How Much Do You Have Saved?

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

I'm lucky that I was able to graduate college with zero debt. I also worked hard and saved and was able to buy my vehicles with cash.

Obviously if your income is not more than your expenses you will have an issue, but I think a lot of it has to do with financial sensibility. I have friends who make way more than I do income wise, but they are in debt up to their eyeballs because they buy stuff they can't afford and don't keep track of their spending.

I think the younger generation and the "YOLO" mentality has a lot to do with why people are in debt. I had friends in college who would buy new vehicles they couldn't afford and go on vacations to other countries on a whim. Meanwhile they have 10s of thousands in credit card debt and need money for gas.

I read an article a few months ago that said most Americans wouldn't be able to come up with $1000 cash within a day. Sounds about right.

The YOLO mentality has always been around. It's not just a recent phenomena. It's just the YOLO term has been coined recently to describe this behavior. I'm in my 40s now. And I can remember when I was in my 20s how people would spend it up to live for the moment. I coworker was driving a Nissan Sentra at the time. Made mistakes with her finances and was already upside down with that car. Well, she had to have a Lexus so she traded in the car negative equity and all and bought that Lexus. Of course she didn't have any other major obligations because she lived with her parents.

Then there was this girl I dated. Her background is in accounting and was working at the HR department of a large corporation. Part of her responsibility is to give talks about retirement savings to employees. She told me she didn't believe a lick of what she was telling people and YOLO'd.

I made some stupid financial mistakes in my 20s. But the difference is I learned from them. Thankfully in time before I really could get myself into trouble. It's pretty telling when I have meetings with financial planners to get further ideas about how to better invest my savings and they tell me it's refreshing to have someone in a situation where they're not chasing lost time.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

massage membership that never gets used

BANNED!!!!

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

BANNED!!!!

In my defense, it's my wife who has built up two years worth of massages. I just pay for it.

[Soul_Glo]

I don't have enough but I am changing my ways...

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by 37psi

I don't have enough but I am changing my ways...

This I agree with so much. It is nice when it is auto deducted too.

Maxing the 401k, HSA, annual Roth conversion, ESPP (15% at 15% discount), putting some into a 529 for the day I actually have a kid, and then trying to save a little of what is left over before spending... Makes it a little tougher for large purchases but will be worth it later on.

[Never_Enough]

Not enough.

[1MOREMOD]

My full salary for 1 year at taco bell

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

My full salary for 1 year at taco bell

Building fat stores for coming ice age?

[yco]

this is more complex than it looks from the way i see..
if you re trading something.. you can win a lot and lose in 2 days a lot also.. if you re working based on salary you need to save of course more programmed way for something.. and i know people that have ridiculous amount of money but living odd lives and pretty alone.. and know people has pretty less money but doing everything you can imagine even if the standards are lower.. and they re happy and people around them are happy as well..

im not gonna tell how much im earning or spending cause it sounds a bit funny for me to post on a forum but even the example you ve given that saving to a trip or buying tires etc.. if you have kids you have to save for something you want cause priorities are different for those people.. cause i know a guy that earns quite nice amount of money every month based on salary but since he has 3 kids he still driving 6 years old Q7 cause his priority changed.. before he was selling a car before it hits 1 year old.. and he s like 40 i guess now..

my perception is a bit different on spending money topics especially on cars.. anything i spend on needs to deserve that money at least close to it from a tshirt or a house etc.. im 30 and i had such an example you ve given for tires but ended up the same for a different reason.. i bought my recent car 3-4 months ago and i thought i better buy winter tires since Ukraine is pretty snowy in winter.. i knew it wont be cheap but the ones i was interested like 2000-2500 dollars for 4 tires on OEM 20"s.. i thought instead paying that money for tires i can buy a cheap used car with winter tires and use it when its pretty snowy.. thus i wont need to worry about anti frost chemicals on roads, potholes etc also.. and recently im freelancing i dont need to go to work on hardcore snowy days i decided not to buy another car as well.. from this example seems like im in that group that cant buy etc if you see only the result of the thing.. earning a lot doesnt mean reckless spending.. some people born rich, some people earn it with their nails lets say, some people dies without taking anything they want from this life.. if one day i ll have millions to play around i can spend that money on a car but no way i ll pay 10k dollars on a jacket lets say.. priority is the key if they have decent amount of brain inside and manages their life around it.. this is my humbly perception of the whole earning spending graphic..

