On Track to save for Retirement????

[diamondringlover]

I am so far off that track that its not even funny!!!! I will say having a kid later in life does tend to derail any savings for retirement..however I am trying to increase my 401K every year as is my hubby...he is 8 years out till retirement and I am 14 years..guess we will be poor...lol, we will have social security and we both will get a pension from where we work and the house will be paid off...so i am hoping we arent so poor we cant eat lol

 

[yennyfire]

TGal, we can all say we could have done better. After meeting with our planner this year, I had a moment of regret for having spent so much on bling. That money could have funded two years of what we need to save each year. However, you can't stop living, nor can you live in the past. All we can so is try to make the best decisions possible moving forward.

 

[TravelingGal]

TGal, we can all say we could have done better. After meeting with our planner this year, I had a moment of regret for having spent so much on bling. That money could have funded two years of what we need to save each year. However, you can't stop living, nor can you live in the past. All we can so is try to make the best decisions possible moving forward.

Looking at the fire and sparkle in my diamonds gives keeps me sane and zen. Going to a therapist would be much more expensive....

 

[justginger]

This is all interesting to me because DH and I speak of it frequently and our decision has been to NOT smash our retirement fund until our house is paid off. With guaranteed compounding interest of 6.2%, we feel like negating that debt is more important than adding to our company retirement plan that has been seeig returns of about 1-4% annually. Instead of 30 years to repay, our mortgage will be closed in 11. The amount of interest that saves us is phenomenal, upwards of $400k.

Is this the correct approach? We still get 9% paid by our employer, so are sitting at 1/2 our salaries at age 29 (well, DH has a bit more than me, but he's 34).

 

[Dee*Jay]

TGal, we can all say we could have done better. After meeting with our planner this year, I had a moment of regret for having spent so much on bling. That money could have funded two years of what we need to save each year. However, you can't stop living, nor can you live in the past. All we can so is try to make the best decisions possible moving forward.

Yanno, this is an important point. I could have contributed more to savings (although not qualified savings, since I'm already maxing that out) if I hadn't bought Billy Ray this year. But I am SO DAMN HAPPY driving that car that I don't regret it for one second. Unless you have unlimed $$$ things are a trade off. I thought about it long and hard before I wrote that check, and I decided that I get to live NOW too, and not just once I'm 67.

 

[Mayk]

We are doing as the financial planner asks. I think if you have defined goals based on your income its easier. I think we are on track but the planner reminds me at each meeting...you want to retire by xxx you will need to do this and I always seem to need to adjust the sails a bit... My bling account has not helped...my savings plan...

 

[missy]

TGal, we can all say we could have done better. After meeting with our planner this year, I had a moment of regret for having spent so much on bling. That money could have funded two years of what we need to save each year. However, you can't stop living, nor can you live in the past. All we can so is try to make the best decisions possible moving forward.

Yanno, this is an important point. I could have contributed more to savings (although not qualified savings, since I'm already maxing that out) if I hadn't bought Billy Ray this year. But I am SO DAMN HAPPY driving that car that I don't regret it for one second. Unless you have unlimed $$$ things are a trade off. I thought about it long and hard before I wrote that check, and I decided that I get to live NOW too, and not just once I'm 67.

Totally agree. Living in the moment is important too. Saving for retirement is a must but you also need to enjoy your life as it is happening now. It's a balance and compromise but as long as you are smart about it you can do both.

 

[SB621]

When I posted this topic I thought DH and I were doing well for our age, but the numbers seemed "scarey." Now after reading everything I just uped my 401k to max out (I was actually only a few hundred away from doing so) and DH's TSP. DH and I also now have an appointment with a financial planner next week when he gets home. The last time we met with him was over 2 years ago when we set up 529 plans for DD and DS. For some reason I feel much better that we are being more proactive about this.

