I had originally planned to retire at 65. However when I turned 60 I really started to think about my mortality and my potential health span. After a long period of reflection and thinking about how much money my wife and I really needed in retirement I decided to retire at 61-1/2. It was very difficult for me because I was obsessed with not running out of money in retirement and retiring early frightened me. I eventually convinced myself that the slight reduction in spending in retirement that was necessary would make no meaningful difference to our lives. Fortunately I was right. In fact, in the first 7-1/2 years of retirement we’ve underspent our budget every single year without sacrificing anything. You never know how long you have to live or, more importantly, how long you will be healthy. I think that retiring early was one of the best decisions in my life.

@timsans1170

6 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing this and for showing us after the fact.... Ie: Not some hypothetical, but a success story that has been put to the test for the past 7 years! And during a major Market downturn! Anything further you'd be willing to share would be appreciated, Such as your allocations and whatever percentage or strategy you employed. Thank you in advance

@timisaac8121

6 ай бұрын

Great Post! TY brother. The whole orientation of "do I have enough to retire?" is built around Sales of Stocks and high risk investments, not "us" as people.

@205rider8

6 ай бұрын

Smart

@everettcalhoun8197

5 ай бұрын

Great story but because retiring and applying for SS benefits are two separate issues I was wondering if you applied for your SS benefit at 62. I retired at 55, I was going to collect SS at 62 but opted to wait. Every decision about when to retire is your own personal decision with no wrong answer. Thanks.

@projectkj7643

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing! I'm 59.5 and will retire next Friday! My health was my catalyst for making the decision to retire early. I don't want to wait until I have a lot more money but less health. No thanks.

I opted to retire recently at 62, after saving like crazy and paying off debt for a very long time. I could see that i was risking my health and ability to enjoy my retirement by sitting at a very stressful desk for another five years. In 10 weeks, I've made two quilts as gifts, I've walked the Camino de Santiago, visited a friend in Italy, more importantly, my health measurements have improved greatly. I got my life back.... I can contribute to the community in other ways. More money would always be nice, but enough is simply enough.

@terridrimel1056

7 ай бұрын

Congratulations! I appreciate what you shared. Our situation is similar. We won’t have near as much saved as the example couple, but a very enjoyable and healthy, meaningful life can be lived on much less.

@gameplayer1980

6 ай бұрын

Well done Linda! Fixing my health numbers and contributing to the community are two things I look forward to.

@XdakotasapphireX

5 ай бұрын

So there's type a and type b personalities, you want to be type c, an in between where you are concerned about retirement but not so much that you hurt your health from stress or your relationship, or your life leading up to it

@jimselvy6157

2 ай бұрын

I retired at 59 1/2. I saved enough, downsized, and reduced debt. After retiring, my doctor reduced my blood pressure medicine by half twice in the first year. The stress of the job was killing me. Best decision I ever made. Now I have fun with friends and volunteer at the hospital a couple days a week.

We retired 8 years ago at 59 and 57. Best choice we ever made. We travel 6 months a year. The go-go years are only so long.

@HD-mv2qh

2 ай бұрын

Congrats!

The message is: If you won the game, stop playing.

I didn't even need to watch beyond 5 minutes. As soon as I saw they had nearly three million saved, plus social security, plus a home, and were already 57 I said these people should retire soon if not immediately.

@utubewillyman

4 ай бұрын

Agreed. They must have been considering a private jet purchase or having a separate plumbing system to allow for champagne spouts in every room.

@user-ps1ft1hy4j

3 ай бұрын

LOL I quit watching after a while of his dealing with the couple with $12.5 million in retirement funds. Sure, everyone has problems, but almost everyone I've ever known is so far from that sort of situation that just about nothing applied to my life or those of anyone I know and most I have ever known. Too rarefied an air up there.

@anitajoshi4163

3 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

@stephenrasp4485

3 ай бұрын

This video is insulting, I have 8 trillion dollars in savings and earn 500k a year. Can I retire in 10 years. Come on James. Expect better.

@Wiggy8

3 ай бұрын

This is equivalent to only 20% of retirees today. Not helpful to the rest of us.

Watched several of your videos tonight for the first time. When I read your tag lines, and looked at you, my first thought was you are way too young to know what you are saying. I may have started off with each video a little skeptic, but as each one progressed, I kept saying "right on!" This kid knows what he's talkiing about, unlike so many financial planners. You have your clinets good at the front, vs. your own interest. You have a good sense of looking at everything from all angles and maintaining a balance. Keep up the good work.

James, this is the best video I have seen in many months. There is so much to this. My parents have done well over the years but in my opinion, have not enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Now as they are 78 and 81, they have more money than they know how to spend and no energy or desire to spend it. No vacations, and work, work, work is all they have done.

@XdakotasapphireX

5 ай бұрын

Maybe there's a balance between work and life, being old and not being able to enjoy money but also needing to be healthy enough to enjoy it which working fourty plus does not help

I’m team time+health. I retired at 62 with zero regrets.

Well done James! I retired a year ago at 58 1/2.... with $1.7M . My intent is to continue to focus on health, fitness and travel. Today my portfolio is $1.8M and I haven't worked even one hour. Still working on planning for more things I want to do in my free time.... but I'm no longer stressing about work!

