Why do peope have such trouble saving money? It's pretty easy...

I'll double down on something from my earlier post.

Yes, saving is easier if you make more. And, for those that don't have a lot of income potential, it can be very challenging.

But, for anyone who has a college degree, there really is no reason why you can't find a way to live on 2/3rds of your take home income. If you can't do that, you can't afford the lifestyle you are choosing. If you have loan payments that make that impossible, then you haven't made good choices in how you financially invest in yourself.

The problem is there is a lot of pressures out there making people feel they deserve or have to have things they can't afford.

Holy BeeGees wrote:

Accounting Nazi wrote:

60% of your net income is crap. That is like bragging about having the largest micro-P.

Hypothetical Example:

Gross Income $50,000

Cost of Living /Taxes $49,000

Net Income $1,000

Savings $600

Let us know when you are saving 60% of your AGI. Net Income is the last line on an income statement after a million deductions doofus.

You can't possibly be that stupid, can you?

Or were you just trying to be funny and failing miserably?

There is a part of me that wants to believe that Accounting Nazi was serious because that would be in the running for dumbest post in Letsrun history.

Why are you so stupid and pathetic? You, obviously, have never been poor.

Also, have you ever watched a friend die at a young age? That might change your perspective on how much money you want to spend experiencing life vs. saving.

Sumdude wrote:

This is exactly correct. I don't understand the people who are desperate to retire as soon as they can. Go get a job/career that you enjoy and find fulfilling so that you can spend your life accomplishing something meaningful rather than being miserable all the time trying to retire.

Save enough to have a safety cushion, but don't give up on living now -- you might get hit by a bus tomorrow.

I'm really jealous of you and other people who enjoy what they do. But 95% of us look forward to weekends and holidays and vacations when we don't have to be at work. If you stopping paying us, we'd stop showing up. That's awesome that you have something you love. I don't think this is the typical human experience.

Besides, who's going to pay me to sleep 10 hours a day, run, hike, travel, watch movies, and drink beer?

Thank you for breaking this down for us, Smug.

To your point, I graduated with a BA in 2005 and got a good job working at a non-profit right out of school. I made $12.50/hour at I job I loved and lived outside a major city where the cost of living is high. I scrounged for years and was able to save very little. And, I didn't even have student loans (thanks to a full ride)! I cooked all of my meals, wore worn out clothes, and spent my spare money on trips to my hometown to see family on the holidays. I had it good compared to a lot of people and I still struggled to save.

People work their butts of to make $12.50 an hour, and here most of us are, in our comfy office jobs complaining about the air conditioning being on too high (ok that's a little off topic, but some of us have it so good, we lose touch with the reality of the lower wage workers).

just a kid wrote:

Accounting Nazi wrote:

60% of your net income is crap. That is like bragging about having the largest micro-P.

Hypothetical Example:

Gross Income $50,000

Cost of Living /Taxes $49,000

Net Income $1,000

Savings $600

Let us know when you are saving 60% of your AGI. Net Income is the last line on an income statement after a million deductions doofus.

the OP doesn't know the difference of net vs gross vs AGi vs his dick. he is a kid. get married, have a few kids, then come back and brag how much you save.

and wow, you make 5 figures, is that like $12,000?

make 7, that's impressive.

I agree the OP is kinda dumb but I think when he said he makes 5 figures his point was that he doesnt make a ton of money and can still save; not that his income was super impressive.

Pretty Wise wrote:

I have about 5000/month after taxes. I spend less than $2000 on literally everything else, so more than $3000 of my $5000 post tax income is put into savings/investments.

Good luck living on $2000/month for "everything else" where I live. One bedroom apartments go for that much.

And $5000/month after taxes puts you in the top 2% of income in the US. So if you make a ton of money and live in a cheap area then you can save a lot. Your financial wizardry leaves me dizzy.

Try doing that living in Silicon Valley. And earning $50,000/year (which is, let's be honest, pretty decent money for most people).

DontFeedTheTrolls wrote:

Pretty Wise wrote:

I have about 5000/month after taxes. I spend less than $2000 on literally everything else, so more than $3000 of my $5000 post tax income is put into savings/investments.

Good luck living on $2000/month for "everything else" where I live. One bedroom apartments go for that much.

And $5000/month after taxes puts you in the top 2% of income in the US. So if you make a ton of money and live in a cheap area then you can save a lot. Your financial wizardry leaves me dizzy.