Yenny- I graduated college with well into 6 figures of debt. It was a pain and huge stress to pay everything off. My DH was completely debt free because of his military scholarship and his parents paid whatever else. I agree that the best gift you can give your children is a clean slate when starting out. DH and I would like to be able to pay for all of college but a part of me also wants them to know responsbility and having all that debt really made me grow up quickly. I think we will end up paying for the vast majority of their bills if we can, but at the same time I plan on saving for my retirement as our #1 priority. I want to be on a cruise ship the moment both kids walk out the door freshman year

This year all bonus money will go into savings or paying down our mortgage a bit more. The bling budget is beyond broke/ dried up. However, I'm still thrilled I bought them. My cousin who is about 30 years older then me spent her entire love being very frugal and saving. She has been fighting cancer the last two years and whenever I talk to her she keeps telling me how she wished she had traveled more, spent more time off work, been doing XYZ. Watching her go through this has definitely been an enabling factor to purchasing bling this year for me.

 

[SB621]

This is all interesting to me because DH and I speak of it frequently and our decision has been to NOT smash our retirement fund until our house is paid off. With guaranteed compounding interest of 6.2%, we feel like negating that debt is more important than adding to our company retirement plan that has been seeig returns of about 1-4% annually. Instead of 30 years to repay, our mortgage will be closed in 11. The amount of interest that saves us is phenomenal, upwards of $400k.

Is this the correct approach? We still get 9% paid by our employer, so are sitting at 1/2 our salaries at age 29 (well, DH has a bit more than me, but he's 34).

Can you max at your retirement and still pay off your mortgage at the same rate? If so then I would just put less money into savings and work on those 2 things. If you can't I guess I would ask a financial advisor to see what they say. owning your house outright I would think would cause you to lower the money you need in retirement since you won't have a house expense so in a way that is investing in your retirement.

 

[justginger]

This is all interesting to me because DH and I speak of it frequently and our decision has been to NOT smash our retirement fund until our house is paid off. With guaranteed compounding interest of 6.2%, we feel like negating that debt is more important than adding to our company retirement plan that has been seeig returns of about 1-4% annually. Instead of 30 years to repay, our mortgage will be closed in 11. The amount of interest that saves us is phenomenal, upwards of $400k.

Is this the correct approach? We still get 9% paid by our employer, so are sitting at 1/2 our salaries at age 29 (well, DH has a bit more than me, but he's 34).

Can you max at your retirement and still pay off your mortgage at the same rate? If so then I would just put less money into savings and work on those 2 things. If you can't I guess I would ask a financial advisor to see what they say. owning your house outright I would think would cause you to lower the money you need in retirement since you won't have a house expense so in a way that is investing in your retirement.

We (to my knowledge) don't have a number we can max our retirement to -- if we chose, we could put 100% of our income into our retirement account/s. But no, we've jacked our repayments up to the point that we're paying around 50% of our post-tax income into our mortgage. We cannot keep up at that level, plus retirement, plus have any sort of quality of life. Especially with my income dropping significantly for the next 3 years, we're determined to keep our mortgage repayments at this high level -- but everything is going to have to drop off in order for that to happen. For our own happiness, we honestly can't put money both places. I've already given myself 'the talk' about the likelihood of my next project actually happening, or our awesome trip for my 30th birthday. You literally cannot have it all.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I really fear a little for our kids who thus far do not have the income we had at their age (inflation adjusted) and cannot save much for retirement yet. Neither of us had a penny of debt and we went to private colleges. Our kids do not have college debt either. My husband is 57 and hopes to retire at 62. Our retirement income will be part from his pension, part from 401k, and part social security, because I think we will still get it. Few companies now offer pensions in addition to 401K's with matching funds, so we will be probably the last generation to get both. We have diligently saved through the years and have been very conservative spenders. We always saved our "car payment" into our own account and paid cash for all cars, etc. It was only when I turned 50 that is really crossed my mind that I didn't want to be too old to enjoy everything we had worked so hard to save! So we have bought some things that we both wanted over the last few years including a new house. It does scare the heck out of me to think that in 5 years we'll be on a more limited income, but we are on track to equal most of my husband's current income per year. We just won't be living an extravagant lifestyle but should be comfortable. So since my bling budget will be more conservative then, I am making the most of the next 5 years! (I am actually scaring myself into thinking maybe I should forget an upgrade, though! )

I do want to emphasize the importance of paying off all debt other than mortgages (and that, too, if you can), having a good emergency savings fund, and putting a decent percentage of income into a 401k, and starting college savings plans if you have kids before spending on luxuries.

