Surviving the crash

[ma96782]

I saw two handguns I would have bought if it wasn't for 114, good deals too.

Aloha, Mark

 

[The Heretic]

If you make a nice, fat charge at the beginning of the billing cycle, you've gotten an interest free loan for a month.

I can (and often do) get up to two months of interest free use of $. I have 30 days grace from the statement date, so if I charge something on day one of the billing period, then 30 days until the statement period is finalized, then 30 more days until it comes due. I will be doing that this month as I had some unexpected costs - including a $500 dr. visit (off network dr.).

It is not just interest free, but interest earning as my checking account pays me 1-2% interest on its balance, so the more and longer I keep $ in my checking account, the more interest I earn. Plus, I prefer to keep as much of my checking account $ accessible for as long as possible in case of an emergency where I need cash.

That is another thing I forgot to mention; on weekends and after hours, I can only get $550 from my checking (via an ATM) - so for many emergencies, either I use my debit card or my CC - I prefer the latter, especially for heavy expenses - it gives me more flexibility.

I haven't carried a balance (that I paid interest for) on my CC in 16 years and I intend to continue doing that, even if I have to tap my IRAs.

 

[Burt Gummer]

2030 getting a head start

 

[nammac]

2030 getting a head start

View attachment 1432943

How does one qualify for this Universal basic income? Thinking I earn too much to qualify, unless I quit my job, that'd give me more range time during the day…

 

[Longwalkhome]

How does one qualify for this Universal basic income? Thinking I earn too much to qualify, unless I quit my job, that'd give me more range time during the day…

in my case I worked all my life and paid into SS to receive a basic income.

 

[The Heretic]

in my case I worked all my life and paid into SS to receive a basic income.

To get back what you paid in.

Depending on how much you paid and how long you live, you may or may not get back what you paid in, or more - but I figure that with my life expectancy, I won't get back what I paid in, much less what I paid in plus the interest I would have earned by investing it.

Also, if I die tomorrow, my daughter will get something like $156 for burial expenses, and not the rest of what I paid in over 50 years.

 

[Longwalkhome]

To get back what you paid in.

Depending on how much you paid and how long you live, you may or may not get back what you paid in, or more - but I figure that with my life expectancy, I won't get back what I paid in, much less what I paid in plus the interest I would have earned by investing it.

Also, if I die tomorrow, my daughter will get something like $156 for burial expenses, and not the rest of what I paid in over 50 years.

My wife died at 58 of cancer, my sister died at 58 from bad medical care. A lot of people never see a dime of all they paid in.

 

[sobo]

To get back what you paid in.

Depending on how much you paid and how long you live, you may or may not get back what you paid in, or more - but I figure that with my life expectancy, I won't get back what I paid in, much less what I paid in plus the interest I would have earned by investing it.

Also, if I die tomorrow, my daughter will get something like $156 for burial expenses, and not the rest of what I paid in over 50 years.

Is there a place on the SSA site where it says exactly how much one has paid in to date? Or does one have to take the latest copy of their annual SSA statement and figure out, based upon the numbers in the Earnings Taxed for Social Security column, and the payroll tax rate(s) of SS over the years, and sum it all up to figure that out? Cuz now you've got me curious as to how much I've paid in, and how long I'd have to live to draw on it to break even...

ETA:
Never mind. I found it in a little gray box right below the table of annual contributions. So, based upon what I and my various employers over the years have paid in, the monthly amount my benefit would be if I were retire at my FRA in another 3± years, and not including the additional contributions between now and then, and not adjusting for increased benefits due to inflation, then I would have to live about 9 years after my retirement. Since that's forecasted to be in 3± years from now, I would have to live at least 12 years from now to break even (expire in 2035).

I've determined my 401k and IRA contributions (and balances) based upon me living to 2049, since those Sobo genes seem to favor long lives into the early-to-mid-90s. But I've always sort of knew I'd live past what the point of what I've paid in to SS, which is why I max out my 401k every year (plus those company matches). So that being said, all you Gen X-ers and younger can give me all the shiit you want about being a selfish, greedy, lives-too-long-so-he's-gonna-bankrupt-SS-before-I-get-any Boomer. Frankly, I really don't care. Accident of your birth year...

 

[Longwalkhome]

Is there a place on the SSA site where it ways exactly how much one has paid in to date? Or does one have to take the latest copy of their annual SSA statement and figure out, based upon the numbers in the Earnings Taxed for Social Security column, and the payroll tax rate(s) of SS over the years, and sum it all up to figure that out? Cuz now you've got me curious as to how much I've paid in, and how long I'd have to live to draw on it to break even...

Deal is that money has changed in value your entire lifetime. The dollars you paid in your younger years were less due to lower wages but were worth more. Inflation is a killer and it's why energy prices driving inflation is really screwing us.

What you pay in today is worth far more than what you will draw out if you are a young man.

 

[sobo]

Deal is that money has changed in value your entire lifetime. The dollars you paid in your younger years were less due to lower wages but were worth more. Inflation is a killer and it's why energy prices driving inflation is really screwing us.

What you pay in today is worth far more than what you will draw out if you are a young man.

I know that. But I was calculating on purely the face value of the contributions/withdrawals, since that's how the SSA will collect them and dole them out. Then, they will adjust the monthly contribution over time after I retire to reflect inflation.

 

[Longwalkhome]

I know that. But I was calculating on purely the face value of the contributions/withdrawals, since that's how the SSA will collect them and dole them out. Then, they will adjust the monthly contribution over time after I retire to reflect inflation.

