Investing And Building Wealth

[AzScorpion]

My path was different.

I am an only child of an only child.
With the example that my Grandmother and Dad provided as a template, I learned to live within my means.
Both of them paved the way for me to live a comfortable life from the day I was born that will see me to the end of life.
Credit is also due to my late wife that had her life taken from her through no fault of her own too early in life.

My Dad owned his business. A local glass company in the town we lived in.
He had worked for two large national companies after being released from the Army Air Corp in 1946.
He wanted to control his path and opened for business May 1st, 1956.
I would go to work on Saturdays and do clean up work around the shop.
Was paid one dollar for around six hours of chores.
From grades 6-12 I went to work after school.
My Dad and I got along very well. Never butted heads.
Collage was not for me as I knew my career path was with my Dad.
Joined the Naval Air Reserve two weeks after graduating HS.
Came back after basic and rate training.
Went to work with my Dad for the next 28 years.

But this is about money. How to get, grow, save and preserve.

In many ways I was lucky.
As an only child of an only child with only my Grandmother and Dad as family, I knew I would inherit in time.

As I mentioned above, my Dad and I got along wonderfully.
I lived at home until age 25.
By that time I had saved enough for a large down payment on my first home.
One of the best investments I ever made. I have never paid rent.
Lived in that home for 25 years. Paid it off early. Then rented it for 2.5 years. Earned $48k in rent. Sold it in one day for seven times what I paid for it.
The money from the sale allowed me to purchase a small vacant lot in town that provided more profit years later.

My Dad sold the building the glass company was operated from in 1996.
He was 75 and had done his time. Someone came along and made him an offer that worked for him.
The business was closed.
This was the third location on the same street. But this one he owned. He bought the land in 1964. Built his own building, two story with underground parking.
It was a steel framed structure. He bought left over steel from the construction of Standford Linear Accelerator project for $600. Built a crane truck to raise the posts and beams. Did the welding for the steel structure himself. Sold what steel he didn't use for $150.
Other than excavating the underground parking earth, erecting one fire wall and installation of the fire sprinkler system, my Dad, one skilled carpenter and two laborers Built a 7,000 square foot building. This building is still standing and in use today.

In 1994 my wife and I were driving on CA hwy 5 heading home on a Sunday.
The radio was tuned to KGO 810. Major bay area station. The program was Money Talk with Bob Brinker.
That opened up the world of financial investing in the market to me.
Bob talked in a manner that was easy to understand.
When we arrived home I signed up to receive his monthly news letter, Bob Brinker's Marketimer.
Bob hasn't been on the radio for about ten years but still publishes his insightful news letter. Still subscribe.
I read the suggested books from Bob's website, www.brinker.com.
This encounter having the radio station tuned in while Bob's program was airing was pure luck.

Now I had a foundation to build upon.
My Grandmother and Dad did not invest in the markets.
They did not have the mindset to show me this form of wealth building.
My Grandmother was a contractor that built homes and sold them.
My Dad ran his business and invested in real estate.

I choose my own investments. At one time I sought help. That didn't work for me.
I would make a suggestion to my broker and they would say "You don't want to invest in that". Only to have that suggestion turn out to be what I should have done.
I do make mistakes at times but I sleep very well knowing that I made the mistake, not someone else.

Save as best you can.
Only speculate with money you can afford to lose.
Have cash available for emergencies. They always come up.
Buy quality items that last.
Enjoy life and those you share it with.

Thank you Dave for starting this thread.

Walter that's a great story and a great addition to this thread!! It's nice to see how everyone took different paths in life and how they came together in the end. You're lucky to have a dad like that he sounds like a very smart man and very handy too. It's nice to be able to get into the family business and help it grow. Also your advise at the end is spot on and seems to be a common thing among most of us here.

Even though times are so much different now I still think real estate is a great investment and a good way to build wealth. Whether it be adding rental properties to your portfolio or just buying and moving every so many years and taking the profits and reinvesting them into another property.

I never did get into buying individual stocks and was always so busy working I never had time to learn how to. I know a lot of is luck but there's still some skill involved and there's a lot of research that needs to be done. You sound like you have a good knack for it and great advise when you said "never invest what you're not willing to lose".

