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Mallory | 2 months ago (raw) | export | reply | flag +4 
 Heard this quote this morning and was trying to verify it: 

According to the Social Security administration, if you take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them for the next 40 years until they reach retirement age, you’ll find only one will be wealthy, 4 will be financially secure, 5 will continue working not because they want to but because they have to pay their bills, 36 will be dead and 54 will be broke and dependent on their friends, family, and the government to take care of them. Which means that only 5% of the population will ever succeed in creating a life of financial freedom and the rest of them, the other 95% will struggle their entire lives. 

When looking up the entire quote I found an attribution that it was from this book.

Hal Elrod, The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM

However I’ve also found people attributing similar quotes to self help/ finance books written as far back as 1948. 

So take this with a grain of salt. #DontTrustVerify Taking a break from finding the origins of this quote. I am very interested in finding the origins of the quote and its spread over the years vs the financial statistical reality for Americans over time. (It’s so far only been quoted as USA specific.)
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Pandimensional Window Cleaning | 2 months ago (raw) | root | parent | reply | flag +1 
 I’m not familiar with that quote but have something similar hung on my fridge which says:

Your lecture saved me: 
Malcolm Berko
Staff WriterErie Times-News

Dear Mr. Berko: In 1992, the Jonesboro Sun invited you to speak to its readers. And so did Arkansas State because I remember my dismay when you were introduced to our classroom, and several other classes, too. My classmates and I didn't want to listen to some old guy talk about the stock market, but none of us had the guts to leave the room. Because of your comments, my husband and I own a successful insurance agency in Indianapolis, and I owe my success to you. You gave our class some numbers, telling us that when we retire at 65 only one of us would be financially successful. The numbers scared me. We would like to share that same message with our two children. -- SA: Indianapolis, Ind.

Dear SA: Holy Moses, Mary and Methuselah that was so long ago, the Bible on my hotel room bed stand was a first edition. I remember the class. Here's a truncated version of what I said:

There were 68 students in your class, and I said that in 45 years (2037), when most of you reach 65, some 16 of you won't make it. You'll be either dead or in jail. "Go ahead and look around because you may be one of the jailed." That got their attention.

Here's the breakdown:

- By 2037, when you reach 65, some 18 of you will be living in penury and "won't have a pot to cook in." You've been unemployed for years and don't care. You'll be dependent on federal and state welfare programs for housing assistance, food stamps and pity from family and friends.

- At age 65, some 25 of you will be considered precariat retirees. You will need government help, many of you will try to work part time. You will need government subsidies for food, housing and utility bills. Your retirement years will be gray, empty and penniless.

- Five of you will end up as lower-middle class retirees with barely enough income covering your needs. Your pension and Social Security won't be sufficient.

- Only four of you will have the resolve to retire in middle-class comfort. Pensions, Social Security and savings are just enough to cover your activities. You'll be watching your dollars, but you'll dine out occasionally at Olive Garden and take church-sponsored vacations. However, repair bills like a new roof or replacing an A/C could be impossible.

- Only one of you will have the drive and commitment to retire in pleasant upper-middle class comfort with enough income to enjoy retirement with your family, new cars or life's better amenities.

- Only 0.91 percent of the population will have the skill and ambition to retire wealthy.

https://www.goerie.com/story/business/2016/02/17/your-lecture-saved-me-malcolm/25062808007/
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NowClip | 2 months ago (raw) | root | parent | reply | flag +1 
 This isn’t accurate. However it doesn’t need to be accurate to make the point intended. Even if the numbers are not exactly correct, you can see this in your circle, friends, school buddies, family, the % of people with financial success is very very low.