Most Americans have 'alarming' amount in savings

would hate like hell to show sign of wealth, gold chains, fancy watch, name brand shoes, wallet full of cash, or mention huge assets worldwide, and be the cause of duct tape face, and cardboard tombstone. haha

 

I think that another item of concern is retirement savings, or lack of retirement savings which most Americans have.

The Average American Has This Much Saved for Retirement -- How Do You Compare? -- The Motley Fool

 

Most americans have no financial education at all, including many economists. The gov set up the 401k plan in US some years ago. When it came out I refused to participate, my accountant thought I was crazy...and he may be right. What they don't tell you is that most of the "gain" you make is eaten up in fees. If you do have something come up that you need the money there are penalties along with being taxed at the highest rate possible. IMO most of the private pension funds and 401k's will be confiscated by Feds within 5 to 10 years, probably sooner, to prop up Social Security.
Obama has already announced the formation of "MyRa", when you buy into this "safe" program you are buying US Treasury notes which today pay about 1.6% per annum. I'm sure there will be a "maintenance fee" on this as well but have no knowledge of such.
My suggestion to everyone is to invest in yourself first by getting an education. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a good place to start. BTW Robert Kiyosaki, author of the books is a two tour Marine Vietnam Vet as a helicopter gunship pilot.

 

The 401k can be a very good program, but it should only be a part of retirement planning and not the whole thing. The company I work for matches the first 6% that you contribute (first 3% they match 100%, anything over 3% up to 6% they match 50%). That is 4.5% of my salary received as free money. While there are fees that are associated with a 401k they vary by provider.

One reason that the 401k looks good is the carrot that gets dangled in front of you offering to reduce your current income tax burden. The common train of thought is that the taxes paid in retirement will be less due to the lower income of most retirees. If a person has saved properly for their retirement and managed their money properly through their working years they will often find that the benefit is marginal at best.

I would strongly recommend that anyone who is serious about saving for retirement research tax free income options such as a Roth IRA and municipal bonds as well as look at options for protecting that money when they do retire with either a long term care insurance policy or an insurance policy with a long term care rider on it. Once done researching for yourself then find a financial advisor that you trust. This is best done early enough that if you find the investments your financial advisor is recommending do not pan out for you that you can move the money and find a new advisor with enough time to recover before retiring.

 

And what if the next one is no better than the first? Will it be too late to recover? Most of the financial advisors I know and have talked to are just insurance salesmen with their "training" coming from the insurance company they represent.
As for Municipal bonds, I wouldn't touch those with a 10ft pole. Think Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, Stockton, Cleveland just to mention a few that are on the verge of default.
Learn from someone like Dude. I don't know him personally but I would guess he has little to no higher education, that is college, but has a Phd in street smarts when it comes to making a buck. Dude, I hope you are offended by those remarks as I actually meant them as a compliment. My point is, learn about economics but not from the academics which know very little about how a free market economy works.

 

You will note that I said "research tax free income options such as a Roth IRA and municipal bonds as well as look at options for protecting that money when they do retire with either a long term care insurance policy or an insurance policy with a long term care rider on it. Once done researching for yourself then find a financial advisor that you trust. This is best done early enough that if you find the investments your financial advisor is recommending do not pan out for you that you can move the money and find a new advisor with enough time to recover before retiring."

If a person goes blindly to a financial advisor with no research then a fool and their money are soon parted. I have seen the effects of not having long term care insurance of some sort on family members and friends though. For a person involved in a long term relationship I see this as important.

If the second financial advisor is no better than the first then it is one of those shame on you deals for not learning how to better manage your finances and pick a financial advisor who has your interests at heart.

 

Hmmm......where is the trickle down?

CEOs get retirement benefits you don't

My understanding is the 401k, before it was called a 401k, originally started in the c-suite as a way for executives to pile away cash prior to retirement. The government institutionalized the idea with significantly lower limits and called it a 401k. This led to many companies eliminating defined benefit plans (pensions) for 401k accounts. Not a bad switch-a-roo if you ask me. That said, the c-guys still have their special benefits, see link above.