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I admire your accomplishments. Looking back, there were a few times I could have opened the purse strings a little more. We did our fair share of travel and vacation, but having a big pot of money you'll never use isn't the most important thing, either.
Balance is important. I have always been a tightwad. If I could do things over I might be a little less tight.
I admire your accomplishments. Looking back, there were a few times I could have opened the purse strings a little more. We did our fair share of travel and vacation, but having a big pot of money you'll never use isn't the most important thing, either.
Balance is important. I have always been a tightwad. If I could do things over I might be a little less tight.
Right, I've been a tightwad ever since I was 18-19 and started getting interested in saving and investing. I only started relaxing a little with the saving about 2 years ago. Other than beer/liquor and spending money frivolously on dates I never spent money on anything I didn't need.
I tend to be an overplanner! But...I also have been hit in the head with reality with "the best-laid plans of mice and men..." so I know things won't play out as I think.
It's interesting that you mention about my husband's job. That is so true, and we have already seen that you cannot count on anything. His company got bought out, which is why we had to move. We could have stayed (he was offered another job) but one of the reasons we did move was because he had been with his company for a long time and for some great benefits they offer (50% match on his 401(k). But with his company having new owners, anything could happen (as it already did!), and I know we'd be hard-pressed to find another job that pays well with the good benefits that he has.
In the meantime, I'll go chase those 8% returns...
How you getting 3M or 4M at retirement. I am over planner too, and it can be detrimental. You do not know what is going to happen in the future. I was so focused on "saving for retirement" in my 20s that I did not even enjoy them and got myself into an emotional/ withdrawal health situation trying to reach money goals. So obviously I am a little bit bitter now. As, I am in a starting over phase. I have some retirement money, but I do not have that much in stocks as it drives me nuts.
The more money I have, the more obsessed I become reaching a goal that is really unattainable. Do you really want to wait until you are old to have with your money.
This is how this country is set up for thinking save for retirement, but you are not even living for now.
Then I asked about long-term care insurance. They bought into their plan about 10 years ago - when my mom was 64 and my dad was 65. Their coverage isn't very high - it covers them for 3 years in a nursing home. They pay $4800 per year for the two of them, so $240 per month. So they are pretty much payng $1000 per month in healthcare/longterm care insurance in today's dollars. This does not include dental costs at all.
Ack!!!!! And what happens after their 3 years in the nursing home are up?
Thinking of this lady neighbor... who moved here 5 years ago at 93, to be closer to her daughter... but to live in her own house. She still lives in it, with some home care help. With that insurance, having started at 64 (34 years ago) she would have paid $170K by now. Should she have gone to the nursing home at 85, say, she would be kicked out of it 10 years ago. 3 years just doesn't sound neither here nor there.... Actually, they sound like the elderly will fall back on their relatives at the end of their lives - just as if they would have anyway without LTC. Makes little sense unless you die precisely on the 3rd anniversary of moving into the nursing home.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by nuala
Ack!!!!! And what happens after their 3 years in the nursing home are up?
Thinking of this lady neighbor... who moved here 5 years ago at 93, to be closer to her daughter... but to live in her own house. She still lives in it, with some home care help. With that insurance, having started at 64 (34 years ago) she would have paid $170K by now. Should she have gone to the nursing home at 85, say, she would be kicked out of it 10 years ago. 3 years just doesn't sound neither here nor there.... Actually, they sound like the elderly will fall back on their relatives at the end of their lives - just as if they would have anyway without LTC. Makes little sense unless you die precisely on the 3rd anniversary of moving into the nursing home.
It's not ideal for sure. The average nursing home stay is actually only about 2 1/2 years, though. The one exception to that is if someone contracts Alzheimer's, then care is necessary for much longer. My parents researched it and gave it considerable thought and decided to go with this option. So while it's not perfect, it's something. When you go to buy it, you have to weigh your options - pay more per year for longer care or less for less care and invest the difference. Who knows what's right? It's a crap shoot. Some people have nothing. My mother-in-law has long-term care insurance that will cover her for her whole life and it is prohibitively expensive - she pays about $5000 per year, I believe.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,781 posts, read 15,811,722 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephei2000
How you getting 3M or 4M at retirement. I am over planner too, and it can be detrimental. You do not know what is going to happen in the future. I was so focused on "saving for retirement" in my 20s that I did not even enjoy them and got myself into an emotional/ withdrawal health situation trying to reach money goals. So obviously I am a little bit bitter now. As, I am in a starting over phase. I have some retirement money, but I do not have that much in stocks as it drives me nuts.
