own, that one can just enjoy it for the unusual or rare piece it is. When a coin (or whatever) is 3, 4 or 5 figures, one you'd love to own but can't for whatever reason, then it can make you say "dangit, if only." Works that way for me anyway.