SUCCESS! Upped My Contributions, Check it.

Author: Andrew Meadows / 31 Jan 2013 / Personal Finance

So, as I alluded to in my last post, I upped my contributions to 10%. Now, based on that, I am still going to fall short of the roughly $1.5 million I need to retire comfortably by about $579K.

It seems ridiculous, doesn’t it? $1.5 million seems like a huge amount. But considering that I would like to retire at age 67 and that I intend on living pretty similarly to how I live now—lots of travel, a little house on the beach, etc.—that’s what I’m going to need. And that $1.5 million suddenly seems really low if you are considering unforeseen medical expenses or who knows what, and where the heck are things going to be in 29 years? That’s what I’ve got. 29 years. Maybe 32 if the job market still loves me when I’m 70.

Beware. Scary statistic ahead.

I mentioned this horrible statistic in a previous blog: American workers are falling short of what they need to retire by about $6.6 TRILLION dollars. Because we aren’t saving enough, we have this nasty thing called elder poverty. Can you imagine, living, learning, and working your derrière off for 67+ years, only to find yourself struggling to make your next meal?

DUDE. There is no way that is going to be me.

I’m consistently impressed by young peeps like my friend MattBrown, who has been saving since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. He’s also a 20-something, so he’s sure to have that retirement cash cow to rely on, and he may even be able to retire sooner than 67. I’ll tell you what. I am going to continue to be aggressive about saving. What’s the next goal for me in contributions? I want to raise the roof to 15%. With that, I’ll have more than is anticipated for me to retire, and that beach cottage in a foreign country with 365 days of sunshine? SECURE.