@deanbischoff3345

6 ай бұрын

sounds like me. Wife and I each have more value in our pensions and social security will provide us with our modest living as we have our whole lives. U made a good choice. Enjoy

@everlastingarms3065

7 күн бұрын

I could have written exactly what you just did. Turning 60 shortly & loving life! Kudos, sir!! And we were each granted a new magic power: We wake up & turn every day into Saturday!

I just semi retired. Im 45 years old. I have not worked in about 3 months. Ive been spending time with my wife and kids, training for a half marathon, and finally sleeping. I will return to work next year but on my own terms and just half the amount I used to. This was a really good video.

@whywouldigivemyrealname5162

5 ай бұрын

I’m thinking about doing something similar, except screw going back to work. I want to start a business with limited costs like landscaping or something that gets me outside and I choose the jobs. I work in tech now so it’s good pay, but the work is pretty draining against my motivation.

@kevinschultz6091

2 ай бұрын

​@@whywouldigivemyrealname5162 - I'd recommend finding volunteer work, if you can find something to commit to; it tends to be more rewarding, even if it doesn't pay as well. My father retired at 55 (mainly due to stress-related illnesses), with my mother retiring 2 years or so later. 20 years in they are busier than ever, and they love it - he is pretty much rebuilt their church and maintains it, while my mother is heavily involved in foster care and caring for war refugees. They are getting a bit slower in their age (mid 70's now), but they are still going strong, and the "work" has likely been one of the main factors in keeping them going.

I was a supersaver while working because I saw my employer downsize for a decade and knew my number would come up. As I was about to turn 58, my company decided to shut down the site and gave us the option of relocating or taking a severance/retirement package. I took the package and figured I would do part time work until my wife retired. She was 10 years younger (47yo) at the time. Her employer offered a basic pension plan and I figured that we could both fully retire in about 3 to 4 yrs. Great plan and an early retirement and we would still be young enough to enjoy travel, etc. Well, turns out that even though she looked and acted very young, her type 1 (childhood) diabetes was doing a number on her heart and she passed away suddenly from a heart attack at 48yo. We don't know know how much time we have left. We are told that we all live much longer than our money and the worst thing we can do is to retire too soon and run out of money. Your video is great and really needs to be heard and heeded.

@dnk4559

7 ай бұрын

I’m sorry for the loss of your wife!

@heidikamrath1951

7 ай бұрын

I am so sorry! What a terrible loss!

@PH-md8xp

7 ай бұрын

Sorry about the loss of your wife. Yes, life is full of ups and downs, stay strong.

@donaldcedar7574

7 ай бұрын

"We don't know know how much time we have left" Basic medical science tells us type 1 diabetics have a much shorter lifespan. You both should have known this.

@hagakuru

7 ай бұрын

Man, I feel for ya. But, I have heard this type of story more times than I care to count anymore. People that keep putting of retirement for one more year, year after year, are pushing their luck. I strongly advocate to everyone that if you have the means to retire... do it TODAY. Not next year, next season or whatever. You don't know when your number is up so get busy living.

The thought of working until age 65 just gives me nightmares. Watching family follow this path and then to die in their 70’s and 80’s never really enjoying that money is mind blowing. At 58 I am absolutely done and enjoying my free time. So pay down those bills, pay of that house, and put some money away. Have a plan to stay busy with projects or travel. Time is getting shorter with every passing day. ✌🏻

Wisdom from a young person! You are an exceptional CFP sir. You obviously care about your clients and try to direct them in a way best for them. Bless you

@RootFP

7 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

For a young guy, James is wise beyond his years.

@steveking8548

18 күн бұрын

Apparently he isn’t smart enough to wear a shirt and tie

My retirement income is fine. It's the world I'm retiring into that has me worried.

@whywouldigivemyrealname5162

5 ай бұрын

We’re going into an election where the combined candidate age is over 150 years. What the fuck is going on in the USA…

@Jack51971

3 ай бұрын

​@@whywouldigivemyrealname5162one has dementia and the other does not so use your brain and vote for Trump! BTW I am 62 and the 4 years of Trump were the overall best 4 years in the United States....in my opinion! They had to invent riots and COVID and cheating to remove him...😮

@jacobrobbins6181

2 ай бұрын

@@whywouldigivemyrealname5162 The candidates just don't have enough put away to retire yet :)

@kennethbarber438

2 ай бұрын

@@jacobrobbins6181 good one

@margaretmarshall3645

Ай бұрын

@@jacobrobbins6181 LOL 😂

We saved so much in our 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s that it was easy to say no to more promotions and say yes to more free time as we approach 50. Time and health don’t gain compound interest.

Philosophy (in its true meaning of "how to live") meets financial planning. This is simply wonderful. Thanks, James. It seems to boil down to this: how much is enough? It's easy to get caught in the trap of nothing is ever "enough". That's American consumer culture in a nutshell. So you have to learn to be intentional about this. I am no where near "Bill and Susan's" financial status (few today are). But when my financial advisor ran all my numbers, his report showed me dying with more than half a million in my estate. I worked a very cool but stressful job (surgical nurse) for going on to 40 years. Why did I feel guilty about retiring? A major component of successful aging is learning to let go. That doesn't mean giving up at all. It means taking life on its terms and shifting your focus. There is so, so much to life and to yourself to engage with.

