Why You May Need Less Money Than You Think to Retire

While home prices may eventually decrease, it's currently wise to diversify from real estate into financial markets or gold. With soaring mortgage rates, a looming recession, and tightening mortgage guidelines, a market normalization requires at least a 40% (likely 50%) drop in home prices. If you're at a crossroads and need sincere advice on the best moves, consult an independent advisor like David Marvin Willis with expertise in the financial markets.

If you could only have one which is best in retirement ?
: Dynamic energy
: Plenty of cash

In the wake of 2008 I lost half of my prospective retirement money (stock market, IRAs, lost equity in homes; lost prospective earnings saved) and found myself unemployed at age 59. And it looked to me like I would remain unemployed for a year or two at a minimum. This made me look hard at my retirement plans and I ended up retiring in 2009. I have managed a very comfortable retirement; I did have to give up plans for a lot of international travel and I moved from SF Bay to Arizona (where I grew up and owned several rental homes) but I found with careful and thoughtful planning it was doable. I used systematic withdrawals from my IRAs (paying almost no taxes) to pay off the mortgage on one and short sold the other; I had bought my homes with a view to eventually living in them so this is a very nice home. Once I had the mortgage gone everything fell into place. I have a HELOC for emergencies (and enough cash saved up anyway); I have modest IRAs and such that I don't touch, I live on my SS alone and want for nothing. I always lived a frugal life below my means; and have recently been reminding myself I don't need to save much if at all; so I've been more willing to spend to make life easier or more enjoyable. I give to charity and my grandkids and the money from house and IRAs will help them when I'm gone. I even do get to do a bit of travel when I really want; retirement has been good and I'm happy. Look hard, think creatively you may be surprised.

Oh I don't get "cable" and don't miss it; I have a ton of free and subscription content that I stream and my Internet costs $50 a month, my phone $25 unlimited (but I don't use it for entertainment much that falls to my laptop and wifi). So you can save close to $100 a month by shopping carefully for those services.
My Insurer just raised my Homeowner Ins. 45% and my car insurance 22% -- I shopped around an instead of increases I got a 20% drop on each of those!

I believe you have many valid and important things to share on your videos. The Holy Schmidt play on words is unnecessary, offensive and cheapens your brand. Please reconsider.

Everyone assumes this great advice for the married couple, I wish someone would cater financial advice to those who are single.

Healthcare is a prime reason why I am considering retiring to a country with inexpensive ex-pat healthcare. As I have a non-working spouse 20 years younger than I she won't be covered by Medicare when I retire, even at 70, so we will have to buy her healthcare on the open market which could be expensive even through the ACA. By the way I would love to see a video addressing retirement when you have a younger spouse who isn't yet eligible for the benefits that retirees get because of their age.

Love how you assume everyone has a spouse and a home. I’m 64 and live in a room at my 97 year old mothers house. My husband abandoned me and my kids and I went to school. Now I have student loans, no home, and too many degrees for a school district to hire me. Ex husband is doing great.

The current market/economy is unnecessarily tougher for senior citizens, I’m used to just buying and holding assets which doesn’t seem applicable to the current rollercoaster market plus inflation is catching up with my portfolio. I’m really worried about survival after retirement.

Most Americans find it hard to retire comfortably amid economy downtrend. Some have close to nothing going into retirement, my question is, will you pay off mortgage as a near-retiree, or spread money for cashflow, to afford lifestyle after retirement?

If you invest with t rowe price, sign your beneficiary form. They won't release your money without it unless your heirs create an estate. In Florida the lawyer was 8 thousand dollars

Congratulations.. regards from Athens Greece...

I think it all comes down to lifestyle. If you have a paid off home and like to stay home most of the time, retirement can be cheap. Of course eventually we will face rising health care costs as we age, but this is nearly unavoidable.

Even though my wife's grandfather didn't earn much, he retired with over a million dollars. He saved $75 from every paycheck for 45 years and was cautious with his money. If he had invested in mutual funds, he could have been worth several million. It's not about how much you make, but how you manage your income.