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Building fat stores for coming ice age?

No I've worked there for ten years and saved 1 years worth.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Never_Enough

Never_Enough.

FTFY

[aajjcc]

25 - $1,000,000
30 - $10,000,000
40 - $100,000,000
50 - $1,000,000,000
60 - $10,000,000,000

[NemesisX]

.. cause i know a guy that earns quite nice amount of money every month based on salary but since he has 3 kids he still driving 6 years old Q7 cause his priority changed.. before he was selling a car before it hits 1 year old.. and he s like 40 i guess now..

Sounds like he's really slummin' it.

[NemesisX]

The frequency with which some people change luxury cars has always amazed me.

I wish I had the kind of income or wealth that could afford that kind of lifestyle.

[AMSWagon]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

The frequency with which some people change luxury cars has always amazed me.

I wish I had the kind of income or wealth that could afford that kind of lifestyle.

Its all an image. I live in DC and young kids straight out of college buying/leasing new cars, plus rent, clothes, life style for the image of wealth have almost nothing in their accounts.

I have about 2 years in savings, and have 401k, and other investments for retirement. It is hard at times, as I am tempted also living here on buying a larger home or newer car.

[Habs11]

I suggest starting with this plan:

1) retirement age
2) what will you will need at that age
3) how are you going to get there

#3 is what most have been commenting on. If you are currently 60 years old maybe #2 is $1M, if you are 20 maybe #2 is closer to $3M.

In any event - save as much as you freaking can when you are young $5K at age 25 will be $75K at 65. 10% of earning is a MIN - 15% is ideal. If you do not realize it, expenses in your 20's are the lowest they will ever be in your life.

I'll be north of $500K by age 50 - this should conservatively be $1M-$1.5M by 65.

[1MOREMOD]

Hope you're right I'm bit younger and bit further ahead.

[Adieu]

What the shit?

In our virtual money world, most "billionaires" would be bankrupt debtors if all their debts got called in tomorrow.

[Adieu]

Originally Posted by BTM

There were plenty of people who saw the burst of the housing bubble coming as well as the the subsequent pressure placed on financial institutions. It's no secret there was no shortage of people saying this isn't sustainable.

The manufacturing sector has nothing to do with impending hyperinflation either. Nor does "3rd world" (surely you mean "developing world") im/emigration nor retirement. You think the Treasury is going to start PRINTING MONEY to fund Social Security? You're joking...

Current Trade Theory proves there is no discernible distinction between a manufactured good or a "service" or what have you - something of value is something of value, whether it is a car, a thought, a system, whatever. There are 4 factors of production, land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship, and so long as the US has those (which we do - just not in the dismally run and misincentivized public sector) we are no where near experiencing hyperinflation, a historically socialist/communist phenomenon, and despite what some may have to say about the current resident of the White House, we are a LONG way off from that sort of political system. Not that it's impossible in other political systems, but there seem to be a few common denominators in historic instances where true hyperinflation (to the tune of 50% price increases PER MONTH)

There is just as much speculation as to deflation as there is to hyperinflation. It's all speculation, if you want to believe that hyperinflation is eminent than go right ahead. Understanding of the principles shows those crying "hyperinflation" are more likely crying for reader attention or hits on their blog.

The government IS printing money, to fund not just social security....but everything else too.


They just call it "Treasury Bonds" because they cannot be arsed to waste time printing chump change like C-notes, and are afraid of causing mass inflationary panic if they admit the Benjamin ain't what it used to be and introduce $500 or $1k banknotes.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

The frequency with which some people change luxury cars has always amazed me.

I wish I had the kind of income or wealth that could afford that kind of lifestyle.

It’s called leasing and poor people do it all the time.

[Adieu]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

It’s called leasing and poor people do it all the time.

And then it's all "broooo waaaaaah, drink with me, mah baby momma got the caddy took by teh repo man"

AKA

why we no longer keep in touch with people we knew from high school....

[bimmer456]

It is possible to save as much or more than your salary per year by investing in high yield stocks.