Retirement asset norms?

[Susanne Owens]

So I have become obsessed with the quote from Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” My very best friend died suddenly in the midst of her prime at age 57 in April. Although I am 10 years younger than her, she was my inspiration, motivation and mentor. She built an up and coming Fortune 500 company after she retired from her civil service job at age 48 and it made me realize that my trajectory can vastly improve at age 47. I thought my husband and I saving approximately $3k+ per month for almost the last 10 years for retirement would be enough. But I began to realize that I can do more, I want more and I deserve more out of my entrepreneurial mind. That’s when I started listening to BP. I use my time in the mornings to listen to podcasts while I get ready for work since I live very close to work. I wish I had found BP sooner!!! But getting my butt in gear, my husband and I have bought 3 long term rentals and they are renting great with good cash flow, From July to October 2018. I am consumed now by wanting more, learning more and reading more - a new found adult learning experience. I am panicked because I wish I had been smarter sooner. I just finished my first personal financial statement and the results aren’t bad but they aren’t where we want them to be. We are not debt free yet...😞. It will take us at least 3-4 more years to get debt free. (i went to graduate school and obtained a lot of student loan debt at age 35 to triple my earnings). I want it so bad that I am getting inpatient. I looked at the retirementmanifesto.com and it has the average person in the US age 45-54 years has an average net worth of 84k if you include equity in your home and only 25k if you don’t include your home. Could this be right???? I feel behind but I am way ahead of these numbers. Is there info out there where you can compare yourself to more ”normal investors” and what you can expect to have in retirement??? I am comparing myself to some of these 25-35 year old who are already FI and it’s depressing!! Does anyone else feel this pressure or motivation to be further than you are???

[Steve Vaughan]

Retirement 'norms' is what got me to click. Norms are awful. Normal is broke but looking good, right? Normal is working 40 years like a rat in a wheel.  Glad you're here!

To help get out of consumer debt as fast as possible I used Dave Ramsey's snowball method. I had about $87k and that took me 30 months on a pretty nominal/low income.   

For retirement estimations of where you're at vs want to be Chris Hogan has a free RIQ (retirement intelligence quotient) online.  I've been 'retired' for a while so haven't used it, but I like listening to his podcast and it sounds good. It should tell you if you're saving enough to reach your goal but not sure how rentals work in. He's mostly an invest in mutual funds guy like most.  

Comparing yourself too much with others or norms overall probably leads to unnecessary anxiety.  A lot of those FI stories are a crock IMO.  You will never hear true FI people need to share how they fart around with a dozen credit cards to optimize their cattle hacking travel points to save $600.  Financial independence? While flying standby?  Whatever.  

The best defense from worry is information.  Use the chrishogan360 site and see where you're at.  Have a plan to get out of consumer debt asap like Dave's . Go get 'em!