Poll: How much money do you have in savings?

[erub]

ING Savings: $10,408
Roth IRA: $17,767 (can regard this as savings, because 15K+ has been taxed already and can be removed at anytime w/o penalty--stupid to do so though)
Stocks: $3,174

Another 10K coming my way this month, yipeeeee
Coupla weeks shy of 24 years old

 

[DaveSimmons]

More than I expected since no one is making me buy another DS Lite

I don't keep much in savings, it's in my brokerage account instead.

 

[Jeeebus]

arguably much more than I should. Haven't had the guts to really get into the stock market the past couple years, so I don't have much invested. about $70k in ING...which could all easily be eaten by my mortgage if I chose to so apply it). I probably need to invest more.

 

[her209]

[Dr. Evil] $1,000,000,000 [/Dr. Evil]

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: jpeyton
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: joshsquall
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: jpeyton
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: joshsquall
The risks of not putting your money in a bank greatly outweigh the risks of having it in a bank.</blockquote>
How so?</blockquote>

At home, if your money gets burnt, stolen, or otherwise damaged/misplaced, you've lost it all. I doubt any homeowner's insurance policy is going to actually pay out for cash you left in your house. You also earn no interest.

My money sitting in the bank is earning 5%+ a year, is insured by the federal government against loss, and is physically much more secure than anything I could have in my home. Yes, you lose your money if the bank goes under and the federal government is gone or in disarray. If both of these occur at the same time, you have much larger problems than any amount of greenbacks will fix.</blockquote>

If you have any decent quantity of cash in your home, you've invested in a quality fire safe.

Not the kind you find at Staples or Target. The kind that's certified to keep its integrity for 2+ hours in a house fire. So the fire argument is out, IMO.

Strong safe + strong floor bolts + smartly hidden will prevent any average thief from taking your money. The kind of thieves that can take your money are not the kind that target random homes for B&E.

Otherwise damaged or misplaced? That's a bit too vague to respond to.

Earning 5% interest doesn't matter for two reasons. 1) 5% APR comes out to a few hundred dollars per year in interest...doesn't really interest me. 2) I use cash for business transactions, so it wouldn't be sitting there collecting interest anyways.

I've gone to banks and on multiple occasions they haven't been able to provide me with enough cash (in large denominations) for my withdrawal. Banks don't value customers like me, who have wildly fluctuating account balances and often drain their branches of their cash reserves on a daily basis.</blockquote>

What exactly do you do that requires so much cash on hand?

You know, dealing in drugs is a cash-only business.

 

[Demo24]

about 3 grand. Had more like 5 in August, but I'm having to use this to pay for various college things, my utilities, and other expenses. Would be better if I was getting a regular pay check.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
arguably much more than I should. Haven't had the guts to really get into the stock market the past couple years, so I don't have much invested. about $70k in ING...which could all easily be eaten by my mortgage if I chose to so apply it). I probably need to invest more.

I'm a broken record about this, but you can set up an account at Vanguard.com to buy and hold their stock index funds. If you buy and hold a mix of US and foreign index funds it's a very safe long-term investment though it's not as easy to cash out as your ING account.

After 30 years, for $10,000:
5% return from savings = $43,219
10% return from stock index funds = $174,494

 

[BigJelly]

Originally posted by: BigJelly
About 23.5k, 3.9k in 401k, 8.2k in roth ira, 8.5k in short term investments, 2.4k in the bank (minimum to receive highest interest), $600 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

But I don't have any assets, other than my car.

Update since the thread was updated:

About 52.4k, 11.5k in 401k, 10.4k in roth ira, 29k in short term stock investments, 1.2k in the bank, $300 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

Plan on buying a house next year -- 2008

So this time next year nothing Except my emergency fund and retirement funds.

 

[Noirish]

Originally posted by: BigJelly

Originally posted by: BigJelly
About 23.5k, 3.9k in 401k, 8.2k in roth ira, 8.5k in short term investments, 2.4k in the bank (minimum to receive highest interest), $600 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

But I don't have any assets, other than my car.

Update since the thread was updated:

About 52.4k, 11.5k in 401k, 10.4k in roth ira, 29k in short term stock investments, 1.2k in the bank, $300 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

Plan on buying a house next year -- 2008

So this time next year nothing Except my emergency fund and retirement funds.

pretty much double your net worth.
what's the secret?

 

[cardiac]

Originally posted by: BigJelly

Originally posted by: BigJelly
About 23.5k, 3.9k in 401k, 8.2k in roth ira, 8.5k in short term investments, 2.4k in the bank (minimum to receive highest interest), $600 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

But I don't have any assets, other than my car.

Update since the thread was updated:

About 52.4k, 11.5k in 401k, 10.4k in roth ira, 29k in short term stock investments, 1.2k in the bank, $300 in other bank (higher interest but takes longer to get money out).

Plan on buying a house next year -- 2008

So this time next year nothing Except my emergency fund and retirement funds.

Don't put u[p a sad face for buying a house!!

You know what? I've made more money on my houses than any of my investments....

I bought a foreclosure in 1988 for $27,500. Wife and I live in it for 7 years, put about $3500 in it (and a lot of my sweat), but sold it for $96,000 in 1997. The house we have now is a 2 story farmhouse on 2 acres, built in 1887, that has doubled in appraised value in 6 years. Can't do that with most investments..

Enjoy the new house....

Bob

 

[Slew Foot]

A lot