My mom paid into LTC insurance for 35 years at a cost of a few thousand each year. So the total expense was around $70k. She was a very healthy lady so the insurance didn’t kick in until later in life. Many don’t understand that LTC doesn’t pay out until the person is incapable of seeing to their own needs on a variety of items, such as bathing themselves. So this might seem like it’s not worth it, and many never need the insurance because they go quickly, heart attack or similar. Mom’s in a memory care facility. In just the first year of insurance paying out, we’ve already recouped the entire investment. A few thousand a year for this insurance is a lot easier to afford than a nursing facility that runs $6-10k per month or higher. I always tell people to 1) get it before major health challenges (usually mid-late 50s); and 2) you don’t need to have enough insurance to cover the entire expense. Even a few thousand each month may make a difference to the care you can afford when your need is greatest. Medicare does NOT cover this expense.

I learned how to hotwire cars back in the 1980's. If I need a ride, I'll get one. Can't wait to retire. Thanks for the car advice. Everything old is new again!

Medical bills is the reason you never have enough money. No such thing as having too much money when you're the working class

I was doing great with less money till I got the doctor's bills

We all aspire to financial independence, attainable through savvy investing and a frugal lifestyle. Inspired by Warren Buffet, my wife and I, despite a middle-class income, aim to retire at 58 with a $1.7M stock portfolio, never having sold a single share.

51 years old. I have $295,588.25 in my Fidelity retirement account. I cranked my contributions up to 35% and I do all the investing on my own. Fidelity just holds my ETFs/stocks. I made that change earlier this year. I'm hoping to end the rat race by 60 but it's looking more like 63-ish. I want to have $1.5M and bring in about $60k in dividends each year. Pedal to the floor! Thanks for the video. Great content.

I would be retiring or working less in 5 years, and I'm curious to know best how people split their pay, how much of it goes into savings, spendings or investments, I earn around $90K per year but nothing to show for it yet.

My parents wanted to die broke, spending all they had, now all of a sudden at 75 they are in the stock market because i am at 54,and the stocks went down because of Biden, so they worried, i said why are you worried you wanted to be broke, Biden is helping. 😂😂😂

I can't find your promised "set a retirement budget" video.

Not sure if your framed sheet of (dollar?) bills is in the best of taste.

America is currently plagued by the hydra-headed evil duo of inflation and recession. The worst part about this recession is that consumers are racking up credit card debt. In April alone, credit card debt went up 20% while rates have doubled in a year. Inflation is so high that consumers are literally taking debt for basic life necessities. Collapse has indeed begun..

Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got to talking about investment and money. I started investing with $150k and in the first 2 months, my portfolio was reading $274,800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and get more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family.

Sincerely, I'm genuinely moved by what you said about early retirement. And yes i equally agreed with you It's the FREEDOM from being able to make a conscious choice, each and every day, in terms of how you’re going to spend your time… I have about 40k that I am willing to invest if given the appropriate knowledge and I am highly interested in investing. My greatest concern is losing money on a bad investment. I'm open to hearing your advice on how to make sensible investments as a result.

Understanding personal finances and investing will most likely lead to greater financial independence. By being knowledgeable about money and investing, individuals can make informed decisions about how to save, spend, and invest their money. A trader made over $350k in this recession influenced market

Pay off your mortgage and drive a modest (paid for) vehicle and its a breeze.

I'm 58 and retiring at 62 with 2300 in SS a month. I will only have around 150K in the bank. But my home is paid for and in top shape. My cars are paid for and great cars. I owe nothing in dept(zero). I own the lot beside me and its worth 30K. I only have food, taxes, power and daily needs to pay for. My wife will get around 1200 SS a few years later at 62. I made 1.8 million working since 16 on my SS statement and lived well for over 40 years. So why would I need more to live 20 years or say 30 years. I don't drink or smoke never have and healthy. With the ACA insurance it affordable. I have a small welding shop at home to make a few extra bucks. I'm not working till 67....no way! I don't need a million dollars to retire. I don't need much. Key is no dept!!!

