Can you retire on 190 USD a month?

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bhanson

Golden Member
Jan 16, 2004
1,749
0
71
Not near me, I keep looking, because I would easily qualify for one of those. We are closing in on 40K and can put away an additional 25K/yr. Just sitting in shitty savings accounts because it isn't even worth it to move to CDs.

Just spend it all on GOOG. They'll take over the world one day.
 

bignateyk

Lifer
Apr 22, 2002
11,288
7
0
Just spend it all on GOOG. They'll take over the world one day.

I'm kicking myself. Back when the market tanked I had $5K to invest. I ended up putting it on Royal Caribbean (which did really well), but I was between that and Ford. Ford was at around $1/share at the time. It makes me want to cry every time I see the trading price of F these days.
 

rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
10,433
110
116
That's fine if I want to time travel back 30 years and invest but I have my doubts that people investing today will see the same ruturns in 30 years.
Well, nothing's guaranteed, nobody is going to argue that. But it has happened for the last hundred years, I'm not too worried that it won't continue.

I'm kicking myself. Back when the market tanked I had $5K to invest. I ended up putting it on Royal Caribbean (which did really well), but I was between that and Ford. Ford was at around $1/share at the time. It makes me want to cry every time I see the trading price of F these days.
I wish I had money when that happened, but I was in college. I followed stocks casually then and I absolutely would have bought a bunch if I had the money.

On the other hand, F is still undervalued and will continue to rise.
 

Lounatik

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,845
1
0
By making responsible choices. My wife and I bought a house that was less than half of what the bank approved us for. Both of us worked to pay our way through school, and ended up with a combined $18K in student loans over 2 undergraduate and 2 masters degrees. We have no car payment. We live on 1 of our 2 salaries. We are waiting to have kids until we are financially ready.

The only people in financial hardship I have sympathy for are the people who got hosed by medical expenses.

You seem to have stolen my blueprint! We have been in our house for 16 years. We started off by putting 10k down on the home, which kept our mortgage payment at 600.00/month. Which it is still to this day. We owe about 22k on the house and it will be paid off by the time I am 50 ( about 4 years or so) Because of this simple maneuver, my wife and I were able to save enough money to buy our cars new with cash. Twice.

Flash forward 8 years into our marriage (2002) I am in a sorta crappy job, while the wife is continuing her education. She graduates, starts making much more money and we decide that it is time for kids. All the while we have been and still do contribute 12% to our 401ks.
I continued at my crappy job after my daughter was born because of one caveat: I was able to meet my wife on the way to her job and pick up my daughter as well as my son and take them with me to finish my job. Kids never spent one day in daycare. This simple thing saved me thousands a month on childcare. The flip side was that I received no raises for the last 7 years I worked there, but the 300 or so a week I saved made up for that!

Had an opportunity to change jobs in 2008 with a 50% pay increase along with a pension. At 43 I was ready to jump at the chance. Now with the added income we are able to keep both our kids in private school ( to the tune if 18k/yr) and still save money at a respectable rate.

Peace


Lounatik
 

rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
10,433
110
116
Had an opportunity to change jobs in 2008 with a 50% pay increase along with a pension. At 43 I was ready to jump at the chance. Now with the added income we are able to keep both our kids in private school ( to the tune if 18k/yr) and still save money at a respectable rate.
Dang, that is some expensive school. Glad your financial responsibility has paid off for you guys, though.

Unrelated, but I think I'm going to increase my 401k contribution from 8% to 10% (6% match, unchanged). The difference should hardly be noticeable in my paychecks and it's good that I do it early...I'll never move it down.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Dang, that is some expensive school. Glad your financial responsibility has paid off for you guys, though.

Unrelated, but I think I'm going to increase my 401k contribution from 8% to 10% (6% match, unchanged). The difference should hardly be noticeable in my paychecks and it's good that I do it early...I'll never move it down.

That's more getting lucky than financial responsibility.

Even on the starting career path many want to be doctors but have to pick something else because although they score hit and had the grades they simply couldn't get into the schools that would work for them.

Someone can be entirely financially responsible on $30-40k per year, but they will not be sending their kids to a $18k/year school.

It's sad when those are confusing social class with responsibility.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,234
701
126
A few years ago (before stock market crash and a stupid individual stock decision), I was feeling high and mighty on my way to retirement. Now, for whatever reason, it seems distant. Kids, especially those entering college, are expensive, lol. I guess we'll see.

The OP is one reason I cringe when I think of privatizing SS and letting people manage their own money. Obviously, the don't manage what they have too well right now (on average and ATOT excluded, obviously )
 
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rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
10,433
110
116
That's more getting lucky than financial responsibility.

Even on the starting career path many want to be doctors but have to pick something else because although they score hit and had the grades they simply couldn't get into the schools that would work for them.

