morningxmorning Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I'm a saver and I married a saver. After 23 years, some would probably call us money hoarders. We could probably live a couple of years on our emergency savings. Like a previous poster, I wouldn't want to! We're the same. I'm a little Suze Orman obsessed when it comes to our emergency saving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 It used to be much longer than twelve months worth plus separate retirement and repair funds. Now it is more like 3-4 months and that's only because we have somewhat lower expenses now. We had several large needs (funeral, medical and otherwise) and we made the decision to invest in my husband's educational advancement and in homeschooling with me leaving paid work for the most part for now. It wigs me out but I know that in the not so distant future we can rebuild the savings(my husband is working on a degree that will dramatically improve his earnings), that our retirement savings remain intact and that in the now, homeschooling is not negotiable for my son. I am so glad that we saved/continue to save. Without that, my husband wouldn't be able to do as much schooling and I would need to return to the workforce soon. We are able to live off of my husband's PT salary so we are not drawing down savings further and we add a little as we can. We are 32 and 33. Not investing in my husband would be penny wise and pound foolish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Not a penny. No savings account, but a work related required retirement fund we can't touch until dh retires. Not a penny is touchable. Sad thing is that we can barely make it paycheck to paycheck while dh can not work at his job without putting in a certain percentage. It's nice that in 35+ years we might have money for retirement, if the state doesn't screw that up, but it hurts right now. We are really lucky if we can make it from one paycheck to the next and not go hungry. This really has been the case my whole life except 2010-2011 which were boom years for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Here's the thing, though, in this economy? Even though only something like 40? % of the people are now saving, I think the rest are just not even able to consider it because their paychecks aren't even covering their living expenses or they have no paycheck at all. Some of that is due to poor decisions. 90% of the households in the U.S. have either cable or satellite. What percentage of those people are living "paycheck to paycheck"? Eliminate cable/satellite for a year and that's probably at least $1000 in an emergency fund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 There was a time when I had a nice nest egg to get through hard times. Then the hard times came and lasted much longer then we thought they could. We are back to square one to building up our nest egg again. It is painfully slow and I hope and pray the hard times do not return before we get it built up again. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: You are sadly not alone in this. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Some of that is due to poor decisions. 90% of the households in the U.S. have either cable or satellite. What percentage of those people are living "paycheck to paycheck"? Eliminate cable/satellite for a year and that's probably at least $1000 in an emergency fund. I looked at my cable bill today. :svengo: If it was just me I'd get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Some of that is due to poor decisions. 90% of the households in the U.S. have either cable or satellite. What percentage of those people are living "paycheck to paycheck"? Eliminate cable/satellite for a year and that's probably at least $1000 in an emergency fund. In some places, it's required as part of the package for internet or phone, though. It was where we lived 5 years ago. We hated cable, but it was cheaper with cable for some reason. We don't have cable and have a cheap Netflix package that is mostly gifted to us from holidays and are still paycheck to paycheck. Otherwise it'd be $180 for a year of Netflix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Not a penny. No savings account, but a work related required retirement fund we can't touch until dh retires. Not a penny is touchable. Sad thing is that we can barely make it paycheck to paycheck while dh can not work at his job without putting in a certain percentage. It's nice that in 35+ years we might have money for retirement, if the state doesn't screw that up, but it hurts right now. We are really lucky if we can make it from one paycheck to the next and not go hungry. This really has been the case my whole life except 2010-2011 which were boom years for us. That seems terribly unfair to "force" someone to save for retirement, and at the same time they can't touch it. Their own money. I'd be so frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Well, I stash money all over the place, because I like to give it all a name. I have a savings account with an online bank that's for unexpected things that come up...an appliance breaks, or something like that. Then I have a vacation fund that I regularly make deposits into. I have a Christmas fund as well. Then I have my long-term savings for things like our children's weddings, etc. Then I have an emergency fund that's for unemployment/illness/unexpected disability, that sort of thing. Plus, we have our retirement investments that I would never touch except for a dire emergency. Some are 401K type, where we'd be penalized for an early withdrawal, and others are investments that are not immediately available for liquidation, but could be without a penalty. It would just take a little time. And since I'm LDS, I also have a year's worth of food storage, so no matter what happened, I could feed my family comfortably. That is a huge weight off my mind. Nobody wants to choose between food and electricity or heat. So...I guess we're pretty well prepared to live for a year or more, but I'd still like to save more cash. Times are too unpredictable now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I didn't vote, but if I did, it would be 'monkeys'. If we found ourselves in a position to have to dig into savings, we would first cut all 'extras' to make that money go as far as it could. Music lessons... cut, cable.... cut, home phone... cut, Netflix... cut. If things looked eally bleak, we would make deeper cuts and do things like drop insurance on one vehicle and stop driving it. We would toggle the thermostat and take shorter showers. Things like that. It's too difficult for me to know how long we could last on our savings, because if "it" hit the fan, we would make instant adjustments to our lifestyle. Oh, and