Pastor Dave's Highlights

@Pastor Dave ; second, third, and fourth it. You will not notice the money taken out of your check if you do at least the 6% that they match. That's what I do with my job milk testing because I was investing in cows instead of putting more in the 401k. So I do what they match as that is free money from them and as stated, your contribution is tax free now and will be taxed at a lower rate once you decide to retire and draw it as it is assumed you will be making less after you retire. (Gee that's hard to imagine!!!:hu)

Anyway, anything is better than nothing and really, you will not notice it out of your check since you have just started and getting a check is more than you had a month ago.

My SS will be about 3/4 th of what I make testing, and I figure that I will be okay on that plus a couple hundred monthly from my 401k. Plus add in that I will not be spending near the gas money I do now for all the traveling I do. And I am not giving up all my farms, turning a couple over to another tester because I can not keep up with the faster milking since they doubled the capacity of the milking parlor. There will be a few that will be selling out in the next few years, so some will just "disappear" from my list. I will be easing out of testing, and hope to quit in a few years. So the SS will be "extra" money for a year or two, and I plan to try to put some/most of it aside for the future anyway.

Then there is whatever I make off my cattle. A couple years ago, it was a fair amount, and I was adding some cattle. Right now it is not as great, but I have also been adding cows as I can afford them as the prices are really cheap. I look for the cattle market to stay fairly flat for another 1-2 years, then feeder prices to creep up and cull cows to improve. I am hoping that in about 2-5 years, prices will come back up quite a bit and I will be able to talk my son into selling off about half and take advantage of it; if it does anything like it did in 2012-2014. Pay off a bunch of stuff and then be able to keep what we want, and maybe build a bit. But right now, adding cheap bred cows, and feeding and calving them out will give us calves to sell in late 2019 or 2020. That is when I am hoping prices will start to rise. We'll see. I might be way off, but with the feeder prices right now, these cheap bred cows will still make a little, if nothing changes much.
I can always eat them.......:celebrate
 
I do know pastors that continue to supply small churches during their retirement and I hope to still be able to do that when I get to that point. Some denominations are good abt setting up retirement provisions for their retired clergy, but in mine being independent, it's up to me. I had the option of opting out of SS when became ordained in 2006, but since had already put 15 yrs into it already, decided not to forfeit it.
 
@Bruce , maybe it is good that I never made alot of money. I live on about $1300 - 1500 a month take home now, and that is including all my non-taxable travel pay etc.. Then I spend "my own money" on gas etc. My SS will run about 1100 month, before they take out my "medicare" costs.
So maybe I am a bit off because if they take out my part B medicare, that will leave me with about $950 a month, plus what I have to pay for "part D" (drug coverage). I guess if you are figuring gross, with what they take out for my contribution to medical (we pay part) plus what I put into 401k and my health savings account then it will be about 1/2. But in 2 months my health savings contributions will end (can't continue to contribute when you get medicare) so that'll be more in my pocket as well as my portion of my health ins; but they will be taxable so I will lose a little there. I kinda figured those 2 will be about equal to what I will pay for medicare instead.
That said, my "cattle income" has been put back into more cattle, or feed for what I have; I buy all my grain for my nurse cows, and any alfalfa hay I feed. The grass hay/rolls are from the farm. I put in alot of hours so I figure that I "earn the hay my beef cows eat". My "cattle money" has funded all the "non-conventional treatment" that I have tried for my joints like PRP and such. None of that is covered anyway, and I presently have $6,000 deductible. I never have met over $5-600 of that in a year so it is useless unless I have a catastophic event. If it even covered 50% of the "ALTERNATIVE TYPE TREATMENTS" I have had I would be happy as a clam.
I have no debt beyond about $3,000 in cc debt that will get paid off as soon as I sell a few calves as I bought some very MARKED WAY DOWN poultry pens at TSC, so that when I do slow down a bit, I will have some places to put more of my purebred chickens as I plan to expand a bit. I bought my 2000 forester cash, my 2 older ford rangers cash and unless I win the lottery, will not buy another new vehicle. I try to squirrel away money when I can. I have a garden, raise most of my own vegs and buy in bulk and can and/or freeze. Put a beef in the freezer every 12-18 months, just did 13 broiler chickens, my own animals. I am actually looking at a freeze drier now as the longevity of the food is supposed to be superior. It would be a "big expense" for me. I just recently bought 2 more bred cows as investment and am looking at 2 guernsey heifers, bred 6 months for purchase. I invested $3500 in a registered bull this spring for breeding. I have a couple of cows to weed out in the spring. I shop at Goodwill alot, don't need anymore "dress clothes" , get jeans and such, but do buy alot of books. I haven't had TV for the last 5 years, but might see about getting an antennae for after retirement, to be able to enjoy some of what I have missed. I pay my car ins a year at a time for the reduced costs. Because I don't drive new(er) it is not high. I want to find a place for me to retire to, in the 100,000 range, and figure that in 6-8 years I can have it paid for if cattle prices do what I think, or else it will take me 10-15. That would be a mtg payment instead of rent, so I figure pretty much a wash. I am on my son's cell phone plan, an extra $12 or 15 a month, with a flip phone. May go to a "high tech" one, if I can use it to provide my internet service instead of the dsl through the phone company.
I have never had alot, and have done my share of struggling. Until, I totally retire, I will keep some farms to test so the SS check will be extra money for now, to put away or invest in cattle or something.
All this saying that maybe my estimates were off, so that my SS will be about 1/2 instead of 75% of my take home pay. I can adjust. I just turned 65 and have no intention to wait to my "full retirement age of 66" , for the few extra $$ per month. And although I come from very "long lived" genetics, lots of 90's and 100's on both sides, if I die at 75 then I will only get 10 years of my SS for all those years paid in. I'd rather get a little less for a lot longer. They say it takes 7-10 years to come out equal between taking less sooner, or more later by waiting. It might not be there or be greatly reduced down the road, so I'm going after it now.
 
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