 

[wildcat03]

I am 31 and I think my financial situation is a little different than average
- I was in medical school from age 24-28, and residency training from 28-now (just a few more months for a total of 4 years)
- I have an amount that is 50% of my yearly income saved for retirement
- As soon as I finish residency, my pay will increase significantly, so I expect that I will be able to save much more

For the last 4 years I've put anywhere between 10-18% of my salary in retirement. Every time I've received a pay raise, I've increased my retirement contribution to keep my take home pay exactly the same. This has worked quite well and I've been able to save a significant amount. Now, as some of my student loans kick in, I've had to reduce my retirement savings to about 15%. I've tightened my budget as well to make those loan payments.

 

[sonnyjane]

I am 31 and I think my financial situation is a little different than average
- I was in medical school from age 24-28, and residency training from 28-now (just a few more months for a total of 4 years)
- I have an amount that is 50% of my yearly income saved for retirement
- As soon as I finish residency, my pay will increase significantly, so I expect that I will be able to save much more

For the last 4 years I've put anywhere between 10-18% of my salary in retirement. Every time I've received a pay raise, I've increased my retirement contribution to keep my take home pay exactly the same. This has worked quite well and I've been able to save a significant amount. Now, as some of my student loans kick in, I've had to reduce my retirement savings to about 15%. I've tightened my budget as well to make those loan payments.

Sallie Mae and I are close to ending our relationship lol. I graduated with about $80K in debt but in the last 4 years I've paid $50K of that off. I should be able to pay off the remaining $30K in the next year and a half and then I plan to put every penny of the $1,500 or so that I put currently toward my student loans each month into my 401k, Roth IRA, and additional investments instead. I'm 29 right now and only have $3,000 in my retirement account which is depressing, but I'm not concerned because I know that as soon as I pay off my student loans, I'll start saving aggressively.

15% is what many advisors recommend that people our age save at this point in our lives, so even though it's a reduction to you, don't feel too bad - you're still way ahead of the curve and I'm sure you'll be savings tons more after your residency is finished!

 

[TravelingGal]

I am 31 and I think my financial situation is a little different than average
- I was in medical school from age 24-28, and residency training from 28-now (just a few more months for a total of 4 years)
- I have an amount that is 50% of my yearly income saved for retirement
- As soon as I finish residency, my pay will increase significantly, so I expect that I will be able to save much more

For the last 4 years I've put anywhere between 10-18% of my salary in retirement. Every time I've received a pay raise, I've increased my retirement contribution to keep my take home pay exactly the same. This has worked quite well and I've been able to save a significant amount. Now, as some of my student loans kick in, I've had to reduce my retirement savings to about 15%. I've tightened my budget as well to make those loan payments.

Sallie Mae and I are close to ending our relationship lol. I graduated with about $80K in debt but in the last 4 years I've paid $50K of that off. I should be able to pay off the remaining $30K in the next year and a half and then I plan to put every penny of the $1,500 or so that I put currently toward my student loans each month into my 401k, Roth IRA, and additional investments instead. I'm 29 right now and only have $3,000 in my retirement account which is depressing, but I'm not concerned because I know that as soon as I pay off my student loans, I'll start saving aggressively.

15% is what many advisors recommend that people our age save at this point in our lives, so even though it's a reduction to you, don't feel too bad - you're still way ahead of the curve and I'm sure you'll be savings tons more after your residency is finished!

Don't be depressed about it!!!! I just looked at my statements (I have a stack of old ones saved) and when I was 29 (2001-2002) I had a whooping 3K in my account. I have NO idea why that is the case, considering I had saved since late 97, early 98, but I think the market crashed badly after 9/11. I probably lost a ton. Good thing I didn't look back then (I was told to save and not look so I wouldn't panic!) I looked at the following year statement (2003) and it was up at about 15K.

