But where does one find crack in the first place? Is there a supply depot somewhere? Can I order it from a catalog? Or is it like a Tupperware party...but with crack?
I don't know how these things work.
Has retirement changed due to employment?
- Thread starter Thespeckledkiwi
- Start date
But where does one find crack in the first place? Is there a supply depot somewhere? Can I order it from a catalog? Or is it like a Tupperware party...but with crack?
I don't know how these things work.
I have no idea. Look it up on WikiHow.
I hope to hell my gamble of going back to school pays off. I would like nothing more to actually have a career where I can use my brain instead of doing something robots will be doing a generation from now. I didn't pay tens of thousands of dollars and spend four years of my life so I can serve coffee or cut grass
Here's hoping April 2011 is different
part of the problem, IMO, seems to be that people are going to college because they are supposed to, instead of wanting to. So they go, but go to have fun, or major in easier things, just graduating with whatever degree they can get, instead of having a plan going in. Not to say you should know what you want to do with your life at 18, but an attempt to train yourself in a needed or useful field is certainly helpful.
I went in for engineering, it was an in-demand field, and got a job straight out of school. I worked my ass off, but have been employed steadily, so can't complain. I even have one of those pension things people are saying is long dead
Another problem is that experience thing. Used to be that Masters' degrees were for people that were out in the world, and came back for that higher degree. Now with people either planning to stay for it, or failing to find a job and staying in school instead, you've got lots of overly educated people that have no idea how things really work outside of school. Add in all of the layoffs, failed dot-coms and whatnot, and there's a lot of competition for the entry-level jobs that used to go to college kids.
I went in for engineering, it was an in-demand field, and got a job straight out of school. I worked my ass off, but have been employed steadily, so can't complain. I even have one of those pension things people are saying is long dead
Another problem is that experience thing. Used to be that Masters' degrees were for people that were out in the world, and came back for that higher degree. Now with people either planning to stay for it, or failing to find a job and staying in school instead, you've got lots of overly educated people that have no idea how things really work outside of school. Add in all of the layoffs, failed dot-coms and whatnot, and there's a lot of competition for the entry-level jobs that used to go to college kids.
Indeed. I went to college, mostly, because all my friends were going and I didn't want to get left behind in my hometown. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what to study. So I partied. I majored. I passed. But I didn't really give a shit about any of it.
I wish I had learned a trade instead, to be honest. I would love to go into construction or carpentry or something. There isn't enough love for the trades these days.
I picked my major because it's something I enjoy and find interesting (geography) and while it definitely does have its applications, I'm just not sure how to leverage it into a job right now. I also have a lot of experience working at a student newspaper, which is good, but... well, see the problem from the first sentence. 
I don't regret going to university, it's more that I'm just kinda aimless right now.
I don't regret going to university, it's more that I'm just kinda aimless right now.
I had to do that, but in the opposite direction. I lost my job as a COBOL programmer in 2004, spent a couple of years looking for work and not getting any, and ended up going back to school to learn Web programming. I took courses in scripting languages (HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, and ASP), C# and Visual Basic, and got hired partway through that last course. I still haven't finished the certificate requirements - spending 90 minutes per day commuting - each way - makes continuing my schooling difficult.
I also picked up PHP along the way at my last job, and use it about 95% of the time at my current job.
Eat, or program in MUMPS; that's a really tough choice...
While I can understand why some people hate MUMPS with a passion, I kind of like weird languages that give you a loaded shotgun and then don't tell you how to avoid shooting yourself with it.
I'm also a perl programmer.
I know this is your field anyway, but still, this is one of the best posts on the subject I've read here.
I came to the conclusion that I needed to plan properly for my own retirement a long time ago. I aimed to retire at 50, though secretly hoped that I could manage at 40 or in my wilder moments, 35, and so structured my savings with the aim of securing a minimal - but comfortable - retirement income ASAP.
In the end, instead I've chosen to get out of my current career soon, and move into a portfolio career. But since I've saved and planned so aggressively, I should be able to work the equivalent of about 20-25% of full time and still be comfortable for about 10+ years, assuming no sideline grows, and the market is static. And in that time, if only one of my little sidelines takes off, I'll be able to to prolong that indefinitely. If the markets do particularly well, not even that. So rather than retiring in my 30s and doing nothing, I'll be "retiring" in my 30s and working part-time on a number of different fun projects. Fingers crossed it works out!
Point is - plan properly, and start early. No-one else will do it for you.