I've trusted many different financial advisors over the years and have to say except for one I've done well with them. I always try to find someone close who I know is doing well and see what path they took. When I moved here my friend Gary (who retired at 53) were talking one day and I asked him how he did it. He then introduced me to my financial advisor I have now and I set a lot of my investments up mimicking his as it's worked so well for him. It's scary trusting other with your hard earned money but so far so good and everything has performed above my expectations.

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[AzScorpion]

I read a lot about how people don’t care about SS because it won’t be there when the time comes. My opinion is that SS will always be there. I think where people will likely be disappointed is that as you say, the rules will change. My opinion is the really big change coming first will be means testing. That is, if you have worked hard, done everything you and the other successful people say, you will almost certainly be at risk to lowered or no SS benefits. It will start with people who absolutely don’t need it, Mark Z, Jeff B, Elon M., etc. and may get to yours truly pretty soon after that when the laws are changed.

For us (Mary and I) may skate by as we try hard to avoid regular income. There seems to be a hole in the way the fiscal authorities figure out who gets what when handing out free stuff. For instance, Mary and I got every single Covid stimulus check, full amounts. There was no way we needed that money and it did end up at a couple of our favorite charities, but I thought, hmmm, we might end up getting back everything we paid in tonSocial Security after all.

Something to consider as the years roll on and you are doing the next year tax/income plan. Regular income changes who the fiscal authorities think you are.

I've been hearing about means testing for some years now and sadly I think you're right it may come sooner than later. I hate the thought of being punished for being successful!

I can also see them raising the retirement age from 67 to 68 for starters then every couple years higher and higher. People are living much longer now and that would be one way to keep it a float. Another is to raise the SS cap even higher than it is now which I'm surprised these things haven't been done yet. I have a good idea as to why but then we're getting to political.

I really don't know what I'll do when it comes to SS right now. I don't need it at 62 and I'd love to let it go as long as possible up to age 70. One thing I hear so many say is "I want to take it at 62 because what if I die and don't get it all back"? Well you're dead silly and it won't do you any good then. The real question you should be asking yourself is "what if I live"? If you can defer taking it until age 70 it's the best guaranteed income you'll have that's inflation protected. I'd rather burn through all my savings ( the interests rates are a joke) and have a higher guaranteed income for life through SS. This is of course as long as they don't change the rules in the middle of the game. If they do, I'll jump in and start taking it so hopefully I'll be grandfathered in.

 

[deleriumtremor]

I've been hearing about means testing for some years now and sadly I think you're right it may come sooner than later. I hate the thought of being punished for being successful!

I can also see them raising the retirement age from 67 to 68 for starters then every couple years higher and higher. People are living much longer now and that would be one way to keep it a float. Another is to raise the SS cap even higher than it is now which I'm surprised these things haven't been done yet. I have a good idea as to why but then we're getting to political.

I really don't know what I'll do when it comes to SS right now. I don't need it at 62 and I'd love to let it go as long as possible up to age 70. One thing I hear so many say is "I want to take it at 62 because what if I die and don't get it all back"? Well you're dead silly and it won't do you any good then. The real question you should be asking yourself is "what if I live"? If you can defer taking it until age 70 it's the best guaranteed income you'll have that's inflation protected. I'd rather burn through all my savings ( the interests rates are a joke) and have a higher guaranteed income for life through SS. This is of course as long as they don't change the rules in the middle of the game. If they do, I'll jump in and start taking it so hopefully I'll be grandfathered in.

I agree with your viewpoint. On the taking it early because I am going to die anyway thing, and want as much as I can get, that is essentially what I did, but for us in our position, it really was the principle of the thing to me (skating on a thin ice?), plus if I died a day after I applied, Mary’s survivor benefits would have assured she got some of the money I paid in (I don’t view it as just an additionaltax, but more of an insurance premium). Once she applied, the survivor benefits would go away anyway.

I do believe means testing will be part of any adjustments coming (along with some of the other adjustments you mentioned). It really is the easiest of all adjustments to make politically speaking as it is pretty hard to stand up and say,”Hey, I don’t need the money, but you owe it to me”. I mean, they do owe it to you based on what SS was always supposed to mean, but in the end, nobody ever conceived of quantitative tightening or annual deficits measured in trillions, so….

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Thanks Tracy and we're waiting for your contribution to it but I understand if you opt out. You know with your career ( ahem, bank robber) it might not be such a good idea.

Now about that 0% loan we were discussing earlier ?