So from 2003-2013, I'm at approx a quarter million (as of review last month) from 15K. I'm not saying that to boast. I'm telling you this so you can tangibly understand that markets fluctuate, keep saving, and you'll get there. I really want to drive home the point that 3000 can turn into a good chunk if you keep at it. Like I said, I could have managed it better, but I certainly haven't put in all 235K in the last 10. There have been times in the last 10 years where I have been unemployed...in fact, I was unemployed for most of 2003 traipsing around Europe meeting TGuy.

Keep saving!!!!

 

[aljdewey]

I'm a huge believer in retirement funding early, too.....I put money into it at my first job, but had to cash out most of it when i was between jobs. It wasn't much because I didn't make much then, but I felt accomplished at having done it.

ETA: At 30, I had a real awakening re finances, which thankfully coincided with me getting a job the following year that paid enough to actually save money. Between my contributions and employer's during these 17 years I've worked there, I've managed to get up over $300K, and I still have a good 15-20 years of working left for that money to compound interest. (This isn't counting the withdrawal we took to help fund the house d/p). I also have a good pension with them that will help.

When I passed $250K, I jokingly told my hub my new nickname would be "quarter mil" - LOL. I'm not counting on SS at all, so anything there will be gravy if it happens. I also have a good pension with them that will help.

I mention this to firmly agree with T-gal's contention that it's never too late to begin. The most important thing is constant, steady contribution.

While this is super important to me, I think it's also incredibly important to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor now too, since none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Nothing can substitute for the wonderful memories we've created together on our many vacations, and our trip to Italy last fall was a highlight to be sure. I don't consider that money squandered at all; I consider it an investment or an insurance against having regrets.

 

[sonnyjane]

I am 31 and I think my financial situation is a little different than average
- I was in medical school from age 24-28, and residency training from 28-now (just a few more months for a total of 4 years)
- I have an amount that is 50% of my yearly income saved for retirement
- As soon as I finish residency, my pay will increase significantly, so I expect that I will be able to save much more

For the last 4 years I've put anywhere between 10-18% of my salary in retirement. Every time I've received a pay raise, I've increased my retirement contribution to keep my take home pay exactly the same. This has worked quite well and I've been able to save a significant amount. Now, as some of my student loans kick in, I've had to reduce my retirement savings to about 15%. I've tightened my budget as well to make those loan payments.

Sallie Mae and I are close to ending our relationship lol. I graduated with about $80K in debt but in the last 4 years I've paid $50K of that off. I should be able to pay off the remaining $30K in the next year and a half and then I plan to put every penny of the $1,500 or so that I put currently toward my student loans each month into my 401k, Roth IRA, and additional investments instead. I'm 29 right now and only have $3,000 in my retirement account which is depressing, but I'm not concerned because I know that as soon as I pay off my student loans, I'll start saving aggressively.

15% is what many advisors recommend that people our age save at this point in our lives, so even though it's a reduction to you, don't feel too bad - you're still way ahead of the curve and I'm sure you'll be savings tons more after your residency is finished!

Don't be depressed about it!!!! I just looked at my statements (I have a stack of old ones saved) and when I was 29 (2001-2002) I had a whooping 3K in my account. I have NO idea why that is the case, considering I had saved since late 97, early 98, but I think the market crashed badly after 9/11. I probably lost a ton. Good thing I didn't look back then (I was told to save and not look so I wouldn't panic!) I looked at the following year statement (2003) and it was up at about 15K.

So from 2003-2013, I'm at approx a quarter million (as of review last month) from 15K. I'm not saying that to boast. I'm telling you this so you can tangibly understand that markets fluctuate, keep saving, and you'll get there. I really want to drive home the point that 3000 can turn into a good chunk if you keep at it. Like I said, I could have managed it better, but I certainly haven't put in all 235K in the last 10. There have been times in the last 10 years where I have been unemployed...in fact, I was unemployed for most of 2003 traipsing around Europe meeting TGuy.

Keep saving!!!!

Thank you, that's great motivation!!

