Ok check this out, i have a plan to retire by the age of 30:
I'm 21 yrs old and about to graduate a ADN program
i will spend 1 year gaining experience in the ICU, then i will spend the next 8 years as a per-diem or traveling nurse, working no less then 60 hrs a week, 11 months a year.
so heres the math:
40hrs X $43hr = $6880 month
20hrs X $65 hr = $5200 month
total (net income) $8100 month
$2500 month living expenses so $5600 month to invest
Starting with $5,000 and depositing $5,600 monthly over 8 years (at a rate of return 12%, compounded monthly and taxed at your marginal rate of 28%), you will save $769,593.Initial balance:$5,000Total deposits:$537,600Total interest earned:$315,268Total taxes paid:$88,275Total Saved: $769,593
Now i understand that 769K will be different due to inflation 8 yrs from now, so we will say 669k so at 10% a year $66,000 a year!
Now for 8yrs i will work my ass off and be traveling and have little social life, but at age 30 i will never have to work again, and i will probably never want to in nursing cause i will be burnt out, but i think it would be worth it, what do you think?
Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/HH/Radiology-Now Retired.
I'm here to tell you .... retirement can get rather boring, sometimes!
I retired at 51. I turn 57 next week. While I'm glad to be retired at this age, I cannot imagine being retired at 30 no matter how much money I had!
The advice we received was that in order to have an income of $1,000 nett. per week in retirement, you need approximately $700,000 or more invested. And that's just on today's rates etc.
Moderator Note: It's not really necessary to bicker back and forth about whether we are being positive or supportive or not. As long as we are respectful I think we can offer our opinions and all opinions are welcome and valid.
But bickering about "you weren't positive, how dare you" and "your support of the op is unrealistic" blah blah blah really contributes nothing.
We have to expect that someone when someone says "I'm going to retire at age 30 being a nurse" is going to get some discussion, both positive and negative because the nursing profession is not one that lends itself to wealth and retirement at that age, but it certainly isn't impossible. Please allow all opinions. Thanks.
I'm not doubting that a 21 year old can't be millionaire by retirement. What's hard to wrap my mind around is a 21 year old new grad n nursing that has $1000.00 a month to invest for all those years, presuming other expenses, as well as cash savings (a wise investment/savings plan has provisions for at least six or more months salary of cash on hand), that owns his own home (another wise investment unless he lives with parents or inherits his home), etc.
Guess if I lived in Calfironia with those high salaries, I could wrap my mind around it more.
The other thing thats hard to wrap my mind around is working 60 hours a week for 10 years.
I don't mean to be negative or discouraging, and my apologies to the op. For those shooting us down for being skeptical, you have to allow us this, because it is outrageous, not impossible for a new grad
nurse, but outrageous.
I graduated from nursing school in 1996 with $40,000 of debt. I paid off all my debt in 3 years including interest.
If you think it's impossible for a new grad to save $1,000 a month, then you spend too much. Period.
if you have your whole nest egg in mutual funds when the market tanks, or in CDs when banks fail, you're just as hosed as if you torched the cash with a Bic.
That's why I don't invest in mutual funds. I buy individual stocks. I don't trust stockbrokers.
I graduated from nursing school in 1996 with $40,000 of debt. I paid off all my debt in 3 years including interest.
If you think it's impossible for a new grad to save $1,000 a month, then you spend too much. Period.
Not necessarily so. Things come up. People get sick, cars break down, family members need a hand up.....that's just what I can come up with in a couple of seconds. I applaude you heartily for being able to pay off your student loans within 3 years, that's truely totally awesome but not everyone's situation is the same. We're all different.
That's why I don't invest in mutual funds. I buy individual stocks. I don't trust stockbrokers.
These days, that means you're trusting the market to sustain your "values" with its ebullience. Worse than total strangers: a mob.
According to the "plans" set forth, it seems no one has ever moved, let alone eaten, the OP's cheese.
It is the apparent intent of most of the posters in this thread to suggest to him that such things do happen, even if they have never happened to him--yet.
Most 401K plans suck because they offer actively-managed mutual funds with high expense ratios. In other words, you are paying high fees to get crappy performance.