Well, I definitely can’t top what’s been posted here. Great advice from all.
Our main goal early on was to get debt free and stay that way. Paid our house off 20 years ago. My husband has heart problems, so I am the primary income. For insurance purposes, I still work. I don’t want to spend my retirement on insurance at this time. Fortunately, I love my job.
Other than my 401k, I don’t invest. I know that’s probably a mistake. We do have savings. My brother, who is a financial advisor, just shakes his head. But, he’s also the one who told me I was stupid to pay my house off instead of investing that money. 20 years later, he still has a very large mortgage and other debt. Its hard for me to take advice from someone drowning in debt.
We may not have much, but it’s paid for. We also own a small business that is part of our retirement plan, but we don’t depend on it.
I’m definitely not someone to model after. I don’t save every dime. I help my son & grandson out (or whoever).
I would say, though, that being debt free brings such peace. I wish it for everyone. It’s not impossible. Live within or below your means.

 

[AzScorpion]

Well, I definitely can’t top what’s been posted here. Great advice from all.
Our main goal early on was to get debt free and stay that way. Paid our house off 20 years ago. My husband has heart problems, so I am the primary income. For insurance purposes, I still work. I don’t want to spend my retirement on insurance at this time. Fortunately, I love my job.
Other than my 401k, I don’t invest. I know that’s probably a mistake. We do have savings. My brother, who is a financial advisor, just shakes his head. But, he’s also the one who told me I was stupid to pay my house off instead of investing that money. 20 years later, he still has a very large mortgage and other debt. Its hard for me to take advice from someone drowning in debt.
We may not have much, but it’s paid for. We also own a small business that is part of our retirement plan, but we don’t depend on it.

I’m definitely not someone to model after.

I don’t save every dime. I help my son & grandson out (or whoever).
I would say, though, that being debt free brings such peace. I wish it for everyone. It’s not impossible. Live within or below your means.

You're wrong about the bolded part, you are someone who should be modeled after! Your house is paid for you're not in debt and you're living a comfortable life. You have a great family and hey, you have a Saber Ranger so you're living life large! ?

Wealth isn't always about having a certain amount of money. It's about being comfortable in life and retirement and everyone has their own dollar amount in which makes the feel comfortable. Some may need $50,000 where others may need $5,000.000 but the main thing is that you're happy. I've seen very wealthy people miserable and some who are just getting by happy as can be. Sometimes money is the root of all evil.

BTW good job on not listening to your brother and paying off your house. I had my FA back east tell me the same but I did it anyways and never regretted it. I figure if things ever got bad financially at least my house is paid for and that's one less weight hanging over my shoulders. Most times the reason they tell you this is because they want you to invest that money with them and THEY will make a nice commission off of it. Also depending on your interest rate you technically can make more money investing it but there's always risk there. The financial freedom of not having a mortgage was well worth it for me.

 

[Tracy Bowman]

You're wrong about the bolded part, you are someone who should be modeled after! Your house is paid for you're not in debt and you're living a comfortable life. You have a great family and hey, you have a Saber Ranger so you're living life large! ?

Wealth isn't always about having a certain amount of money. It's about being comfortable in life and retirement and everyone has their own dollar amount in which makes the feel comfortable. Some may need $50,000 where others may need $5,000.000 but the main thing is that you're happy. I've seen very wealthy people miserable and some who are just getting by happy as can be. Sometimes money is the root of all evil.

BTW good job on not listening to your brother and paying off your house. I had my FA back east tell me the same but I did it anyways and never regretted it. I figure if things ever got bad financially at least my house is paid for and that's one less weight hanging over my shoulders. Most times the reason they tell you this is because they want you to invest that money with them and THEY will make a nice commission off of it. Also depending on your interest rate you technically can make more money investing it but there's always risk there. The financial freedom of not having a mortgage was well worth it for me.

Thank you, AZ!

 

[OneMore]

SS

If one is able to wait until age 70 and their family history shows likely long life span, do so. You receive an 8% increase each year you delay past full retirement age.
On top of that you get COLA added in to help compound that 8%.

If you choose to start at 62 you can still work and continue getting credits to increase your monthly payment. With some limitations.
If you work once past full retirement age, there are no limitations.

The following is SS related.

