alysee Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Does anyone have any big dreams they are saving their pennies for? My husband and I spent a week this past August in Newfoundland. It was the second time for him but the first time for me. It was spectacular. Now we want to do a road trip across the east coast of Canada with our kids when our current baby is a preschooler. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 I am putting a large percent into retirement as I am older and just getting started the past 5 years…..so word to the young, start with your very first job and you will never miss those small amounts. other than that, when I saved a big chunk on auto/home insurance I put that into my travel fund. Italy next year and not sure where after that. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) Just trying to replace the big chunk we recently spent to replace our HVAC. No vacations, no fun things. Retirement Ds will need a car in the next year. Edited September 29, 2023 by ScoutTN 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Old age! 😀 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 A house! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) A future car and future house repairs. Edit: my current dream vacation is to Santa Fe and/or Albuquerque. I don’t think we will need to save up for this, though, because it is driving distance and we would probably have two or three nights in a hotel for just my husband and I. We don’t really like to be away from home. I have been before and loved it! Edited September 29, 2023 by Lecka 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alysee Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 16 minutes ago, Ottakee said: I am putting a large percent into retirement as I am older and just getting started the past 5 years…..so word to the young, start with your very first job and you will never miss those small amounts. other than that, when I saved a big chunk on auto/home insurance I put that into my travel fund. Italy next year and not sure where after that. I am forever grateful for my dad who told me to do that when I got my first job. As a couple we have a retirement fund that we started when I graduated college at 21. My hubby is hoping to be able to fully retire at 70 and to be part time from 60-70. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Retirement and potential care costs as we age. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 14 minutes ago, alysee said: I am forever grateful for my dad who told me to do that when I got my first job. As a couple we have a retirement fund that we started when I graduated college at 21. My hubby is hoping to be able to fully retire at 70 and to be part time from 60-70. I does help to start when you are young. I was an odd kid and was into money as young child and started saving for retirement before I was a teenager. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 We save for a bunch of things. Retirement is our biggest savings, which is 15% with an additional 6% dh's employer contributes. Next is saving up for a new roof or deck. These aren't things we want to replace but the reality is they will need to be replaced within the next 10 years most likely so we're saving now. Saving up for a replacement car is another thing we do regularly. Currently, we aren't saving for anything fun because we are in the process of spending our big fun savings for a January family trip to Puerto Rico. After that, we'll start saving again for the next big family trip which will likely be in 2 years. Not sure where we'd want to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Retirement College for kids House/car/health funds 25th anniversary/college graduation for dh next May (Scotland or Iceland I think) We'll try for a family road trip next summer After those we'll be saving to replace dhs truck (hope to replace in 2 years) it's 21 years old now with 275k miles- he primarily drives his car '07Accord. Dd2 will take it when she starts driving. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 I am saving (or working more) for some money for two events next June - my daughter's wedding and a trip to Alaska. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Stretching pretty thin across multiple categories!!! I want a new car (I drive mine for ~10 years each) but I want to wait for strike settlement. Graduate school. Retirement. And I really have my heart set on wanting to start a small business in town that can be a small additional income stream/investment. That money is currently sitting in the house we eventually need to sell. There’s also the matter of yard fencing that has been difficult to get quotes on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 My kids' higher education and my retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Retirement. Before, retirement plus college, but thankfully we're done with college costs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Mostly retirement. DH is already retired and is at an age at which he has required minimum withdrawals. A big churnk of my pay goes into my retirement and into a Health Savings account. We have saved up for a new car; imine is about 16 years old and has close to 220,000 miles on it; we haven't decided what to buy yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 As a family, we are putting gobs into retirement and general savings. We are planning a trip to Hawaii next year, so some of the "savings" will go to that (we actually use cc to pay for *everything* and save up those rewards/cash back, and then use that towards vacations and such, so that's technically a different "savings" fund) (*we pay the cc off each month, it's just how we "save" for fun stuff) Me personally, out of my "fun money" (I work part time and most of that $ goes to paying for our kids' college bills, and some into savings, and then I keep some for personal spending), I am saving for such mundane things as coaching fees for fencing tournaments (to be able to pay my coach to come coach me if I want), more clothes from a favorite brand, and upgrading my fencing gear. I have a "fencing fund" and I put a chunk in there each month, which will be used for both the fencing things as needed. That still allows me to spend a little on small stuff throughout the month too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Retirement, property taxes, and home repairs. Just adult type boring things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Retirement and recurring non monthly bills. I would like to buy a car and visit the Canadian Rockies, but am not really saving for those. Just, saving generally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Nothing specific. College, retirement, life. We have some big expenses coming up in the next few years, but putting them off as long as possible: upstairs HVAC unit; roof; tree work (more expensive than it sounds). We will have funeral expenses sometime too, and I have been saving for that as well. We did a huge (for us) trip this past summer. So mostly we are rebuilding the savings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) Some