@DrSchor

2 ай бұрын

the true meaning of philosophy is love of learning, nothing to do with money

The right time to retire is when you no longer wish to work for a living AND you ARE POSITIVE that you can afford it. But remember, if you leave your job without sufficient resources, you are not retired, you are unemployed.

@oldgreg315

3 ай бұрын

Sweet, have fun never retiring.

This is a profoundly important message. It's really not surprising that our culture of greed has produced this kind of insatiable pursuit of more money, even when it is utterly unnecessary for what we actually want to do in life. I fell victim to this irrational thinking, but thankfully I snapped out of it and realized I could retire much sooner and have a very comfortable retirement on a much smaller portfolio. Instead of working until 67 like I originally planned, I now plan to retire at 63. The couple in this example could easily retire at age 60, with zero compromises.

@danite22

7 ай бұрын

Sorry to hear about your culture of insatiable greed.

I retired at age 62 since I had physical fitness, wealth, and needed time to make the next decade the best decade of my life. Time makes it much easier for me to run or bike or canoe or cross-country ski for 3 hours every other day in the sunshine. When I was working I would do a 3-hour run with a headlamp in the morning darkness before work.

I'm a single, 43-year-old father who resides in Hamburg. If everything continues to go well for me, I intend to retire at age 50. I couldn't be happier right now than I am that I just bought my first house last month. I'm so happy that I made wise choices that altered my life forever.

@timsans1170

2 ай бұрын

What is Germany's Social system for Retirees? Thanks

Good job on goals. I retired at age 61.5 and glad about it. All the hikes and bike rides are behind me with AFIB now at age 70. Now I just have memories that I am glad to have enjoyed with an active life before AFIB. Your advice is well taken and beneficial. An age 70 lifestyle is so different with an older body.

Great video! Many years ago I planned to work until I was 70. But was going to do so while still taking epic trips every year. Once I started seeing friends and family around me pass around age 60 or be diagnosed with life changing diseases I moved my retirement date to 62 and may even retire earlier. We are not guaranteed a long healthy life and this couple is taking for granted that they are going to have the same energy levels and health they have today. Many retired friends tell me money really isn’t that important to them as it once was.

@user-up3gw7zw1o

4 ай бұрын

For some people, their work gives them purpose and a means to be social each day. That wasn't me, for sure. I knew I could retire at 55 with medical, so I researched and planned to a point of over planning as my spouse just presumed that 62 was the target. Because of the over planning, I retired on my 55th birthday and my spouse at 56. We still had one parent living in the area that we were able to assist as necessary. So glad we did the physical activities when we could. 17 years later and now my spouse is still recovering 16 months after breaking a leg and our days of taking 2 mile walks around our town are just a memory. Injuries happen so very fast and our ability to recover just isn't the same anymore. I hope you will find retirement to be an adventure with the freedom to pursue whatever you desire! I am so saddened to hear so many that failed to plan, act and research what their golden years were desired to be until they are disabled, laid off, or just plain quit. Since you are watching this informational video, you taking a very wise step in your planning!

My mother , a retired teacher died with close to $700 K at age 95. Last 10 years were definitely no go years. I wish she would have taken more trips and enjoyed that money when she was younger.

Giving yourself a demotion sounds good to some people - it sounded good to me. And I in essence did that. What people forget is that now you may well get an insufferable boss who’s now in your management role. The higher you go in any organization, the fewer layers you are beholding to, and the fewer chances you will have to be working for a jerk. That’s something to consider: a bad boss can make any job a misery.

Some of us are happy being homebodies and enjoy simple life with only a few special travel trips now and then. We can sleep well knowing our expenses are low and an early retirement will be easy. Instead of buying a home in Fl..we will rent for a month....no 2nd mortgage...no insurance worries...just fun.

Thanks for your video. I am 67 and have been working for over 50 years, it is very hard for me to retire completely. My plan is to retire in June 2024 but I will be working 2 part time jobs. Job1 - winter season - Teaching he USCG Captains License Class (8-10 weeks per year) Job2 - Summer season - Teaching people how to use maneuver there boats on the water. (20 hours per week)

We have north of $10M with no debt. I "retired" two years ago but my wife, who is 5 years younger, loves what she does for her career (and earns ~$600k a year)and doesn't want to retire. I'm frustrated because we have plenty of money--more than we will ever spend and yet she wants to keep working. I hate sitting at home all day waiting on her to find the desire to retire, which is most likely still 3-5 years down the road or longer.

@pdxway

3 ай бұрын

I know a couple with exact opposite situations. His wife retired in her 40s, but the guy won't retire because of "easy" high income. Still, they are spending lots of time traveling together to multiple overseas locations every year. Hopefully your wife will at least have some time going to plenty of vacations with you before she retires. As for me, my situation is kind of like you. We can afford to retire, but it is my wife that won't do it yet.

I love your content but you keep showing us case studies that have multi millions in their retirement.. can you use examples that are more realistic? like under a million.. if I have 3 million in my retirement no one is going to have to convince me to retire!!!

@DavidSaundersPosts

4 ай бұрын

You think that people with money find it easy to stop making more?

