How many of you for whatever reason are at a point in your if you don't get paid this week you are homeless

Property taxes go up. Health care costs go up with age. Make sure you have plenty of money then.

ummmm..........reporting this post for blatantly exhibiting unprovoked reason, balance and perspective. This is Let'sRun... you gotta trigger warn that sh*t.....

Senile Old Man wrote:

I was poor when I was in college and my wife was starving (Cambodia) at that time. We may be a little boring as a result. But our daughters both went to college on our dime and we bought their cars for them. The house (in SoCal) is paid off and we have about $1M in savings. One way I got a lot of enjoyment and visited beautiful places was by running trail ultras. You don't have to spend a ton to enjoy yourself.

That said, I can understand very well how someone can be living from paycheck to paycheck, either young or old. I've been fortunate but I would say to keep aware of your job options and depend on yourself to develop your skills and career. Also, try to minimize the number of big mistakes you make.

flagging this one too.....it's an epidemic!

ck3237 wrote:

Property taxes go up. Health care costs go up with age. Make sure you have plenty of money then.

my health care is $35 a month, property taxes under $50 a month.....could probably survive if those both went up.

I'm sure there will some surprises and unexpected expenses and I'll end up working more than I plan, but there are other ways to make it work than the grind grind grind till you retire while trying to guilt everyone else who doesn't do the same.

What confuses me is when people like flagpole say they have enough money not to work........but continue to work anyway. Except in a few cases I really doubt people enjoy their jobs that much. After decades of "work, work, work" as the the main determiner of worth, I just think they've trained their minds out of being able to imagine life any other way.

What's the point in being able to retire at 55 if you've basically spent your whole life developing a mindset that will not allow you to enjoy it?

I know, I know, there are going to be exceptions.....but this mindset seems to describe about 90% of people in the 'work, work work........save, save, save' camp.

AstoriaRunner wrote:

Maybe you strike a balance, you salt a little away but spend a little b/c at the end of the day - would you prefer to be super frugal and retire at 59? or be somewhat frugal and retire at 63? or not frugal and retire at 69?

The difference can be a lot bigger than this. Someone who's super frugal can retire in their 40s. Imagine being able to do whatever you want for the entire second half of your life. A lot of older people are stuck working jobs they hate because they can't afford to retire. I don't think any one should risk that. Someone may love working when they're in the 40s, but what if they hate it in their 50s? The prospect of having to work for another decade or two when you're miserable doesn't sound great to me. Being frugal and having a lot of money saved gives one more options in life.

by 40's you really mean 49.5 right? Very very few people are able to retire in their early 40's without being both very fortunate and working their ass off/making serious compromises in their youth. For most people the trade off doesn't appear to be worth it.

With college expenses in the US spiraling out of control, this is becoming less and less of a viable option for most people.

I assume any number of legal means can stave off the actual eviction into the street for more than a week.

The average 50-year-old in the US has less than $30,000USD total net worth. No pensions, mo savings, we're facing a retirement crisis in this country, in a big, big way.

AverageIsPhukked wrote:

The average 50-year-old in the US has less than $30,000USD total net worth. No pensions, mo savings, we're facing a retirement crisis in this country, in a big, big way.

......or that myth that you've dedicated your life towards chasing is wrong. My hunch is that most of these people will be fine, more or less.

I make $12/hr in a call center and have about $40K saved up. I just work and live with my parents.

Donnie wrote:

Not me.

I make around $400k per year. I live in a house that is painted white, rent free.

My job allows me to play golf every few days on golf courses that I own.

I just got a big tax cut, even though I don't pay any taxes.

I brought "Merry Christmas" back.

You're welcome.

So sad and so true

The majority of people cannot save much because the the income and FICA taxes consume a third of everything they make, which amounts to at least half of their surplus, and probably more. The government is robbing them blind and teaching them to depend on it when SS/Medicare are unsustainable and probably cannot give them anything back, much less provide for a comfortable retirement.

electron1661 wrote:

Donnie wrote:

Not me.

I make around $400k per year. I live in a house that is painted white, rent free.

My job allows me to play golf every few days on golf courses that I own.

I just got a big tax cut, even though I don't pay any taxes.

I brought "Merry Christmas" back.

You're welcome.

So sad and so true

Except for that part where he donates his salary...

My husband and I went through a major natural disaster over a decade ago. We were still dating; he was a brand new attorney, and I was in pharmacy school. Suddenly, jobs, homes, cars, and appliances were all in jeopardy. At that point, we decided to always have a full three-months worth of expenses in a liquid account. We've always had savings, retirement, and investments, but this experience taught us the value of accessible cash.

I’d think a guy with a 150 IQ would be more financially secure. With all your HP.

How poor are you and/or how awful is where you live that property taxes are under $600 a year?

It might be better if I didn't have another paycheck coming. It would get me off my butt to make my life more exciting.

This is how it works in the real world wrote:

` wrote:

I wouldn't be homeless, but it would be tough for a bit. No savings, no excuses. Decent job security though--there's one other person at my company who does what I do, and she does it worse, slower, and for more money (because she's been there longer). If they let her go I could easily do her job and mine; if they let me go they would need to hire 1-2 people to take my place. So until they lay her off I think I'm safe.

That’s not how it works. You’re first to go. She has seniority and a woman.

I'd agree with you if I didn't know my boss.

California Joe wrote:

I’d think a guy with a 150 IQ would be more financially secure. With all your HP.

How poor are you and/or how awful is where you live that property taxes are under $600 a year?

Poor by choice. Consciously trading financial security for the life I want to live. If I worked year round I'd make 150-175,000, but for me it's not worth the trade and it's not even close. I live in one of the best parts of the country, a mountain river 100 feet from my front door, skiing and stunning mountain hiking 20 miles up the road, and one of the best small cities in America less than an hour away. It's a strange little bubble where housing prices never recovered from the housing crash (no local jobs or cell phone service are part of the issue) so I snagged a condo for $60,000. I feel fairly financially secure because I can now take a minimum wage job and support myself if needed and in a couple years I won't have a house payment.

Sounds like Boise or somewhere in Idaho.