without any elders to check on Medicare, I didn't know it would hit my soc sec check. what a Shock!! why did I pay into that all these years to pay more??
New budget time.
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2007 SE V6 Titanium

I'm gonna upset you, but hunting humans it's a little bit illegal. At least in Germany And talking about saving money for the future - I prefer to write papers and essays for those people, who need them. And it includes both options - either do I write my essay on my own, or ordering it from the third party and translate it to our German buddies.

They tax you when you take your qualified money out. If you take too much, Medicare charges you more. Based on a thing called MAGI. So medicare adjusts your AGI and then decides if you should pay more for Medicare. After you paid into it for years. BUT if you don't take enough out, then at 701/2yrs old they take your money through RMD's No way to win. They are going to steal the money you worked so hard to acquire and waste it, one way or another.

What do you guys think about the Dave Ramsey show / podcast?

It was just recommended to me by a co-worker.
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I find that Dave Ramsey puts quite a lot of his personal "baggage" and life experience in his advice. He is not a formally educated economist, he is not a CFP he is Someone who went Bankrupt do to poor financial choices and now is a bit of a zealot and takes things over the top. For example he takes extremely over generalized positions on debt. Debt is like combustion/fire you can use it to heat your home, without it an engine doesn't operate, however out of control and misused it is very dangerous. Like many things if it is used and abused carelessly it can be devastating... Like Alcohol, and some simply don't use it. I am a fan of moderation. Debt can be used as a tool in finance. He does this with many things Debt being only one of them. I agree with his savings strategies and "pay yourself first" Also I sort of disapprove of anyone who gives financial advice to strangers or the masses. it's the same reason why I wouldn't give you advice or comment on specific funds. Speaking about Macroeconomic fact (over pay mortgage vs. savings) isn't advice, its mathematics. So as a general rule I don't car for oversimplification of financial advice and I disagree with Dave Ramsey more often than I agree with him. If you want a laugh you should look at his estimated portfolio draw rates in retirement.

Well I definitely don't disagree with anything you said. I've been listening to him only a few episodes now.

I think with the show like that where people call in and you give advice things are going to be overly generalized and the callers are not going to be someone who is it financial analyst level.

I will say this though economics is not a science it is not even an applied science. So there really is a big difference in which theories of economics to follow depending on which college you into which school of economics that they teach. And what I mean by that to be specific is even the experts don't agree on a lot of things. Heck I remember when they gave out a Nobel prize from micro loans in India well guess what that was a bust total disaster.

Is there a different podcast that you would recommend personally that covers the topic and is both interesting entertaining and accurate? Thanks!

personally I like planet money in particular when it first started back in 2008 and they were explaining all the financial mechanisms that got us into trouble back then.

Never listened to Dave Ramsey.

I've mentioned it before but I'm a huge believer in the Bogleheads investment philosophy (Boglehead meaning a follower of the late John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard). Tons of information on Bogleheads.org, especially the Wiki there.

What do you guys think about this article / piece?

Seeking Alpha
Why A 60-65% Market Loss Would Be Run-Of-The-Mill.

Or this one?

The Economist - Tech’s new stars have it all—except a path to high profits
The Economist
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I like his advise. Although it can sometimes be a little cookie cutter. His advise for getting out of debt works best for those that have no self control when it comes to credit cards and other debts. But he is right going into debt is almost never a good financial decision. With only a few exceptions like buying a house. His advice on mortgage debt IIRC is 10% down minimum with a payment less than 25% after tax take home on a 15 year mortgage.

I dont care much for his advise on not adding a minimum of what an employer is willing to match to 401K while getting out of debt. That if free money you can't get back. and I think the $1000 baby emergency fund is too small for most people.

I believe I've posted it here before, but a bank on yourself whole life insurance policy is a good mechanism to be independent of banks and borrow against the equity/cash value in your whole life insurance policy and pay lower rates versus other loan vehicles out there.

It's really a great product and more people should be utilizing them.

Another thing to think about is stuff that most people take for granted because our society/life is so luxurious and easy right now.

I have a year food and water long term supply for my household. I cycle it in and out, it's easy to take advantage of sales here and there, eat the older food and keep it up to date so to speak.

Likely I will never need it, but if the food supply chain was messed up for even a few weeks, the cost of food would be stupid high and a lot of peoples savings would be wiped out just putting 3 squares on the table.

there are other manmade and natural disasters that a food and water supply is good preparation for as well.

I like to be nimble in my future preparations and investments/planning.

Have some tangible's that can be carried with you easily. Some gold and some silver.

Put some money into the stock market and buy the dip whenever you can for long term gains.

Invest in some property. Wether it be a rental property, or a piece of land out of the way somewhere.

Bank on yourself whole life insurance plans for everyone in the family. A layered approach to whole and term life insurance for every family member.

529(C) for every child.

Keep 6 months of wages in the bank for emergencies.

Always do the match for employee 401K's/IRA's, fund it to the limit on your end if you can work that.

Put as much of your income away now and put it to work for you for the future. Starting early makes it easier over time.

Save money and budget for everything the best you can and only pay cash except for your mortgage.

Guns/ammunition are a good investment in the future, not necessarily fiscally- but in other ways; although it can be fiscally rewarding if you offload stuff during panics when politicians go full-retard.

Diversity is good, but make sure you have a mix of conservative investments and risky investments, especially the younger you are- start sooner than later and take some risks, you've got time on your side.

My parents grew up during the depression and always emphasized saving money. It must have rubbed off, since I've been retired now for almost 5 years - I'm 58 now.

I've read that many people who work for companies that offer 401K matching, don't take advantage of the benefit. It is by far the highest return-on-investment you can get, and you get it immediately. If your company offers it, contribute at least the maximum the company will match - consistently every year. I don't think that the 401K should be the only investment that people hold, but it's a very important safety net that helps you to save consistently and can greatly improve your quality of life in retirement.

My wife and I both worked for those types of companies and took full advantage of the 401K match, and more. One strategy that we used was to put most of our 401K savings beyond the matching amount into my wife's 401 because she is several years older than me and would be able to access the funds penalty-free - at 59 1/2 years old - much sooner than I could.

(We took advantage of this in '09 to buy rental properties when the market was crashed. We had to pay taxes on the 401K withdrawal to help with the down-payment, but not a penalty; and it worked out great!)

59 1/2 years old is the age you can start to withdraw from your IRA without paying any penalties. (You still have to pay the taxes on your withdrawals)

You guys really should listen to this 10 min episode of Planet Money from last week.

Episode 920 | What Should We Be Worried About?
Episode 920: What Should We Be Worried About? : Planet Money : NPR

https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510289/...y_pmpod920.mp3

To quote Jack Bogle (Vanguard founder), "Nobody Knows Nothin'."

As always, adjust your investment mix to suite your risk profile and stay the course.

I feel like I missed the whole crypto boat… I am of the age group that really should have been all over it, but for some reason I never took the time to learn.

I understand the entire concept of decentralized / blockchain, but still feels very funny money to me.