Finally got my Son to agree to go to my financial planner

Hugh R · 01-20-2014, 07:45 PM

Son is 25, currently back at home. Works a store front sales job at a Police Gear/Military high end supply place. Mostly caters to real police and real military.

He doesn't make a lot, but today he was doing his taxes and he was lamenting his income taxes that he has to pay to CA and the Feds. Again, he doesn't make a lot, but still has to pay several thousand in combined income taxes.

He finally agreed to meet with my Schwab guy about setting up an IRA. Put something away for retirement in 40 or so years. Plus he gets to defer some of those income taxes. The Schwab guy may tell him a Roth IRA makes more sense. I don't know.

I'm just glad he's starting to think about a time horizon beyond his next paycheck.

At his age, I started putting away money my first year out of college.

Bill Douglas · 01-20-2014, 07:53 PM

Tell him not to bother. He will inherit so much money from his rich father.

BRPORSCHE · 08:55 PM

A misunderstanding.

aschen · 01-20-2014, 08:18 PM

I think Roth makes sense for him at this point. Pay the taxes now while low

Bill Douglas · 01-20-2014, 08:23 PM

I thought it was so obvious I was joking I didn't bother putting it in green.

BRPORSCHE · 01-20-2014, 08:55 PM

Sorry about that Bill. Red wine made me a tad snappy.

Move along, nothing to see here...

VaSteve · 01-21-2014, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Son is 25, currently back at home. Works a store front sales job at a Police Gear/Military high end supply place. Mostly caters to real police and real military.

I thought the police and military got their equipment assigned to them.

onewhippedpuppy · 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I thought the police and military got their equipment assigned to them.

Nope, they have to buy a lot of it personally. I think military even has to buy their own uniforms.

Hugh, even at 25 he's ahead of the game. Debt is the new norm in America, saving anything is the exception instead of the rule. My wife and I opened our first IRAs at about 24, but haven't really been able to contribute to them in a meaningful way until the last few years. Just show him some of those compound interest calculators. Contribute X amount monthly for 40 years = holy crap. That's pretty tough to ignore.

matt711 · matt711's Garage

Army folks have to buy uniforms. Enlisted are given a clothing allowance but unless you work in an office you will eventually come out of pocket to replace damaged uniforms. Most equipment is provided but not all the "cool" stuff... There are several large stores here (Ft Bragg) that cater to the military population and sell everything from boots to high end optics.

jhynesrockmtn · 01-21-2014, 07:02 AM

Quote:

I thought the police and military got their equipment assigned to them.

My son is having to buy his dress blues and has had to buy a lot of his gear in the Army. He's a ROTC cadet getting and has to have this particular uniform for the commissioning ceremony. That uniform will be over $600. Guess what his graduation present will be?

Good for you getting him to think about his future. It makes a huge difference starting now vs 10-15 years from now!

Hugh R · 01-21-2014, 07:39 AM

Yeah, its all good. I did run some compound interest tables by him and pointed out a $3 cup of coffee every day adds up over a lifetime.

The place he works at sells bulletproof vests, boots, high end optics, knives, I don't know the specifics, but he ships lots of stuff to A-Stan and some stuff still to Iraq.