I think but it's just a guess, if you figure the max amount they take then look at the maximum payout you could figure out what is the best you could hope for. I will bing search it a bit.

maximum ss benefit 2023 - Bing

Pametno pretraživanje u tražilici Bing olakÅ¡ava brzo pretraživanje onog Å¡to tražite i nagraÄuje vas.

www.bing.com

Your maximum tax is $8,537 and your employer matches that so about $17k paid in max.

Yet the reality is this.

average ssi monthly benefit - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

www.bing.com

 

[Bobbygun]

Accident of your birth year...

LOL. This reminds me so much of Lee Marvin at the very end of The Professionals when the rich rancher called him a bass tard. Lee's response: "Yessir! In my case - an accident at birth. But you sir... you're a self-made man." Love that movie.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you - greedy, selfish, Boomer hoping to live long enough to bankrupt SS.

 

[solv3nt]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you

I hope it's not your boat that sank with all the guns.

 

[sobo]

I think but it's just a guess, if you figure the max amount they take then look at the maximum payout you could figure out what is the best you could hope for. I will bing search it a bit.

maximum ss benefit 2023 - Bing

Pametno pretraživanje u tražilici Bing olakÅ¡ava brzo pretraživanje onog Å¡to tražite i nagraÄuje vas.

www.bing.com

I suffered a helluva loss of income in 2021, cuz I had gotten an arthroscopic knee surgery in late 2020 that went off the rails and paralyzed me for most of 2021. My income for that year was half of what it was in 2020 as a result - thank God for short-term disability or it woulda been hella worse! I got back to FT in 2022, but my lower leg/foot still hurts and there is still some paralysis and now I've got peripheral neuropathy. But at least I can work full-time (and make decent retirement contributions) again. So I'm going to not wait until age 70 to fully max out the SS benefits, since I figure my other retirement accounts and assets will cover me for the rest of my life, and I'll retire as soon as my FRA day arrives...

 

[Longwalkhome]

I suffered a helluva loss of income in 2021, cuz I had gotten an arthroscopic knee surgery in late 2020 that went off the rails and paralyzed me for most of 2021. My income for that year was half of what it was in 2020 as a result - thank God for short-term disability or it woulda been hella worse! I got back to FT in 2022, but my lower leg/foot still hurts and there is still some paralysis and now I've got peripheral neuropathy. But at least I can work full-time (and make decent retirement contributions) again. So I'm going to not wait until age 70 to fully max out the SS benefits, since I figure my other retirement accounts and assets will cover me for the rest of my life, and I'll retire as soon as my FRA day arrives...

average lifespan of american white male - Bing

Pametno pretraživanje u tražilici Bing olakÅ¡ava brzo pretraživanje onog Å¡to tražite i nagraÄuje vas.

www.bing.com

The system counts on most never being able to draw a full benefit.

 

[The Heretic]

I suffered a helluva loss of income in 2021, cuz I had gotten an arthroscopic knee surgery in late 2020 that went off the rails and paralyzed me for most of 2021. My income for that year was half of what it was in 2020 as a result - thank God for short-term disability or it woulda been hella worse! I got back to FT in 2022, but my lower leg/foot still hurts and there is still some paralysis and now I've got peripheral neuropathy. But at least I can work full-time (and make decent retirement contributions) again. So I'm going to not wait until age 70 to fully max out the SS benefits, since I figure my other retirement accounts and assets will cover me for the rest of my life, and I'll retire as soon as my FRA day arrives...

IIRC, SSA calculates based on your best 35 years.

I looked at mine and it wasn't that much difference between taking it at FRA vs later considering my life expectancy (based on when my parents and grandparents and now my aunt and uncle - if you average them out - I probably won't live for more than another 15 years).

Add in that I got laid off the year I turned FRA, I just went ahead and started taking it. I probably would have anyway, even if I was still working.

I can't count on my IRAs; this year they have been flat (ignoring the ups and downs) compared to what they were one year ago, due to the volatility of the stock market. Plus the fact that I want to save as much of them as I can for my daughter.

 

[sobo]

average lifespan of american white male - Bing

Pametno pretraživanje u tražilici Bing olakÅ¡ava brzo pretraživanje onog Å¡to tražite i nagraÄuje vas.

www.bing.com

The system counts on most never being able to draw a full benefit.

So, my SS benefits would break even when I turn 76, the American AWM life expectancy is 77, and males in the Sobo clan live to their mid-90s... Hmmm...

So, the first half of that calculus says that I'll die off right when my SS benefits break even, which was the hope when the SSA was founded back in 1935...
But the other half of that calculus says I'll need my own retirement accounts to make it to my clan's male life expectancy...
Either way, I think I'm covered, unless my retirement accounts continue to wither away under the Leftist policies currently destroying my investments...
Let's go, Brandon!

 

[Longwalkhome]

I retired at 62, with the wife dead I had no further reason to keep working. I took the cut in benefits and just waited three years before I had Medicare. Everything was paid for and I am in good health so decided to be free.

Life is better but the way the country is run now its about survival more than ever.

 

[sobo]

I retired at 62, with the wife dead I had no further reason to keep working. I took the cut in benefits and just waited three years before I had Medicare. Everything was paid for and I am in good health so decided to be free.

I likely would've done the same.

Life is better but the way the country is run now its about survival more than ever.

Boy, ain't that the truth...

 

[The Heretic]

My ex went on SSI about 13+ years ago - got enough to live on, but spent most of that on drugs and other crap (rather than on rent/food/etc.) and wound up on the street. Last I heard she is off the street (I hope), but not my problem and nothing I can do about it anyway.

About 5 years ago she made a comment in a FB PM that she was going to make me "pay" because I would not respond to her messages. I think she was thinking about the fact that when I went on SS she would get some increase in her SSI/SS benes (we were technically married for over ten years, even though we were separated for more than half that, so she does get that increase) - she was probably thinking it would decrease my benes, which it does not.