WEBVTT - Who Wants to *Literally* Be a Millionaire? #662 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.720 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:06.200 and today we're asking the question who wants to be 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:07.240 a Millionaire? 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:28.960 So I just tried to do my best game show 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:29.840 host voice. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:30.120 Did it? 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:31.240 Show didn't come through? 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:32.200 You're the next Drew carry? 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.720 Oh? Oh it might? Is that the price is right? 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:35.120 That's right? 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.960 So I was first thinking about He also hosted whose 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:38.800 line is it? Anyway? Oh? 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:39.280 Yeah, did you? 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:41.440 And before him somebody else? I forgot he used to 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:45.680 be the old host. Wasn't there's somebody else Parker on prices? Right? No, 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.520 I'm thinking of the improv. Oh okay, did you watch 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:50.159 a lot of game shows grown up? I know you 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.599 did the Prices right? You talked about how I used 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:54.000 to watch out with your grandma A right. 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:55.880 I watched some. I definitely. I mean, Who Wants to 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:00.200 Be a Millionaire? Was classic? Well, that was a cultural moment, 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.120 and I'm not sure if people a whole lot younger 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:03.600 than us to remember it because the show came out 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:05.640 and what like ninety nine, late nineties, early two thousand, 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:08.479 But for a few years, like millions of people, yeah, 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:10.479 like tens of millions of people probably were tuned into 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.520 Regis Philbin hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Every what, 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:15.120 I don't know, a couple nights a week. They they 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:16.319 even made it, and it. 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.800 Was at the last Great American Game show where everybody 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:20.920 was watching before the networks, because after that, I think 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:23.679 it was all network based and everybody created their own 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.520 game shows and things split off from there. But it 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:28.480 kind of felt like when folks would sit down and 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.760 I'll watch the same news programs together. This is like 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.560 a class game show where folks did that. But yeah, 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.760 I never I don't never really got into it. I 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:37.800 love game shows, so I really do. I think they're fine, 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:40.240 And so Top Chef is that technically a game show? 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:40.600 Yeah? I can. 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.560 They're competing. It's like that very kind Tom Kalikio, Gail Simmons, 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:46.680 Hugh Action. Isn't like all those judges, those are those 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:47.240 are my people? 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:48.960 Okay? And I used to. 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:52.320 I probably watched more seasons of Top Chef than any 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:55.480 other program other than maybe The Office. 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:56.120 Yeah, scrubs. 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:58.000 The whole point of this show, by the way, is 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.480 not to wear monochromatic suits and ties. We just feel 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:02.560 it needs to do. Uh he rests in peace. But 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:04.840 it really is to talk about like, if you want 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:06.640 to become a millionaire, like how do you get there? 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:08.880 But also like is that a good goal to have? 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.760 And there are different, uh inputs that we see all 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.240 the time in financial media about how much we're supposed 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.000 to be saving and investing for the future, and I 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.320 think so can be off putting and downright demoralizing. So 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.440 how much do you actually need or going to kind 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.400 of give a framework for that in regards to how 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:27.079 much you should be looking to garner in a nest 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.720 egg for retirement. That's that's kind of what this episode. 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:29.799 Is all about. 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:32.600 Did you ever listen? Okay, one last question, one last reference. 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:34.480 I need a phone a friend now. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:36.880 I was gonna the Bare Naked Ladies if I had 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:39.560 a million dollars. Do you remember that song I did back? Yeah, 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:44.000 they're more known for one week, one. 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:49.120 Week the nineties music still still rocks men still pretty good. Yeah, 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.200 But Matt, real quick before we get to the kind 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.400 of millionaire discussion that we want to have to the 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.280 actual meat Yeah, episode, just I wanted to quickly mention 0:02:56.320 --> 0:03:00.440 that listener Silas actually created an Excel spreadshe so we 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.440 had another listener actually create a spreadsheet for the beers 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.040 that we've had on the show that will also put 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:08.200 in the show notes. But Silas he just made a 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.720 new Excel spreadsheet about literally all the How To Money 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.200 episodes and he's categorized them so that you can easily 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.160 find if you're like looking for an episode on transportation 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:21.360 or cars, or on investing or saving or whatever, you 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.480 can just kind of look through there and filter and 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:26.480 see which episodes fall under that category. So big thanks 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.079 to Silas for making that, and hopefully it should help 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.000 listeners who are trying to either find a past episode 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.640 they found maybe helpful, or who are new to How 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.040 the Money and they're kind of trying to figure out, like, well, okay, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:37.600 but I need help with this. Where do I go 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.200 to get the Because we have like a ridiculous catalog 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.520 at this point of what six hundred and fifty plus episodes, 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:45.800 it can be hard to sort through, So big thanks 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:47.320 to Silas for making that a little bit easier for 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:48.240 a lot of folks out there. 