@notreal5311

Ай бұрын

Eh, it's more like: who is his target audience as a CFP? People with 400k in savings or 4M? Average people aren't his target audience.

@abbottbd1

Ай бұрын

Maybe not...but at least they have the choice. Let's see one for someone who makes the median US salary instead of 1/2 million a year household

@LP-it9jy

Ай бұрын

exactly!!

@JimzAuto

20 күн бұрын

IMO: ‘normal’ sub-millionaire households are ‘on their own’- won’t pay from CFP or other professional services.

This is a wise young man! I retired in January, at 73. Although I am in pretty good health, I am not as vigorous as I was at 63. James' comment about "health and energy" struck a cord with me. I would have retired earlier, even though that could have meant driving a 2-3 year old car vs. a new SUV...a smaller home vs. a mortgage payment free 3000 sq ft home, on 6 acres...and a portfolio of @$750k vs our current $1.3M. I would still have been debt free, either way. Thanks for another great video James.

I closed my construction company in 2008 at age 55 years old and tried 2 years of retirement. OMG, not for me. Started a construction inspection company in 2010 and oh boy who would know my last venture would provide me with a comfortable income for the rest of my life with little work and a nice office to visit and get out of the house

To James: Your programs are the best on KZread. The text screens you include are helpful. I recommend them to many. The comments that others post are VERY helpful, too. Thank you.

Working until 67 when you are worth $4M is the definition of insanity.

@justliberty4072

5 ай бұрын

Unless you REALLY like what you do at work...

@jmwichert8842

5 ай бұрын

I find it strange the some people have no clue about the concept of FIRE.

@Sylvan_dB

4 ай бұрын

I know someone rapidly approaching that situation. When they found out I was considering retirement, "so have you paid off your house?" They know my wife doesn't work, and they think I'm nearly destitute and cannot figure out how I could even think about retiring. They cannot retire because they gross about $1M/year, live in a home worth $4M and they own less than 1/2 of it. "We could pay off our house, but then we wouldn't have anything left." My only response is to express sympathy and try to encourage them to save and invest.

@IrnBruNYC

4 ай бұрын

@@Sylvan_dBYou don’t actually NEED to own your own home. There’s this thing called renting… You also don’t need to live in a house worth 4 million to be happy.

@almondtree2011

3 ай бұрын

In my late 30. I decided to take a leap and embark on a career change journey. It took a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do and I did a lot of self-discovery work but it paid off. I now work in a profession that is so rewarding and satisfying for me that I hope to work as long as I can just because of the sense of fulfilment I get from it. My neighbour, in his mid 80. still goes to work - few hours every day, just to get out of the house, be around people etc. Work can add meaning to people’s lives and be so much more than just a job. I know of several people who passed shortly after retiring, as if they lost something that connected them to the vibrancy of life, where they felt needed and valued - but I guess that will vary depending on how you structure your life. Either way, work shouldn’t be the only thing that makes you tick but at the same time it can be a big factor in reaching life satisfaction

Very good video James for getting us thinking about work-life balance earlier while we are still in good health. At 64, and shooting to collect SS (and retire) at full retirement age, I am now walking that line. My financial planner has told me that I can retire now if I wanted to, but I pushed that notion aside. Your video made me think again about being able to retire now despite the chaos and volatility we are experiencing on so many levels these days. Thank you very much! Note: I am no where near your example couple, but I understand the concept of enjoying life while you still can, ya neva know!

James!Please do videos for average SINGLE people looking at retirement

@teacherburton3559

6 ай бұрын

agree!!!!

@thepenman357

6 ай бұрын

Simply take the same principles and apply them to your specific goals, is my suggestion.

@robertkerr229

4 ай бұрын

@@thepenman357great but how? any windows software or SaaS we can use to plug in our numbers?

@toddday4314

3 ай бұрын

Use tools from Fidelity, Vanguard, New Retirement, FireCalc etc. to punch in your numbers. I actually use 3 of those and plus a CFP, makes it a lot easier to sleep and pull the trigger.

@amywestbrook5693

2 ай бұрын

@@robertkerr229 I just strated using a software called New Retirement. Pay for the subscription - worth it. $120/ year.

All valid points that are missed by so many wealthy folks. And we get that an extreme example is used to illustrate the concept. But unfortunately a much much larger portion of Americans, even those who have diligently saved, do not have the luxury of so much wealth that they have option of “backing away” from spending their lives at work at an early stage. Still the points are valid - balancing life experiences and future retirement wealth are a smart thing. That you can always work longer, but you cannot buy more time.

This guy gets it. Simple, foundational, rock solid advice. Good job.

Honestly I’ve had many experiences as part of my life. When I retire in a few years there are very few places I want to go see in the world. My advice is travel when you are working and younger. Traveling is harder when you are older.

@d.4201

4 ай бұрын

I did all my world travelling between 30-50 yrs of age. Best thing I ever did. I could climb mountains, rapel down waterfalls, scuba dive and enjoy life while my body was in good condition. Yes, get to 70 and body does slow down no matter how much you walk and work out at the gym. Enjoy life in your youngers years. Work hard and save but, don't wait till you retire to enjoy life.

