How broke are you?

[R8RFAN]

Instead of hijacking a thread lets make our own...
How far up to your ass are you in debt are you?
How close are you to filing for Bankruptcy.
How many of you borrow from Mom and Dad because you are sorry as hell and have to drive that car that sounds like a pissed off bumble bee?



Let's get it on you broke dick bastards...

It's on


I will start the thread

0 Mortgage debt
0 Consumer debt
0 Car payments

Bills I owe
Directv
Insurance
Taxes
Utilities
Food
and Cell Phone (thanks luv)

[scho63]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

I just turned 50, so I'll give you my advice, or shall we say, impart some common sense.

1. Live within your means. I had friends when I was younger, and still have friends at my age, that will spend right up to the very dollar they make......and more. I used to think that they must be super wealthy, but come to find out, they were actually just super stupid. Also, living within your means means that you actually have to save money each and every month. Don't listen to any specific percentage other than the one that works for you at the time that you are making the decision. Adjust it every 6 months to a year, depending upon how your life is changing (income increase/decrease and expense increase/decrease).

2. There is the tortoise and there is the hare. Both will cross the finish line eventually, but one gets there sooner than the other. One spends an enormous amount of energy trying to be first, while the other knows it's a lost cause to do nothing more than to keep a steady, slow pace. Figure out which one of these two you are, or which one you resemble the most. Why? Because it will help you in planning for the future. I knew a guy that wanted to retire when he was 55 (hare), but he wasn't on a career path that was going to allow that (tortoise). It's a bit of a conundrum and can create issues for you down the road, especially if you have convinced your wife you can provide something that won't come to fruition for several years down the road.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride - it goes a lot faster than you think! NO SHIT!

NOW YOU GOD DAMN TELL ME! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I WAS PISSING AWAY $10,000 A MONTH ON NICE RESTAURANTS, FANCY CARS, COKE AND ESCORTS?

Real easy now isn't it Mr. Smarty Pants!

BTW can you loan me $20 until Monday?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by RunKC

What would be yor advice for under 50 people who want to save for retirement? Obviously there's 401k, living below your means and getting rid of debt, but I'm trying to have multiple streams of revenue to my retirement and I want to start early.

I've looked at the stock market, but dividedend stocks seem to only be worth it for people who can put a lot in initially and buy a lot of stock.

Advice welcome from all. It's been on my mind for awhile and I'm always open to older folks who have experience.

I'm certainly not a financial guru (hell, I'm only 34 myself). Others have given some pretty solid takes more generally, but if I go with the assumption that "spend less, save more" is a given, here's how I generally prioritize things:

1. Pay off credit cards.
2. Build up an emergency fund of six months worth of expenses. (There's a lot of debate about the exact amount here, so up it if you're conservative, lower it if you're risky and/or have a really stable job that you're not worried about disappearing.)
3. Put in as much as is necessary to get a company match in your 401k or IRA plans (if applicable).
4. Pay off anything else that has an interest rate above 5% or so. (This is debatable since you may make more than that in the stock market, but I'm fairly conservative and think you take the guaranteed "return" while you can.)
5. Start your own IRA (I think Roths make the most sense if you're young, but Trads are fine as long as you know the differences and benefits of each.) Max out your annual contributions if you can.
6. Pay off any thing you have left that's below 5% interest rate (except your mortgage assuming your rate is good).
7. Max out your contributions to your company 401k or IRA account (if applicable).
8. Pay off your mortgage.
9. Start a standard brokerage account and start investing for income (or possibly look into other types of investments).

There is very little in financial planning that is a "right" or "wrong" way of doing things, so others may shift their priorities in the above a bit. Nothing wrong with that.

Finally, in terms of investments, if you know NOTHING, you can always start with a target date fund. The fees are a little high, but they're managed and will generally keep you pointed in the right direction. A step above that is where I'm at: I'm lazy and go with a three-fund lazy portfolio for the most part. Be wary of "full-service" places - they're great for advice, but they're taking fees out of EVERYTHING, which can add up ENORMOUSLY over time. If you really start to have a feel for what you're doing, you can invest in individual stocks obviously, but 90% of people will just get themselves in trouble doing that IMO.

[scho63]

On a serious note, every school system in the US should teach basic financial education by 10th grade or less:

-Balancing a check book
-The danger of debt
-How interest works
-Reading a balance sheet
-The importance of a 401(k) and pretax dollars
-Pretax and after tax dollars
-How not to waste money on DEPRECIATING assets
-The importance of stock ownership
-How to start a business
-Pay yourself first

These are all the things I DIDN'T learn until too late in life after I pissed away money.
I have spent somewhere between $450,000-$550,000 over the last 23 years in restaurants and bars. Not bragging, just showing what an ass I am for wasting so much money. I should be retired.......

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

Maybe you and R8ER's could co-author the thread?

Looks like I won't be starting a thread after-all.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by scho63

NOW YOU GOD DAMN TELL ME! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I WAS PISSING AWAY $10,000 A MONTH ON NICE RESTAURANTS, FANCY CARS, COKE AND ESCORTS?

Real easy now isn't it Mr. Smarty Pants!

BTW can you loan me $20 until Monday?

While not to your caliber, I think back at all the dough I blew through and cringe. Stupid me had a great time though.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by eDave

While not to your caliber, I think back at all the dough I blew through and cringe. Stupid me had a great time though.

I still do, probably too often in fact

[R8RFAN]

You guys have gotten a helluva lot smarter since this thread was originally started... Congrats to all of you for being responsible

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by R8RFAN

You guys have gotten a helluva lot smarter since this thread was originally started... Congrats to all of you for being responsible

There is a vast difference in smart....and being responsible. Responsible is being an obedient dog on a master's leash.

