What percent of your income do you put away for retirement?

[Chimera]

Interest?  What interest?

 

The only interest I can get... is the interest I'm paying to everyone else.

 

Srsly I get 2% at the bank and I think that's pretty good compared to most.

 

yep, double what i get

[rayzor]

that's fuging legit. what will you do with rabbits though?

 

thanks. like thefuzz said, they are tasty and they reproduce like rabbits.

 

you don't need much to start off. if you have 2 does and a buck they will produce 40-50 rabbits a year. the temptaion by some is to raise and eat only rabbits, but you have to mix it in with other sources of meats because rabbits are fat free and your body goes into some mode called rabbit starvation which is not pleasant at all. mix it up with fish and chicken and find some way of getting red meat periodically and you should be good to go.

 

rabbits are easy to take care of and cheap to feed (esp. if you have a garden that produces more produce than your family can keep up with). they are also easy to kill (once you get past the idea that they are cute fluffly bunnies) and process for cooking.

 

the pelts also have a lot of value as well.

 

[Jackofalltrades]

Lol, I'm barely scraping by. Saving is a pipe dream.

[pstall]

Lol, I'm barely scraping by. Saving is a pipe dream.

Keep plugging away. If you have debts then knock out the small ones and generate some positive momentum. Create a zero sum budget and put every dollar to work.

[Happy Panther]

Is it me or does your map say Dungeons and Dragons World Championships?

Check for secret doors...always check.

[rayzor]

Lol, I'm barely scraping by. Saving is a pipe dream.

 

make it so you don't have to depend so much on saving. downsize everything that you can and try to get by on less. not only is that good preparation for tomorrow, but it also enables you to try and fix things now so you don't have to depend on more stuff later.

 

one of many problems with our culture is that we try to do everything too big and depend solely on ourselves and/or the gov't. i know it sounds funny coming from a guy who is looking to turn 40 acres into 40 more, but i'm not doing this on my own. i'm working with family (parents and siblings) to get this done and we (my wife and kids) are prepared to turn that 40 acres into less than 5 and live in a camper or a yurt if we have to.

 

one thing i see that gives me hope is the growing number of people who are downsizing their homes and trying to live in tiny homes. not only is life more economical, but you become less of a over-consumer like most americans are. we think we need more and more stuff and are willing to go into massive debt paying ridiculous amounts of interest so that we have what we want now instead of realizing that 1) it's not really something that we need right now and 2) we don't really have to keep up with the jones' and 3) you can make do just fine with less.

 

do i really have to have a car that i spend more than $400/monthly on (including insurance)? do i really have to have the newest and bestest phone/tv/whatever gadget to hit the market? do i have to have a giant house with rooms that never get used and ten foot ceilings that cost way too much to heat and cool and power?

 

i don't know...i look at the lifestyle that fat alice was bragging about and while most of us made fun of him for it, many of us were also trying to do the same things he was able to do. we have materialistic tendencies and an unhealthy amount of false pride that needs to be at least be slowed down.

 

you are probably doing what you can to get by on as little as possible without digging a financial grave for yourself hurney style, but many people feel this need to have more regardless of the cost down the road and it's only going to create more problems for them and the rest of the country down the road. the sooner we start to do that, the better shape we will be in later on. either we'll have more money to work with or we will be able to do fine with less baggage and debt. we don't need to spoil ourselves with "the best" stuff. it's ok to lower your standards. it's ok for snobs to look down on you for whatever reason. life isn't a competition with them and you don't need to impress them or anyone. our duty is to make sure that our families have what they need to get buy. we start feeling that we want and expect more then we get into more debt and/or force ourselves into work that takes us away from our families and likely just makes us miserable people.

 

point of all that is to just simplify and find happiness in life and not stuff. sorry for the soapbox, esp. if you felt it was aimed at you specifically. it's just something i've been pondering on for a while and your post opened a floodgate of thought.

[Panthro]

I spent an hour reading on rabbit starvation last night

[KSpan]

10% or more for a long while now, but our careers really took off in the last 3 years. We have 3 kids in daycare, and the plan is to just divy up that money between retirement and college as they head to shchool.

[KSpan]

12% to company 401.

Paying down debt with the rest of the income. Could write a check today and wipe out all of our debt except for the house, but I like holding cash/being able to make a move if needed.

To those who are paying debt, then will go heave with investing, you need to re-consider. Pay yourself first, then the cc/student loans/cars/etc...The power of compound interest is redic.

And if you think that SS will be there when we retire....welp....ocean front property, Arizona.....

It truly is a fantastic feeling to be debt free. Without knowing your numbers or your liquidity, I bet you could replenish pretty quickly with the increased cashflow. The wife and I paid off $85K in two years and have not once regretted it.

[PandaPancake]

It truly is a fantastic feeling to be debt free. Without knowing your numbers or your liquidity, I bet you could replenish pretty quickly with the increased cashflow. The wife and I paid off $85K in two years and have not once regretted it.

Let me hold some mins I'll hit you back next month

[pstall]

If the majority of citizens were debt free suddenly politicians would have to change how the work.

[rayzor]

I spent an hour reading on rabbit starvation last night

 

sorry. i get stuck on stuff like that often.

[TheRumGone]

Nothing.

I don't expect to live past 50 anyways.

I used to think this way then when you find somebody that is dependent on your love like you are dependent on theirs, your thought process changes and for the better.

And doesn't mean you can't have fun. I mean look at my sig. I try to live that way everyday WITH the future still in mind. You can have it both ways

[Dexterity]

My father makes about $150k annually. My mother makes under $40k annually. My mother takes home more than my dad. My old man has put nearly 75% of his income into retirement for 20 years. He & my mother are retiring this summer at age 51 & 49. They're selling their home & buying an ocean front home in Charleston. Dad will spend 40 hours a week on a golf course & mom will spend as much time wandering on the beach or messing with a flower garden. If they wanna travel- Italy, Germany, wherever, they'll just pack up & leave. Dad has saved a fortune.

Dad's got a 46 year old brother who makes 6 figures also. He's married & in debt up to his eyes. Massive house, brand new jacked up truck & sports car every 2-3 years, boats, ATVs, beach house, exotic vacations every year, massive man cave with a pool table, wet bar, theatre, etc. He'll have to work full-time well into his 70s because of his spending habits & lack of retirement. But he's spending his younger years living it up, always has.

Is there really a right or wrong approach? Both ways have merits & flaws. I'm personally trying to balance the two. I'm not gonna pinch pennies & save every dime possible for when I'm potentially old- which isn't given- you can die any day. But I'm also not gonna blow every dime I make.

50% bills/expenses

25% savings/retirement

25% luxuries/toys

...is how I personally try to keep it.