I stopped working at age 50.
Started taking SS at 62.
Decided that was not such a good idea and at age 64 stopped taking payments. Plus I paid back all monies I had received. You aren't allowed that option any longer.

Looking at the numbers, in my case, I then restarted taking payments at 66.

The best part for me was I decided to go back into the workforce.
This was after not work for sixteen years.
I was not able mentally to work after my wife's passing.
But now I wanted a challenge. Could I find the resolve to work for and have to answer to someone after 16 years of doing what I wanted, when I wanted?

Okay. Here I am 66 years old with a high school education, who is going to hire me?
I had been pestering the pre owned manager at my Porsche dealership for four years to hire me as a sales person. This is the same individual I bought my Porsche's from.
We had a very good relationship and he always treated me fairly. Many cars bought and sold through him.
Well it finally happened. He gave me a chance.
This I knew I could do. I know the cars and have owned plenty of them.
I bought my first car at age 13 and sold it one month later for a 50% profit.
I have bought an extensive number of cars in the past. I felt that if I could treat my clients the way I want to be treated when I was on the buying side, half of my job was done. Now I needed to provide the information they were wanting, test drive and whatever else to guide them forward.
I was extremely lucky to be given this sales position. This was the 14th largest Porsche dealership in the nation. Sales people did not leave this dealership. My friend had been there 20 years. Other sales staff 14, 12, 10 years. Three others were 1-5 years.

Well I made it work. It was very frustrating the first 9 months. Management provided no support in learning the extensive amount of paperwork involved in vehicle sales.
Why should they. They had an experienced team on staff. But with help of some of my coworkers I learned.

This was a very rewarding experience for me. I learned a new skill set, made lots of new friends, had outstanding coworkers with me and earned the most money of my life.

By reentering the workforce I was able to add to my monthly SS payment.
Each year I was credited for what I was contributing in additional SS payments.
SS takes the highest 33 years of work, inflation adjusted, to compute your payment.
As this was the highest earnings period for me, it counted big time.

I only stayed 30 months. I accomplished what I wanted. Yes, this old dog could knuckle under to working again. Be a valued member to the team. Learn new skills. Provide my clients with honest information and treatment. Earn monies that paid me well for my time.
I wish I could have started earlier. Maybe 62 when I first asked for a position.
My good friend, and still is a friend today, said to me after I had been working for one year, "You know why I didn't hire you sooner? I didn't want to lose a good customer and the commissions I made from you". That really hurt. But as I say, I'm happy for the opportunity handed to me.

So even if you take SS early you still have an opportunity to increase your monthly payment.

 

[outdoorphotog]

Whatever you do, do not invest in crypto for retirement

 

[wanted33]

Sorry to hear you were laid off but hopefully something better will come along soon. One good thing (not sure what industry you're in) is that so many companies are in need of workers right now you should be able to land on your feet again soon. Living within your means really helps in times like this.

I know the trades aren't for everyone but Jim @wanted33 is right. Learning a good trade will/can be a very profitable career. There's hardly any younger tradesman in the business now and it's a great time to learn one. When I started right out of high school everyone on the job sites were younger with a few older guys. Now it's the opposite and most of is old (er) guys are retiring soon and someone needs to fill our shoes. I get it it's hard work and sitting in a office is much easier but those office jobs just aren't forever anymore.

You will always have work if you put 100% into your career. Not everyone is cut out to be self employed and trust me there were times throughout the years I wanted to just hang it up and go back to work for someone else. No one sees the endless hours you're working off the clock. The phone calls, estimates, gathering materials, laying out the next days plan for 7 guys, billing, payroll and a whole lot more. Now try and find some time for a personal life after working 60-70 hours a week. ?

When I sold my business in MA and moved here to AZ I knew 2 people. I was burned out and hated getting up every morning and the thought of going to work (we did a lot pf production) just depressed me. After being here 6 months I started up another small company with zero employees this time. It wasn't going to be easy as I only knew 2 people where back east I had hundreds of connections. I got in good with my local Sherwin Williams store and they passed out my cards, hooked up with a decorator and long story short in 18 months I had and still have more work than I can do. Word of mouth is the best advertising. I honestly turn more work away because I don't want or need to kill myself now.

Hopefully some of our advise helps you and others and we's love to know when you get another job. Good luck!!!

