Do you know someone struggling to retire in todays world?

One thing thats not often mentioned is that BOTH husband and wife need to have the same goals and work together. Having an overspender or secret spender can sabotage a family’s retirement goals.

I'm 46 and on the opposite end of the spectrum.  My parents told me to participate in a company sponsored 401k and at a minimum get the free employee match.  In ~25 years of full time work (31 years overall), I have just under 900k between my current 401k, trad IRA and Roth IRA.

My dad (mid 60’s now) was in a terrible work situation and decided to retire early (late 50’s) or the stress would have sent him to an early grave. Finances were tight but because they had NO DEBT, he could make this adjustment. I am telling you- being debt free by the time you get to retirement is LIFE. It showed me how important it is to have no debt so you can pivot when needed.

All my life a disaster happened every 5 years to wipe out my savings. Employers got real sketchy and unreliable. Had a heart attack while unemployed at 60 that forced complete retirement. Barely survived for a year waiting for a disability decision. Then made out better than I thought I would. Doing fine now in my 5 year retired.

When my dad turned 70 we threw him a huge party probably 70 people there. When it was over I asked him what it felt like to be 70. He snapped his fingers and said from 60 to 70 it was like that. I am 76 years old now and can’t even remember what being in my sixties was. Snap, snap and snap.

My FIL is 88.  He still goes to work at Home Depot.  He daily drags an oxygen tank around with him while at work.  He won’t quit.  Says he can’t quit and keeps thinking he is 30.   This is not what you want when you’re 88.

I work in medical. When I'm doing intake. I'm shocked at how many 70+ people are still working. It's insane

Never shared a bank acct with my wife. She saved 0. I saved enough to pay cash for a house, retired no bills. If she had access to my money, we would both have nothing, she would have spent it. Dgaf if that's harsh reality, the proof is I bought a house. She's still half broke at the end of most months, even though I've paid all the bills for decades

Buddy of mine, 68, is retiring in 7 weeks.

He put it off and put it off and put it off and put it off... And now he finds out he has Parkinson's disease. His retirement will not be one of travel and joy and peace and digging in the garden. It's going to be doctor's appointments and tests and potentially wheelchairs.

All because he waited an extra four years, even though he had plenty of money.

Retire as soon as you can.

have some of you noticed that Zac doesnt do ads or at least I havent seen him do one, and if he did its so low. How many videos STOP and then says THIS IS WHY YOUR VPN or worse gambling. Thank you Zac for not shilling your soul for horrid ads. I feel like you dont get enough credit for that.

In the process of starting my Roth IRA at 18!

I got divorced at 50 and lost almost everything from a scorched earth divorce from a Narcissist. Had only $7000 in 401K.  Ten years later I managed to save $250K in retirement account.  Currently on track to hopefully retire at 65 and my 2nd wife and I should be comfortable in retirement.  It can be done but you have to be dedicated and focused.  Also works better as a couple. "You can't go back and change the past, but you can start where you are at and change the future." CS Lewis

If you have no debt and own your home outright, then retirement shouldn't be a problem.
Of course that's like saying "If you want to be rich, remember, the first million dollars is the hardest!"
My dad never planned for retirement. When I asked if he saved money, he said "what if I die tomorrow? what good will money be then?" I asked him "what if you DON'T die tomorrow?" He seriously never planned more than a day in advance, and now I'm the one paying for him. I can afford to, but personally, I'm saving like mad.

Financial literacy is the one thing we really need to push for public education to include and execute.

I started saving for my retirement in my mid 20s. Still going at it, even if you don't know what could happen in life you should at least prepare as best possible.

This is the one time I really wish I was on your show. I work in the senior living industry, assisted living and memory care and skilled nursing. Retirement is the least of your worries. Your real problems are going to come when you need assisted living memory, care, or skilled nursing absolutely nobody can afford it. People do not have pensions like they used to. They don’t have savings like they used to from back in the day and nowadays people do not have their homes paid off in fact they’re refinanced way over their head and when they finally do go to sell their home when they get older, they’re lucky if they’re going to make 30 to 50 grand off of it which won’t even get you one year in memory care or assisted-living when you need it. Again that is when you need it not if you need it.

I started my retirement account when I was 23.  The banker at the time asked why I wanted to open a retirement account so young.  My response “I don’t want to work forever!”

I had a coworker that literally worked til his last day. He was bed ridden with pancreatic cancer and was still going to work every day. He was a renowned engineer so I assumed he had money to retire, but I guess he had to keep working to have insurance.

The day he passed, my manager took a whopping one minute to say thoughts and prayers, and then went on to forget his existence and passed his projects onto other people.

Guys, please take your time off. Take a break. Retire and enjoy while you can. You will never know when death comes for you.

This is not advice to blow all your money and put yourself in credit card debt for that vacation you're thinking about. Lol

I was forced to retire. I stopped work to care for my elderly mother. After she died, I tried to get back into work and no one would give me a job. Was forced to take my pension early and use up all my savings. You can plan all you like, but life has a way of throwing a spanner in the works.