 

[TravelingGal]

I'm a huge believer in retirement funding early, too.....I put money into it at my first job, but had to cash out most of it when i was between jobs. It wasn't much because I didn't make much then, but I felt accomplished at having done it.

At 30, I had a real awakening re finances, which thankfully coincided with me getting a job that paid enough to actually save money. I'm not counting on SS at all, so anything there will be gravy if it happens.

While this is super important to me, I think it's also incredibly important to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor now too, since none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Nothing can substitute for the wonderful memories we've created together on our many vacations, and our trip to Italy last fall was a highlight to be sure. I don't consider that money squandered at all; I consider it an investment or an insurance against having regrets.

Absolutely Alj. I've spent a ridiculous amount of money on travel. I met my husband that way. That's priceless!!!

 

[aljdewey]

I was editing when you posted, TGal, but I followed a similar path to you, and I wholly concur it's never too late to start. We're in pretty much the same space now, and both started at a similar time too. Another resounding second to your contention that it's never too late to start!

 

[Laila619]

I think we're doing pretty well, but there is always room to improve. DH and I live very frugally by choice. We just have never been big spenders. We love to save and sock it all away.

 

[loriken214]

I used to be the main breadwinner in our family until I was diagnosed with SLE Lupus and had to take a disability retirement at age 45. Everything came to a grinding halt and DH had to take over. Thank goodness he received a promotion around the same time that I was on disability, but we took a HUGE hit with our income. We had to go on a debt mgmt. plan and close ALL of our credit cards and live off of savings until I was approved for disability benefits from my former employer and Social Security. I had taken loans out against my 401k and had to pay them back...the government got 30% off of the top and that wiped out a big chunk of my savings.

Thank goodness I had 20 years vested in my job so I have a big pension and life insurance policy waiting for me. If I passed away right now, DH would be very wealthy, but in the meantime....we are living paycheck to paycheck until our debt mgmt. plan is paid off in another year or so.

DH changed jobs a year ago and we took a 50% pay cut because he was so stressed out at his former job. He's much happier in his new job, but has to drive 60 miles round trip per day and gasoline is eating us alive. We need to buy a new car, but it is totally out of the question right now.

We are paying on two life insurance policies on DH since his company offers NO benefits at all....NOTHING! Our health insurance is paid through my former employer and we pay the monthly premiums. Medical bills are eating us alive, too, and we spend most of our monthly income on medicines and doctors.

Most of my beautiful jewelry collection is gone. Long gone. This is the sacrifice I have had to make in order to survive. There will be a day when I can get a new wedding ring, but my family is secure in knowing that we are here for each other and are stronger without STUFF.

We are buying savings bonds every month and are saving as much as we can with Smarty Pig. You can get your money out if you need it, but can earn interest in the meantime. We also have IRAs and have stock in them. The stock we have earn nice dividends that are reinvested automatically and the earnings have done quite well. We can't touch this money until we are 59 1/2. I am 50 and DH is 53.

My point is, you NEVER know what can happen. I thought I had the world by the tail and spent money like it would never end.....then the bottom fell out.

Lori

 

[yennyfire]

TGal, we can all say we could have done better. After meeting with our planner this year, I had a moment of regret for having spent so much on bling. That money could have funded two years of what we need to save each year. However, you can't stop living, nor can you live in the past. All we can so is try to make the best decisions possible moving forward.

Yanno, this is an important point. I could have contributed more to savings (although not qualified savings, since I'm already maxing that out) if I hadn't bought Billy Ray this year. But I am SO DAMN HAPPY driving that car that I don't regret it for one second. Unless you have unlimed $$$ things are a trade off. I thought about it long and hard before I wrote that check, and I decided that I get to live NOW too, and not just once I'm 67.

There is definitely something to be said for enjoying life! And I agree that if something gives you a lot of pleasure and it's not a trade between feeding your kids and some luxury item, then sometimes a splurge is worth it! I'm sure you look divine in Billy Ray!!

