Do you save money?
- Thread starter Elbridge
- Start date
Op this is the paddock you must make atleast 6 figures to post here.
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Sorry, the OR costs extra
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Sorry, the OR costs extra
I'm hoping more banks open in Louisville for FDIC purposes. Living on the edge with some of my balances. Banks can't fail can they?
We have enough in our savings to where the past few years I have thrown every penny at our current mortgage. We could pay it off now but still looking for other investment properties. Cash is king.
How old are you? What are you putting into 401k or other investments?
A big chunk goes into the KY teacher retirement system right off the top. I hope it's there in a few years. Got a 403 also. Not good at saving cash at all. Both of those are untouchable, and that's probably a realllllly good thing.
Lol your a ky pension? Yeah your ranking 49/50 in chances of seeing that, especially with Bevin. Have fun
I put 6% of my salary into a 401k. Employer adds another 2% match. Recently got a statement showing that my account earned 18% interest over the previous 12 months. Not bad.
Fixed income so things are pretty tight. A prepared budget helps. When I do make some cash on the side I squirrel away at least 10% but keep it in cash so nobody knows.
Living on a fixed income is probably the only reason I haven't retired yet. I've been eligible for close to 2 years now. Will probably go ahead and do it in 5 years when I reach 62 regardless.
I put 16% and my wife put 20% of our pay into our 401Ks for over 30 years. That, along with living within our means, and not having a house that we couldn't really afford allowed us to retire at a fairly young age. I told my daughter and son in-law when they started house hunting that beyond everything, don't buy a house that will leave you sitting at home on the weekends and taking a baloney (although I love good baloney) sammidge to work everyday. I've worked with several people over the years who have told me that they had no idea when they'd ever retire because of debt, mostly from more house than they needed or could afford.
I think that saving 10%-20% of your income is very important. However, spend some so that you have an interesting life. Don't be that guy that puts every penny away and never takes a bucket list vacation, buys yourself a nice car, etc. What good does it to have a fat bank account and you get hit by a bus/have a heart attack and never get to enjoy it.
I'm doing OK for being 30. Certain things I'd like to be doing differently or would have liked a do-over in. But I'm pretty proud of my savings.
~10% into savings for house
6% into 401k with a 6% match.
5% into my ESPP
5% into Roth IRA.
25% of my salary I don't see through one financial instrument or another. But it's tough, that's about the max I can afford while keeping my credit card bill down. TBH, I probably need to scale the savings back to 20-23% for now.
~10% into savings for house
6% into 401k with a 6% match.
5% into my ESPP
5% into Roth IRA.
25% of my salary I don't see through one financial instrument or another. But it's tough, that's about the max I can afford while keeping my credit card bill down. TBH, I probably need to scale the savings back to 20-23% for now.
-My wife and I have combined 15% to retirement plans (R-IRA and 401K).
-We contribute at least $50/month to kids 529 plan
-We try to put at least $100/month into an account that I look to invest
-We try to save at least $100/month into a 'mergency account
-We try to overpay debt every month.....mortgage (our goal is to get an extra payment/yr), car and school loans, etc. The amount of overpayment varies
-We try to do a project every yr on the home and property.....basically investing in our own real estate. Sometimes it's small and sometimes its a fairly large project.
-We save at least $100/month for fun money.....spending, going to the zoo, etc.
......then we live paycheck to paycheck.
-We contribute at least $50/month to kids 529 plan
-We try to put at least $100/month into an account that I look to invest
-We try to save at least $100/month into a 'mergency account
-We try to overpay debt every month.....mortgage (our goal is to get an extra payment/yr), car and school loans, etc. The amount of overpayment varies
-We try to do a project every yr on the home and property.....basically investing in our own real estate. Sometimes it's small and sometimes its a fairly large project.
-We save at least $100/month for fun money.....spending, going to the zoo, etc.
......then we live paycheck to paycheck.
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Tip: Investing in a HSA is better than most of the ones you listed. You get to take the tax deduction today, it grows tax free and it will never be taxed so long as you spend it on medical expenses (now or in retirement). That is about the best deal going with regard to long term savings and tax preference. (Note that you have to have a high deductible health care plan to contribute to a HSA).
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I may have to look into that. So far, knock on wood, I'm extremely healthy. Bad skin and flat footed. That's it. No surgeries no conditions. Anything can change, but I plan on being in the upper echelon of the population in terms of minimal medical expenses.
