Yeah, my savings definitely do NOT count on it
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We surely don't count on it. I leave it completely out of our retirement planning, meaning we invest and save more so that we can meet out retirement amount goal with it not included. If Social Security is there for us 30+ years down the road, we will be very financially secure. If it's not, we should be fine as well.
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I am guessing there were a lot of people saying the same thing before 2000 who are now having to postpone retirement because much of what they saved/invested/speculated on either was lost, depreciated, or stolen/defrauded from them.

Not to mention one catastrophic illness away from eating up any savings/investments.
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Never did count on it. I know I did not save enough the first few years-but feel comfortable now. Unless some President comes in and takes all of it.

Already looking at retirement options. Even though I have kids not out of college until 2026.
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What would be yor advice for under 50 people who want to save for retirement? Obviously there's 401k, living below your means and getting rid of debt, but I'm trying to have multiple streams of revenue to my retirement and I want to start early.

I've looked at the stock market, but dividedend stocks seem to only be worth it for people who can put a lot in initially and buy a lot of stock.

Advice welcome from all. It's been on my mind for awhile and I'm always open to older folks who have experience.
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My best advice is to die before you retire.
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Do you own your own home?
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Here's how I started moving forward with it some time ago:

1) Invested in 401K up to company match

2) Cut expenses to the bare minimum, but still enjoyed my life. Just trimmed cable, phone, electricity, etc. costs)

3) Paid off credit cards

4) Save, save, save up to 1yr living expenses

5) Once there, moved living expenses to IRA. Basically a living expense savings account now as I can draw off it if needed without penalty or interest. Repaying it is just replenishing the account. The interest sort of covers the cost of living increases.

6) Increased my 401K investment as it was doing great at the time. Still is. (Fidelity).

7) Anything left after that to invest? I have my 401K company doing other investments for me. Now I just look at my 401K and which companies are doing best in my funds/indexes and move money to them if the trend is right. And my "Personal Banker" advises me on 401K allocations.

I'm pretty simple like that to this day and it's nothing to brag about but it works for me. And #2 is still in practice. CC's now work to my advantage too. I've always had a great salary so that helps...

Of course a house is a revenue stream. And in that vein, you can get into rentals too. Just hire a management company for all the BS and let the appreciation commence.

Baconeater has solid advice as well.
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FIRST, eliminate all credit card debt.

SECOND, contribute at least whatever is needed to your 401(k) to take advantage of any match. For example, if they match half of your salary up to 4%, then put in the 4%, if not more.

THIRD, eliminate the bullshit fees and costs in your life. Your bank charges a fee every time you use an ATM, and to maintain that checking account? Go find a credit union or something. Look at where you're getting nickeled and dimed to death by some kind of bullshit, and get rid of it.

FOURTH, eat out less. I'm not saying become a hermit eating rice, but I know too many people who live paycheck to paycheck who eat out for lunch EVERY FUCKING DAY and then go hit Dunky's or Starbucks twice a day too. YOU ARE PISSING AWAY YOUR FUCKING MONEY. STOP THAT SHIT. Are you really such a coffee snob that the office Keurig isn't good enough for you? Are you really incapable of bringing lunch to work a few days a week?

FIFTH, eliminate all debt in your life other than housing debt (mortgage). Got a car loan? Well, unless it's zero financing, pay that shit off.

SIXTH, take a look at the expenses in your life. What do you NEED, versus what do you WANT? What can you trim back. The fastest way to save money is to reduce expenses. Eating out less is an obvious one. Are there others?

SEVENTH, have a rainy day fund. A pool of cash for when your tires need replacing and that crap.

EIGHTH, increase your 401(k) contributions beyond the match and/or create an IRA. Tax deferred wealth accumulation is where it's at.

From there many avenues become possible.

Bottom line -- CONTROL YOUR FINANCES, OR YOUR FINANCES WILL CONTROL YOU.

Good luck!
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I'm certainly not a financial guru (hell, I'm only 34 myself). Others have given some pretty solid takes more generally, but if I go with the assumption that "spend less, save more" is a given, here's how I generally prioritize things:

1. Pay off credit cards.
2. Build up an emergency fund of six months worth of expenses. (There's a lot of debate about the exact amount here, so up it if you're conservative, lower it if you're risky and/or have a really stable job that you're not worried about disappearing.)
3. Put in as much as is necessary to get a company match in your 401k or IRA plans (if applicable).
4. Pay off anything else that has an interest rate above 5% or so. (This is debatable since you may make more than that in the stock market, but I'm fairly conservative and think you take the guaranteed "return" while you can.)
5. Start your own IRA (I think Roths make the most sense if you're young, but Trads are fine as long as you know the differences and benefits of each.) Max out your annual contributions if you can.
6. Pay off any thing you have left that's below 5% interest rate (except your mortgage assuming your rate is good).
7. Max out your contributions to your company 401k or IRA account (if applicable).
8. Pay off your mortgage.
9. Start a standard brokerage account and start investing for income (or possibly look into other types of investments).

There is very little in financial planning that is a "right" or "wrong" way of doing things, so others may shift their priorities in the above a bit. Nothing wrong with that.

Finally, in terms of investments, if you know NOTHING, you can always start with a target date fund. The fees are a little high, but they're managed and will generally keep you pointed in the right direction. A step above that is where I'm at: I'm lazy and go with a three-fund lazy portfolio for the most part. Be wary of "full-service" places - they're great for advice, but they're taking fees out of EVERYTHING, which can add up ENORMOUSLY over time. If you really start to have a feel for what you're doing, you can invest in individual stocks obviously, but 90% of people will just get themselves in trouble doing that IMO.
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You're going to have to stay off more lawns....
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Jesus...
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Wow I can't really believe this figure. Sad if true.
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mos...ngs-2015-10-06

And 21% of people don't even have a savings account.
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Savings Account's aren't much of a measure anymore. There's all sorts of ways to save money and be liquid without having an actual Savings Account at your bank. So, if someone has an interest bearing checking account, and keeps 3 months worth of salary in there, does that skew the results in that article? Or, are they saying 21% of the people don't have savings in any sort of account?
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