scary realization

[slim rem 7]

  im afraid these are whats left of the good ole days..i put a value on each one,,as if it were
 un replaceable..both on national welfare level for my kind of people.. but also on a personal level..
  hope this isn t too negative.. mabe i edit it after my first cup o coffee. slim

[Dixie Dude]

I will amen to that.  Wanted to retire early next year, but my 401(k) tanked.  Have to work at least another 5-9 years.  Worry for my kids and grandkids. 

[CannonKrazy]

Retirement !!!!! Whats that? I'm gonna have to work till I die cause there ain't gonna be nothing to retire with. My investments dropped to an all time low, Social security will be gone when I get old enough and Obama is going to tax us so much we will never see any relief.  

[Rustyinfla]

   And not only that in the near future they'll be wanting to tax retirement accounts and 401's.

[john keyes]

it worries me quite a bit, having young children and all.  I've seen the system break down due to hurricanes and often wondered what if it just plain breaks down period....

[alpha wolf]

I am sorry that you can not retire as planned.  The dispatcher on my shift retired six years ago at 60 sold all of his farm land and made good investments.  Eight months ago he came to work for us because he lost all his money over night and can not live on what little SS the government gives him.  He said that he had signed up for food stamps and they gave him 10 dollars a month.  It makes me mad that this man devoted most of his life to work and the government gives him 10 for food and you have these people who have never worked in there life and never will and they get over 600 a month on food stamps.  The government needs to learn who they should help and who they need to work.  Our older citizens should be took care of better than they are.  We had an Officer that retired a couple months ago because the government said he could no longer work as an officer because of his age which is 72 and I agree that he is to old to be a cop but now we all chip in a little money every month so that he can get threw the rest of his life a little easier.  He applied for some assistance and was denied because he did not meet the right criteria.  He served 8 years in the army and 34 as a police officer and the government said the heck with him.  I hope that every thing gets better so that those of you approaching retirement can enjoy your lifes the way you should and not work yourself to death.  Good luck and God bless.

[Dixie Dude]

I did sell some of my stocks and put it in bonds through Vanguard my 401(k) provider, which cushoned some of my loses, and it is slowly coming back up, but not enough.  My wife manages her own, and she made more money than I did last year, but she shorted some stocks.  I am 55 and wanted to retire at 56 when my last son graduated high school.  I was wanting to go to Alaska and Africa and do some serious hunting.  Now that is delayed. 

[gypsyman]

Think about this. It's only been a very short time period that we have lived in, were somebody actually ''retired''. In the history of civilization, I can't recall any society, were the mass of people reaced a certain age, and retired. Most people worked till they died. Or they slowed down and let the kids do most of the work.
As for me, I'm 53, some of my retirement went to house payments and such, while the wife went to college. At the present time, I don't think I'll ever retire. My wife's assesment is, I'm a workaholic. I might slow down when the house gets paid for, in about 7-8 years, but I'll never just quit. Just isn't in my blood.  gypsyman

[Singleshotsam]

I hate to see you guys getting shafted out of your retirements.  I too worry about the mess I've inherited and I worry more that I won't be able to fix it before I hand it over to my son and daughter.  My wife and I are planning on investing in land and maybe some gold.  I figure those two items are solid enough to bring me a good return on my investment in about 50 years.

[Dixie Dude]

I wasn't actually going to "retire".  I was going to hunt, fish, garden, travel, reload, shoot, cast bullets, make my own fishing lures, hike, build some solar heat and water heating panels, build a semi-underground home, try out some bio-diesel, collect coins and butterflies, etc.  In my spare time I was going to catch up on some reading and relaxation.  

[magooch]

The problem is that too many people haven't learned that there are investments and there are investments.  Nothing says that you have to put your 401 K and IRA investments into risky stocks and bonds.  There is still money to be made in the market, but you have to be smart enough to know when the risk is acceptable to your situation.

The best thing that our government ever did for us, was give us the 401 K and IRA tools.  We have to be smart enough,  or lucky enough to use those tools to our best advantage.  I guess I was lucky.