[R8RFAN]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

There is a vast difference in smart....and being responsible. Responsible is being an obedient dog on a master's leash.

Ok FIDO

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Fire a piss jug at him

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by lewdog

A figure came out at the end of 2015 that said around 60% of people have less than $1,000 saved.


That's an astonishing figure.

Some economists say that is a conservative figure.....

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by loochy

Yeah

that's pretty bad

WTF are we going to do when all of those people decide to retire?

You're going to have to stay off more lawns....

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by lewdog

We surely don't count on it. I leave it completely out of our retirement planning, meaning we invest and save more so that we can meet out retirement amount goal with it not included. If Social Security is there for us 30+ years down the road, we will be very financially secure. If it's not, we should be fine as well.

I am guessing there were a lot of people saying the same thing before 2000 who are now having to postpone retirement because much of what they saved/invested/speculated on either was lost, depreciated, or stolen/defrauded from them.

Not to mention one catastrophic illness away from eating up any savings/investments.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

I just turned 50, so I'll give you my advice, or shall we say, impart some common sense.

1. Live within your means. I had friends when I was younger, and still have friends at my age, that will spend right up to the very dollar they make......and more. I used to think that they must be super wealthy, but come to find out, they were actually just super stupid. Also, living within your means means that you actually have to save money each and every month. Don't listen to any specific percentage other than the one that works for you at the time that you are making the decision. Adjust it every 6 months to a year, depending upon how your life is changing (income increase/decrease and expense increase/decrease).

2. There is the tortoise and there is the hare. Both will cross the finish line eventually, but one gets there sooner than the other. One spends an enormous amount of energy trying to be first, while the other knows it's a lost cause to do nothing more than to keep a steady, slow pace. Figure out which one of these two you are, or which one you resemble the most. Why? Because it will help you in planning for the future. I knew a guy that wanted to retire when he was 55 (hare), but he wasn't on a career path that was going to allow that (tortoise). It's a bit of a conundrum and can create issues for you down the road, especially if you have convinced your wife you can provide something that won't come to fruition for several years down the road.

3. Along the way, don't forget to be happy. Money issues seemed to rise up all the time for me between the ages 28-40. There were some great earning years in the age frame, but it also cost me a great deal of time away from Family and Friends. Ambition is great, but ambition doesn't care about you after you retire. Money will come and go, but Family and true Friends are there forever. Find the balance that makes you happy, and I promise you'll never worry about how you didn't didn't spend more time in the office or on the road working. I missed a lot of time with my oldest Son when he was a toddler due to traveling overseas on business. I'd substitute the bonuses and salary bumps I made to have that time back with my Son.

4. Last - Have a retirement goal. Figure out where you want to retire, how you want to retire, and how much money it will take to get there. I fully realize that plans and desires change over time (especially when you are younger), but it's immensely difficult to cross the finish line if you don't know where you are running to. Just a FYI, I never used a pen in planning out my retirement goals. I generally used a pencil with a giant eraser.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride - it goes a lot faster than you think!

All of this very great advice.....especially the part I bolded. I am going to live with a little less money, but a lot of good memories I found myself missing at one point. It seems like only yesterday I was bringing my kids home from the hospital.....now my youngest is starting her Junior year of college in August and the reality of her living her life apart from my wife and I is even more evident. We are a much more mobile society these days and kids no longer "come home" to find a job. There isn't one fortune out there I could have made that is worth the memories we created for the kids and ourselves.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

I just turned 50, so I'll give you my advice, or shall we say, impart some common sense.

1. Live within your means. I had friends when I was younger, and still have friends at my age, that will spend right up to the very dollar they make......and more. I used to think that they must be super wealthy, but come to find out, they were actually just super stupid. Also, living within your means means that you actually have to save money each and every month. Don't listen to any specific percentage other than the one that works for you at the time that you are making the decision. Adjust it every 6 months to a year, depending upon how your life is changing (income increase/decrease and expense increase/decrease).

2. There is the tortoise and there is the hare. Both will cross the finish line eventually, but one gets there sooner than the other. One spends an enormous amount of energy trying to be first, while the other knows it's a lost cause to do nothing more than to keep a steady, slow pace. Figure out which one of these two you are, or which one you resemble the most. Why? Because it will help you in planning for the future. I knew a guy that wanted to retire when he was 55 (hare), but he wasn't on a career path that was going to allow that (tortoise). It's a bit of a conundrum and can create issues for you down the road, especially if you have convinced your wife you can provide something that won't come to fruition for several years down the road.

3. Along the way, don't forget to be happy. Money issues seemed to rise up all the time for me between the ages 28-40. There were some great earning years in the age frame, but it also cost me a great deal of time away from Family and Friends. Ambition is great, but ambition doesn't care about you after you retire. Money will come and go, but Family and true Friends are there forever. Find the balance that makes you happy, and I promise you'll never worry about how you didn't didn't spend more time in the office or on the road working. I missed a lot of time with my oldest Son when he was a toddler due to traveling overseas on business. I'd substitute the bonuses and salary bumps I made to have that time back with my Son.

4. Last - Have a retirement goal. Figure out where you want to retire, how you want to retire, and how much money it will take to get there. I fully realize that plans and desires change over time (especially when you are younger), but it's immensely difficult to cross the finish line if you don't know where you are running to. Just a FYI, I never used a pen in planning out my retirement goals. I generally used a pencil with a giant eraser.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride - it goes a lot faster than you think!

One other thing on this.....I read an article some time back about how, in many cases, the wealth that people accumulate over the early years they tend to lose in the age 45-55 age bracket due to unwise decisions, impulse buying, or the thought "well I am close to retirement anyway so it won't affect me as much".