3 ways to retire without a large nest egg

Some sound advice (maybe a little late for some of us)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ives/16619583/

 

When they talk about North Dakota specifically, they mean the eastern half. You could rent a house and pay the utilities with something left over in a small Florida town for the cost of just an RV hookup in the western half of North Dakota because of the oilfield activity. McDonalds up there starts people at $15hr, Walmart at $18 days and $21 nights. Produce is more expensive because the area is infected with oil money. Stores regularly run out of everyday items like bread. Waiting to be seated time to eat in an only decent resteraunt can be upwards of 2 hours. Alcoholism and insanity are endemic up there....and that's not just my family. During the brief thaw, talk to people at your own risk. They are so starved for unfamilliar face / victim that if you don't talk over them as they do you, you won't get a word in edgewise. Other than that, the badlands can be beautiful, for a couple months of the year. I bank with Chase and I inquired where the closest branch would be if I had to go up there again, the answer was....Colorado.

 

I like that; but weather probably shouldn't be your main concern

Obviously the writer is 'not of age' where worn joints and arthritis pains KILL you like a Son of a Biatch during Winter! The lower temperatures here this year (some just nudging below 0 celsius) hit my Body like a major toothache that had been kicked around a Footy oval! Taking close to a dozen painkillers each morning didn't even help the pain from the cold, retire there? Send me straight to hell thanking you! :huh:

 

Plus they have large bug critters Brian, you'd be straight away in Hell.

 

PatO,

In the article it states that americans are terrible savers and I agree but the reasons behind it are much more complicated than simply not being disciplined.

First, A savings acct at a bank in the US is currently int he 1% range and has been for several years.

Let's say you have $100,000 in one of these accounts. It would produce $1,000 interest in a years time. That would in turn be taxxed at least 25% leaving you with $750 annual return. If inflation is running at 3% according to the government, (the actual inflation number is much higher, at least twice the stated amount), then your $100,000 lost $3,000 to inflation. Your final purchasing power total of $97,750. The only people that think is a good idea are bankers, economists and government officials.

If on the other hand you invest in Mutual Funds as most "financial planners" suggest, the return is slightly better, but not much as the funds charge you fees that eat up most of any gains that are produced.

President Obama, in the State of the Union address started a new program, (all by himself), called MyRA. My Retirement Account. You put your money in the account which only purchases US government debt, which currently is paying about %2.5 for a 10 year. I'm not familiar enough with this to know what fees if any are charged. So if you took your $100,000 and deposited in this account, tax free I assume, until you withdraw the funds at some later date you would gain $25,000 over a 10 year period, (not counting compounding interest). Inflation would eat $30,000 at 3% per annum and in the end you would still lose money.

Some are saying that in the next market crash the Obama administration will confiscate all 401-K's and IRA's and either put them in the MyRA accounts or the Social Security System.

Food for thought

 

Good points Cletus. One popular method is to save in your 401-K and withdraw some post retirement when you do not have a salary and your tax consequence is much lower. Guys here who marry, if Americans, can obtain an IRS tax ID (ITIN) for your spouse so you can claim her as an exemption, if she is not a USA citizen, as well as get USA citizenship, if you have children here.