Anton Bruckner
Puritan Board Professor
I know we are called to be wise. Last night, I had a financial planner over at my house. (Well in actuality I cannot hire a financial planner, it was a fellow church brethren, who came and give me some insights for free)
He showed me that I need to save $457 per month at 12%, just to send Jared to Harvard in 15 years time. Harvard in 14 years time will be upwards of $200,000 for undergrad. This is just one child, I've always seen myself having a small clan of boys. well 2 boys and a girl, this despite being separated from my current wife. So remarriage or reconciliation are two options I'm seriously pondering, if God gives me the grace to fulfill both.
Secondly retirement. I have to save $391 per month at 12% to get $3100 per month at age 57. If I choose to retire then. This has nothing to do with medical expenses, and if I have a spouse living with me.
A retirement home, if you are not planning on selling your existing one, but giving it to your child or children as an inheritance, would cost around $300,000-$500,000 in about 30 years. So one has to save about $500 per month at 12%. Course I don't have that amount of disposable income to save. Heck, who has an extra $1300 dollars per month to simply put away. Things are hard these days. But those were the moderate estimates of what I have to put away to send my child to Harvard, and retire without having any major decrease in salary.
Now I ask my fellow PB Brethren, how caught up should we be with these earthly things such as college fund, retirement etc. Heck, I don't like hearing stories of the elderly, having to choose between medication or heating fuel for their house. Nor do I find it pretty seeing an 80 yr old working at McDonald's part time to supplement their income.
I'm not saying that working is bad, but at an elderly age, I believe a person should live and be comfortably taken care of by their children and whatever savings they have accrued, with work being something merely vocational and voluntary. (Course I could be wrong). At an old age, a person should be buying candy and icecream for their grandchildren or great granchildren, whilst having the not so favorites, give them sponge baths.
So, what constitutes good planning, from being too earthly minded?
He showed me that I need to save $457 per month at 12%, just to send Jared to Harvard in 15 years time. Harvard in 14 years time will be upwards of $200,000 for undergrad. This is just one child, I've always seen myself having a small clan of boys. well 2 boys and a girl, this despite being separated from my current wife. So remarriage or reconciliation are two options I'm seriously pondering, if God gives me the grace to fulfill both.
Secondly retirement. I have to save $391 per month at 12% to get $3100 per month at age 57. If I choose to retire then. This has nothing to do with medical expenses, and if I have a spouse living with me.
A retirement home, if you are not planning on selling your existing one, but giving it to your child or children as an inheritance, would cost around $300,000-$500,000 in about 30 years. So one has to save about $500 per month at 12%. Course I don't have that amount of disposable income to save. Heck, who has an extra $1300 dollars per month to simply put away. Things are hard these days. But those were the moderate estimates of what I have to put away to send my child to Harvard, and retire without having any major decrease in salary.
Now I ask my fellow PB Brethren, how caught up should we be with these earthly things such as college fund, retirement etc. Heck, I don't like hearing stories of the elderly, having to choose between medication or heating fuel for their house. Nor do I find it pretty seeing an 80 yr old working at McDonald's part time to supplement their income.
I'm not saying that working is bad, but at an elderly age, I believe a person should live and be comfortably taken care of by their children and whatever savings they have accrued, with work being something merely vocational and voluntary. (Course I could be wrong). At an old age, a person should be buying candy and icecream for their grandchildren or great granchildren, whilst having the not so favorites, give them sponge baths.
So, what constitutes good planning, from being too earthly minded?