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:49.800 That's right, And maybe one of these days we'll have 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.760 an ultimate spreadsheet that combines Beer and the Money topics 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:57.040 by category and buy abv waight and. 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.800 Style of beer and by how long your hair was 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:00.839 time recording too. 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:04.320 Let's quickly introduce the beer that you and I are 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.680 going to enjoy during this episode. This was a double clutch. 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:10.000 This is a nitro oatmeal stout. This one is by 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:14.880 Gruner Brothers Brewing again sent to us by Katie so Silas, 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:18.000 thank you and Katie thank you. Yeah, this episode could 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:18.880 not have happened. 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:20.600 Without the help of both of y'all. Yes, thank you 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.400 so much. All right, but let's get into it. Matt, 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.440 who wants to be a millionaire? And when we're contemplating 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:27.320 this topic, it made me think for some reason, of 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:31.320 Sherlock Holmes, who is a literary character of Highest Team. 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.039 We've all heard of this guy. Part of him, Yeah, 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.719 most death He saws mysteries, and I feel like the 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:38.240 I still remember in the hospital. I think we were 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.320 having our first child. Emily and I watched the Benedict 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.640 Cumberbat Sherlock Holmes series, which was really really good. That 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.560 was like what, yeah, like while Emily was in labor. 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:49.520 It was like pre labor, like getting ready. 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:52.279 I don't think she now she hates Bennett, right, I 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:53.839 can't watch any of his movies exactly. 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.440 Sorry, Bennedict I'm sure you're a nice guy. 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:55.800 Well. 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.240 The cool thing though about like Sherlock Holmes is that 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.560 he uses inductive recent to solve his cases. He begins 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.520 with observations which propel him in the search for the truth, 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:08.960 and so deductive reasoning, on the other hand, begins with 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.640 a hypothesis and then uses facts that you accumulate along 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:14.480 the way in order to confirm a theory. But when 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:16.720 we're talking about how much we need in retirement and 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:18.720 if a million dollars is actually going to be enough, 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.440 you and I would say that the Holmes the end 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.280 approach is most helpful. Taking that Sherlock Holmes approach and 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:28.360 do some observing and then start asking some questions based 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.919 on what you can observe, and hopefully this endeavor helps 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.159 you gain a better understanding of what your goal should 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.080 be and how they're going to influence your actions. Now 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:41.040 I think it's starting from that randomly concocted end goal. Actually, 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:43.120 it does this a disservice really, when we're trying to 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.360 figure out what we should be saving for retirement. 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:46.320 That's true. Yeah, And by the. 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.000 Way, we're you a fan of the Robert Downing junior 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:51.360 version of oh yeah, you put out that Sherlock. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:52.040 Now, that was a great one. 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:53.280 So like that one because I feel like it was 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.880 way more action based as a put you know, he's 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:58.760 like jumping out of buildings into rivers and canals or whatever. 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.120 Guy Ritchie, that was like probably the last great thing 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:02.040 he did, right. 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:03.719 I forgot. Yeah, that's why I like that one man. 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:05.760 He made so many good films early on the string 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:06.120 of hits. 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:06.400 Yeah. 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:08.800 But so basically when it comes to investing, if you 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.159 haven't started investing yet, you might be seeing some headlines 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:13.680 out there right that say that you need to have 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.200 a ton of money set aside in order to quit 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.119 your job in order to actually retire someday. A recent 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:22.440 article from Fortune magazine, they basically said that the quote 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.360 unquote experts that they don't believe that a million dollars 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.279 is enough that you actually need to have closer to 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.880 two million. Technically one point nine million dollars set aside, 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.920 which is that's a ton. And like when you are 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.840 faced with that much like that sort of headline number, 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.360 I think it can feel defeating, right, Like, sometimes these 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.760 stories they can do more harm than good. Instead of 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.360 encouraging someone to get their act together, they actually might 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.880 think that they're just a total lost cause, that it's 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:50.919 hopeless and they're gonna maybe just end up throwing in 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:51.240 the towel. 