While that can certainly be true in some fiscal quarters (see Tweety's post), it is highly economically unsound NOT to contribute to a 401/403 (and/or advise others not to) when many employers match funds. My DH is high enough in corporate structure/salary earned that he is now limited in what he can contribute/have matched because the employees at the bottom portion of the corporate structure are not taking advantage of the availible options. Very frustrating for us. We are trying to do the right thing, also have Roth's, investment portfolios, etc. But because there are people who either don't care and don't save at all OR have decided to only invest on their own, it has started to look like a top-heavy system and so becomes an artificial limit to those of us trying to do the right thing (provide for our own retirement). IMHO it equally irresponsible to only rely on 401ks et al as the only means to fund retirement, but that seems to have been covered here already...
I am very much looking forward to maxing out my 401k each and every year that I am employed, and in fact it was one of the things that I checked out about potential employers before I accepted a job. (The fact that SAHMs are limited in how they can provide for their own retirement in a whole 'nother rant. :angryfire) DH and I are very aware of the fact that SS will be of very little use to us in the future, but do indeed also have plans to "retire" early. (Although we obviously missed the 30 year mark...) But, for both of us retiring early means switching to a different career (for him - less corporate stress) or dropping to casual part-time or finding a really cool niche (for me) and in that way funding our travel plans, etc.
Anyway - to OP - you have a very ambitious plan. I hope you can make it work for you. I think there are several things that you have not taken in to account, but they have for the most part been covered here already, and/or you will figure them out as you go along. You have the right idea - saving for the future, living w/in your means, and having a goal in mind. All the rest - the toll on your body, lack of social interaction, mental/physical/emotional limits engendered by the realities of our profession will become very real to you as you start to encounter them in daily life rather than in cerebral conjecture from the research (as through as it appears to be) you have done. Good-luck!
These days, that means you're trusting the market to sustain your "values" with its ebullience. Worse than total strangers: a mob.
According to the "plans" set forth, it seems no one has ever moved, let alone eaten, the OP's cheese.
It is the apparent intent of most of the posters in this thread to suggest to him that such things do happen, even if they have never happened to him--yet.
I don't need to trust the "market." I own 10 stocks and hold them for many years. I research these 10 stocks constantly. One of my most successful stocks was ISRG, which manufactures surgical robots. I bought the stock a few years ago at $50 a share. It is now $327 a share. I do not profit from gambling. I profit from researching.
While that can certainly be true in some fiscal quarters (see Tweety's post), it is highly economically unsound NOT to contribute to a 401/403 (and/or advise others not to) when many employers match funds.
You are assuming that your mutual funds will beat the average return of the stock market. In reality, 80% of actively managed mutual funds fail to beat the stock market. Which means you are paying high fees to get lousy performance.
401k's do not allow you to buy individual stocks. Individual stocks allow you to crush the market's returns.
If you manage to choose mutual funds that beat the market over long periods of time, then you are luckier than a gambler in Vegas.
Most people who own mutual funds do not even know that mutual funds are SUPPOSED to beat the average return of the stock market.
You do not understand the power of compounding. If the OP works as much as possible, is as frugal as possible, and invests in premium stocks, he will be rich sooner than you can comprehend.
The fact that you do not understand investing does not give you the right to criticize people who do understand investing.
"Those who understand compound interest are destined to collect it. Those who don't are doomed to pay it."
I understand investing just fine. And rich is a relative term.
My DH is high enough in corporate structure/salary earned that he is now limited in what he can contribute/have matched because the employees at the bottom portion of the corporate structure are not taking advantage of the availible options. Very frustrating for us. We are trying to do the right thing, also have Roth's, investment portfolios, etc. But because there are people who either don't care and don't save at all OR have decided to only invest on their own, it has started to look like a top-heavy system and so becomes an artificial limit to those of us trying to do the right thing (provide for our own retirement). IMHO it equally irresponsible to only rely on 401ks et al as the only means to fund retirement, but that seems to have been covered here already...
Grace Oz
1,294 Posts
I'm here to tell you .... retirement can get rather boring, sometimes!
I retired at 51. I turn 57 next week. While I'm glad to be retired at this age, I cannot imagine being retired at 30 no matter how much money I had!
The advice we received was that in order to have an income of $1,000 nett. per week in retirement, you need approximately $700,000 or more invested. And that's just on today's rates etc.