So I'm a few months away from 40. I know it's not old compared to so e of you but it's 40 and it's made me look back and wonder. I got a letter from social security the other day telling me what my retirement benefits would be at 65 as of money paid in up until now. It was cool to see my yearly earnings since my 1st job in 1989 as a bag boy in a grocery store. I got to see the slow increase until I finished culinary school then a big jump to salary. Got to see the 1st year as an executive chef and a real salary. And the steady increase until now. Made me think about when I started the career journey and the grand illusion that by now Id own my own restaurant and be making the big bucks. Also made me realize that I'm gonna be a broke mofo when I retire if all I have is SSI benefits. I have a 401k but I've tapped into it a few times in the last 2 decades and it's not what it should be. Between college savings for my kids and all my "toys " expenses I really need to start stuffing extra cash somewhere soon or I'm gonna be a 70 year old greeter at Walmart.

At 77 years old I can tell you that expenses go up everyday and income goes down every year.

The smart guy gets a job working for the government when they are young. Lifetime medical benefits and million programs to avoid having to ever work.

Kenny G

@jcstokes. As an executive chef i am at the top of the "average" for salary but that is because I have 20 years in the business, as much education in my field as most medical practitioners, I am a level II Cicerone and a Master Sommelier. I won a James Beard award in 2008 and have worked at 3 Michelin Starred restaurants both in the US and Europe. I pay more income tax a year than someone who makes $12 an hour earns in a year.

With all that being said a few months shy of 40 that SSI letter hit me. I don't own a house, don't "own" my vehicles (except motorcycle) and have about enough in a 401k to live 3 years at my current cost of living. I have 3 children one of which is autistic and will need medical attention her entire life. It was an intended wake up call from the social security administration I'm sure and it worked. With the way the economy is investing scares me but aside from decreasing my current cost of living in hopes of putting the money not spent away I'm not sure what else to do.

Because of my profession and the option of relocation is what's kept me from buying a house. For example I moved from Alabama to California just over 6 years ago for job purposes. That and the real estate market here is terrible. I pretty much have 2 options here in the Los Angeles area. Buy something older than I am or buy something in a "not so great" part of LA. Or move to one of the valleys and nobody wants to do that because of traffic.

The wife and I have talked about scaling back on a large level. We currently rent a townhouse in one of the nicer areas of long beach. We could have something just as nice for much less. She also drives a "status symbol" vehicle that's not necessary. That change alone would cut our cost of living by over 1k a month which could go into savings and we would be none the lessor for doing it.

@Art Webb
I'm pretty much on the same page. I don't see myself retiring at 65. I'll most likely transition to a director of operations or food and beverage director and just keep going.

My wife to be is 12 years younger than me and my master plan is to live off her working when I hit that age as retribution to her living off me working up until that point.

I've followed Rylees posts. The man has impeccable logic.

Such bravery in the face of such pain.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 04/04/15 at 08:38:53:



----------------------------------------

Sir, could you elaborate? If you don't mind that is...You've sparked my curiosity.

savskad wrote on 04/05/15 at 15:41:22:

Essentially he's saying that the smart guy's approach (working for the gov't, with the sooper dooper benefits packages that provides), while smart and effective for the smart guy, places a large burden on the taxpayer
This is not the fault of the smart guy, he's just being smart, it's the fault of the way such agencies are run
There's a reason a lot of such agencies have taken to subcontracting to private businesses these days: it's more economical overall

Everyone has heard the stories of the military paying 250 bux for a crescent wrench: this isn't because a crescent wrench costs anywhere near that much, nor is it due to the military buying the highest priced wrenches it can find, it's the cost of the bureaucracy involved in the way the military procures, tracks, and store such wrenches
civilian branches are more efficient, due to smaller size of agencies, but not a whole lot better