Try doing that living in Silicon Valley. And earning $50,000/year (which is, let's be honest, pretty decent money for most people).

Did you have a point?

If you don't make 100k a year then youre a poor pathetic b*tch

richdude wrote:

If you don't make 100k a year then youre a poor pathetic b*tch

So, you have come up with a new definition. Quite an achievement really.

As is always the case with fellows such as yourself, your crowning achievement is adding mindless heat to a discussion without ever shedding any light.

Congratulations!

Gross: 440K

Taxes: 200k (Highly taxed locality)

Retirement: 55k

Extra savings: 75k

Living expenses 100k (includes travel, way too much money on booze/food)

Gifts/Charity: 10k

Basically saving 30% of my gross income and a little over half of after-tax income. Spend way too much money on rent/restaurants/bars/girls. That extra savings could easily be 100k, but you're only young once.

Pretty Wise wrote:

Why are people so stupid and pathetic when it comes to money management?

Area man does something well. Immediately tells everyone not succeeding they're stupid and pathetic. Man wonders why no one listens to him.

They have student loans, they major in something worthless that doesn't give them a job with much extra income, they impregnate a woman, they live at the limit of their means, so in combination it takes years before they can get their head above water.

Pointing Out the Obvious wrote:

richdude wrote:

If you don't make 100k a year then youre a poor pathetic b*tch

So, you have come up with a new definition. Quite an achievement really.

As is always the case with fellows such as yourself, your crowning achievement is adding mindless heat to a discussion without ever shedding any light.

Congratulations!

$$$$$$$$ on my mind

Mr. Pointy Nose wrote:

DontFeedTheTrolls wrote:

Good luck living on $2000/month for "everything else" where I live. One bedroom apartments go for that much.

And $5000/month after taxes puts you in the top 2% of income in the US. So if you make a ton of money and live in a cheap area then you can save a lot. Your financial wizardry leaves me dizzy.

Try doing that living in Silicon Valley. And earning $50,000/year (which is, let's be honest, pretty decent money for most people).

Did you have a point?

Yeah. A person who makes a lot of money and lives in an inexpensive area thinks that it's easy to save. Next up, running sub-10 in the 100m the Usain Bolt way.

try saving any net money when you have a spouse and children and you do all the saving and they do all the spending.

I put every cent of my salary into paying off the mortgage, which was to be in 5 years but delayed probably two years or so by vastly increased property taxes and insurance, plus some being siphoned off for my daughter's move to private school this year (not my decision). So, we live off her salary which is just a few thousand more, but we barely make it through the summers when we're unpaid, so I run t/f work and make my lunch at home and carry it in to save money; I never buy any clothes or running shoes--going toward 3k miles on the last sponsorship pairs I have left from three years ago; I drink a beer out maybe once a month; we pay for no childcare at all but have the young one in school as well for $3800/school year now for two days a week, and we alternate all the child care; when we had to replace our second car, a 2001, we got a 2002 for $1600. They have music lessons and gymnastics/dance that go for a total of about $4k per year--here the music lessons cost a fortune and are not my choice while the local county gymnastics/dance programs are a tremendous deal and a tiny portion of that, plus nearby. So, at the end of the day, we should own our house free and clear in two or three more years, but our pensions currently are worth about half a year's salary because we can put barely anything into them. This is from someone who saved $3k in two years in grad school while making $6800/year plus $2k summer temping.

Most of the people I know are well aware of how easy it is to save, but consciously choose not to. Nothing wrong with that. You can't take it with you. Their life, their choice.

2 rules that would serve all males (and females for #2) well:

1. Don't get married until you're at least 30;

2. Save 10 cents of every dollar earned.

It doesn't matter how much or how little you make. It's pretty easy to set aside 10 cents on the dollar and if you start early (and don't get married until you're at least 30), you will build some wealth regardless.

Agreed 100%. Plus these early retire experts are pretty busy maintaining their web business. They aren't retired. They just do a different job now.

Spend your money. Enjoy life. Don't overspend, but no point scrimping and denying yourself some enjoyment from working.

You want a dependable car to visit national parks and the like, BUY one. Don't tell me to own a bike instead. I don't care that most people waste money on car ownership. Seriously.

The frugality/early-retire business is big money. The early-retire experts are making bank from their advice. Their rhetoric gets tiring, IMO.