Help me get out of debt, build a future... and weather this divorce

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Help me get out of debt, build a future... and weather this divorce

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

If you're NOT saving for retirement, you're the ballsiest gambler of them all.

Seconding this. Lots of people have been ruined when they went "well, I probably won't live long enough to need all this money in retirement, so what's the point?", and then it turned out they couldn't work as long as they thought/lived longer than they thought/etc. If anything, the potential for medical risks should encourage you to save more, because it makes it more likely you'll have to retire early.

GlyphGryph posted:

I don't know about that. It's not like I'm planning on throwing the money in the chipper, the point is obviously to spend it on making a better future now, while I am guaranteed to have the opportunity to make those other direct investments, instead of letting someone else use my money to do speculations. It just feels like it would be better to put that money in something with actual value, like my son's education, then leave it to the whims of a market based primarily and foremost on hoping the future is full of even bigger suckers than the present day.

Here's another consideration, since you're concerned about your son's future: If you're too old/sick to work and have no money to your name, who's going to support you? This isn't just a "elderly parents moving in with their kids because they can't live independently" thing - someone has to pay for your medical care, food, housing(if you don't move in with him, or if you need assisted living of some sort), and other bills. If you have no retirement savings left, that someone is probably going to be your son. Even if he thinks it's unfair he has to pay for your past poor decisions, and even if it fucks up his plans at the time(buying a house? having kids? taking a career gamble?), most people aren't going to let their parents live cold and hungry on the streets.

Taking care of your retirement planning now could save your son a lot of trouble a few decades in the future.

GlyphGryph posted:

Edit:
Also man retirement poo poo is super loving complicated, I hate dealing with this stuff.

All the liquidation will be coming from a single older account, one I probably should have rolled over to my current employer or to some sort of IRA by now I'm sure.

Do you guys know of any good resources for understand all this stuff?

It doesn't have to be complicated. Put at least enough in your 401k to max out employer match. Put the max($5500/yr) into a Roth IRA if you qualify for one, ideally with Vanguard or another trusted low-fee company. If you don't, put it in a regular IRA instead(or put more into your 401k, but your employer's options may be worse than putting the money into a Vanguard fund or something). Set everything to target date funds(which automatically adjust your investments to be less risky as you near expected retirement age) and forget about it.

For actual resources, /r/personalfinance's wiki is helpful. There's also the retirement savings thread here.

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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Help me get out of debt, build a future... and weather this divorce