This is true. I guess that made it easier. I don't have any plans to do so, and frankly, never have. If I change my mind, I'll just need a rich wife.
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While I can understand why some people hate MUMPS with a passion, I kind of like weird languages that give you a loaded shotgun and then don't tell you how to avoid shooting yourself with it.
Hey I'm a Delphi expert so there ya go...
Retirement, I'm saving as best as I can, but the ultimate goal is to have a business that funds it.
Thank you.
Reasonable goal, would require some effort.
A ridiculous goal that was worthy of working for. What's the worst that could happen if you were focused on it?
Financial independence: where work becomes optional and retirement affordable.
QFT
This is true. I guess that made it easier. I don't have any plans to do so, and frankly, never have. If I change my mind, I'll just need a rich wife.
Never marry for money, you can always borrow it cheaper.
I would like to first say that financial terms make my head hurt. Even simple stuff like deciding if my 401k contributions would be "Roth" or "pre-tax" caused me a massive headache, and that was before I figured out what those actually meant.
That said, I was looking at my 401k yesterday and it occurred to me that I'm not sure if I'm doing all I can with it. I'm contributing 6% on a Roth basis; 6% is the maximum employer-match amount. There's about 20k in the account right now.
But it's all in a "stable value fund", which gets me a "rate of return" of only 1.6% or so at best. Should someone like me bother looking at other investment options, or is that just going to get me in trouble since I probably won't keep on top of it enough? What about letting Fidelity's "experts" manage it for me? They might be able to do something more useful with it, but they also take an annual fee for their services, and I have no way of knowing whether the one will exceed the other.
That said, I was looking at my 401k yesterday and it occurred to me that I'm not sure if I'm doing all I can with it. I'm contributing 6% on a Roth basis; 6% is the maximum employer-match amount. There's about 20k in the account right now.
But it's all in a "stable value fund", which gets me a "rate of return" of only 1.6% or so at best. Should someone like me bother looking at other investment options, or is that just going to get me in trouble since I probably won't keep on top of it enough? What about letting Fidelity's "experts" manage it for me? They might be able to do something more useful with it, but they also take an annual fee for their services, and I have no way of knowing whether the one will exceed the other.
Back when I was with Fidelity, I used one of their "Freedom" funds. What you do is put your money into a fund that's near your target retirement date. Early on, they invest it aggressively, but it gets put into more conservative investments for stability as you approach your retirement date.
Of course, I had most of my money in FDIVX, which is extremely volatile, but it was fun to watch it grow (and then plummet
).
simple answer: pre tax = tax relief now, tax burden when withdrawing; Roth = no tax relief now, no taxes at withdrawl
Good start getting all the free money you can.
Inflation in the US has historically been between 3-4%. If you're only "earning" 1.6% you're actually losing money long term.
Yes.
Doesn't have to be changed or reallocated daily, since it's an asset destined for use in 30+ years.
What is important is that the allocation match your tolerance for risk. And by tolerance for risk, I mean tolerance for losses. Some research has shown that retail investors have a lower risk tolerance than they claim.
You've got time on your side, a mix of equities and bonds would be appropriate, with a heavier weighting in equities.
How much is your time worth? Do you have the knowledge/ skills to do it or the desire to learn?
You can do your own research through Morningstar, get deep into the weeds with beta, alpha, historical returns, star ratings and the like and probably put together a decent portfolio, especially given the limited options in most 401(k) plans.
You can pay an "expert" anywhere from 50 to 100 basis points to "manage" the portfolio for you and take that headache away.
If your plan offers it, "funds of funds" or "allocation funds" might be a good choice. They're funds that offer a certain mix based on risk and timeframe.
This is true. I guess that made it easier. I don't have any plans to do so, and frankly, never have. If I change my mind, I'll just need a rich wife.
Never marry for money, you can always borrow it cheaper.
That's the kind of thinking that got us into the credit crunch...
If you job hop strategically, it can be quite good for your career. If you save and invest in retirement accounts consistently and max them out, you'll have a great retirement regardless of your job hopping.
So, in the end, it comes down to how you are hopping jobs and how well you're doing at saving for retirement. If you're not saving for retirement, you're pretty much sunk regardless of how good you're doing otherwise.
Mr Awe
As someone who's a bit older and in a career, all I can say is when you are in college, be sure to get as much intern experience as possible. That's the best possible route to a good job in the field that you want. You get the experience, networking, and references. You'll stand out from the other applicants.
Mr Awe