@freedomlife3623

3 ай бұрын

Good point. Besides the style of travel and what you enjoy is very much different in each of our life stage. Glad we travelled a lot along the way. No regret, only the memory and better understanding of the world.

@HumarAndArt8800

3 ай бұрын

I could not agree more. My dad worked until 77thinking he and Mom would travel after he retired. He worked to long and could not travel when he retired. I’m thankful we traveled early and retired early.

@zackdreamcast

29 күн бұрын

Get to 25x your expenses and retire. Life is way to short

I so appreciate him quoting Die with Zero. The life planning is so much more than bank balance.

Yeah, now do a case study closer to the median savings amount of people in the country.

@freedomlife3623

3 ай бұрын

My thoughts are exactly. Why would the couple even worry about retiring at 60 if they have such a high amount saved. $400K annual income is also not median amount in America. Please posting some helpful video with realistic & meaningful numbers that majority of people can apply.

A light went off for me when you said that our work becomes a distraction. Work tasks are something that we know. Many of us have been in our careers for many years and we're familiar with what needs to be done there, and many of us respond to the problem-solving aspects of our work. So much so, that it becomes much easier to think about work, than it is to ask ourselves the bigger questions of what do we want the rest of our lives to look like. I write this as I'm working on yet another weekend! Thanks for these case studies and all your insight James.

I read Die With Zero and it changed my life. I decided to retire 18 months at age 54 and don’t regret it for a second. Many of my friends didn’t make it to 54, and I don’t want to die with more life experiences unmet, and I don’t want to spend what could be my last years working.

@dangalbraith6187

25 күн бұрын

You retired for 18 months?

Thank you for this. I've watched 10 or 15 of your videos but this one was the most eleganty delivered and poignant. My wife and I are in this very similar situation and this spoke to us a lot. Bless you for sharing all the wisdom and knowledge you've gained, and being a good guide.

Great video, and it’s not about the absolute numbers. It’s about recognizing once you have the financial freedom to decide to do what you want to do as opposed to what you feel you have to do. As someone who put in 70+ hours a week, I retired as early as I could as them took a part-time job that I really enjoy. As long as I enjoy it, I’ll work. If not, I’ll re-retire ASAP.

Great video. Wish all financial planners could see things this way. I demoted myself from a C suite exec in my early forties and was able to retire by age 49. Great content.

@DrSchor

2 ай бұрын

yes

I’d love to see what happens with their plan if they stop working today. How much money would they have left when they pass? What people fear is that they won’t have enough if they start withdrawing from their assets today. Thank you James, for sharing your knowledge and perspective.

@toddbarney4738

4 ай бұрын

There are tools out there that let you model these questions without paying an advisor more than 1% of your assets every year. I'm using one that is extremely detailed, cost me $100.

Work for a company that really values your well being. Stress is the killer.

@PH-md8xp

7 ай бұрын

The overwhelming companies care about one thing only and that’s the bottom line, regardless of what they may say, after all it’s why they’re in business.

@alk672

6 ай бұрын

Why would they value your well being. That's not what companies are about. Especially the ones that pay well.

Why would they want to wait until til 67…..they could retire comfortable for sure right now. You can’t get time back and stress kills your health. Retired at 61 and after a couple of years I’m going to do a part time job with a fortune 50 company, but if I get stressed out I have the freedom to leave. My return on investments have covered my monthly expenses …even in a down market. I have some bucket list items I want to do as far as travel…..spend it and enjoy the money you’ve saved.

This is my 2nd video. At first, you seem too young to discuss "retirement and life", so I initially thought you would only provide surface-level knowledge. However, you not only explain things very well but also with great wisdom...a good advice from different perspectives. I am learning so much from you, and I find your videos to be very helpful and sincere.

Thank you James! This is why my wife and I joined the Root Financial family! Chris Riboli is guiding us right now.

@RootFP

7 ай бұрын

That’s great to hear! Chris is excellent.

Another way of saying this is “When is enough, enough?” At some point you come to the realization that trading your time (which is limited) for money has passed its break even point.

While the dollar amount is totally out of my league, the principles make sense and worthy to explore. Our portfolio is very modest, but so is our lifestyle, and our expenses are low. Both my wife and I know how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, so that helps. This video and others have given us some additional info to take with us at our next appointment with our FA, who have been doing a good job for us thus far.

@timsans1170

6 ай бұрын

Thank you! Apparently unlike the other fools on here who can't get past the dollar value, You recognize the wisdom

@XdakotasapphireX

5 ай бұрын

So being really good at budgeting and understanding frugality is just as important as saving

@johnkleinhenz1487

5 ай бұрын

assuming 8% again -- why such high assumptions ?

Excellent way of thinking about how to align money and lifestyle with what’s most important to you!

