How do people not save a ton of money?

I dunno dude, I moved out when I was 18 years old and never looked back. But I'm in my 40s. Living at home at age 28? You gotta be kidding me.

DeTron Lames wrote:

I dunno dude, I moved out when I was 18 years old and never looked back. But I'm in my 40s. Living at home at age 28? You gotta be kidding me.

This. Having some privacy and freedom as a grown man is more important than being niggardly.

Your first sentence is a great line to use with any women you meet. Let us know how it goes.

rather be independent wrote:

DeTron Lames wrote:

I dunno dude, I moved out when I was 18 years old and never looked back. But I'm in my 40s. Living at home at age 28? You gotta be kidding me.

This. Having some privacy and freedom as a grown man is more important than being niggardly.

Great reply liberal arse. Nice reply.

I know this is a troll post but I’ll bite. Love my parents but I “moved out” when I went to college, although I think more fair to say when I graduated college (from a pure financial independence perspective).

I think a couple things happen: 1) people aren’t great with money and 2) many people don’t earn that much and don’t have financial backing from parents. The median household (not individual) income in the US is ~$68k. So having $165k by the age of 28 is essentially impossible for many people. Take into account student loans and my point 1 above (poor money management) and you end up where we are.

Overall, the US isn’t that bad off, but the gap between the wealthy and poor is growing at a pretty quick pace. The fact that you can live at home, have parents that support you, and my guess would be parents that helped you throughout life is a huge advantage. Many people have to work throughout high school and college and don’t have a safety net.

My wife and I made 300k last year collectively and have saved very little but that's what happens when you are paying straight up for two kids at the most expensive colleges in the country.

Oh...not to mention all of the taxes we pay when you make that much. So after tuition, taxes, mortgage, etc. there is not much left

nobodywouldbelieve` wrote:

My wife and I made 300k last year collectively and have saved very little but that's what happens when you are paying straight up for two kids at the most expensive colleges in the country.

You should have put the kids in debt, and then paid them. All that debt gets forgiven under Biden. You planned so wrong, as did I. Absolutely don't pay another dime of tuition, and tell colleges to send bills to the government.

impressive wrote:

Your first sentence is a great line to use with any women you meet. Let us know how it goes.

It worked for George Costanza

impressive wrote:

Your first sentence is a great line to use with any women you meet. Let us know how it goes.

Yeah but that second sentence will light up any lady's eyes. Don't let them know you have $165k saved up. Ladies will light up for far less money than that. They'll marry you to get their hands on that kind of cash.

cash talks wrote:

They'll marry you to get their hands on that kind of cash.

only if you agree to move out of your parent's house, and then that money starts draining away

A few years later they realize you have no ambition, dump you and keep half of whatever's left, and tax your remaining half for child support. Not good!

Some people make $10/hr and try to raise a family on it. If you can barely cover expenses, you don't save a ton of money.

It's about instant gratification vs waiting in the long term. I.e. the marshmallow experiment is a good predictor on how successful a little kid will be in adulthood.

It's becauase you are overpaid in America. Come to Europe and you will be earning a pittance and house prices are astronomical.

chillin369 wrote:

No car and moved back home with my parents at age 28. Have 165k and then another 45k in 401k/HSA.

How do people not save a ton? Do they really spend that much?

Some people DO save a lot. Wife and I combined take home about 12k a month after taxes, insurance, and 11% retirement savings (which I don’t even really think about as savings). So we make decent, but not exceptional money. Mortgage and daycare eats up about 4800, and we usually save around 3-5k of the remaining cash each month. We’ve pretty consistently saved ~50k a year this way, plus another ~25k in retirement. Even when we made less, we were still able to pay off 70k in combined student loans in just a few years.

We live comfortably and don’t really want for much. We drive a nice car (one car, we share) and own a nice home. We travel at least once a year (or did before baby and Covid, anyway). When we buy something, we usually buy things that are nice, and take care of them. I do most of the work around our home myself. We don’t shop for leisure and we usually think pretty hard about a major (or even minor) purchase before spending. We both were raised with very little money, so we became frugal that way.

I listen to the way my friends talk about money and it’s crazy to me. They make the same or less than us, but talk of spending $500-1K on some frivolity like it’s nothing at all, and shop constantly.

saver wrote:

[quote]chillin369 wrote:

No car and moved back home with my parents at age 28. Have 165k and then another 45k in 401k/HSA.

How do people not save a ton? Do they really spend that much?

Some people DO save a lot. Wife and I combined take home about 12k a month after taxes, insurance, and 11% retirement savings (which I don’t even really think about as savings). So we make decent, but not exceptional money./quote]

Yeah I stopped reading after this. You’re each making over $200k a year. THAT’s why you are saving so much. Buzz off

Business Decision wrote:

saver wrote:

[quote]chillin369 wrote:

No car and moved back home with my parents at age 28. Have 165k and then another 45k in 401k/HSA.

How do people not save a ton? Do they really spend that much?

Some people DO save a lot. Wife and I combined take home about 12k a month after taxes, insurance, and 11% retirement savings (which I don’t even really think about as savings). So we make decent, but not exceptional money./quote]

Yeah I stopped reading after this. You’re each making over $200k a year. THAT’s why you are saving so much. Buzz off

We each make a bit over 100k. Like I said, good but not exceptional salaries. One key for us is that both of us work, my wife didn’t quit/cut back when we had a kid like many do.

Top 5 Ways to NOT Save Money:

1. buy more car that you can afford. Idiotic purchase and status symbol.

2. get a divorce. Divorces can set you back financially for up to a decade.

3. Be unfortunately enough to get sick. Healthcare bills can sink you fast even with insurance.

4. Be unfortunate enough to get laid off or work in an area that is severely economically depressed.

5. Refuse to leave an area where you simply cannot afford to live. Sure SF is where it's happening, but if you work in a service industry you need to go to a low cost state or city.

nobodywouldbelieve` wrote:

My wife and I made 300k last year collectively and have saved very little but that's what happens when you are paying straight up for two kids at the most expensive colleges in the country.

Controversial opinion: you shouldn't pay for your kids college. You need to teach financial discipline and independence. Paying for their college teaches them neither.