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.359 Yeah, Like, if you've barely started and you see that 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.440 headline number, you just say screw it by end up 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.520 winning the lottery, what's the point, Yes, exactly. I think 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:00.440 it does kind of encourage that lottery ment to a 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:01.000 certain extent. 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:03.520 Yeah, but you know, we're going to dispel some myths 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.520 today and we're going to explain how retiring with enough 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.159 money on hand is actually more attainable than you think. 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:11.600 And we're going to talk about how, you know, hitting 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:13.600 that one million dollar mark, which, by the way, it 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:17.160 actually might be more than enough, but even still, how 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.680 it isn't impossible when you have decades of time to 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.120 get there, When you've got time on your side, in particular, 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:24.960 it is very achievable. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.120 I like how you mentioned the lottery thing, because it 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.720 is true. I think a lot of people in you 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:32.720 think of people who buy lottery tickets as making a 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:37.320 horrendous mistake. And it is true that you're very, very 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:39.040 very unlikely to win the lottery. 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:39.200 Right. 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.440 The odds are heavily stacked against you, and a lot 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.760 of people spend way too much money on lottery tickets, 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.600 inhibiting their ability to grow wealth. But some people in 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:48.800 some of the most impoverished communities, it feels like that's 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.680 their only way out is to win the lottery and 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:53.920 not buy investing regia because they see headlines like this, 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.040 I think, and it leads them to believe, well, there's 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:58.960 no way that my you know, fifty bucks a month 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:00.920 is actually that would which is all I can stomach 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.000 to invest, is actually going to get me here. Sure, 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.640 And it's completely demoralizing, and I think it does actually 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:09.080 lead to some of those more risky approaches to wealth building, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.320 cause they just don't think this is for them, which 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.000 I get, like, yeah, it makes sense. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.520 Yeah, they're quite literally going for broke because to them 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.520 that seems like the most logical path forward as opposed 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:23.000 to amassing this impossibly gigantic number. 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:23.600 Yeah. 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.480 And there might be another subset of folks, though, maybe 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.040 on the opposite end of the spectrum, who are further 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.160 along in their financial journey. You know, maybe you're listening 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.240 and you do have close to seven figures in the bank, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:38.120 and maybe you're still only in your mid thirties, which 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:40.959 is amazing. Yeah, you've done the case. You've done a 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:41.480 lot of hard work. 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:41.880 Good for you. 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.040 Yeah, and so you're crushing it. But even some of 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.400 those folks, they might be under the impression, Matt, that 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.160 they need a whole lot more invested in order to 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.280 comfortably retire. They might have done a whole lot of 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.079 heavy lifting already, but they might say, I've still got 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:57.320 decades of hard work ahead of me. They might fall 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.880 victim to that one more year syndrome, which kind of 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.560 seems to never end. You keep kicking, you keep kicking 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:04.720 the can down the road. And so building wealth and 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.400 then feeling comfortable enough to slow down and enjoy some 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.560 of what you've been able to amass. That requires two 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.120 different skill sets. And so for those folks, we want 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.240 to hopefully ease your mind a little too, you know, 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.480 helping you to see that it's possible to overdo it, 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:21.319 and that it is possible to overplan, to oversave, to overinvest, 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:24.840 and to overwork, creating a different kind of financial imbalance. 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:26.520 That's it. It's hard to overcome, that's true. 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.960 Yeah, And so there's a recent survey as well found 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.120 that more than seven and ten investors. They say that 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.920 they need between three and five million dollars on hand 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.640 in order to be able to retire with ease, And 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.280 you know, that's an even more daunting task than just 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.360 saving up a cool mill. But so much of these 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:47.200 responses are based on feelings, they're not actually based on facts, 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.839 and personal finances are so individual, they're so complex that 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.640 it is hard to come up with us just a 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.800 simple formula to help everyone out there. Ton't know exactly, 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:57.680 you know, what they need to save in order to 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.560 retire comfortably, But we want to do our best to 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.800 give you some guide posts so that you better understand 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:05.640 what it is that you should be shooting for. Is 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.200 it a million? Maybe that's the right amount for some 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.920 folks out there, but others might really want to sock 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:13.839 away multiple millions of dollars. And I think others can 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.120 easily do retirement well on a six figure nest egg. 