How much to live on?

[Russ661]

Going through life my wife and I had 1 firm financial rule: keep our monthly expenses low enough that unemployment benefits would (mostly) cover them, also known as living within our means. As our careers progressed and our savings grew we were able to relax that rule a bit and life was good. Then 2008 rolled in and pretty much wiped out our savings. Thankfully, we were both able to keep working so it wasn’t a complete disaster. Then on a lark we went to a money management workshop and I had an epiphany. With the stock market tanking I realized that stock prices would most likely never be that low again so I gathered up what cash I could and opened a brokerage account. At the same time I maxed out the amount I could put into my company's 401k plan. I was putting 25% of my check into that plan every week and it soon started paying off big. I was able to do that because we had still been budgeting like we had in our early career days. Shortly after that the neighborhood where we had raised our kids in a little 990 sqft 3 br 1 ba home took a turn for the worse so we decided to sell. We made out like bandits and were able to move into a brand new home in the next town over and put 50% down without touching our savings. Fast forward 18 years and it was time to move again so we pulled up stakes and moved to yet another brand new home just outside of Tulsa. We made enough on the sale of our second house that we could put almost 70% down on our new home, again without touching our savings. We’ve been in this house almost 2 years now and will have it paid off in another 3, give or take a few months. We have no outstanding debt except the house note and our brokerage account although down from it’s all time high (FJB) continues to grow. This all took place over a span of some 45+ years so it was not a fast process.
I attribute all of our financial wellbeing to that first hard and fast rule of living within our means. That, a large dose of luck and God’s grace.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I watched a kid (in his late 20's early 30's) come into the lgs weekly and buying the most expensive guns he could find and bragging about all the other toys he had bought along with new house and Vehicules then when the oilfeild crashed he was struggling to sell everything he had to make ends meet before the bank came and took it.

I saw that all the time at the PD. Young cops making good money, for many of them this was their first real job, and they liked to spend it. I bought a lot of guns near the end of the month when they remembered their mortgage/rent/car pymnt was due. When I left the PD I had over 350 guns in my collection. That's how I started my business. Kinda miss those days.

 

[dlbleak]

Plan for the worst and live within your means. My life goal was to be debt free by 55. I made it at 50.

 

[saddlebum]

I’m aware but f the 2008 down fall.
It was different for many in the reasons WHY they lost. Housing, stock ex..

my retirement was tied to the stock market . I had taken out $30,000 ($10,000 3 times) to send my worthless stepson to rehab (which never worked) and lost the rest when the stock market crashed

 

[CHenry]

my retirement was tied to the stock market . I had taken out $30,000 ($10,000 3 times) to send my worthless stepson to rehab (which never worked) and lost the rest when the stock market crashed

The stock market didnt crash, It took a hard hit and stocks were on sale for half or less. Thats when I bought. and in 2010 or so it rebounded.
You only lost money if you sold out low.
Even in this crap economy, my ROTH is doing 13.9% for the year. When Trump gets back in i wouldn't be surprised to see it do 40% annually.

 

[16colt]

Plan for the worst and live within your means. My life goal was to be debt free by 55. I made it at 50.

Same here.
…now if I can just get my boy through two more years of college, life should get a little easier!

 

[rickm]

Well im 67 and thought i had plans for the future til the wife throw a wrench in so now i have 11 more years til the youngest(adopted) graduates high school

 

[XYZ]

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

Same here.
…now if I can just get my boy through two more years of college, life should get a little easier!

Hopefully he is studying something he can actually use and make money.

 

[XYZ]

We’ve helped raise 3 of our grandkids whose dad is a piece of crap. Not what we planned on. One of them still lives with us, he’ll be a senior next year. He’s currently enrolled in HVAC at the local tech center plus his being recruited to wrestle in college. He just hasn’t decided if college is something he wants to pursue.

Didn’t plan on my wife staying employed, they pay her too much and she loves money more than me.

We have one other grandson but his dad is squared away and totally engaged in his life. Don’t see us having to finish his raising.

Anyway that’s just life. If needed I could go back to work part time or full time. Hopefully that never comes to happen.