Dave, my neighbors son is like his Dad, mechanically inclined. He graduated college, and decided he would learn HVAC instead. He learned at a large company in Charlotte, and as he learned he started picking up some side jobs on his own. He left the company, and like you had more work than he could get too. All by word of mouth. He now has two kids, builds and sells sports cars and still does some HVAC on the side. The kid never stops.

 

[AzScorpion]

Dave, my neighbors son is like his Dad, mechanically inclined. He graduated college, and decided he would learn HVAC instead. He learned at a large company in Charlotte, and as he learned he started picking up some side jobs on his own. He left the company, and like you had more work than he could get too. All by word of mouth. He now has two kids, builds and sells sports cars and still does some HVAC on the side. The kid never stops.

Some think they can just print up a bunch of business cards and now they're in business. lol See Jim it's all in what someone wants and the determination to go out and get it. Your neighbors son is a go getter!!

My brother in law is like this and all through the building boom we had back in MA (early 2000's) he swore there wasn't much work out there and the money was bad. I had 7 guys working 7 days a week and making upper 6 figures but I had a goal. Now him being married with 2 kids you'd think he'd be a little more motivated but he wasn't. He'd rather fish and hunt and make enough money to just get by. That's fine but the snarky remarks I'd get from my sister had me biting my tongue more times than I cared for. She'd always tell the kids "go suck up to your rich uncle" or "we're all not rich like you". You wanna know the funny part, he was a painter too! He had the same opportunity as I had but lacked the drive.

 

[NotBudule]

As far as SS , I've always been told to plan like it won't be there, so I did , and it looks like I won't really need it to survive , BUT , Now , I'm hearing to put off drawing it till the last possible minute ... I'm thinking ? I want to draw it at the FIRST possible minute and blow it , it seams like " found money" to me now , so why wait just to get more later ? Especially when I may not have a later ?

 

[AzScorpion]

As far as SS , I've always been told to plan like it won't be there, so I did , and it looks like I won't really need it to survive , BUT , Now , I'm hearing to put off drawing it till the last possible minute ... I'm thinking ? I want to draw it at the FIRST possible minute and blow it , it seams like " found money" to me now , so why wait just to get more later ? Especially when I may not have a later ?

That's always been a tough decision for many. If you have longevity in your family and you don't really need it I would wait it out as long as possible. You're getting an 8% increase every year you defer it past FRA plus guaranteed COL increases. I said it in an earlier post some say "what if I die" but also think about "what if I live"?

As we age your health decreases and you usually need more money for medical bills and meds and possibly some assistance. That extra money ( from delaying at age 62) could come in really handy when older. If they decide to change the rules or you feel you need it you can take it at anytime. ? It could be some good casino money for you later in life too?

 

[deleriumtremor]

As far as SS , I've always been told to plan like it won't be there, so I did , and it looks like I won't really need it to survive , BUT , Now , I'm hearing to put off drawing it till the last possible minute ... I'm thinking ? I want to draw it at the FIRST possible minute and blow it , it seams like " found money" to me now , so why wait just to get more later ? Especially when I may not have a later ?

It is a pretty big monthly hit to start at 62. As far as the last possible minute? It does add a lot to the monthly as you wait, but obviously means less months eventually, only you can judge that windage.

As far as “found money”, all money is fungible so it all spends and it al saves the exact same.

 

[NotBudule]

Sometimes, all that extra % that you didn't take now and enjoy , only gets you a slightly better nursing home to wander through the hallways of later , toss in some dementia and i won't know the difference anyway...

 

[deleriumtremor]

Sometimes, all that extra % that you didn't take now and enjoy , only gets you a slightly better nursing home to wander through the hallways of later , toss in some dementia and i won't know the difference anyway...

You make a point worth considering.

Talking to people I know my age, there seems to be a meaningful percentage who have noticed a kind of wall they hit when they turned 70. Some of it is physical, some mental.

For sure, I would tell anyone who is planning a really active life, once they hit 70, retire and start doing all that really long distance traveling you always dreamed of, I would recommend you strongly consider starting sooner.

I think a lot of the people I know that recently turned 70 make the same kind of remarks, how they tire more easily, how they injure more easily, how it seems to take longer to recover. How they just don’t have the same excitement for travel they once did, etc.

Surely, not everyone is in that camp, but I will say, a lot more than I thought there was before I reached 70 and started talking about such things with my peers.

Something to at least consider when doing your longer range financial planning like when to start

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