Barring any global events probably. I am quite fortunate.
To start with me and my wife are both sw engineers.
I earn some nice big company stock, from when I started to 5 years later it’s 10x’d. I was a few years late to really hit jackpot but I still made a lot and will hopefully continue to gain. My company also matches the first 6% of my rrsp (a 401k for canadains) and I contribute 8%. I also have a maxed tfsa.
I am a pretty aggressive budgeter so I make sure we spend below our means and build uo other savings as well.
There’s a bit of a “problem” at my company where many of the senior staff basically have blank cheques because only they understand the overall architecture. I hope to also end up in this position. I knew a guy that worked 2 half days a week for at least 2x my salary with vacation time to boot. All he did was answer questions for a few hours then go home.
I bought a house during a panic price drop in 2020 got a really cheap price and then sold it for a huge profit and bought a run down duplex that is a bad investment property but a good place to live for my polycule (in a super walkable neighborhood to boot!). I plan to die in This house. I got what will probably be an all time low interest rate of 1.7% and have been paying it off faster than necessary. When it renews next year at 4-5% I will hopefully keep the same monthly. If my monthly doesn’t grow above that then I’ll be pretty on track to have it paid off before I turn 45, giving me more money to save and also lowering the amount I need a month.
If interest rates go down or me/wife gets some nice promotions or my company stock does another big climb then kids might even be on the table.
I started maxing my Roth Ira out when I was earning $10/hr. Avoid spending money on things that don’t literally matter and save for the things that do. Pay attention to where every single dollar/pound/Euro/shekel goes. Stay out of debt. Keep drug/alcohol use reasonable. Most of the time folks who are concerned about retiring/money have no idea how much they spend on what. Saving for retirement is easy once you start doing it and get used to it, but you need to start early and you need to invest in the stock market. Avoiding chronic illness or accidents or long periods where you aren’t earning income are probably necessary too. Staying out of legal trouble is probably necessary as well.
Yes, as a Swede I’d say we have way greater chances of reaching retirement, but it still comes down to saving by yourself if you want to live reasonably while retired.
I set myself a “spending budget” every month. After salary comes in i move what goes to bills and such expenses into a separate account. I divide whats left into 50/50, one half into savings the other to leisure. My savings account is set up to make long term investment into stock groups managed by the bank (unsure if there’s an english word for this, we håll them “fonder”). Usually i dont spend all the leisure money either way because i rarely purchase things and whats left when next months salary comes around also goes into savings.
I’ve been blessed by my parentes to start off with some savings so saving by myself once i started working was also allt easier.
To properly secure your future you need to earn enough money to even be able to start saving. Truly a “society” moment.
I don’t think think I’ll ever “retire” in the traditional sense.
My thought was to always have a severe mental breakdown around 50 and run off to the woods to build a log cabin and grow my own food. My wife knows of this plan but I’m pretty sure she thinks it’s a joke. It’s not.
Ha ha ha ha, no. We do have savings so at least some cushion but I took years off when my kids were born, got a late start in college, started a career later, I would say I got the time when I needed it I guess. But not likely to have enough to take time off paid work again at the end.
Most people don’t get to decide, they get disabled or laid off & cannot find work and are forced into retirement. I’m in good shape and work in an office so probably can keep going as long as jobs last for me, and our life will be better if we keep working.
No, I imagine they will come a point where I’ve decided I’ve had enough and just end it.