travel and retirement, mostly. We're going to Costa Rica this year, and hopefully Panema in another year or so. I'd love to visit Newfoundland one day. Glad you had a great trip! It's the only province I haven't been to. I'd love to visit Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut as well. Edited September 29, 2023 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 We have never been able to save for anything fun and even big purchases like major home repairs have been more crisis response than save up for things. We have been saving for retirement through his employers for decades and have owned homes that appreciated and those have been our savings. But- with 3/4 of our kids launched and dh and I at 49 yo things are easing up. We can start this new thing where you save up to do fun or important things I think. I’m not sure what to think of it. It’s uncomfortable! I like it but it’s a big change and I’m not sure how it will go. Like vacations? I guess we could try those. A home or car upgrade before a crisis? Hmmm… 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 As a couple, we have retirement savings, mid-range savings, short-term savings, and several sinking savings funds (i.e. travel, taxes, life insurance, next car). I work 18-27 weeks/year for the local government. All of that goes for extra travel $ and housekeeping services. Travel is important to us. And I can't manage the cleaning during the months that I work. That's usually a 9-week period at a time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 We are putting 22% away for retirement. Thankfully, we have been saving for decades so if we needed to reduce the % it would be okay. We also have a small but growing fund for a trip to Denmark, and another one for small amount of acreage up north for summer vacationing as we age. We want a place near lots of trails, a lake big enough to sail on as well as kayak, and with a good perk test for well, septic, and cabin. We won't actually make that dream come true until after Mark's mum passes away. I am considering taking a part time STEM education position in order to beef up contributions to that project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Pretty much everything- my oldest will start college next year with 3 others following in the next 5 years. We are currently living overseas so when we move back to the US we will need to buy a house and cars, plus we will probably have teen boys needing car insurance. I just don’t even want to think about it all. We did take a few great vacations this past year, so we can live on those memories I guess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 We are mostly retired. I work just two days a week, and I put my money towards travel and family vacations. We hope to go visit our daughter who is studying overseas this year. And we usually go to Yellowstone every other year. As we age, a lot of our money is going towards health and fitness, so we are able to do the things we want to do, physically, like travel and hike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 At the rate my children destroy things, survival. 😐😞 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Petrol money. I'm taking the girl interstate for a straw bale building course in a fortnight. I paid for the course and the accomodation a few months back, so the next expenditure is petrol money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 11 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Petrol money. I'm taking the girl interstate for a straw bale building course in a fortnight. I paid for the course and the accomodation a few months back, so the next expenditure is petrol money. That course sounds really interesting, Rosie. I hope you will post about it as you are learning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Just now, Faith-manor said: That course sounds really interesting, Rosie. I hope you will post about it as you are learning. I won't be learning anything. I'll be sitting in the camp kitchen being the responsible adult because dd is a minor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Just now, Rosie_0801 said: I won't be learning anything. I'll be sitting in the camp kitchen being the responsible adult because dd is a minor. Bummer. Make Dd post about it! 😁😁😁 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkTulip Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Um, everything?! It’s a long story, but it turns out my ex-husband wasn’t actually saving anything at all for retirement. My divorce was finalized about a year ago and at age 50, I started with basically zero. Fortunately, I got a fantastic job and as long as I’m super careful, I will likely be able to retire someday and not have to work until I’m dead like I thought I would. So, currently saving for retirement like a crazy person. Ideally I’d like to buy a house someday, but that’s not looking very likely. 4 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 A house, someday, but not at these interest rates. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 2 hours ago, PinkTulip said: Um, everything?! It’s a long story, but it turns out my ex-husband wasn’t actually saving anything at all for retirement. My divorce was finalized about a year ago and at age 50, I started with basically zero. Fortunately, I got a fantastic job and as long as I’m super careful, I will likely be able to retire someday and not have to work until I’m dead like I thought I would. So, currently saving for retirement like a crazy person. Ideally I’d like to buy a house someday, but that’s not looking very likely. I was in a similar situation but did have a house. I live a frugal life for the most part and am putting away quite a bit. not sure if you worked all along or not but if you were married at least 10 years and don’t remarry you can get half of your ex husband’s social security amount….if he was a high wage earner that might be more than your social security amount if you stayed home for year and/or have a much lower paying job 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 8 minutes ago, Ottakee said: I was in a similar situation but did have a house. I live a frugal life for the most part and am putting away quite a bit. not sure if you worked all along or not but if you were married at least 10 years and don’t remarry you can get half of your ex husband’s social security amount….if he was a high wage earner that might be more than your social security amount if you stayed home for year and/or have a much lower paying job Even if you remarry, actually. (I don't know if this changes if you are currently then married when you apply for social security, or if it later on changes if you become married again after you've already been drawing your/his social security....perhaps you have to be single at the time?) And if you remarry, redivorce, etc. you can pick which one of the ex's was the highest earner. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 We're going to Miami next month, so we're saving for that, but it's a pretty typical vacay. I don't really have one big thing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 I should add ... when we no longer have a dog (probably about 10 years from now), we'll have a lot of things to replace around the house. Gnawed furniture, carpets with holes eaten into them, scratched door and window frames .... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 I don't know about specific endeavors we are saving for. We are planning to buy a house after this one sells. We are downsizing and paying cash. That will free up a lot of monthly income for other things. We have 2 kids in college and my salary pretty much just covers their costs. We are taking a huge overseas trip next summer but we are using my dad's money for that. One thing we do need to consider is that around next summer or so we will need a new car (or new to us car). My son will be taking his car to college next year and we will need something else. We sold our Mini Cooper last year and had plans to replace it and then my son couldn't get a parking spot at college so that bought us some more time. We have been discussing what kind of car to get. DH wants a Hybrid Rat-4 but we will see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 Whelp. Based on the estimate we just got for removing a huge red oak with a rotted base I think we should have been saving more toward the tree removal fund. 😉 Not fun, and certainly not a big dream, but better than the nightmare of the house being smashed. 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 Saving to refresh my house. I am hoping to find a place for dd16 when she turns18. (Special needs). When that happens, I will let ds ret the house from me. Between them, I plan to replace all the flooring and have the interior painted. Probably have a huge tree taken down. …..maybe my roof. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 5 hours ago, Pawz4me said: Whelp. Based on the estimate we just got for removing a huge red oak with a rotted base I think we should have been saving more toward the tree removal fund. 😉 Not fun, and certainly not a big dream, but better than the nightmare of the house being smashed. 😉 Right there with you. We don't want to take down the one maple, but it is getting to be a hazard. So now we have to do it $950, and they do not have to clean up the mess just anything that might fall into the road because we will cutting and splitting it for firewood. If they had to clean it up, mulch the small branches, etc. $1500. We should have set more aside. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 17 minutes ago, Faith-manor said: Right there with you. We don't want to take down the one maple, but it is getting to be a hazard. So now we have to do it $950, and they do not have to clean up the mess just anything that might fall into the road because we will cutting and splitting it for firewood. If they had to clean it up, mulch the small branches, etc. $1500. We should have set more aside. Ours is $3500. That includes full clean up. But it really is a huge tree. One base that has three trunks, each 90-100 feet tall (tree guy estimate, I would have guessed taller than that). So it’s almost like three trees. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Retirement, land to build our retirement home, and travel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 Travel (we try to take a christmas trip and then our 25th anniversary is next year, so somewhere next summer) Home upgrades (refinish hardwood floors, bathroom and kitchen upgrades, swimming pool liner, and hopefully eventually the addition of a front porch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 9:16 AM, TheReader said: Me personally, out of my "fun money" (I work part time and most of that $ goes to paying for our kids' college bills, and some into savings, and then I keep some for personal spending), I am saving for such mundane things as coaching fees for fencing tournaments (to be able to pay my coach to come coach me if I want), more clothes from a favorite brand, and upgrading my fencing gear. I have a "fencing fund" and I put a chunk in there each month, which will be used for both the fencing things as needed. That still allows me to spend a little on small stuff throughout the month too. Intrigued! I like clothes. What's your favorite brand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 2 hours ago, Kidlit said: Intrigued! I like clothes. What's your favorite brand? Last year I discovered Wool&, which is a slow fashion brand making merino & merino-blend clothing. Simple stuff, but comfy, and soft, and yet really nice looking -- so, a t-shirt, but elevated. I've got a few dresses, many shirts, leggings, and one pair of real pants so far. And a hoodie. I have more tops and hoodies on my wish list, and am debating between a few other pairs of pants (I'd like 1-2 more pairs, but not sure which ones). 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 6:23 AM, Soror said: 25th anniversary/college graduation for dh next May (Scotland or Iceland I think) Do both! Iceland Air flies to Glasgow and allows a free stopover of up to 7 days in Iceland for no additional cost in air fare. The kids and I did that a few years ago on the way to visit relatives in the UK, and it was awesome! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 Dh has the opportunity to make extra money this school year, so we are saving to take a trip next summer. We are considering three possibilities right now. a drive up the East Coast into New England and seeing all the sights along the way flying to New England and seeing things up there and possibly going over into Canada to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia visiting the UK The decision will depend on how many hours he actually gets and if no unforeseen circumstances take the money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 Adding a bit more about divorced spouse social security benefits. To make this easier to follow, I am going to make the ex-husband the higher earner. The ex-wife could potentially receive Social Security’s Divorced Spouse Benefits, which would be a percentage of the ex-husband’s SS benefit. The amount that she receives would have no bearing on what her ex-husband receives even if he has remarried. So, if the ex-husband receives a $1,000 retirement benefit per month, he will continue to receive the full $1,000 even if his ex-wife chooses to receive a benefit for herself. She would not be taking away any SS benefit that he receives. She can also file for this without his knowledge or consent. This site goes into more detail and has a tool to help figure out if an ex should take this benefit. https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4388 If the ex-husband were to die, then the surviving ex-wife might still be entitled to receive Social Security’s Surviving Divorced Spouse Benefit. This amount would be slightly more than the Divorced Spouse Benefit. https://ssabest.benefits.gov/benefits/social-security-surviving-divorced-spouse-benefits 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 A trip to Honduras with my son next summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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