I really loved this one. I grew up lower middle class and I only envisioned my life up until like 25. I wanted to be a professional and make enough money to not stress about living expenses. I did it. “Yay” … but now what? I don’t know what’s next

Overall, I like the videos but I notice a "flaw" ie: the projected rate of return seems to be higher than it should be. I've been investing my entire life and have seen it all but I would not project anywhere close to 8.8% returns as I've seen in some of your videos. I'm a huge fan of the concept of decreasing equities and increasing bonds as you age. Beyond the age of 65 you should really be wary of having more than 30-40% of your entire net worth in the stock market. I realize that some advisors may dispute that assumption and there is also the issue of individual risk tolerance, but I think it's a very fair assumption. If that's the case, then 8.8% is way too high for an estimated annual rate of return. Furthermore, as you age you probably decrease the equity positions further and invest more in bonds and treasuries which brings your returns further down. Also, all of this needs to include the "real return" adjusted for inflation which I think should conservatively be much higher than is commonly used. We like to think that 2% inflation going forward is normal, but the more pessimistic (and maybe realistic approach would be 4%. So, I think you need to throw in a much lower rate of return (4-5%) and a higher rate of inflation (4%) to really give people a less rosy but possibly more realistic idea of what could happen to their money. I would even throw in a third factor ie: our unsustainable debt. This implies that our social security benefits may decrease and our earnings on investments may go down as a greater fraction of GDP goes to service the debt load. I think the possibility of this is so high as to almost be a certainty. If you are really looking at worst case scenarios I would include this also in your projections. Just my 2 cents.

@zackdreamcast

29 күн бұрын

Your doom and gloom future has a bit of Trumpism in it see. You only need to look at the forest from the trees. It’s a pendulum, it swings back and forth. Yes inflation is high at the moment due to a global pandemic, but inflation was crazy high in the 1980s… and did it stay that way through today? No, it swung back and forth. This is the way of things. Breathe a bit, it will be ok. 👍

I just stumbled on this video tonight and the message couldn’t be more timely. Thank you.

I hope these scenarios are made up. Otherwise it should be criminal to make that much money and be that dense.

I have a general question - When you talk about the rate of return, do you take into account your fees as a financial advisor (and reduce accordingly)?

Excellent video. I have been pondering this question at 52. thanks for that.

This shift in perspective to living more holistically is great. Passing with the largest portfolio is not the end goal. Yes. This case study is not the standard couple, but they also have much higher spend projected for the future than 99% of people will realistically need. More focus on finding time and fulfillment NOW is a healthy shift in planning.

The book "Millionaire Next Door" was helpful to us, since we are lower middle income. We're retiring at 59/62 yrs old with a $5000/mo plan (average).

@writemeanovel

Ай бұрын

I’d love this comment because I think the majority of us are actually in this situation. Got no time to hear about people with millions in the retirement wondering if they should stop working should be obvious.

Not to mention, by my estimation they could benefit by doing $1,400,000 in Roth conversions. Quitting work now, and getting started on Roth conversions, would provide them a low tax rate on said conversions. It looks like they live in Texas, thus they'd have a 0% state tax rate on said conversions. I live in Texas, and plan to move to California in two years when I finish up with my Roth conversions by 12/31/25, after which, most are predicting higher federal tax rates.

Some people enjoy working and have a life/work balance that they are happy with. Maybe they have enough money to retire... But they don't see retirement as the beginning of enjoying the fruits of their labor. They are already enjoying life.

This is the second video I have watched of yours. I love this philosphy. I retired from teaching at 59. I have enjoyed the last 1.5 years on my teacher retiremtn and have been writing a book. I hope to get it published in the next couple of years and launch a 5th and final career making money from writing. I think your philosphy is right and I an going to have to buy into it more and spend some of my savings, or give myself permsion. Keep up the great work.

My brother retired a year ago, and just turned 60 y/o after years of planning and working. While waiting for his ultimate renovation of his home, he had a cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated and is now on a long path of recovery with many deficits. But, although he is lucky to be alive, he is unlikely to enjoy his retirement as he had planned. Yes, plan to age to a balance of zero.

@dlg5485

7 ай бұрын

This is why it is so important to protect your health throughout life. Your brother retired at a good age, not many people are fortunate enough to retire at 59. The problem is that he didn't protect his health along the way. Health must be the top priority, then time, then money.

@davidk6498

7 ай бұрын

That's usually what people say when they have not saved at all the cherry pick a situation that makes then feel better about there Yolo life style😮

@brianspring7418

7 ай бұрын

@@dlg5485zgfy

@swright5690

7 ай бұрын

Well done Bill and Susan.🎉

@rayzerot

7 ай бұрын

​@@davidk6498Exactly this. People love to point out the one case they know of where someone saved for retirement and then had a bad health event while ignoring the (literal) millions of retirees struggling to get by on a fixed income The numbers don't lie. People *consistently* underestimate how long they're going to live when it comes to retirement savings and then they suffer for it. Moral of the story: don't rely on dying to be your retirement plan

"Die With Zero" was an eye opener for me. Can you do a case study with giving 'our' inheritance now, while we are living. I have two adult children. Both with great jobs and are saving. They will be fine with or without what I leave them. I'd like to catapult their future financial potential By giving now, or in the near future. How do I assess the risk of doing that? What would be safe to give based on our savings? And, how accurate are these retirement projections? Do you have clients that have been using planning tools like the one you are demonstrating and they were "in the ball park?"

I'm frugal and save, save, save. I retired at 38 years old because I could. My health is already limiting what I can do, so I just plan on leaving what I have saved for my kids so hopefully they will be better off going forward. I come from poverty and nothing has ever gotten passes down from previous generations, so I will be the first as will my sister doing the same for her kids. My brother however will have to work until he dies because he spends, spends, spends.

