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Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: Megatron on September 24, 2013, 09:59:06 AM

Title: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: Megatron on September 24, 2013, 09:59:06 AM
it makes me really sad to read stories like this.
the guy was making 6 figures a year.

http://aattp.org/watch-the-story-of-a-77-year-old-man-flipping-burgers-for-the-same-pay-in-a-week-he-used-to-make-in-an-hour/ (http://aattp.org/watch-the-story-of-a-77-year-old-man-flipping-burgers-for-the-same-pay-in-a-week-he-used-to-make-in-an-hour/)

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He says that he could live on his retirement income of about $1,200 from Social Security and an additional $600 per month pension from his last job, but that it would be merely surviving, with no money for any extras and nothing to allow him to have a social life. The $1,400 per month his two jobs add to his income allows him to go to the theater once in a while and occasionally buy a little something extra or maybe buy a plane ticket to visit his children and grandchildren.

whaaa? that's $1800 a month already.
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: Le Dérisoire on September 24, 2013, 11:01:29 AM
He could take the bus to go see his children and granchildren, but then he would not make it on time for his burger flipping shift.

And then, he would lose his job and would not be able to afford the plane anymore, and would have to take the bus.

So he has to work to be able to afford the plane, to have enough time to work, to be able to afford the plane, to have enough time to work... There's no way out of it.

This is a comment on yahoo finance about this article: "Good for him, he wants to do more than just sit around in retirement and is doing what is necessary to accomplish this."

I too am planing to go bankrupt so I'm forced to flip burgers for minimum wage until I die. I wouldn't want to end up retired and doing stupid things like travelling or learning stuff. Working at McDonald is my end goal.
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: catccc on September 24, 2013, 12:06:04 PM
Interesting.  This article isn't the whole story, though.  Try this link, instead. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-23/why-100-000-salary-may-yield-retirement-flipping-burgers.html (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-23/why-100-000-salary-may-yield-retirement-flipping-burgers.html)

I'm not excusing him from his seemingly high expenses and lack of savings.  But just sayin' it doesn't sound like it was pure stupidity that got him in this situation.  He had to quit his 6 figure job to help his family get through the unexpected death of his wife.

And lastly, at least he doesn't seem bitter about it:
“I’m not going to sit on my laurels and say I was an executive making six figures and traveling the world,” he said. “I tell people I demonstrate food and I do short-order cooking. I don’t mind saying it. What’s important is that I can work today.”
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: oldtoyota on September 24, 2013, 12:15:27 PM
In the article, it was mentioned that the average American only has $120K in a 401K.

I wonder why the 401K number is so often quoted--maybe that's easy data to get--without taking overall savings into account.

My 401K doesn't have much in it compared to how much I need, but that is because I've been at my current job for a handful of years. Seems like an off stat and yet I've seen that mentioned in a lot of articles.
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: footenote on September 24, 2013, 12:23:12 PM
"At 64, when an 800 square foot manufactured home he’d seen in Plant City, a Tampa suburb, became available for $21,500, he purchased it with a credit card to amass frequent flier miles. He then sold his New Jersey home for $180,000, kept what he needed to quickly pay off his credit card debt and divided the rest among his children so they’d have down payments for their own homes."

When you read the entire story (hat tip catccc), there are many interesting details like this one. I wondered how much exactly he gave to his kids, and how his assets would look if he hadn't given the rest of the house equities to his kids.

I also don't understand why his social security is so low. The article cites his consulting as a reason why he didn't have 401k savings. But you still contribute to social security when you are self-employed.
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: Jamesqf on September 24, 2013, 12:28:35 PM
He then sold his New Jersey home for $180,000, kept what he needed to quickly pay off his credit card debt and divided the rest among his children so they’d have down payments for their own homes."

Yeah, I noticed that, too.  And that his $90K in stocks went down to $40K in '08, but no mention of the fact that if he'd held on to them, they'd probably be worth at least $100K now.

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I also don't understand why his social security is so low. The article cites his consulting as a reason why he didn't have 401k savings. But you still contribute to social security when you are self-employed.

Another good question.  On what seems like a lower average lifetime income, I would be getting roughly $2K/month if I quit working today, but waited until 70 to collect. 
Title: Re: 77 year old flipping burgers.
Post by: catccc on September 24, 2013, 12:48:24 PM
Another good question.  On what seems like a lower average lifetime income, I would be getting roughly $2K/month if I quit working today, but waited until 70 to collect.

I guess maybe he started collecting early?