.

[DurangoCy]

I don't see where you're giving credit for principal reduction or the effect of the tax benefit for the principal payments.

But regardless I would say don't buy a house unless you have 20% to put down, because PMI is a killer. I am also (now, after several mistakes) a firm believer in the 15 year mortgage

My history of owning houses is as follows:

First house-terrible decision-bought a year out of school, thought we HAD to own a house. Wrong neighborhood, no down payment-wound up selling for $7000 loss after 7 years

Second house-fixer upper great neighborhood in the suburbs. Even though we owned it through the bubble burst we sold it for twice what we paid after 17 years.

Third and current house-retirement home in townhome development (I would only buy an end unit with a 3 car garage as the market is not flooded with those). After 8 years we have about $120K equity and will have it paid off in 10 years (I hadn't become a believer in the 15 year mortgage until we bought it.

So end of the story, real estate can be a good investment if you do it right. Don't trust your realtor because they get paid either way. Find someone you trust and run all decisions by them.

"...and the loan would be paid down to $125,000." Tax benefits are minimal, so throw them out. I was trying to respond to the previous poster's worry that a house would hurt their net worth, I beleive he was including the total of all payments (principle and interest) on the liability side of the ledger and not just the principle left to pay.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Yeah, $1M is really conservative, especially if you live until you're 90 or so. My current target is $3 million for retirement. I want to have enough to live comfortably and travel plus have enough on hand in the event of health issues. And if things go well, I'd love to pass along some to my daughter. I'm not counting on crap from SS.

This. I currently put about 20% of my gross income into retirement (just mine, not my wife's). My wife is supposed to receive a state pension as well, but I don't count that or social security in my planning. We don't have kids currently, so putting 20% of my earnings will probably decrease if that happens.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Also, to the 74 millionaires on here Good job!

 

[baller21]

If you’re married do you divide the total of all possessions by two since they’re co owned?

 

[Cyclonepride]

My net worth fluctuates with the current valuation of Chizik coins.

 

[kevdiv48]

Here is a google sheet for you nerdy types that like to crunch your retirement numbers. Sorry for the tinyurl. Pasting the direct link to google sheets causes it to embed directly into the forum, which is not what I want.

Make your own copy of the sheet before editing ( File -> Make a copy)

https://tinyurl.com/yd9789er

So you're assuming living costs/ standard of living is directly related to annual income?

 

[dmclone]

Here is a google sheet for you nerdy types that like to crunch your retirement numbers. Sorry for the tinyurl. Pasting the direct link to google sheets causes it to embed directly into the forum, which is not what I want.

Make your own copy of the sheet before editing ( File -> Make a copy)

https://tinyurl.com/yd9789er

I'm a little confused on this spreadsheet. It says I need over 4 million dollars saved for retirement but even if I have only 2.5 I end up with something like 12 million?

 

[cyphoon]

So you're assuming living costs/ standard of living is directly related to annual income?

I am assuming that if I can survive at my current income now, I can survive at the same level in retirement and maintain my current standard of living. It is a bit of guess. Things will cost more then, but I will have no mortgage and no kids leeching off me (well, we hope).

"Experts" say you need about 75% of your pre-retirement income to live the same lifestyle. I consider that a low watermark, and I am planning to exceed that. You can override that calculation with your own and it should update the rest of the spreadsheet.

I should probably just make the amount you need per year in retirement a separate cell. I am 46, so for me, my current salary is probably on par with my retirement needs. If you are 25 and making $45k per year, then that amount of spending is probably not even close to what you will need in retirement. (edit : this is done)

 

[MeanDean]

My net worth fluctuates with the current valuation of Chizik coins.

Don't forget the beanie baby collection!

 

[cyphoon]

I'm a little confused on this spreadsheet. It says I need over 4 million dollars saved for retirement but even if I have only 2.5 I end up with something like 12 million?

The 4 million would support spending 160k per year in retirement. I'm not sure I am following the 2.5 to 12 million part. Suppose you are 55 years old and have 2.5 mill already saved. If you make 160k per year and contribute 10% to your retirement, you will have over 5 million at age 65 (if you left the other cells alone)

Feel free to share your copy back to me if you want me to take a look. Or PM your input parameters and I will see what I get.

One downer of my spreadsheet is that if you change the starting age, you have to nuke some rows in the middle table to get the whole thing to end on the correct retirement age. I need to make the spreadsheet generate that middle part based on the age that you enter, but that would take some effort.

 

[CloneGuy8]

This is a good tool to show you ow much you'll have in retirement. When I'm figuring my numbers, because I'm assuming an 5% return; 8% over time and taking off 3% to account for inflation. I'm hoping to do better than 8%, but planning for a lower return to be safe.

https://www.daveramsey.com/smartvestor/investment-calculator

 

[robkuhl588]

You have a source that says it costs 30% to 70% more to rent per month?

One that includes taxes, PMI, closing costs, and upkeep costs?

Common sense here, I'm talking about renting vs owning the exact same property. If you are renting it, you will have a landlord that does own it, and guess what! He owns it as an investment and therefore charges an amount in order to profit beyond paying the mortgage, taxes, upkeep etc. And, the real value is not in your monthly savings of owning (which you will have!). The real value is the equity gained over time - which appreciates over the life of a 30 year mortgage. Plus, in years 30-50, there is no mortgage payment for the owner, yet the renter is still paying rent each month.

 

[ruxCYtable]

My wife got the worst financial advice around that time. Her manager told her that she was "too young" to worry about retirement. Said there was no reason to start saving early.

Wow. That is pretty much the worst advice ever. THE WORST. I'd do the Tide pod challenge before following that advice.

 

[robkuhl588]

First house-terrible decision-bought a year out of school, thought we HAD to own a house. Wrong neighborhood, no down payment-wound up selling for $7000 loss after 7 years

I understand that strictly as an investment, this lost $7,000 in 7 years. BUT, it would have cost much more than $7,000 to rent for 7 years, meaning that owning a terrible investment still had more value than renting an equal property - to my other posts/point

 

[Cyched]

The answer to whether you should buy or rent is always "it depends."

 

[atlantacyclone]

Studio apartments run over $2 milllion where I live so ... I must be waaaay under zero...

 

[ameslurker]

Not gonna read the whole thread but how much are Gene Chizik coins worth?

 

[MeanDean]

Not gonna read the whole thread but how much are Gene Chizik coins worth?

Did a quick check, none available on Ebay right now. I'd say, name your own price!

Evidently owners are not parting with them as they see the long term investment value.

 

[TOFB4ISU]

When the robots take over they could give two ***** how much money you have

 

[95CLONE]

I figure my net is worth about $50.00