The more money I have, the more obsessed I become reaching a goal that is really unattainable. Do you really want to wait until you are old to have with your money.
This is how this country is set up for thinking save for retirement, but you are not even living for now.
We try to maintain a balance of enjoying life now while still saving for retirement. It's hard for sure. We maximize my husband's 401(k) and put $5K away each into our IRA accounts for retirement. The rest goes into living our lives now. We allocate $200 per month for vacation, $100 per month for eating out, and $100 per month for entertainment. We try to do fun things that don't cost too much money - museum memberships, camping weekends at a lake, free outdoor concerts, etc. Once I go back to work, we will hopefully be able to increase both our retirement contributions and our "fun" budgets.
We try to maintain a balance of enjoying life now while still saving for retirement. It's hard for sure. We maximize my husband's 401(k) and put $5K away each into our IRA accounts for retirement. The rest goes into living our lives now. We allocate $200 per month for vacation, $100 per month for eating out, and $100 per month for entertainment. We try to do fun things that don't cost too much money - museum memberships, camping weekends at a lake, free outdoor concerts, etc. Once I go back to work, we will hopefully be able to increase both our retirement contributions and our "fun" budgets.
This is so important to have a fun budget. But no one ever talks about this. I wished I would have learned that in my 20s along with saving. However, I was in a situation where even though I use to work close to full time. My weeks would vary 36-40 hours depending on the amount of work I had for the week. So, I was always in constant hustle mode looking for extra money and hoaring every penny.
It became harder as a transition to a full independent contractor as sometimes you did not know what was coming in.
But I wish I was a little more looser, I had more money back then and could vacation anytime.
Now that I have learned balance, I am dying to travel, but have to wait because I am with an employer. It makes me sick now because travel is pretty much all I like to do and waiting for vacation time is driving me crazy.
I guess I was mad because I was type who never had huge balances on credit, did everything right, and after one bad stock trade and medical bills, it all blew up in my face. So I am trying to keep my head up, but some days it is hard.
Also, before I was afraid to go on that trip or whatever because I had to have 10,000 or more in the bank. I missed trips to Cancun for my dads birthday and other things just make sure I had the correct amount of money.
One bad habit I would do is charge my credit card even though I had enough in the bank to cover myself. I hated withdrawing money even though I knew I check was coming.
I do not do this anymore as I have learned the hard way.
I would advise to people to save for retirement, set up an emergency fund withdrawal or invest in something great if possible, dont just let it sit there and do what I did.
We try to maintain a balance of enjoying life now while still saving for retirement. It's hard for sure. We maximize my husband's 401(k) and put $5K away each into our IRA accounts for retirement. The rest goes into living our lives now. We allocate $200 per month for vacation, $100 per month for eating out, and $100 per month for entertainment. We try to do fun things that don't cost too much money - museum memberships, camping weekends at a lake, free outdoor concerts, etc. Once I go back to work, we will hopefully be able to increase both our retirement contributions and our "fun" budgets.
The problem is I like to vacation 3-4 times a year. I am not patient, and I do not do the one vacation a year that is too normal.
I have already travel 3 times this year and plan to travel at least 2-3 more times before the year is up.
I tend to be an overplanner! But...I also have been hit in the head with reality with "the best-laid plans of mice and men..." so I know things won't play out as I think.
It's interesting that you mention about my husband's job. That is so true, and we have already seen that you cannot count on anything. His company got bought out, which is why we had to move. We could have stayed (he was offered another job) but one of the reasons we did move was because he had been with his company for a long time and for some great benefits they offer (50% match on his 401(k). But with his company having new owners, anything could happen (as it already did!), and I know we'd be hard-pressed to find another job that pays well with the good benefits that he has.
In the meantime, I'll go chase those 8% returns...
It's good to know that you know you're an overplanner. I wish more people had that "weakness"
It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and realistic expectations. Beyond a certain point, you have to let go and admit you've hit the limit of what you can plan for (tough to do, I know. I have the same problem ). I don't want to force religion down your throat...but what helps me with my overplanning tendencies is my belief in a higher power.
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But...I also have been hit in the head with reality with "the best-laid plans of mice and men..." so I know things won't play out as I think.
). I don't want to force religion down your throat...but what helps me with my overplanning tendencies is my belief in a higher power.
