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cowgirl836 said:
it's in my earlier post. Right now we save just below 60% of our take-home. Less if we take a vacation beyond something that's just a weekend hotel type trip. Husband is in computer engineering/software development, I am in agricultural research.
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I assume by save you mean throw into a savings account at a bank. And you two save almost 60% of your take-home income? Whoa. That is super high. I just calculated we save about 35% though. I wish we could do 60% but then again I like being able to go out and buy (within reason) whatever I want whenever I want.
 
mtowncyclone13 said:
thought this was appropriate

http://xkcd.com/946/
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Different strokes, I guess, but

I've never gotten a heart filling hug from a dollar bill
I've never stood and watched my bank statement silently in the dark, late at night, and thought "life is awesome"
My bank statement has never met me at the door, happy to see me (a dog will do there, too)

BTW, read my post above, having kids doesn't necessarily mean you won't have money.
 
DandyCyclone said:
I assume by save you mean throw into a savings account at a bank. And you two save almost 60% of your take-home income? Whoa. That is super high. I just calculated we save about 35% though. I wish we could do 60% but then again I like being able to go out and buy (within reason) whatever I want whenever I want.
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Yes. We essentially save all of my husband's salary. It doesn't really feel like deprivation to us because we just never really inflated our lifestyle after DH got a job. There are some things we spend more on now, and if there is something one of us really wants (within reason), we will probably get it. I wish when we had started saving for a house that we had thrown some into a CD instead so that it would make something, but we didn't know that the timeline would be where it is now. And at this point, we are going to be using it so it needs to sit there now. I like to see that you still save 35%. That's close to where we would be if we go after the building process. Though then I worry about little daycare needers taking up most of that.
 
mtowncyclone13 said:
So basically I now feel like I am blowing a ton of money on useless crap.

We save like 20k/ year and I don't think it's enough.
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Me and my friends from high school all obviously grew up together and we are still really close after all those years and we've been out of college for 3 years. We actually don't mind talking about finances with each other. Its actually kind of weird. As someone mentioned above, some people think talking about money and finances isn't socially acceptable. My friends and I don't care. We ask about savings accounts, retirement planning, annual income, student loan debt, and all that stuff.

I guess the point I am getting to is, if you think 20k/year isn't enough, some of my friends aren't saving much so don't feel bad. And its not like they have awful paying jobs either. They just don't save cash.
 
DandyCyclone said:
Me and my friends from high school all obviously grew up together and we are still really close after all those years and we've been out of college for 3 years. We actually don't mind talking about finances with each other. Its actually kind of weird. As someone mentioned above, some people think talking about money and finances isn't socially acceptable. My friends and I don't care. We ask about savings accounts, retirement planning, annual income, student loan debt, and all that stuff.

I guess the point I am getting to is, if you think 20k/year isn't enough, some of my friends aren't saving much so don't feel bad. And its not like they have awful paying jobs either. They just don't save cash.
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I feel like so many people don't have a clue about many of these things so it'd be good if people talked more about it. Not to be like "oh you are so rich" or "you need to learn how to save", but to see what other people are doing and what works. I bet 20k a year is more than about 85% of people can do. But Mtown, you've also got your eye on buying a house, potential kids, career change - that would make me very nervous too. It's hard to plan for "permanent" expenses like kids and houses when you don't have a pretty high certainty of the money coming in.
 
Not only that but we spend tons of money on eating out, buying crap/clothes, etc. I know we could save more but I also want to enjoy the life we both like. I think it's part jealousy that we don't have a huge brand new house and part anger that (not to sound egotistical) I am smarter about money than many people so I plan more than many others. I know people who make 45k and just bought a brand new Harley, and new outbuilding, and new ATV, etc, and then complain about debt. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just not care.
 
KnappShack said:
I've been there a time or two during the Great Recession. It feels a lot like walking across thin ice on a warm day
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I remember when I started college, I had a whole $1000 in my checking and I felt like just the richest person ever!

But I grew up in a house where we never vacationed, we never bought anything fancy - I can remember going to the grocery store right as our farm transitioned, and we had $12 for groceries that week. For six people. I hated that feeling, and I never want to feel it again. It's always like that on a farm. The weather, markets, so many things can screw everything up and nothing is ever really certain. So I'm now practically a money hoarder and any significant purchase is Excel'd to the penny! Growing up though, outside of a couple times, we never really realized that there wasn't money floating around. We had so many fun things available to us that we never felt deprived. Hopefully I can remember that with my own kids!
 
mtowncyclone13 said:
Not only that but we spend tons of money on eating out, buying crap/clothes, etc. I know we could save more but I also want to enjoy the life we both like. I think it's part jealousy that we don't have a huge brand new house and part anger that (not to sound egotistical) I am smarter than many people with money so I plan more than many others. I know people who make 45k and just bought a brand new Harley, and new outbuilding, and new ATV, etc, and then complain about debt. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just not care.
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you have to not care about other people. I remember driving my 21 year old POS car, and seeing someone get a brand new Ford car. I was so jealous! And I knew they couldn't possibly have the money for it. But whatever, I knew that I was slowly saving for my own (not brand new) car. It wasn't long and this couple had moved into their parents' house.......and then got pregnant (on purpose!!!). They had to go on state aid to afford the pregnancy. Now maybe that is ok for some people, but is just not a situation that I ever, ever want to be in. Buying Harleys on 45k.......I guess some people are comfortable with debt, I am not. Which is why it's taking forever to pull the trigger on a house. Because no matter what, it's going to be debt that is there for more than 5 years and I think I just have a hard time with that mentally.

Heck, I just got mad today because I see some of my siblings all went to what has to be their 5th or so big name concert this year. I'm like how can they afford this? None of them have real jobs! But then I realize hey, I have a retirement account and more than 4 digits in my savings. They don't. And I am not big into concerts anyway. So they are spending on things that I wouldn't do anyway. And they aren't giving much thought to their future which is normal for young 20-somethings. Most 22 year olds aren't obsessed with starting a retirement account.
 
So I got offered a bad *** job today. More pay than I was making back in Indiana, so I'm surprised by that, as I made really good money there and was expecting to take a pay cut. But the best part? My territory is the entire state, so I'll get all expense paid trips to the other islands of Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. And I accepted the position in nothing but my boxers. Like a boss.
 
cyrocksmypants said:
So I got offered a bad *** job today. More pay than I was making back in Indiana, so I'm surprised by that, as I made really good money there and was expecting to take a pay cut. But the best part? My territory is the entire state, so I'll get all expense paid trips to the other islands of Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. And I accepted the position in nothing but my boxers. Like a boss.
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sweet! Now I expect you to act as a tour guide when I come to visit!
 
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