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.480 It all depends on a number of factors, and we'll 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.120 be diving into that during this episode. 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:22.880 Yeah, I wish there was a calculator and that kind 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:24.760 of knew some of that future for you, Like, hey, 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:26.720 you're probably going to encounter these health issues and guess 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:28.319 what you know, you're probably going to live to the 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:30.880 rif old age of ninety one or so. If you 0:10:30.960 --> 0:10:32.480 knew some of those things and you could plug those 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.320 into a calculator, you can more easily understand exactly how 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:38.840 much you need to save. But we don't have a horoscope, 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.320 right or is that a horoscope? Is that what that yeah, okay. 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.640 Tells you the future or yeah, what's going to happen 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.200 based on yeah, not that you're born in. 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.240 I haven't had my tarot cards read recently, and so 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:49.880 I don't know what's going to happen in the future. 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:51.680 And because of that, we have to make kind of 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:54.240 some educated guesses, and we have to make sure that 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.560 we're sacrificing enough for our future selves. But we're also 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.439 trying to strike that balance constantly while we're doing it right. 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.200 And let's talk about let's dig into a little bit 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.200 of data here, Matt. We've talked about a couple of 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.480 headline numbers that some people assume they need to have, 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:09.560 or the experts say they need to have, and so 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.320 that can actually I think inhibit people's ability or desire 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:15.160 to start saving. And talk about some headlines. We're talking 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.200 about some surveys. But what are the facts, jol All right, 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:19.080 let's talk about the facts. So it might be helpful 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.440 and reassuring to look at the data about how much 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:25.920 Americans actually have saved, like what they have in their 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.680 four to one k's right now, and so the average 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.600 overall balance inside of four O one K accounts is 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.000 just a hair over one hundred thousand dollars. But then 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.680 when we're talking about retirement, those people should have more money, 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:39.920 right than just the average four O one K account balance. 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:42.440 And so the average person who is sixty five years 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:46.640 or over has two hundred and eighty thousand dollars in 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.720 their retirement accounts. This is according to Vanguard. The facts 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.320 on the ground really fly in the face of some 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.880 of these numbers that we've cited already, Like to say 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.920 that you need a million dollars to retire, or one 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.760 point nine million dollars like the experts say, or like 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.439 the feeling that those people have say I need three 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.360 to five million in order to retire comfortably. Well, it 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.880 almost feels ridiculous because so many people are able to 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:14.280 get by in retirement. Maybe they're not taking like that. 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:17.160 Goes contrary to what millions of people are actually doing 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:17.640 right now. 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.320 So these people have not even high six figures, right, Like, 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.760 we're talking two hundred and eighty thousand dollars on average. 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.160 That's what a lot of folks are retiring with, and 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.199 they are able to make ends meet. Maybe they're not 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:30.360 taking like cruises on the Danube three times a year. Maybe, 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:33.640 you know, maybe they're not taking private jets to the Heiti. 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:33.880 I don't. 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:36.080 I mean, these are the kind of sacrifices that people 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:38.480 make when they don't have millions and millions of dollars 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.480 in their retirement accounts when they retire, but they're still 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.720 able to live. Many of these folks a lovely existence 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.920 on a whole lot less than a nest egg of 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:51.520 multimillions that a lot of people just assume they have 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:52.240 to have saved up. 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:54.280 So, you know, it seems that there's like something of 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.640 a disconnect between the amounts that Americans have invested versus 0:12:57.720 --> 0:12:59.960 the amounts that they think that they that they need. 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:01.960 And you know, we're not gonna spend much time on 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:05.360 happiness here, but I wonder how much of a factor 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:09.560 this dissonance plays in happiness and life satisfaction. You just 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.480 mentioned like the euro river boat cruises. 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:14.520 It makes nice. I have never been one. 