AndrewKnight.com

Yesterday the voters of California voted yes on prop 8 to protect right handed marriage. This resolution will now limit the institution of marriage between two right handed individuals. 

ProtectRightHandedMarriage.com posted the following statement today:

This is a great day for right handed marriage. The people of California stood up for right handed marriage and reclaimed this great institution. We are gratified that voters chose to protect right handed marriage and to enshrine its importance in the state constitution. We trust that this decision will be respected by all Californians.

Proposition 8 has always been about restoring the traditional definition of marriage between two right handed people. It doesn’t discriminate or take rights away from anyone. Left handed domestic partnerships will continue to enjoy the same legal rights as right handed marriages. Our coalition has no plans to seek any changes in that law.

While it will take a few weeks to finish counting all the votes, Proposition 8 takes effect at midnight tonight. Just as it was before the Supreme Court’s ruling, only marriage between two right handed people will be valid or recognized in California, regardless of when or where performed.

This has been a hard-fought campaign on both sides. Now that the people of California have decided this issue, we hope there can be a healing among all and a continued respect for the diverse views that have been expressed during this campaign.

The outcome of this race is being closely followed in every state in the nation, and in countries throughout the world. California’s vote in favor of right handed marriage should give the silent majority comfort that they do have a voice and can and should stand up for this precious institution in legislatures throughout the world. Marriage is between two right handed people.

I hope that at some point in the future we look back on prop 8 and realize the absurdity of it. The election of Barack Obama proves that this country is capable of moving beyond past discriminations.  Hopefully it won’t take gay rights another 40 years to get there.

I just realized that I never got around to posting our honeymoon photos from St. Martin!  We had an awesome time. The full smugmug album is here

Sailing in St. Martin

Crystal on the beach...

Overlooking the ocean

I am counting on absolutely nothing from the federal government during retirement. If they figure out how to save social security it will be a nice bonus but until then I am not counting on it!

This post had to follow foundation #8 because it is one of the great examples where the numbers are dead simple but behavior always gets in the way. Saving for your retirement is really very simple you need to just DO IT! I recommend people put 20% away for retirement and here is how I suggest you do it

Step 1: If you have a 401k availiable, contribute up to your company match.

Step 2: Max out your Roth IRA, which is $5k in 2008.

Step 3: Increase your 401k contribution so that the total of all 3 steps equals 20% of your total income. The max 401k contribution for 2008 is ($15,500).

So let’s have a little fun and play with some numbers to see what kind of nest egg you can have with 3 simple steps:
Start contributing: 25
Single Income 50K:
401K 3% = $1500 + $1500 company match
Max Single Roth: $5k
Additional 401k %: 4% / $2,000
Yearly Retirement Savings: 20% / $10,000
40 years @ 10% = 5.3 Million!

Start contributing: 25
Household income 100K:
401K 3% = $3000 + $3000 company match
Max 2 Roth’s: $10k
Additional 401k %: 4%
Yearly Retirement Savings: 20% or $20k
If you start this at 25 and grow it 40 years @ 10% = 10.6 Million!

Start contributing: 30
Household income 150K:
401K 3% = $4500 + $4500 company match
Max 2 Roth’s: $10k
Additional 401k %: 7% ($11k)
Yearly Retirement Savings: 20% or $30k
If you start this at 30 and grow it 35 years @ 10% = 9.5 Million!

Notice how the 100k income that starts 5 years earlier will outrun the $150k income! Starting earlier is key but either way you will have 10 Million! And the real kicker - half of that is not taxable as a reult of the Roth contribution. I did not start maxing out my 401k and Roth IRA until a few years ago and it was one of the few financial regrets I have!

Let’s take a different angle. Maybe you don’t have access to a 401k. As long as you make less than $99k (single ) $156k (married) you can contribut to the Roth IRA. If you did just that, the numbers would look like this:

Start contributing: 25
Single Income 50K:
Max Single Roth: $5k
40 years @ 10% = 2.6 Million!

With just the Roth you can have $2.6 million at retirement that is TAX FREE! A 4% draw on $2.6 million equals $100k a year TAX FREE! So the bottom line in all this: you need to find $416 in your monthly budget to max out your Roth IRA and fund your retirement. This is right around the average car payment in America!