I keep a well-stocked pantry & freezer and buy things on sale (I have enough TP to survive a zombie apocalypse!), so that would stretch savings even more than if I didn't have all of that food & supplies on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 I didn't vote, but if I did, it would be 'monkeys'. If we found ourselves in a position to have to dig into savings, we would first cut all 'extras' to make that money go as far as it could. Music lessons... cut, cable.... cut, home phone... cut, Netflix... cut. If things looked eally bleak, we would make deeper cuts and do things like drop insurance on one vehicle and stop driving it. We would toggle the thermostat and take shorter showers. Things like that. It's too difficult for me to know how long we could last on our savings, because if "it" hit the fan, we would make instant adjustments to our lifestyle. Oh, and I keep a well-stocked pantry & freezer and buy things on sale (I have enough TP to survive a zombie apocalypse!), so that would stretch savings even more than if I didn't have all of that food & supplies on hand. If the Zombie Apocalypse happens....we'll all be heading to your place! You well-stocked pantry people are making me jealous. I really need to get mine back up and running. I stopped before we did a double move this last year because I didn't want to haul extra stuff around. But now we're in our (I hope) forever home..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 If the Zombie Apocalypse happens....we'll all be heading to your place! You well-stocked pantry people are making me jealous. I really need to get mine back up and running. I stopped before we did a double move this last year because I didn't want to haul extra stuff around. But now we're in our (I hope) forever home..... Awesome! Be sure to bring fantastic bartering goods! From what I have seen TP will be a highly valued commodity!! :coolgleamA: :lol: I do need to get back to work on my pantry. I've been so busy that I have been using, but not replacing. It's nothing like what some women here have stored, but it's enough to stretch meals and will be good in case of an extended power outage. Not to mention those times I forgot to pick something up and had to raid my 'second pantry' for whatever necessary item I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 That seems terribly unfair to "force" someone to save for retirement, and at the same time they can't touch it. Their own money. I'd be so frustrated. Yup, but he can't have his job (teaching) without doing so. A large amount, too. Between that and the $1000 a year in Union dues, and we don't make very much at all. I would be fine with the Union dues if they would help us get any decent work benefits. Right now it's $1600 a month for health insurance!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Yup, but he can't have his job (teaching) without doing so. A large amount, too. Between that and the $1000 a year in Union dues, and we don't make very much at all. I would be fine with the Union dues if they would help us get any decent work benefits. Right now it's $1600 a month for health insurance!!! That's CRAZY! I haven't heard of premiums quite THAT high. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 We've more than 4 to 6 mos., but as long as necessary depends on how long it would be. The last time dh was unemployed it took 18 mos for him to find another job - 25% less pay. That took a hit on our savings. We could probably make for 12 to 18 mos. again barring any emergencies - that does not include health insurance, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 That's CRAZY! I haven't heard of premiums quite THAT high. :( There was a thread on here not long ago. From what I saw, our number is about par to many. Our last job had a $80 monthly payment. I miss that. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Yup, but he can't have his job (teaching) without doing so. A large amount, too. Between that and the $1000 a year in Union dues, and we don't make very much at all. I would be fine with the Union dues if they would help us get any decent work benefits. Right now it's $1600 a month for health insurance!!! :huh: That is one sucktastic union. What's the point? And we are proud/happy to pay my husband's union dues so I am not saying this from an anti-union place. If you pay for a union, you should get a union! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Oh, yeah. We also have a ton of food storage. Not LDS, but I grew up too poor to take my next meal for granted. I really liked having built this up when I first left my job. We need to replenish, but it's still quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 We live mostly paycheck to paycheck. We don't even have a savings account right now. :/ We do have a 401K, but it is relatively new, so there isn't much to pull from there. We also have a ton of debt, so it's hard to save when you are always paying something off(why didn't someone slap me and DH when we were young?). We have been slowly, but steadily paying off debt for several years, but we have such a tight income, we cannot speed up the pace without me returning to work. That isn't a sacrifice we are willing to make yet, so this is what it is for now. We do want to start savings soon. DH was just offered a promotion today with a slight raise. We may put the extra into savings and continue to pay our debt on the income we are used to now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 We live mostly paycheck to paycheck. We don't even have a savings account right now. :/ We do have a 401K, but it is relatively new, so there isn't much to pull from there. We also have a ton of debt, so it's hard to save when you are always paying something off(why didn't someone slap me and DH when we were young?). We have been slowly, but steadily paying off debt for several years, but we have such a tight income, we cannot speed up the pace without me returning to work. That isn't a sacrifice we are willing to make yet, so this is what it is for now. We do want to start savings soon. DH was just offered a promotion today with a slight raise. We may put the extra into savings and continue to pay our debt on the income we are used to now. YAY for the promotion! Someone should have slapped us too. When I think of all the money we wasted eating out. One time I added it up--something like $12,000 in the first 5 years we were married. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 We had about 4 months in savings last year when dh was laid off work. I was so glad that we had it. Family has helped us some, but I've just now had to get a part-time job. We are going in debt for the school classes dh is taking, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.