Do you live within your means?

[dmek25]

right now im putting 16% into my 401. the company matches 6%. i have also been working 60 hours a week. seems like ive been doing that for years

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

Unfortunately at this time my wife and I do not.

I'm working on getting a 2nd job to help pay down the debt we've incurred since having 2 kids. We bought our current house at the apex of the housing marking rise as well as paying just about a mortgage payment for child care each month, and it's caught up to us. We've effectively cut our monthly expenses, but would like to continue to sock away at the debt we have. My wife and I know it's going to be a long tedious process and any extra coinage at the end of each month goes towards our debt.

Hey man no worries! You are living the life of 95% of America. Kids are not cheap and can derail anyones finanical plans.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by mlmpetert

You should be able to buy all the booze and vids you want as long as you can afford it. So if buying these things are keeping you from saving for retirement (assuming you want to retire), keeping you from buying healthcare (assuming you will need it at some point), or forcing you to rack up debt then you are above your means. Otherwise youre good.

Nice post.

Here is another way of looking at it are some folks "spending" too much now on savings and retirment that you are not enjoying your current life, if so I say you are just as guilty as the person that is overspending.

You only live your life in today. That doesn't mean go crazy like there is no tommorow but damn if you have some extra cash enjoy yourself.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I live directly within my means. I have a backup fund, but everytime we get extra money we'll find a way to spend it. We never worry about money, but we surely don't put a lot away.

[GMScud]

I live within my means. I carry zero credit card debt, my fiancee and I only have one car payment, and we both are making enough to sock away a nice amount each month.

We're looking to buy a house within the next year to 18 months, and right now we only have rent and the basic bills. We both were fortunate enough to go through school without student loans. So it looks like home ownership will be a reality for us pretty soon. I just turned 31 and she's 27, and we feel like we're very early in our careers, so hopefully as experience/income increase so will the likelihood of a happy retirement. We'll see what happens when we have kids though.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by hooskins

Depends how you define means? Do I spend too much and save nothing? No. But do I buy stupid things like video games and booze? Yes.

That's pretty much all I spend my $$ on lol

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Nice post.

Here is another way of looking at it are some folks "spending" too much now on savings and retirment that you are not enjoying your current life, if so I say you are just as guilty as the person that is overspending.

You only live your life in today. That doesn't mean go crazy like there is no tommorow but damn if you have some extra cash enjoy yourself.

I don't go crazy trying to save to retire but I do my share. I agree with some of what you said but if you don't save now its to late when you get older. If times get tough you also have money set aside to get by. If you over spend you have neither. I have alot of older customers who failed to save and are just getting by living off SS and what ever else they have.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I don't go crazy trying to save to retire but I do my share. I agree with some of what you said but if you don't save now its to late when you get older. If times get tough you also have money set aside to get by. If you over spend you have neither. I have alot of older customers who failed to save and are just getting by living off SS and what ever else they have.

It is a balancing act, to much on either side is unhealth. Plus define "in your means" that is going to mean something diffrent for everyone.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Well you have to spend to live no way around it.

I guess you and I have vastly different definitions of what "living" is.

To me, you can't beat playing with your kids in the park on a sunny day. The best things in life are free.

That's not to say I don't spend the money to belong to a pool, or that I don't take them to amusement parks, etc. But you don't have to spend a lot to have a good time in life. My opinion.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by mredskins

It is a balancing act, to much on either side is unhealth. Plus define "in your means" that is going to mean something diffrent for everyone.

I think the definition is pretty simple, if you spend more than you make, then you're living outside of your means.

[saden1]

I save first (30%), spend whatever is left over (~10%)....once kids come into the picture I'm sure I'll have to alter my lifestyle to compensate for the resource drain the little critters will be. If I'm lucky I'll have them on lease for only 18 years.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I think the definition is pretty simple, if you spend more than you make, then you're living outside of your means.

To put it in "common man" terms....if you put a shit load on your credit card and you can't hold on for 6 months if you were laid off without draining your entire savings...you're a broke bitch living beyond your means.

[olive523]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

We did, we were able to sell our house and pay off our mortgage and obviously we're incredibly fortunate because of that. Believe me we'd give it all up in a heartbeat to have her back, but yes it put us way ahead of the game, obviously the circumstances that put us in this situation just stinks.

Indeed we are fortunate due to some very unfortunate circumstances. Beyond this though I firmly believe (although I'll never be able to prove it) that we were headed in the right direction. My dad was a cop, and built his wealth based on good old fashioned savings etc. Both me and Matty are well educated and have saved for retirement as soon as we could. After college we both paid off our credit card debt, and began saving. We did not buy an expensive house, but one we could reasonably afford. I can't deny we had an advantage, but that was exactly was my parentswanted for me and planned for themselves. Thanks to that, I'll be able to do the same for my own kids.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I guess you and I have vastly different definitions of what "living" is.

To me, you can't beat playing with your kids in the park on a sunny day. The best things in life are free.

That's not to say I don't spend the money to belong to a pool, or that I don't take them to amusement parks, etc. But you don't have to spend a lot to have a good time in life. My opinion.

I meant spent like food, housing, etc... and I agree you don't have to over spend. I was targeting more folks who won't even go to the park on a sunny day because they have to spend money on gas, that is the cheap I am talking about.

Honestly my son is two for Xmas I could just wait and until everyone puts out there boxes and then go drag them in, he would be in f--king heaven and it would cost me $0.

[GMScud]

I was just looking at my BofA checking account online, and it made me think of this thread. Anyone who banks with BofA, I recommend the "Keep the Change" feature for your accounts. If you're not familiar, what it does is for every purchase you make with your check card, it rounds the amount up to the nearest dollar, and puts the difference between that and your purchase directly into your savings account. For example, if you spend $6.50, it will debit your checking account $7.00, and put $.50 into your savings account. That feature alone has put an extra $1,000+ into my savings account this year.