 

[yennyfire]

This is all interesting to me because DH and I speak of it frequently and our decision has been to NOT smash our retirement fund until our house is paid off. With guaranteed compounding interest of 6.2%, we feel like negating that debt is more important than adding to our company retirement plan that has been seeig returns of about 1-4% annually. Instead of 30 years to repay, our mortgage will be closed in 11. The amount of interest that saves us is phenomenal, upwards of $400k.

Is this the correct approach? We still get 9% paid by our employer, so are sitting at 1/2 our salaries at age 29 (well, DH has a bit more than me, but he's 34).

Can you max at your retirement and still pay off your mortgage at the same rate? If so then I would just put less money into savings and work on those 2 things. If you can't I guess I would ask a financial advisor to see what they say. owning your house outright I would think would cause you to lower the money you need in retirement since you won't have a house expense so in a way that is investing in your retirement.

I would imagine that a financial planner would tell you that you need to split the difference and do both. We split our mortgage payment in two (i.e. our mortgage is $1000, so we pay $500 twice a month). Somehow, this cuts a few years off of the mortgage (I can't explain how, but my Dad read an article about it and now my whole family does it). We also make a couple of extra payments a year towards principal. By doing these two things, we will pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years, all while still sending our financial planner between $20-$30K a year, plus maxing out 401K.

 

[megumic]

Yenny, I think it matters b/c if you pay some sooner then less interest is due for that cycle. Never thought of doing it that way, but maybe I will start doing the same!

Ugh, this thread has gotten the fire under my buns. We have a solid emergency fund, no cc debt, and retirement accounts, but we need to do better. I am going to open a ROTH IRA this week...DH has one but I don't. We have to file separately this year so it is a perfect time for me to do a year of fully funding it.

 

[justginger]

This is all interesting to me because DH and I speak of it frequently and our decision has been to NOT smash our retirement fund until our house is paid off. With guaranteed compounding interest of 6.2%, we feel like negating that debt is more important than adding to our company retirement plan that has been seeig returns of about 1-4% annually. Instead of 30 years to repay, our mortgage will be closed in 11. The amount of interest that saves us is phenomenal, upwards of $400k.

Is this the correct approach? We still get 9% paid by our employer, so are sitting at 1/2 our salaries at age 29 (well, DH has a bit more than me, but he's 34).

Can you max at your retirement and still pay off your mortgage at the same rate? If so then I would just put less money into savings and work on those 2 things. If you can't I guess I would ask a financial advisor to see what they say. owning your house outright I would think would cause you to lower the money you need in retirement since you won't have a house expense so in a way that is investing in your retirement.

I would imagine that a financial planner would tell you that you need to split the difference and do both. We split our mortgage payment in two (i.e. our mortgage is $1000, so we pay $500 twice a month). Somehow, this cuts a few years off of the mortgage (I can't explain how, but my Dad read an article about it and now my whole family does it). We also make a couple of extra payments a year towards principal. By doing these two things, we will pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years, all while still sending our financial planner between $20-$30K a year, plus maxing out 401K.

We already make fortnightly repayments. It results in the loan being paid off sooner because you actually are making more payments. 12 monthly payments of $1000 (example) is $12,000 of repayments each year. 26 fortnightly repayments of $500 is $13,000 each year. But of course that difference becomes more significant when you're dealing with larger amounts.

The only financial adviser I've ever spoken to has told us mortgage always comes first. The real estate market down here is much different to the States. Besides your rent/mortgage being a huge portion of your living expenses, the real estate market also tends to help fund retirement in the form of capital appreciation.

We'll see. The mortgage will be gone when I'm 35/36. Then we can make $3500/month minimum 401k additions for the rest of our working lives. I think it will be ok.

 

[rubybeth]

justginger: I have the same feeling about debt, especially when you're relatively young. I want to pay off all of our student loans and not take on any more debt, except a mortgage. The Dave Ramsey baby steps are:

1. have an emergency fund ($1,000)
2. debt snowball to $0 in debt, except for house
3. save 3-6 mos. of expenses for emergency fund
4. invest 15% of household income into retirement
5. work on college funding for children
6. pay off your house early
7. build wealth and give

We are still on baby step #2, except we have a much larger emergency fund than $1k, because we have high deductible health plans and like having a larger cushion.This was very helpful last year when my car was dying and we were able to buy a used car with cash and still have some savings left. Dave's advice is to go in this order, because your kids' educations won't feed you in retirement!