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.240 When you look at the list of the world's happiest countries, dude, 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:20.880 there are about a dozen European countries that rank higher 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:23.920 than the US. And I'm not sure if it's a 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.240 coincidence or not, but a much higher percentage of Americans 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.160 believe that they need to have a lot more like 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.000 a ton, more than just a million dollars set aside 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:36.200 than Europeans think. It's almost as if we've set our 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.200 standards too high. It almost as if we've doomed ourselves 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.360 to failure. So of course you're gonna have a country 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.199 full of folks who are significantly less happy than their 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.920 European counterparts, if they feel like they are constantly missing 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.640 the mark, if they feel like that they are regularly 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.360 coming up short in a certain way. I wonder if 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.440 the different expectations that we've set for ourselves as a country, 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.240 how that might that right there, might be actually leading 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.439 us to have just lower levels of satisfaction and happiness. 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.720 Yeah, I think when you have this visceral feeling that 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:07.440 you're behind the eight ball all the time, and I 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.720 think that's the way a lot of Americans feel, and 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:11.520 I think it means for a lot of people that 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:15.320 their expectations are too high. And I don't know what 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:17.960 makes people feel like they need four or five million 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:20.680 dollars in order to be able to retire with ease 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.600 when a whole lot of people are doing it well 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.920 with a whole lot less. Maybe it's the comparison game 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:28.200 that we are apt to play. 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.200 Yeah, maybe they don't. Yeah, cribs, you know, that's what 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:33.120 the whole thing off, right? 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:33.440 Yeah? 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:35.640 Was that exhibit hosting that back in the day or 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:36.440 is he doing. 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:37.800 The pit my ride? I don't know he did. I 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:38.760 think he did ride. 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.400 Okay, if you want all the fancy stuff in retirement, 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:42.720 then this is how much you're going to need to 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.040 save up. But the truth is it's not that extreme. 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.120 And I do think you're right that having lower expectations 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:52.880 is going to lead to less consternation around how much 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:54.800 we need to actually save for retirement. And I think 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:58.240 we can be happier saving less, enjoying more of the 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:01.640 day to day and not feeling as overw about creating 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:05.880 some massive, multimillion dollar nest egg. But it's also hard 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:08.280 to figure out exactly how much you need to save 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.920 and so next we're going to talk about a wide 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.280 variety of factors that will influence how you think about 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.680 how much you need to have saved up, including debt 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.280 and inflation, which has changed the dynamic for a lot 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.120 of retirees. We'll get to our thoughts on those fronts 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:22.800 right after this. 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:33.200 All right, we are. 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:34.520 Back from the break, and we're going to get to 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:38.400 I guess, more of the practical application side of our 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.400 episode here in a little bit. But first we wanted 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.480 to spend a minute talking about just mindset and how 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:45.520 it is that we should be thinking about wealth and 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.840 having enough. And so a question you might be asking 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.000 yourself is whether or not you even need to hit 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.160 millionaire status, because that's going to depend on a number 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:55.680 of different factors out there that we're going to get 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.480 into now. Because if you are in your early twenties, 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:00.280 I think it might be easy to think that you 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:03.800 won't need that much, or that the fairly inexpensive lifestyle 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:06.320 that you're able to happily live now that's going to 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:09.440 suit you well, you know, thirty, forty, even fifty years 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.160 down the road. But the truth is that might not 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.120 be the case. Things might cost more money or I 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:18.000 guess not things, but just what your life looks like 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:19.640 might evolve over time. 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.000 Because you're less into the hostile and you might want 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.280 a hotel room instead, and you know what that is, 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.120 what my own room. I think that is one of 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:29.560 those changes in expectations that is normal and okay, and 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.440 I think it's yeah, I don't have any problem. I 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:32.880 I think it's kind of cool when people in their 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.920 fifties or sixties still want to do the hostile lifestyle. 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:36.760 More power to you, But there's a lot of people 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:39.160 who their expectations do change a little bit over time, 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.160 and I think there's a difference between those expectation changes 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:42.880 and lifestyle creed. 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.800 I think that's the biggest argument against that. Economists that 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.040 put out the consumption smoothing model where he was talking about, oh, no, 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.240 you're going to consume a lot, like go ahead and 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:53.800 consume more relative to how much you are able to 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.400 make and invest early on, and then you're just going 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.720 to maintain that over time, because I think it's really 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:00.880