I come from a long line of early quitters.Retiring early was a big priority to me. I retired in 2013 with 37 years in the coal industry.

The last few years I worked, the wife and I were saving/ investing $100,000 a year. ( we both maxed out 401k / 403b accounts…about $46,000 a year back then) . We also invested $4000 + a month with Stifel Nicholas and Lincoln Financial. She taught school, I was a coal miner. When I retired, I was 54, and General Manager of the company I started at 30 years earlier. My wife retired two years after me….she needed 20 years service to lock in medical benefits.

There is another way to save. Never hire somebody to do stuff you can do. Just rebuilt two generators for about $200 in parts. New replacement cost $2400.

Nice. Hope to be at that level soon.

ETF and index funds beat holding cash and losing on inflation

13.33% 10 yr return
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIA/performance/

18% 3yr
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/performance/

Wow, what a gift they will be instant multi millionaires

Hard to save a whole lot with one income, a stay at home wife, and 5 young kids. I have a retirement account through work that I put 7% into. I can retire from my current job at 50, at which point the kids will be out of the house,and the house will be paid off, and start drawing from that, and go work another less demanding job, closer to home.

Just looked at my 401K and the way it’s dropping all I can say is whatever your putting in or saving as cash it ain’t gonna be enough.

Thats what I am doing now loosegoose. Working only at jobs, and only how much, at my choosing

So this Dave Ramsey plan requires me to start off with a bunch debt, paying a bunch of interest. I think I have no need for Mr. Ramsey.

no if you start without debt you get to skip ahead to the part where you save your rainy day fund , then your 3 months expenses , then put away savings for the future , invest and such

see you get to skip a grade and move up he is just playing to the broader audience , people in debt up to their eye balls and not sure how to get out of the cycle.

definitely hard been there well only 3 kids but yeah it is hard , you can look back at the things you were able to provide your kids with a stay at home mother and be happy in that , while you save more after they have gotten older , your investing differently.

Kind of goes to that" people lack the skill to solve problems" educational failure.

BTW If I remember right, I believe they taught us how to get in debt in high school.

apparently your parents supplemented your schooling so you didn't have an education failure.

talk about education failure , if you told me in the 6th grade when we learned scientific method that I would spend my career explaining what is and isn't a valid test to other professionals well I would have never believed it but a lot of people missed that section.

you could call it the common sense plan if you don't want to give Dave credit , but common sense didn't write it down and make it easy to search on the internet besides common sense seems to have been distorted and corrupted I keep hearing common sense (insert anything here) reform and I have to wonder if they know what common sense is.

Had I not gone in debt, I'd have never started my own business which now allows me to work part time when I'm in my 50's.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with going in debt if its for the right reasons.

If they live that long and don't get divorced. Never know what life brings.

I’ve been putting$300 a month in IRA for a long time, that’s roughly $10 a day, my wife puts $1200 a month in 401k. Read a long time ago $10 a day is a good start. I am 55 now and last kid moved out two months ago. Not sure of your age but you’ll never regret saving what you can.

Best advice on here.

I believe Robert Kiyosaki. “Savers are losers”. Not because they’re dumb, but because they’re losing out on opportunities to make money. Inflation is going to be 5% this year. Everyone with cash (glad you trust the government), that’s like throwing away 1 nickel for every dollar you have. Just in one year.

For those that don’t want to learn, follow Dave Ramsey. For those that do, read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Inflation is real, good luck.

Lol....oh boy

My great grandfather did the same. When he passed in 1995 I got $5,000. I can’t put in words how great full I am to him. It made a big impression on me and put me on the path of saving money. I know he’s watching and don’t want to disappoint

We work jobs we hate to buy crap we don't need.

I have this speech hanging in my office. I can recite it. My kids know it. It's good to remember--here it is (cleaned up).

"I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. An entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy (crap) we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man; no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised by television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't; and we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very (ticked) off."

Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Two million is the new one million. Save as much as you can when you can. Get a good honest financial advisor, they are worth their keep. Inflation is a big deal and if your money is invested correctly then hopefully it will out pace inflation enough that you still make money.