Retirement Planning

[MOHunter]

Yeah, I know it's not what you want or expect to discuss on a hunting forum. But I've seen several discussion lately about how to afford the high-priced gear we all want so badly. As a financial advisor I have been curious about this for a while. My perception is that many folks on forums are a little younger crowd, so I'd love to know what my peers are doing for their long-term finances. I work a lot with the baby boomers, but starting in your 20s and 30s is where real financial security is created.

What is everyone doing to save for their retirement?

 

[Doj4Whlr]

Not buying meat at the market

 

[dotman]

This is an important topic, good poll.

 

[cmeier117]

I am only 23 and have student loans to pay off first. Ask me in 5-10 years and I will give a different answer.

 

[dotman]

I am only 23 and have student loans to pay off first. Ask me in 5-10 years and I will give a different answer.

My suggestion is to try and bump it up atleast every year by 1%, when you receive a raise bump it up again. Before you know it you will have a good nest egg started. Wish I had started at 23 but I wasn't even thinking about it until my late 20's. If you do it a little at a time you really do not notice it.

I'm tax guy not a fin planner but I highly recommend everyone consider to put in what their company will match at a minimum, free money so it is like a raise that goes directly to your savings.

 

[Brock A]

I started my 401k when I was 18, I am 22 now...I have big visions for my retirement haha!

 

[Yukondog]

Failing to save or plan for the future is dumb. Living beyond your means is even dumber. When it catches up to you your teeth will be knocked out and your life will be upside down. No material item today is worth the stress later. I over save and I admit it. My wife and I get into heated discussions all the time about it. I'm grateful for her because with our two personalities I would have no life and she would have no money. We balance ourselves nicely. Check out a Dave Ramsey class. Good nuggets of info to be had there.

Start saving young and stick to it. Your life from a $ standpoint will much easier.

Good thread!

 

[luke moffat]

I'm 28 now but having been putting 15%-20% of my gross into my 401K since I was 21. Good gear is nice, but being able to retire and go on as many trips as I want is even nicer. I won't trim back on my retirement savings to afford new toys that is for sure.

 

[cmeier117]

My suggestion is to try and bump it up atleast every year by 1%, when you receive a raise bump it up again. Before you know it you will have a good nest egg started. Wish I had started at 23 but I wasn't even thinking about it until my late 20's. If you do it a little at a time you really do not notice it.

I'm tax guy not a fin planner but I highly recommend everyone consider to put in what their company will match at a minimum, free money so it is like a raise that goes directly to your savings.

I will be starting in July to get my company 3% match. So I will be putting in 6%. Anything more than that I am loosing money with interest I am paying on student loans. I am working to get my CPA license, but you are correct on the match. Love free money!!

 

[JG358]

What is everyone doing to save for their retirement?

Not enough..... I'm probably on the work until I die plan.

 

[VANDAL]

15% to 401k
Max out roth contribution ($5k/yr)
Contribute $5k/yr in 529 plan for kids college fund

I'm 31 and have been doing the above for since I was 25. Even with these contributions annually I still feel like I'm falling behind on my retirement goals. I'd say every year on hunting (tags, equip, etc) I spend around ~$3k. I live fairly conservatively and I fully believe in spending within your means...but then again I want to make sure I enjoy life now while I'm healthy and in good shape.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Most people wait to start saving for retirement. Due to COMPOUNDED INTEREST, if you only saved the first 10 years of your working life, you would be better off then if you saved the final 35 years. Something to think seriously about if you are just starting out in your working career.

A simple tool for compounded interest is the "Rule of 72." If you take your interest rate and divide it by 72 you can determine how many years for your money to double.

For example: 6% interest will double your money every 12 years. That means in 48 years it will double 4 times, In 48 years $15,000 would become $240,000.

For example: 12% interest will double your money every 6 years. That means in 48 years if will double 8 times, so $15,000 would become $3.84 million.

That shows the power of compounded interest. By saving only $15,000 by the age of 20 and earning 12% a year, you could have $3.84 million by the time you are 68 years old.

Of course this is just an example, and finding 12% interest is another issue, but it shows the leverage of starting early.

 

[MOHunter]

Wow, I honestly didn't expect this much interest in the topic. Thanks for all the comments so far. I think this is good for everyone to see. Keep 'em coming.