Why don’t you now include a Social Security check that is going to be in a Social Security system that is going to be insolvent very soon.

My utilities have doubled over the last 3 years. Homeowners insurance went up 50 percent. Food expenses climbed 30 percent. This kind of unanticipated price spiraling can cripple a retiree trying to make retirement savings stretch, yet these aren’t getting a mention in your planning scheme.

Some people aren't ready but their health will force them to retire, be prepared.....especially in America.

THIS used to be one of my most watched YT channels... sadly, it's been a while since i visited it has been a very rough year... i am experiencing one of the toughest phases of my life... Lost a fortune lnvesting in emerging companies. Hopeful, for a turnaround.

Retiring next summer at 64, not taking my SS till least 67, will have a pension of 4200 per month, have no payments of any kind. Also have a large sum in a HSA , do not feel I need to touch my portfolio, but if i do, its there if needed.

I e joy your videos. You should bump your volume up a bit though
Thank you.

Excellent video , new to retirement and helped ease some of the concerns I had. Thank you!

Institutions like Fidelity scare us into thinking we need millions to retire. The truth is you don't and these financial institutions are trying to scare you into building a larger account with them. The bigger account, the more they make.

One assumption being made is that by our mid-60's, we have paid off our house. But with the divorce rate as high as it is, a large percentage have a major financial hit so that we may not have a house paid off by our 60's, and may be behind savings for retirement as well. This is probably a more common scenario than is assumed. The one thing that may help me is I hopefully will I receive a significant inheritance before I retire to pay down much of my mortgage and sock away for retirement.

Ha ha. You make a lot of assumptions that prolly won’t be true in n the future. Ie kids out of the house. Fewer cars, smaller house. The way things are going, many families will be forced back to multi generational homes.

I have enough. Retired at 64 due to health. My house is paid off and I have no debt. I live very comfortably on a thousand a month. It's all the choices we made through out our life.

The average American woman spends her last 15 years single because men die so much earlier, so it makes little sense to even consider a "two person" retirement.

Wow, way more subscribers than views. Is your content bad and you have worn everyone out?

Does Dividends include in the 4% rule or is it extra income

The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies estimates that the average Baby Boomer has $202k saved up for retirement and own 43% of the stock market. According to the 4% Rule, this would result in a $8k annual retirement income. Judging by this I feel under pressure to get the most out of my $300k in savings. In order to increase my yields, I am in desperate need of guidance.

We only spend 15 to 20K of the 75K a year we get in Social Security and pension. We have no debt, moved to a smaller house and enjoy lots of free things like hiking, canoeing, fishing, gardening, canning and crafts. Our kids live on a lake in Wisconsin and a beach in south Florida so 2-4 vacations a year are just visiting kids. If I could tell younger people what worked best for us it was diversifying our savings. We only put up to the match in our 401 K. We maxed out Roths every year instead and bought lots of dividend paying stocks outside of the 401K. Now we collect monthly dividend checks. Our Roths have grown tax free and we do not have to take the money out like we do the 401 K. People who put all their money in a 401 K don't realize how difficult it is to be forced to take money out of the 401K and owe taxes and maybe bump into another bracket.

If you live to be 95 but develop alzheimers and Parkinson’s, the nursing home care can wipe out a fortune in ten years or less.

The biggest problem I’ve had in retirement is switching from saver to spender, I spent decades saving as a normal routine, not comfortable spending for pleasure.

I've come to realize that the key to amassing wealth lies in making sound investments. I purchased my first home at the age of 21 for $87,000 and sold it for $197,000. My second home, acquired for $170,000, was later sold for $320,000, and my third property, purchased at $300,000, fetched $589,000, with buyers covering all closing costs and expenses. Not reaching a million before retirement feels like an unfulfilled goal.||