Someone can be entirely financially responsible on $30-40k per year, but they will not be sending their kids to a $18k/year school.

It's sad when those are confusing social class with responsibility.
I don't really see how anything he said was lucky. He got a job with a 50% raise because he had experience in w/e it is he does and because he was underpaid from not taking raises for several years.
 

bhanson

Golden Member
Jan 16, 2004
1,749
0
71
I don't really see how anything he said was lucky. He got a job with a 50% raise because he had experience in w/e it is he does and because he was underpaid from not taking raises for several years.

I recently turned down a job offer that equates to a 50% raise (would have been moving from hourly to salary) because I was unsure about the schedule flexibility and I did not have a lot of free time to deal with the complexities of switching companies.
 

Lounatik

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,845
1
0
No, there was absolutely no luck involved. I chose to follow a path of fiscal responsibility when it came to my marriage ( waiting a few years longer than we wanted, so we could save money for a wedding and then a house) then when it came to my children, we waited 9 years before we procreated. I wanted my wife to finish her education and kids would not have allowed it. My current job was recruiting me for at least 5 years to come over and I refused until my daughter was in kindergarten because we did not want the expense of daycare to burden us plus spending all of that extra time with them is something you cannot ever get back and I absolutely loved every minute of seeing my kids grow up. Again fiscal responsibility. Granted, my kids have always been in private school, so it is like paying daycare anyway, but I have forsaken the big house/big lifestyle to keep up with the Joneses bullshit so I can give my kids the best opportunity I can, as well as being able to still afford a vacation or a cruise every year. We also have about 125k miles on our vehicles with no plan on upgrading anytime soon. So like I said, no luck just a sane and sober plan with goals that are actually attainable.

If you are married, I guess a lot depends on whether or not you and your partner are on the same page, I have a few friends who got divorced over money. Couples do not seem to be on the same wavelength and have absolutely no idea what the other is doing. I am truly blessed to have married a woman who has the same financial outlook that I have.

Peace

Lounatik
 

alphatarget1

Diamond Member
Dec 9, 2001
5,710
0
76
Not to turn this into a P&N thread but when the losers who didn't plan for the future retire, our democracy (government) will take from those who were responsible and saved up to give to those who are irresponsible.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
No, there was absolutely no luck involved. I chose to follow a path of fiscal responsibility when it came to my marriage ( waiting a few years longer than we wanted, so we could save money for a wedding and then a house) then when it came to my children, we waited 9 years before we procreated. I wanted my wife to finish her education and kids would not have allowed it. My current job was recruiting me for at least 5 years to come over and I refused until my daughter was in kindergarten because we did not want the expense of daycare to burden us plus spending all of that extra time with them is something you cannot ever get back and I absolutely loved every minute of seeing my kids grow up. Again fiscal responsibility. Granted, my kids have always been in private school, so it is like paying daycare anyway, but I have forsaken the big house/big lifestyle to keep up with the Joneses bullshit so I can give my kids the best opportunity I can, as well as being able to still afford a vacation or a cruise every year. We also have about 125k miles on our vehicles with no plan on upgrading anytime soon. So like I said, no luck just a sane and sober plan with goals that are actually attainable.

If you are married, I guess a lot depends on whether or not you and your partner are on the same page, I have a few friends who got divorced over money. Couples do not seem to be on the same wavelength and have absolutely no idea what the other is doing. I am truly blessed to have married a woman who has the same financial outlook that I have.

Peace

Lounatik

What was your starting family income and how did it progress?

I think you are believing in an elitist belief that just hard work and savings can send everyone's kids to an 18k/yr private school.
 

Eos

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2000
3,473
16
81
29k? What the hell?

From mid-2009 to mid-2010, we spent about 100k of our savings on getting married, buying a house, buying a car, and paying off both of our student loan debt. We still have more than double that amount and contributing to it fast. 10% goes to 401k, 10% goes to ESPP, and about $1500 a month into savings. I want to have my house paid off by the time I am 30.

Aren't you giving up a ton of deductible mortgage interest by doing that?
 

Eos

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2000
3,473
16
81
I actually have one of these and it isn't worth it for me. The account started off at 3% but has since dropped to 2.25%. Yes, that is more than twice what most savings accounts are giving right now but they also force you to actually use the account daily.

I think the terms of use for my account is I have to:

  • Have direct deposit
  • Do 12 debit-card transactions
  • Login to the online system once a month

They refund your ATM fees up to $25 but only if you meet the above requirements. 12 transactions is very easy for me, but it forces me to use their card instead of credit. Their online system also happens to be terrible, as with every credit union I have used. The software looks 20 years old.

At first I thought the account was a perfect fit but for some reason it ended up turning into a PITB.

