56 • RUBY, WILDING & SWANSBURG When the majority of your retirement savings are in a qual ified account , t he val ue of your retirement acco unt could be essentially up for vote ever y two years. New members of Cong ress a re elected. New presidents are selected. And you better hope our 150 million U.S. voters have your retirement’s best interests in mind. (Spoil er a lert : They often don’t .) The Great American Savings Myth This reality forms the basis for wh at I c all the “Great American Savings Myth. ” Th is is t he idea that, for most savers, the most advantageous way to save is i n a tax- deferred account , lik e a n IRA. Experts or iginally thought tax- deferred sa ving woul d help American savers pay few er tax es. The idea wa s t o defer taxes on income while in a higher tax bracket, while worki ng, and pay th ose taxe s wh ile in a lo wer br acke t wh e n r etired . Yo u can s ti ll d o that, r igh t? Right. So why do I call this a “myth?” The easiest wa y t o answ er th at questio n is to loo k at the gener ations before us. My grandparents were par t of the Greates t Generatio n. Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II— one in t he Pacific, and one in t he European theater. When my grandpar ents retir ed, they lived on a strict fixed income. They ate at ear ly bird specials and qui t traveli ng to conserve funds . I still remember the day my grandmother quit buying Coke- brand soda and started buying Sam’s Choice cola.
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