 

[partgypsy]

I really want to do better financially. Right now it is hard because husband had a job let's say it paid 10K a year, but that job left. He got another job, which will be make more than past job, but as he is in kind of a training period/waiting for the slot he wants he is making about half of previous job.

Once our finances stabilize (I'm hoping in a few months?) I feel we could squeeze another 100-200 a month to go to somewhere, but where? Some of my goals would be things like a) saving more for kid's colleges, b) saving for specific expenses like saving for next vehicle c) paying off house sooner. We refinanced to a 15 year mortage and now have 13 years left. However, husband was not for the refinance and prefer to stretch it out longer. He doesn't contribute individually to retirement (I put 10% towards retirement). As far as financial goals, he doesn't really think that way. The only kinds of goals he's expressed interest in, are things like specific house projects or things that would improve our quality of life.

So we just have very different views. He feels everything is fine, and if anything would like to have more freedom in spending, while I feel we can, and should be doing better. I guess part of it is he knows people who are in much worse positions, or upside down in their houses, so it's hard for him to get fired up.
I am thankful our vehicle is paid off, we have no cc debt, have a decent emergency fund, and our house payment is relatively low, but I know we can do better, both for earning and for how we spend.

 

[ladidalola]

While we seem to be on the topic of savings lately in the HO I thought I would post this chart I found.

Last night I was trying to figure out if DH and I were putting enough away into our 401k's for our age group and I found this chart. It *seems* to be what most financial websites agree with (vanguard, ING etc). We are doing pretty good for our age group but I have to say it/ the numbers looks daunting to me for some reason as everything goes up as we get older. Perhaps I should stop buying jeweler

Hi, is this supposed to be how much one has saved after all debt has been paid? It's rare to find someone from 20-50 who have no debt anymore It's so hard to save up especially since real estate prices where I live is so darn expensive. Money that I should be "saving" goes to the mortgage... does that count as part of the chart? I would guess not

 

[sonnyjane]

For those dealing with the dilemma of whether to put extra money toward retirement vs. college funds, many advisors say to put it toward retirement first. I think 15% toward retirement is too low, especially for my crowd who may only get half of the social security that current retirees enjoy. They often say (and it's true) that college students can get scholarships and loans for education, but nobody will be lining up to give retirees a loan when they run out of money at age 80. One financial advisor likened it to the oxygen masks on a plane: put YOURS on first, then assist your child next to you lol. You're no good to anybody if you can't support yourself financially when you retire. It's nice to want to gift your children an education so that they don't have debt, but if you run out of retirement funds and have to move in with them and have them support you, well, I'd rather take student loans lol.

Obviously if you are carefully keeping track of your finances and know for a fact you'll have enough to retire, then there is no problem with funding education accounts, but a common mistake is putting too much aside for children but not enough for yourself.

 

[SB621]

SonnieJay! Goodluck on breaking up with SallieMae!! I can say one of the most satisifying days of my life was giving them the last payment check! DH even took me out to dinner that night to celebrate. I have a payment plan of something like 15 years and I paid everything off in 4!! So it can be done and it will BE AWESOME when you are done with it!

And for what it is worth i actaully really like your comparsion of paying for retirement vs. college funds with the oxygen mask That really struck a cord with me. I had always thought that is what I should be doing, but that just reinforced my view.

 

[TravelingGal]

SonnieJay! Goodluck on breaking up with SallieMae!! I can say one of the most satisifying days of my life was giving them the last payment check! DH even took me out to dinner that night to celebrate. I have a payment plan of something like 15 years and I paid everything off in 4!! So it can be done and it will BE AWESOME when you are done with it!

And for what it is worth i actaully really like your comparsion of paying for retirement vs. college funds with the oxygen mask That really struck a cord with me. I had always thought that is what I should be doing, but that just reinforced my view.

Ditto. Loved that!