I went to a baby shower for a friend of a friend. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was just fishing for gifts. I went anyway. This was a group of mostly teachers, mostly married, mostly with kids, mostly in their 30s. Mostly they talked about babies and husbands. It's not my usual crowd, but I like to shake it up.
One of the ladies was talking about how with her husband's new 401K match, they had managed to save 15K in retirement. She bragged about it! She was in her 30s, had at least one kid, and was married to another teacher (I think), and she was bragging about 15K in her retirement.
I was (silently) horrified, but the other ladies seemed impressed. Maybe they were just being polite, hard to say.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
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It is weird. I don't know anyone here who mentions 401ks. However people talk all the time about their 6 figure student loan debt.
It seems as though you are making fun of this person for only having 15k saved in their 401k in their 30s. Do you know how many people in their 40s panic over not having any retirement savings? First of all if they are teachers, they probably don't make a ton of money, but enough for their family. I find it to be a positive thing they are paying attention to it now and doing something proactive, than waiting when it may become an issue. I'm glad I am able to save money for retirement in my 20s because the power of compound interest is on my side. The sooner you start the more you'll gain.
Six-figure debt conversations don't phase me at all, quite common. That's why the 401(k) discussion threw me off.
I consider 15K in your mid-30s with a child woefully inadequate. But it's not really fair to compare my situation. I have no idea whether that's adequate for two teachers. The other teachers seemed impressed.
I was (silently) horrified, but the other ladies seemed impressed. Maybe they were just being polite, hard to say.
If you were "horrified" by someone in their 30s with $15K in retirement, what is your reaction to someone in their 50s with nothing in retirement and $10K in debt?
Minimum Wage -- I would think that you wouldn't be bragging about that at a baby shower.
Honestly, I see where you are coming from. I just became a teacher and was shocked to find that they do not match our 401K contributions at all. But I am only 24 and I hope to have saved much more by the time I am 30. Oddly enough, my parents are those 50 year olds without a dime saved outside of job pensions and with well over 10k in debt. I guess it is great that people our age are even having these kind of conversations and blogging about our road to debt freedom and wealth building... I love your blog by the way!!!
Why is that sad? Because you make so much more and you have a better job? you consider this inadequate? Do you even know how much two teachers make? I assume this is in Texas, so probably less than 90,000.
Just remember things can change any minute in life... enjoy your high income now, tomorrow it may not be there.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the baby shower part. I don't think you'd ever catch me at a baby shower. (lol)
Teachers in MA make $90k/year. I don't think they are underpaid. Sorry but it depends on where you live.
My carpool lady's DH is a teacher and she told me he makes the big bucks and she has a phd. He makes more than her.
Oh he teachers high school chemistry if that makes a difference.
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