Let's Get You Retired
Those words weren't spoken when I went through paramedic school and I wish they were...
The Young-uns
“I haven’t really looked into it.”
That’s been the answer for way too many “young-uns” entering the EMS field when I’ve haphazardly asked about their retirement account.
And, why should they? They have their whole life ahead of them, right? Why bother with it now?
In Interstellar, Matthew McConaughey’s character watches his younger, former self leave his family for a celestial voyage. He screams begging his younger self to listen and stay on earth, with his family, to not fall prey to the folly of his ego leaving the solar system on a doomed voyage.
But, alas, he leaves, time slips, and he loses everything. Upon his return, his daughter lay dying as an old woman surrounded by the many members and generations of her family.
And, that’s how I feel talking to these 20 somethings who haven’t looked into retirement or have decided their ignorance on finance is a sufficient excuse to avoid preparation.
I get it. I was young, too, once…we all were. I don’t even know if I would have listened at that age. The better ones did, though, and are looking down a bright path to retirement. Good for them!
“25% of Americans have no emergency savings.” - Bankrate
That’s an alarming statistic. Here’s another one:
20% of adults age 50 and older have no retirement savings. 61% are worried they will not have enough to live through retirement1.
And, I suspect, these are rather conservative numbers. If you don’t believe me, start asking your colleagues, young and old. Do they have a retirement account? If they do, when did they start it? I bet the older ones have a lot to say on the topic and the young-uns would be wise to listen.
You Have to Start Somewhere
How does $4,000,000 sound?
If you’re in your lower 20s, it’s achievable by age 65. In fact, I was quite conservative when I plugged in numbers on Bankrate’s retirement calculator.
Income: $55,000/ year (assuming 2% raise annually)
Employer Match: 5%
Contribution: 6%
Expected Rate of Return: 9% (pretty conservative)
Age: 21
…now, look at the difference between age 21 and 41. Hardly any growth happens then suddenly…
LIFTOFF 🚀🚀🚀
Compound growth in action. The rise is gentle but it angles steeper and higher. Now, you’re 60 years old with a couple million dollars in your account on top of whatever other investments you may have (pension, social security, etc.).
“Time in the market beats timing the market”2, indeed Mr. Fischer.
I imagine if you polled those 60-70 year olds with little to no savings, they’d admonish their younger selves in the same way Jacob Marley chastised Ebenezer Scrooge.
So, Where Do You Start?
My financial journey kind of began with Dave Ramsey. Listening to callers cry about their six figure debt to the 3 C’s (college, car, and credit card), made me just scared enough to stay out of debt. He’s a great entry level guide to get you out of debt. Love him or not, his system does work.
However, I didn’t really get into investing until the last few years when I started buying random stocks on the Stash App then the Robinhood App. Seeing stocks and my account rise tickled my amygdala and pushed me down the financotainment channels on YouTube and Instagram.
There are some real gems in there, I must say.
Joseph Carlson is a favorite, go-to stockpreneur who has unique insights and diligent research into a wide variety of the economy. His information is accessible aside from having to research a key term or two.
Andre Jikh is another favorite. I value his deep dives into all parts of the world’s economy and crypto infrastructure. He does a fair job balancing his opinions with the research behind the things that make the economy tick. And, I love how he is able to synthesize complex information into manageable chunks of information that even I can understand.
Reddit has its place. Take it with a grain of salt. I’ve found more leads to growth stocks and ETFs there than actual handy advice. If you’re new to investing, you probably want to steer clear, especially Wallstreetbets (unless, you love losing money).
Real World Advice
Really, though, you need to talk to an advisor of some sort. Otherwise, you may not be optimizing your time or resources.
Retirement Representative
If you work somewhere that has a 401k, 403b, etc., contact the representative, set up a meeting, and ask questions. If you don’t know what questions to ask, get AI to generate some for you.
Give ChatGPT a prompt: I am ## years old and am entering a 401k for the first time. What are some questions I should ask to get the most out of this meeting?
Senior Folk
Don’t discount the seniors where you work. Ask them for advice. Some of the best advice I received was from those preparing to sunset their EMS career. They would have the most updated information and can probably give you some unique insight.
YouTube and the Internets
Seriously, research ETFs, stocks, and investments. It’s scary and big at first but just like anything that’s novel, your brain will eventually adjust and you’ll learn more than you expected. Heck, you’ve done this with EMS…why not with finance?
You’re going to fall into one of two camps: those who wish they would have heeded advice at an earlier age and those that did. I, thankfully, am kinda straddling the two but would have been way better off had I set better goal posts for success while building my career.
And, before you start making excuses about why you can’t invest right now (inflation, economy, bills, etc.), think on yourself as a 60 year old. Will you be screaming at your former self to listen or quietly standing by grateful that you did?
AARP. “New AARP Survey: 1 in 5 Americans Ages 50+ Have No Retirement Savings and Over Half Worry They Will Not Have Enough to Last in Retirement.” prnewswire.com. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-aarp-survey-1-in-5-americans-ages-50-have-no-retirement-savings-and-over-half-worry-they-will-not-have-enough-to-last-in-retirement-302126467.html (accessed May 7, 2024).
Kenneth Fisher, the executive chairman of Fisher Investments, is credited with saying, "time in the market beats timing the market". Fisher wrote this in a 2018 article for USA Today
