Friday, March 22, 2013

This is Going to be Bad

As much as it may be really bad for the large majority of people, some people will be fine and they don't give a shit about the rest of the planet.  If we lived in a decent country, anyone who espoused views that boiled down to: poor elderly should suffer if they weren't as smart/lucky/capable as me would be forced to be poor.

Also, the "10 steps to getting your retirement back on track" slideshow that was on the bottom of that page was full of mostly banal statements/advice that you see everywhere, but I was more than a touch surprised by one: that people should be putting away 30% of gross income each month.  30% is a huge chunk of income...and from gross not net (30% of gross is 38-50% of net).  Most people having trouble saving don't have anywhere near that leftover after regular bills are paid.  Maybe if that figure is meant to include the principle on a mortgage and payments on other debt (paying off credit cards and student loans) people would have some shot at it, but I would have a hell of a hard time doing that, and I've got decent income and am not exactly a spendthrift.

Still about the only people who have a real shot at putting away that much are DINK's with a total income in the near $200k+ range.  Kids and life costs money, and whatever you save has to come out of your excess.  It takes a pretty large income before 30% or more of gross is excess.

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