I have the same type of CU checking account. Last month we only used the debit card 11 times, so we were kicked back to .05%. I was shocked, to put it mildly. Otherwise, we get 2.21% on our balance up to $10k every month. Eff you, BofA.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,403
8,199
126
Aren't you giving up a ton of deductible mortgage interest by doing that?

If someone offered to repay you $1.00 for every dollar they borrowed from you vs. $.15 or $.28 for every dollar they borrowed which one would you take?
 

manimal

Lifer
Mar 30, 2007
13,560
8
0
Its never too early to start saving. The wife and I could retire today and be comfortable and have the lifestyle we enjoy. At this point we are have a charitable trust and already have our triplets college taken care of. Anything can happen before now and then so we still live very responsibly.

I selfishly want the estate tax above 5M so a majority of what I have worked all my life to achieve goes to MY kids....

Its a conflicting position I know...
 

Lounatik

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,845
1
0
What was your starting family income and how did it progress?

I think you are believing in an elitist belief that just hard work and savings can send everyone's kids to an 18k/yr private school.


Actually I believe that a rabbits foot and maybe a stupid belief that I could win the lottery are the way to send my kids to an 18k/yr school. Are you really that stupid? Yes, I believe you are. Do you know that the county I live in has the worst public school system in the area? No, of course you don't, I am just being elitist. Then why did you move to where you did? You might ask. Because it was the most affordable solution to achieve my goals, which apparently you have none of.

Do you have any savings at all? Or are you one of these idiots who lives paycheck to paycheck because of the dumbass decisions you made earlier in your life. I am betting the latter is true. See how much fun generalizations are ?

Show me where luck played any part in what my wife and I have accomplished in our lives. People like yourself have been deluded into believing that any success beyond what your narrow mind can wrap around must be luck. How else could it be? Hard work? Maybe, but I doubt it. Savings? No way, thats for losers. Sacrifice? Fuck that, I will surely get lucky and find a sack of money on the side of the road one day. Maybe I will even hit the lottery, I know I will! Why do anything to make a better future for myself when I could depend on Lady Luck to guide me!

Maybe one day you will grow up and realize that there is a real world out there, not some fantasy world of leprechauns and inheritance winners.


Peace


Lounatik
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Actually I believe that a rabbits foot and maybe a stupid belief that I could win the lottery are the way to send my kids to an 18k/yr school. Are you really that stupid? Yes, I believe you are. Do you know that the county I live in has the worst public school system in the area? No, of course you don't, I am just being elitist. Then why did you move to where you did? You might ask. Because it was the most affordable solution to achieve my goals, which apparently you have none of.

Do you have any savings at all? Or are you one of these idiots who lives paycheck to paycheck because of the dumbass decisions you made earlier in your life. I am betting the latter is true. See how much fun generalizations are ?

Show me where luck played any part in what my wife and I have accomplished in our lives. People like yourself have been deluded into believing that any success beyond what your narrow mind can wrap around must be luck. How else could it be? Hard work? Maybe, but I doubt it. Savings? No way, thats for losers. Sacrifice? Fuck that, I will surely get lucky and find a sack of money on the side of the road one day. Maybe I will even hit the lottery, I know I will! Why do anything to make a better future for myself when I could depend on Lady Luck to guide me!

Maybe one day you will grow up and realize that there is a real world out there, not some fantasy world of leprechauns and inheritance winners.


Peace


Lounatik

You are living in a world that is separate from what's real then. Many here know me as pretty damn hard on the poor. Personally I belief many on welfare and other programs are simply gaming the system.

However, for you to think many of our country has any other option than to live paycheck to paycheck you are deluded. Many are not buying cars, clothes and dinners...they are simply trying to make ends meet.

Savings? Even way back in the 60's average was 10%...today less than 3%. Yes I have savings though. I am also on a track to eliminate all the debt I incurred in my past most of which came from going back to college at 30. I have liquidated $40k in debt over the last 18 months. Many probably didn't even make that as a salary over that period.

Now as a country, we have more personal debt than many countries....which is scary. This includes car loans, mortgages and education. Sad fact is many cannot survive in the US without a car. Yes, many over-buy, but not everyone can just get lucky and get that reliable $3000.

You will not go on the record for your starting and current family incomes...I am willing to bet they are significantly higher than what this country's average family makes.

Also getting those high end jobs isn't automatic. My boss makes about 3x my wages. From our backgrounds we'd look pretty much identical on paper, except he got a management job 10 years ago and I didn't. Even his was a lot of luck talking to someone who knew someone looking for a manager for an application and business model he was leaving.

I even do a lot of side work. $50-100 here and there add up...it still wouldn't send my kids to that kind of school. My base household income puts me over the average man by far....but that's not a lot of money.

Now saying that anyone can save and be able to send their kid(s) to a $18,000/yr private school shows you have ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING IDEA of reality.

Are you one of these modern families that still lives with their parents rent-free?
 
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