Although I agree with the hypothesis, the one variable you are not counting is mental health. You scenario of having them work less to enjoy more is the ideal since they will have the fulfillment feeling. Just stopping work brings more worries and mental health problems than working less and felling useful. Great insights. Congratulations

I visited a financial consultant a couple years ago. As he was going through the numbers, I saw he assumed a 1.7% inflation rate. I said recalculate my charts with the assumption of 4% inflation rate. He laughed and said if the inflation rate was 4%, none of his clients could retire ever. And we know now how this is going. As I looked at this video, my intuition once again noticed a problem. Assuming an 8% growth rate is probably wrong. It has been fairly flat the past two years. I suspect it might be flat or even go negative for the next decade. I think anyone who's within 10 or 15 years of retirement are going to have to make some painful decisions soon.

This is interesting, but.. many people believe that our country's financial situation is EXTREMELY precarious, we have unprecedented debt that is skyrocketing and clearly unsustainable, yet these financial planners carry on like inflation is not exploding at 50 to 100% (like it is for me for insurance for example). They are acting like this is the 1960 or the 80's. What consideration is being given to an 80% crash in the market? Many informed people think that something big is going to happen in the next 1-10 years, how do we work these kind of events into the projections? And how do we protect our CHILDREN from the long term impacts of this tsunami of federal debt and inflation? These ALSO are concerns of myself (and probably others) and it somehow has to be worked into a comprehensive plan and the decision to delay retirement. I'm not some kind of doomsday radical, but informed people are realizing that when a third of the federal budget is simply interest on the growing debt, we are not living in the 80's or 90's anymore, plugging in 8% growth in a spreadsheet does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

This is a power couple. These people are easily in the top 5% in the world financially. Please let's talk about regular people.

@joefunk76

7 ай бұрын

Top 5% of the world? They’re in the top 2% of the U.S., and close to being in the top 1%. For a world percentile, they are well within the top 1% if not the top 0.1%. You need to realize that even the average/median American is in the top 15% of the world.

@johnurban7333

7 ай бұрын

I agree. These financial videos never talk about the regular people. No one I know that’s retired has a million dollars and most of these videos say you have to have that to retire. They are living comfortably on what they have.

@robertbarron7017

7 ай бұрын

Dude, most regular people are going to be screwed. They have not saved (deferred gratification went out of style in either the 40's or the 50's) pensions largely disappeared from the private sector starting in the 1970s' or so; and too many people don't realize that Social Security will only provide the bare minimum (and maybe not even that). As a result, we are seeing more and more seniors becoming homeless or living in an RV or a camper van, or in their cars.

@jdenino6022

7 ай бұрын

@@johnurban7333 A lot of regular people who were teachers, firemen, cops have a net worth over a million dollars they also have a pension and health benefits for their retirement package.

@timsans1170

6 ай бұрын

There are plenty of "Regular people" discussions. Learn what you can and move on. No need for you to express your frustration at not having enough.

This is a scenario of a wealthy household that most people can't relate to, but this is still a good insight about older workers who refuse to stop working even though they have ample financial means to retire. The people I work with who refuse to retire are blocking opportunities for others to advance and improve their situation, which this ripples down the org chart and likely stifles progress. You can't force people to retire, but someone has to counsel these people on what their meaning in life is and how their choices are affecting others.

If you’re trying to make the point “what applies to this top 2% couple can work for anyone”, then why not use a couple at maybe the top 5%, 10%, or, better yet, 25%, to make your point? Because even a top 25% example objectively excludes 3/4ths of Americans. You know very well it’s not the case that a couple with a tenth of this couple’s assets/income can retire off of a tenth of the income that this couple plans to. If you’re trying to make a point, your example needs to be in line with that, and it’s pretty clear that this one isn’t. 😐

Interesting video, we are retired, and although we can easily afford a new car, we are so accustomed to saving, we are keeping our 2013 Subaru. Your video has caused us to maybe trade up to a newer car. Retirement does not seem to shut off the game of being frugal and saving for years before retirement. Once you develop the skill of working with financial advisors and seeing your money grow faster than your paycheck can, it becomes hard to undo. Your first million is hard to get, but the next millions come easily, even while you are sleeping.

James, we have watched many of your well-done videos and have learned a lot about retirement preparations. Thank you! We appreciate you.

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!😊

Absolutely impressive James Thanks for sharing God bless

This is all very true and correct, but the problem is if the situation is not this outrageously black and white - in drawdown phase compounding works the same way as in accumulation phase, except in reverse. So if you make a mistake or get unlucky, and you live the first 10 years of the rest of your life in a way that draws the portfolio down too much - there's no coming back from that. Your future compounding goes down exponentially, and you are basically screwed. That's the fear.

@XdakotasapphireX

5 ай бұрын

Financial advisors should project for those downturns, usually you only take out 4-5 percent a year from said portfolio

My mom, kids and grandkids need my time not my money. I will leave the workforce at 62 with 2.5m and 2 houses and zero debt. We have done more traveling between 30-55 than most people do in a lifetime so it is time to transition into the next phase in life. I will need to learn to enjoy the money we have saved and that will be the biggest challenge.