 

[MOHunter]

15% to 401k
Max out roth contribution ($5k/yr)
Contribute $5k/yr in 529 plan for kids college fund

I'm 31 and have been doing the above for since I was 25. Even with these contributions annually I still feel like I'm falling behind on my retirement goals. I'd say every year on hunting (tags, equip, etc) I spend around ~$3k. I live fairly conservatively and I fully believe in spending within your means...but then again I want to make sure I enjoy life now while I'm healthy and in good shape.

This is awesome, and exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to see. I think we often tend to compare ourselves to others, but when we're only talking about our specific interests it's hard to gauge. For instance, when you say you spend about $3k per year on hunting it has a completely different context when we know that you also save at least 5 times that amount for your financial goals. Congrats on the discipline and good progress so early on.

 

[VANDAL]

At least I estimate its $3k...the actual $ spent I really don't want to know

 

[dotman]

Yup I love the 529 plan, my daughter is only 18mo but I don't want her paying for school like I had to.

My wife and I both put 15% into our 401k and at this age (32) I have learned to stop looking at it. Now I do play around with what my ira is in

I hope to retire in my late 50's but the way our economy is who knows if that will happen. Also I buy my company stock at a reduced rate and sell some immediately and keep some because there are immediate gains but I also feel our stock is undervalued.

We live a very modest life, can't say that about some of our friends sadly.

 

[dotman]

I will be starting in July to get my company 3% match. So I will be putting in 6%. Anything more than that I am loosing money with interest I am paying on student loans. I am working to get my CPA license, but you are correct on the match. Love free money!!

The loosing money kinda of depends, this is where mohunter might be able to help. You will only pay interest on your loans for a max of 15 years, what you put away now will grow for 30.

Also don't forget the tax savings now so an added $50 a paycheck really only feels like $40 (just thrownin numbers out).

 

[WV Hunter]

My boss matches his percentage of input in my SEP IRA, which is equal to 7 - 10% of my salary. I own two rental properties at this time, one that is paid for and one that will be in 8 years. The two combined bring in $1210 income a month. I sold a third property last month that was a good income earner but the neighborhood was becoming less desireable. I am open to more properties though if some good deals come my way. I figure if I could buy and pay for 3 or 4 more before I retire I could live off of the rental income decently. I will be 37 this year. Most of the money I made in my 20's was burnt up on racing motocross but it was worth it.

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Ditto on the Dave Ramsey comment - good concepts. I did a little demo for my daughter the other day - $100/month starting at 16 with 10% return was about a million bucks at retirement. That opened her eyes a little on the concept of compounding return. Actual contribution retiring at 65 was about 60 grand. Don't quote me on actual numbers - we were messing with an online calculator. Key point is invest heavily early = cruise control later... Then I had to break it to her that unfortunately a million bucks won't be crap when she's ready to retire so she better do a lot more than that.

Let's face it, hunting is a pretty expensive hobby so it can really pay off to be financially responsible and keep your ducks in a row. Otherwise you will probably end up bankrupt or divorced or both. Applying in multiple states annually is also an expensive deal - What I've done is to set the refundable tag fees aside in an account and then I contribute the nonrefundable part (licenses plus fees) to the account year-round so it doesn't all hit in the spring. It helps normalize the cost over the year. Gotta include a hundred bucks or so each month to cover the tags you do end up drawing. I try to overpay the account a little so soon I will have enough fluff in there to buy an occasional land-owner tag when the draw isn't so nice to me.

It's a lot easier to justify doing this when you're already contributing to your retirement plan at a high level. If you aren't doing that, I would suggest staying in-state and getting your $hit together first. It will pay off with way more hunts later.

Also budget for your hunting purchases - it's easy to have a big hunt come up and then justify the hunt as the reason to go buy a bunch of new gear, glass, tires, etc... on a credit card. Don't be stupid man - I used to do that all the time so I can tell you that kind of behavior will kill your financial health real fast.

Great topic - thanks for posting!

 

[dotman]

My boss matches his percentage of input in my SEP IRA, which is equal to 7 - 10% of my salary. I own two rental properties at this time, one that is paid for and one that will be in 8 years. The two combined bring in $1210 income a month. I sold a third property last month that was a good income earner but the neighborhood was becoming less desireable. I am open to more properties though if some good deals come my way. I figure if I could buy and pay for 3 or 4 more before I retire I could live off of the rental income decently. I will be 37 this year. Most of the money I made in my 20's was burnt up on racing motocross but it was worth it.

Haha, that is how I burnt up my money in my 20's too, amazing how expensive that hobby was.