Doesn't seem that 10-20% of salary saved is enough though. Even if, after 35 years working you amass 1.7 million (single person). You still won't get enough in income for 35 years of retirement at safe withdrawal rates. Less than the women in the examples above. ?

OP here. I define security by just being debt free and worry free. A little retirement money and maybe owning a small home or condo.
But I'm also looking for stories of rags to riches - maybe inspiration that you can be in the dregs of despair and turn it all around either by luck or hard work or even a little of both.

I hope it can be done. With 4 kids, I feel like all I do it pay it out. The cost of housing 6 people and cars that fit that many people, not to mention the grocery bill and activities that come with kids. Our first graduates college in 2 years. We're hoping to roll that money into our retirement savings.

We have not lived a life on easy peasy street, but we've been okay. I'll be 45 in in 2 years--so maybe 20 years of retirement ($17.5) plus the additional $25K from what we are paying for college now will be enough. I have a second job that allows me to save up for the second one. So between the savings and the additional 2nd job income in the future, the 2nd child should be okay.

Crossing my fingers for all of us.

It ain't over til' it's over!
Do not give up hope -- keep striving and working towards your goals. Make a new plan if the old one is not working.
The more positive you stay and the more you are active in working towards your goal, more of what you need will come to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:define financial success.

Having assets and cash flow.

Are you OP? I don't disagree that both are important but that's a loose definition. Here is how I would define financial success (although I would probably call it financial stability/security per the second half of your title; to me personally, financial success is independence from having to work, which is obviously a lot harder to achieve!):

-Debt-free (other than a fixed-rate, low interest mortgage that fits comfortably within your budget if you own your home)
-Cash emergency fund equal to 6-9 months of expenses
-Regularly saving at least 10% of your income (20% is better, per Elizabeth Warren's Balanced Money formula, but not feasible at all points in life. Still, financially secure households can always save something)
-Retirement assets equal to 3x your annual income (by age 45)

Financial stability doesn't require earning a lot of money (although it helps) but it does require aligning your income with your spending so that the latter never exceeds the former, and you are able to save and invest the surplus over time.

Anonymous wrote:define financial success.

Having assets and cash flow.

My mom (single mom of 2 kids) went back to school at 40 to get a teaching license. She started out making in the $30s and when I graduated high school was making $40k. She had always struggled to pay the bills and many times they were paid late. She also had very little savings and retirement. Once she no longer had kids at home, she got an administrative certificate (early 50s) and when she retired was making like $70k, which allowed her to get her finances in order. A few years before retiring at 59, she remarried (another teacher) and they now enjoy a good life. Not rich, but certainly comfortable enough.

Please post more!!

Eh, I got nuthin'. My financial situation was headed downhill at 45 and has continued in the direction.

define financial success.

My mom has a similar story to PP. Got divorced at 35, had a Bachelors degree but never used it. (Literally got married summer after graduation, pregnant that fall and never worked the entire marriage.) She went on to get her teaching certificate, got a job in the public school system at 38 years old and taught till she was 66. She got her masters along the way as well. She also bought some condos (2) 12 years ago and has consistently been able to rent them out. Her pension plus rental income is about 85k a year. This is in suburban Ohio so its good money. Shes 69 now and in great health.

My mom divorced and started a new job at 45 in the late 1970s (after having been a SAHM for 18 years or so). She worked for the state gov't until she was 61 or so and had an accident and was disabled. She gets a decent pension, has deferred compensation, and has a 401k type savings. She had pretty close to nothing except the house (and its mortgage) when she got divorced. She's not rich, but she's financially stable. I think she was earning about $18k when she started, and then about $60k when she had to retire. I think all of her retirement payouts (including SS) are about $50k a year.

Anything is possible. At 45 you still have 20 years till traditional retirement age ... that's a lot of time to let the magic of compound interest work for you if you save and invest aggressively.

I am not 45, but at 28, I faced a divorce that ruined my credit and I did not have a job because I was staying home with my DC for 2 years. I applied to hundreds of jobs like crazy and after about a year of applying got a decent job in my field, did not have anything in retirement and had about $7k in CC debt. Fast Forward 2 years later, I have about $10k saved up, raising my DC on my own, still at my decent job with about $10k in 401k, I know not a lot and not the age group you're looking for, but I think I had to start over in my late 20s due to a failed marriage and poor choices. It is never too late, I wish you the best and good luck

This is a spin off from other discussion about financial security. Does anyone have stories of success coming later in life? Or people who have turned around from losing it all or never really having much and then becoming financial secure. Especially after bankruptcy or tax problems? Perhaps divorce? I'm facing all three at 45yo