My partner only worked a short time. I’ve been supporting and saving forever and have a high salary. I’m not even near these numbers. This is not typical at least I hope! 😳 These Expel should have retired 15 years ago… REALLY!

Love most of your videos, but it would probably benefit more of your users to use a more real world example. These people are 1 percenters and not very relatable to the rest of us 99 percenters.

@darrellq6954

7 ай бұрын

Even rich people don't know how to manage their money..

A great message and tomorrow is not a guarantee. Nobody on their deathbed ever said "I wish I would've worked more"

@thomassummer7478

2 ай бұрын

actually...as he laid dying in the hospital, my grandfather said, "I just want to go home and work"...I told him not to worry, I would take care of it....that was 30 years ago, I'm still at it.

Can you please do one with people that have no money😮😢

@heidikamrath1951

Ай бұрын

No money? None? People with no money don’t need James’ advice. They have options, but those options are more of a relying on friends/family/social services kind.

Great video James and an important perspective. Another way to say this is “Whose rules are we playing by?” Society’s? The social security administration’s? Let’s hope not. It’s important to take the time to step back and reevaluate what we’re doing and why. Is it still necessary to trade your time for money? If not, what do you want to retire TO?

So did 'Bill' and 'Susan' decide to retire earlier!? I've got to know! I like to think that I'd have been retired already if I was in their shoes, although I can see how being a saver makes it really hard to switch to being a spender.

Absolutely vital advice! The study that Perkins highlights is the 2018 paper by Banerjee et al on "Asset Decumulation..." So the purpose of their paper was the retrospective analysis of retiree non-housing asset spending over a 20 year period post-retirement. The interesting aspect of this paper's results was that asset decumulation was so conservative, that retirees still had 73 to 89% of their non-housing assets left after 20 years of retirement. Whether or not we will need 73 to 89% of our assets to pay for hidden medical expenses, will need to be studied, but personally it implies our fears are holding us back from living our rich life.

I Love this one, this is one of the your Best ones Thank you this is Right on time!

Best thing I believe you have ever put out. Thanks so much.

I love your channel, but this case study is totally out of norm. So, the couple’s combined salary is like over $400k? Do they even need a retirement plan when they can save $6 millions at 67 with just 4% interest for the next 10 years even by doing nothing??? 😢 I just envy them

@darwinjina

7 ай бұрын

Yea, they already 'won' the game. lol. They must be working because they want to or have some expensive hobbies.

@treesnmoguls

7 ай бұрын

James needs to teach an audience with a wide range of incomes. Those of us much lower or higher (I WISH), need to scale it.

@pathslesstrampled9906

7 ай бұрын

The point is that this hypothetical couple busted their butts saving and scrimping until retirement age, and ended up with way more than what they would have needed to live very comfortably

@cjswa6473

7 ай бұрын

Quit early and move to a cheaper much better country

@jdenino6022

7 ай бұрын

Well don't envy them, a close relative of mine retired at age 33 and her husband retired at 45 because he had a lot of money and they had a very nice life till she got sick w/cancer and died at age 40. Her husband raised their child by himself. He stayed retired though bc he is very wealthy. Now their son is a trust fund baby worth millions.

A really good video. Its not the numbers but principle James is trying to convey to his audience. He does it very well. Its worth watching the whole 28 minutes.

Annual income of $465,000 and still need to work 10 more years....???? If they played their cards right from the get go, they would have been able to retire at 55

This video was excellent thank you for making it. Will save a lot of people a lot of headache and help them better enjoy their time

Great example of a balanced life. Thank you

Thanks for using higher portfolio amounts. A variety of examples is helpful.

@RootFP

7 ай бұрын

Glad you like it!

I thought there was a $15,000 maximum, non-taxable, annual "Gift" amount that we could give our kids.

@talltodd

2 ай бұрын

In addition to the annual gift tax exclusion, you get a lifetime gift tax exclusion. This means that any amount that you give over the annual limit is subtracted from your larger lifetime limit. Once you've gifted over your lifetime amount, you may begin to owe taxes.

Great job suggesting all those options.

In the first half of the video I got a little agitated because you were not getting to the point but the second half of the video you knocked it out of the park. Glad I stuck around

This is so awesome that you have this understanding at your age! I love this for you, and thank you so much for your videos! This is something many of us haven't figured out until we got to our fifties! 🙂

Managing Money is different from accumulating wealth, and the lack of investment education in schools may explain why people struggle to maintain their financial gains. The examples you provided are relevant, and I personally benefited from the market crisis, as I embrace challenging times, while orders tend to avoid them. Well, at least my advisor does too.

Thank you for your video. I retired at 45 years old. However, I had what I considered to be a "good enough" retirement income through my retirement plan at work (25 years as a police officer to be fully vested). Anyway, I saw how some of my fellow colleagues got older and older, just holding on. Most were trying to hit their magical number of 32 years in service for the maximum retirement pay level. Some of them, were not making it and dying while still in service. And some, expired just a few years out of retirement. Not to mention, the health issues that some developed through the years, making it difficult for them to actually enjoy their retirement. I always told myself, that it was their decision as to how they wanted to live and/or retire. So anyway.....I'm glad that YOU made this video. Perhaps by watching, more people will realize and embrace the limited time that they have on earth.