Got a good document on an HSA? Do they have to be through my employer?
I don't believe I do a HD Plan, the reason being that my companies benefits (aside from the 6% match) are pretty weak. Their HD plan saved some money every month, but the deductible was like 2 or 3k. If I need a biopsy for my skin, that's like $300 and I seem to have one every year. They also don't offer the "gift" of the first few hundred covered by the agency, like my last employer did.
Got a good document on an HSA? Do they have to be through my employer?
I don't believe I do a HD Plan, the reason being that my companies benefits (aside from the 6% match) are pretty weak. Their HD plan saved some money every month, but the deductible was like 2 or 3k. If I need a biopsy for my skin, that's like $300 and I seem to have one every year. They also don't offer the "gift" of the first few hundred covered by the agency, like my last employer did.
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You can set up a HSA account at any bank if your employer does not offer. The money can be used by you, your spouse or your children. In addition to general doctor/hospital expenses, the money can be used for prescriptions, glasses, contacts and more. If you plan to ever have kids, you are going to have significant medical expense. If you retire early, you can use the money to buy medical insurance. You can also use HSA money in retirement to pay for Medicare parts A, B and D (these are the parts that are not free and you will need).
http://www.investopedia.com/article...4/rules-having-health-savings-account-hsa.asp
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Hey, take it from someone who is learning the hard way....put more in that 509. Cost of attendance IN STATE at UK is now >$100,000. Yes, that includes their way too expensive housing, but still...tuition part of that is about $60,000. The more you know...
Definitely going to check that out. I always worried with an HSA I would have all this money and nothing to use it on.
The problem would be, which current investment do I scrap or cut back on. Not sure I could afford 5% more where I'm then saving over 30% of my salary.
You seem to know your stuff, as some other posters here. And I think we spoke about this before. I still dance back and forth between a live-in Duplex or buying my first house on an upcoming lake and using AirBnb/VRBO for side income. The latter works because I'm often at my moms to help her or at my Dad's (my half brothers are 2.5 and 4.5).. so I'm constantly moving about.
Because I've been helping my Mom due to a medical issue, I will probably be coming into $20-30k. I've started thinking about, when that happens, what's the best way to invest that money? Do I go with property? Do I max out my rothIRA for a few years? DO I look at commercial property and going in on a business?
I've grown into the line of thinking that I refuse to spend large portions of money on something that can't make me money (or save me money) in the future.
Based on your list, the HSA is a better deal than everything except your 401k contributions that are matched. Your savings for your house offer no tax preference. I would cut that back by a few percent and put into the HSA. You can always use the money in your ESPP to help pay for your home down payment. You can also take a loan from your 401k to buy your first home if your employer's plan has a loan provision.
Live in duplex 100%. Airbnb is tough although I have clients making a **** ton of money. What city will be buying in? Possibly Airbnb the other unit but it's risky.
I would not buy into a business but that's just me. Create your own business with RE. Last thing I ever thought I would do.
Buying a 2 family home, and living in half of it for a good portion of my twenties was the best financial decision I've made.
Now I have a 2 family rental in a great area of town, and with Zillow and other websites these days, it's very easy to list it and do criminal and credit checks on potential renters.
Now I have a 2 family rental in a great area of town, and with Zillow and other websites these days, it's very easy to list it and do criminal and credit checks on potential renters.
Her paying off the $40k CC debt was the first step before we even got married. My rule.
I now pay the bills and my wife puts away 60-70% of her take home pay into savings. We have brokerage, IRA and 401k accounts as well. We contribute to the IRA's yearly and the 401k's fluctuate depending on how the market's performing. We refinanced the mortgage twice down to a 3.44% interest rate as our house payment is much lower than the car payment now with 5 years left to pay. Each time we refinance we remodel. We haven't started a 529 for our daughter since we'll both be 59 1/2 before she finishes HS.
I now pay the bills and my wife puts away 60-70% of her take home pay into savings. We have brokerage, IRA and 401k accounts as well. We contribute to the IRA's yearly and the 401k's fluctuate depending on how the market's performing. We refinanced the mortgage twice down to a 3.44% interest rate as our house payment is much lower than the car payment now with 5 years left to pay. Each time we refinance we remodel. We haven't started a 529 for our daughter since we'll both be 59 1/2 before she finishes HS.
Thanks for keeping my taxes incrementally lower. Now all we need is casino gambling.