Quote:
Originally Posted by 01101001
Um, no... you shouldn't have anything remotely close to that put away, unless you're living in a tent under the freeway.
Me and my wife spend a million dollars every 8 years just living a fairly average middle class american life.
Our house is 2,500 sq. ft.
I have my BMW and she has her car.
We have nothing else extravagant or remotely expensive.
She buys jewelry at kohls, and lots of clothes at goodwill, lol.
We have no expensive hobbies or activities.
We don't take vacations... EVER.
We have no kids.
By the time taxes are done raping you on the federal, state, and local level, and all your regular expenses are deducted for rent, lights, cable, cell phones, etc, etc... a $150-170k year income is all but gone.
|
Yeah, I was being slightly dramatic. The reason why I feel like I should have that much saved is because I remember making only $60k a year and being perfectly comfortable. If I can afford to live on $60k as a 20+ yr old, why couldn't I put away $100k a year the past 10 years? Of course, our lifestyles change with age and income, but theoretically, I could be set for life and retire NOW if I had lived like 20+ yr old me the past 10 or so years! Unrealistic, yeah, but people have done it.
Our lifestyle is actually very, very similar to yours, except we have a kid and we take 2 vacations a year, but I make more than $170k so I think it evens out. I manage to save a decent amount, like I mentioned, but I think I should be saving more. The goal is to have at least $500,000 in the bank in savings. That plus our retirement funds, property investments, and stock should make a comfortable retirement without having to rely on social security or worry about healthcare. My nightmare will be fully realized when our child won't qualify for and financial aid for college because of our income and we will be paying out of pocket.
