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Antithesis · 06-30-2009, 04:15 PM

I understand retirement savings are good and all, but I find it amazing that people save for them at all while carrying consumer debt.

If you have:

- credit card debt
- department store credit
- line of credit

You definitely need to pay that off before paying for retirement (in my mind). It's strictly a numbers thing. Paying off your Visa is a guaranteed return of about 19%. Hard to beat that consistently in the stock market.

Easy for me to say I guess with my pension through work but I think people get caught up in a lot of "OMGZ I need to save for retirement!!!" Through commercials and banks and such when debt reduction is always a valid and sensible thing to do.

I know MoneyGuy may not be thrilled with this recommendation as a be-all and end-all but I feel a lot more comfortable with money and things like that since I began reading MoneySense magazine. Sheds a lot of light on things like the idea that everyone needs $1,000,000 in RRSPs to retire and such.

Oh, and if you have anyone depending on your income, a TERM life insurance policy (I am very thankful for mine sold to me by MoneyGuy) is an essential.

06-30-2009, 04:15 PM	#20
Antithesis Disenfranchised Join Date: May 2005 Exp:	I understand retirement savings are good and all, but I find it amazing that people save for them at all while carrying consumer debt. If you have: - credit card debt - department store credit - line of credit You definitely need to pay that off before paying for retirement (in my mind). It's strictly a numbers thing. Paying off your Visa is a guaranteed return of about 19%. Hard to beat that consistently in the stock market. Easy for me to say I guess with my pension through work but I think people get caught up in a lot of "OMGZ I need to save for retirement!!!" Through commercials and banks and such when debt reduction is always a valid and sensible thing to do. I know MoneyGuy may not be thrilled with this recommendation as a be-all and end-all but I feel a lot more comfortable with money and things like that since I began reading MoneySense magazine. Sheds a lot of light on things like the idea that everyone needs $1,000,000 in RRSPs to retire and such. Oh, and if you have anyone depending on your income, a TERM life insurance policy (I am very thankful for mine sold to me by MoneyGuy) is an essential.