Sandhusker said:Some of the investments take more risk than others, but it depends on where you put your money. With a 401, you've probably got 10 (give or take) choices that cover all the different levels of risk, and if you've got a IRA, you have 1000 choices that go anywhere from emerging growth to goverment bonds to bank CDs. You can read the prospectus (which is hard and boring) or a Morningstar report on the funds to see how risky they are going to be managed before you put your money in.
hurleyjd said:Sandhusker said:Hurley, that's probably a good idea to convert to a Roth now. Personally, I think this market is headed lower, but you can't go wrong converting when it's cut in half.
I don't know if you have to continue paying premiums if you're collecting on disability. I kind of doubt it. If you're already disabled and collecting, why keep paying? Seems kind of like paying auto insurance after you've wrecked the car.
Yes, there are some that can't save for their retirement, and they can have soc. sec. if they want. However, the investment returns on contributions don't even match inflation, which means you're actually losing purchasing power. That's one step above "investing" in a coffee can. I can do better. Let me out, I'll take that money and do much better and be less of a burden on the system when I'm collecting. I'll have an estate that can be taxed.
Those CDs in the early 80s that paid 15% seemed like you were making money, but you really weren't. They were paying 15%, but the problem was that inflation was 18% - thus people were actually losing 3%. They don't realize it, but they were doing much better making 5% when inflation was 3%. At the end of the year, they could buy more than they could at the start, where they couldn't even after making 15% in 1980. It's all about purchasing power.
The people that make money know that that it isn't made by sitting on it. They buy things, they invest, they get that money back into the system creating more wealth. They pull everybody up with them. If you tax them to death, they just leave and then there's nobody around to create anything to pull others up. That's economics 101 that Obama and Pelosi and all the other socialists just don't understand. If you keep hitting the fisherman up for fish, pretty soon he'll go to another lake and then you've got no fish supply and no fish to eat. You can't bite the hand that feeds you, and it's the net worth people that feed us, not the Joe six-packs and the Tyrone and Latrelle's that only know how to chug 40s and rap.
The reason I was asking about the disibility insurance was this. The palce I worked before retiring offered disibility insurance.. Most everyone jumped on it thought it was a good deal. They way it worked was like this. They did not pay your full salary. They paid what you would take home. Then after the disibility SS took over then the disibility insurance would take up the rest.
I sit with my Dad one day eating lunch when a young man selling securitys approached him. It was known that my Dad had money but was not rich. Any way the young man made the statement to my Dad you know that the cost of living is eating up your return every day with those CD.s, you know inflation you need to be in the stock market.. My Dad's reply If I aint spending it then I am not losing it. After he left my Dad said to me I aint never going to send my money to the stock market in NY. If I did some Jew would get up ever morning and see what I had and try to screw me out of it.
Also do you think through IRAs and 401Ks there might have been more money put out to be managed by money mangers to point that risky investments were made by the manager trying to show a return. The more you have chasing opprunties the less opprunites that are quality will not be there.
hurleyjd said:Sandhusker said:Some of the investments take more risk than others, but it depends on where you put your money. With a 401, you've probably got 10 (give or take) choices that cover all the different levels of risk, and if you've got a IRA, you have 1000 choices that go anywhere from emerging growth to goverment bonds to bank CDs. You can read the prospectus (which is hard and boring) or a Morningstar report on the funds to see how risky they are going to be managed before you put your money in.
Have we had a civil discussion, did you change my mind did I change yours. We did not. But I have much much more respect for you after the discussion than from a lot of the post before. Thanks. J. D.
hurleyjd said:Back hoe I do not know how far you are from retirement. But SS could help you if you fell off of the tractor or a bull got you down and you become disabled. You could then go on disiability. With in a year after you go on disiabilty you will qualify for Medicare. You might not want it and it would not be forced on you. But I suspect any private company would turn you down. Also if you had employer furnished insurance then that would also be gone. Your part of SS when working is 7.5% I think I may be wrong on that. You should be able to save another 7.5% above that. SS should never to be your sole source for retirement. Also could be if the MFG we have shipped overseas were still here then the wages would be here and SS would be okay. Also the shipping jobs overseas is the fault of our government.
I will admit that the government should not have borrowed from the trust fund. They put IOU's in there.