3185 Advice from Ben Stein

On the way to church this morning I heard Ben Stein being interviewed for National Retirement Planning Week. Actually, I think it started last week. Anyway, he said that people in their 20s should be saving 10% of their income for retirement, 30s (if they are starting) should be saving 15%, 40s (if they are just starting to plan) should be saving 20%. He also commented on the problem young families have today of wanting it all now. He said nothing you can buy now is worth living poor when you are elderly. Vacation. New car. Clothes. It won't mean much if you are in your 80s and have had to drastically change your life style. I'm always surprised to find people, some even my age, who think the government should be "doing something," just because they paid their taxes. I was well into my 40s before I invested for retirement, and believe me, that's a lot of time to play catch-up. Now we've got the whole alphabet of plans, everything except SS for me--Social Security--for which I'm not eligible because I have a teacher's pension. If you are a teacher, or you were one in the past and have changed careers, be sure you understand what you won't be getting.

Occasionally, our church uses DVDs projected during the service to make sure everyone gets the same message (we have 11 services). We've been having a series on stewardship. This morning it was an interview with a young married couple in our congregation who got themselves deeply in debt--it was like falling in a black hole and they couldn't get out. They attended a Crown Financial seminar sponsored by our church, did some praying, and decided it all belonged to God. They are almost out of debt--but it took 7 years. Seven is an important biblical number.