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| Member |
Yes, but I have minimal expenses. No car payment, home phone, cable, etc. 401k as well, but I was a late contributor to that. My goal has been to be able to buy a house outright. I was close til this recent circus basically doubled sale prices in my local area. A Perpetual Disappointment... | |||
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| Member |
I put a good amount into 401k, but some years ago I started a Roth IRA with 50 bucks a month, now 100 bucks a month so I would have some flexibility in retirement. I found out that because it is funded with post tax dollars, you are entitled to your share of the money without penalty. So I keep several months worth in checking and savings, and if something happens, I have a month to figure out if I need to withdraw from the Roth IRA. It's a retirement/savings account I can access without messing up my main 401k. Past that I have a list of guns I know I could liquidate fast. Looking at that list is pretty good motivation to keep my emergency fund funded as selling those would hurt. | |||
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| Member |
many many years ago I hit a bad patch . income went sideways. I had nine months of income on hand. stretched it out to 12 months. kept my better than average credit score. zero on credit cards took me 5 years to get back up to 12 months of savings. just one of two things that I did right since 1957 Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency. Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first | |||
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| Member |
I've got about 3-4 months if I did not make any changes in monthly spending. If I cut spending to necessities only, I could probably double that. ____________________ I Like Guns and stuff | |||
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| Cruising the Highway to Hell  |
Yes, at age 59, I'll also add that both my kids, who are in their 30s also have at least 6 months saved. “Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” ― Ronald Reagan Retired old fart | |||
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| Muzzle flash aficionado  |
Yes. Hopefully, at age 82 I have enough to get me through my days. flashguy Texan by choice, not accident of birth | |||
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Member |
I have been truly BLESSED to stash away cash in preparation for my impending furlough. Now that I'm 59 1/2, I believe I have access to my 401k without the horrendous penalty for early withdrawal; same thing for my Roth IRA. Yeah me... "If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24 | |||
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| I have a very particular set of skills |
So basically: Do you have $20K-$25K in liquid cash sitting in personal checking/savings accounts. Currently ~1475 views with ~111 'Yes' votes. While that's not a great/definitive sampling, that's about 1 out of 15. But probably not too far off either. $.02 worth. Boss A real life Sisyphus... "It's not the critic who counts..." TR Exodus 23.2: Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong... Despite some people's claims to the contrary, 5 lbs. is actually different than 12 lbs. It's never simple/easy. | |||
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| My other Sig is a Steyr.  |
Yup. I haven't owed anyone since October 12th 2003. | |||
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Fighting the good fight |
It depends on your cost of living, and would vary based on your lifestyle, location, etc. Age is a factor as well, since it could be significantly cheaper if you were older and your house was already paid off, considering the average person puts ~40% of their monthly expenses towards housing alone. For example, 6 months of living expenses for me is ~$15k, as a middle class single homeowner in an area with a lower than average cost of living. And if I wanted to, I could live a lot more frugally around here, so it could be even less. But there are areas of the country where $15k wouldn't even pay the rent on a modest apartment for 6 months. | |||
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| I have a very particular set of skills |
^^Well of course. $25K isn't going to go to far in NYC or San Francisco. Just thinking averages. Outside of the highest and lowest COL areas, and normal family with a 2.4 kids, mortgage, orthodontist/braces, vet bills, oil changes, etc. $25K would probably get most by if they were careful with it and cut expenses as you would expect as necessary (no vacation, meals out, limit trips, etc). If you're a single dude doing the top Ramen and tighty-whitey flip rotation, might last you a couple years  Boss A real life Sisyphus... "It's not the critic who counts..." TR Exodus 23.2: Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong... Despite some people's claims to the contrary, 5 lbs. is actually different than 12 lbs. It's never simple/easy. | |||
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| Member |
There is also a difference between six months of living expenses, which I would define as the bare minimum to keep a roof over your head, feed the family, and literally keep the lights on, and six months of full income. The former would probably require quite a bit of belt tightening for most folks. | |||
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| A man's got to know his limitations  |
Yes "But, as luck would have it, he stood up. He caught that chunk of lead." Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock | |||
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| Member |
As of last year, 58% of Americans had less than $1,000 in savings. https://finance.yahoo.com/news...1-000-090000503.html Charts at link... "If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24 | |||
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| Non-Miscreant |
Being retired really opened my eyes. Just looked at my checking account and I might have 5 years there, much more if I can include my SS from uncle sugar. But then we haven't been out to a movie since the last century. We do eat out nearly every day, but not at expensive places. Tonight for an example, the wife brought Lee's chicken home. And we split a large strip meal, not two individual meals. And I'm even still paying on a 2016 jeep we bought brand new. Its still sleeping in the garage, probably getting a dead battery because I don't drive it. Guess I need to put the charger on it. Checking account keeps growing, and the only thing coming out is the jeep payment. Because of my financial education, I knew all the advice and disregarded it, mostly. I retired because of heart surgery and general laziness. Then my wife had us build a new house. So I paid it off, too. I don't believe or take others advice until after I filter it through my own circumstances. Then I do what makes the most sense to me. Unhappy ammo seeker | |||
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Member |
No but trying to get there. My wife and I are both mid thirties and we have 4 kids. My wife is a stay at home mom so we also are going off of one income. It definitely makes things tight but we have what we need and bought our house about 4 years ago. We are currently working towards paying off all debt minus the house in a little over 2 years. Honestly it’s tough but we’ll be able to do it if we don’t have a vehicle failure. | |||
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Member |
I voted yes. We’re retired and have been in this situation for about 20 years. As Forrest Gump said, "Good, one less thing to worry about." Mike I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown ................................... When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham | |||
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| Leatherneck |
Absolutely. I try to remember how blessed I truly am to have what I do. “Everybody wants a Sig in the sheets but a Glock on the streets.” -bionic218 04-02-2014 | |||
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| Member |
I try and live a lot like this fellow. I've always liked the financial markets so I know that there is a big difference between what you're told and what's actually real. A lot of people are playing an outdated game in a world that doesn't exist anymore. One of the huge problems that ALL of us have to deal with is the fact that there are companies out there that are meticulously studying your entire existence and will advise industry as to how they can extract every last penny out of you. What that means is....... you have to think different and you have to do different. V. | |||
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| Member |
About 2x that. I have no idea how.... My wife is a stay-at-home mom and I am a cop. Not bringing in too much, and when you factor in my gun, photography, and guitar addictions, its a miracle we have anything. And no debt other than our house and two small used car loans. Feels good. | |||
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