{"id":87456,"date":"2025-05-10T01:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=87456"},"modified":"2025-05-14T07:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T14:59:10","slug":"black-coffee-10-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id87456-black-coffee-10-may-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Cash Cows & Dead Cats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I hope everybody had an enjoyable week. Without further ado, let’s get right to this week’s commentary …<\/p>\n

More people should learn to tell their dollars where to go instead of asking them where they went.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Roger Babson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Too many people spend money they haven\u2019t earned to buy things they don\u2019t want to impress people they don\u2019t like.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Will Rogers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last year, Northwestern Mutual surveyed Americans on their thoughts about how much they would need to retire comfortably<\/a>. It turns out that the respondents said they needed an average of $1.46 million. Fast forward to this year: A new survey has revealed that the number has fallen<\/strong><\/em> $200,000 to $1.26 million. That\u2019s definitely welcome news, if not more than a bit unexpected! Oh … and speaking of unexpected:<\/p>\n

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\nCredit:<\/strong><\/span> But wait … there’s more good news. A competing study concluded that the average \u201cmagic number” for all Americans was even less<\/strong><\/em>. They estimated that a comfortable 20-year retirement would cost an average of $1.05 million<\/a>. Curiously, this study also estimated retirement spending to be $162,000 per year, which seems quite high to us – and we live in California! In any case, the analysts concluded that starting at age 20, one would need to save $4334 every month to reach that spending target and cover costs through age 85, while starting at age 30, increases that figure to $5573 a month. The question is: Will they?<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Unfortunately, with Gen X now approaching their retirement years, the Northwestern Mutual study found that a majority of them say that they won’t be prepared when the time comes. According to the survey, 52% of Gen Xers said they have\u00a0just three times<\/a> their current annual income saved – at most<\/strong><\/em>. Sadly, the majority of Gen X have saved far far<\/strong><\/em> less than that – and time is running out. So unless they plan on living on rice and beans in retirement, a five-figure (or less) nest egg ain’t<\/strong><\/em> going to cut it. Hey … sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. Let’s just hope Gen X is feverishly preparing now — because it’s coming …<\/p>\n