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And if you both die tomorrow, what was the point of all that saving? How much have you denied yourselves? You have to strike a balance.
The point is to be able to retire earlier. That and we are trying to be completely debt free (ie pay off our mortgage early, again to lower costs so we can retire earlier).
Trust me, we're not eating boxed mac and cheese and ramen noodles like we did in school.
The point is to be able to retire earlier. That and we are trying to be completely debt free (ie pay off our mortgage early, again to lower costs so we can retire earlier).
Trust me, we're not eating boxed mac and cheese and ramen noodles like we did in school.
Being debt free is a great strategy just for general financial health and peace of mind.
My sister, who became a mother at 18, later used the community college path, taking one course at a time while her daughter was growing up. It took eight years to get her Associates, and she was able to transfer almost all her credits to the NJ Institute of Technology, where she got her Bachelor's and then her Master's. In that case, it worked out. But too often, the kids going to CC right after high school are going because their parents are insisting they go SOMEWHERE. I once knew a guy whose parents insisted to he go to CC for anything. He got an Associates in Horticulture, and he grew and sold his own marijuana.
I did the community college route. Spent 2 years at my local community college out of high school and got my AA degree, transferred to a 4-year school, spent my last 2 years there, and graduated at 21 with a job landed out of college (multiple offers). Don't tell me it can't be done.
And I saved a boatload of money. My community college was almost free. My university was a state school and was extremely cheap. Graduated with 25K debt which will be paid off after 2.5 years, (this December). I could have done it earlier, but I was making better returns in the market. I also could have worked my way through college, but loans allowed me to do internships and extracurriculars and focus on my studies more, which helped me land a better job.
For a family of four shopping at a place like Whole Foods? That's not an outrageous number for groceries at all.
It's not if you kids, buy good food (not processed junk), have pets, or have any dietary needs. My mom used to have a cat. Me and my sister took "turns" (she did it like once a year and acted like were even steven ) paying for my mom's weekly groceries. It's about 160 a week. Groceries are not keep. Neither are paper towels or things like kitty litter.
Yes, a degree from a top school does not guarantee success but it does increase the chances of success.
There was an article years ago that suggested those who can make it to the Ivy Leagues would more or less be fine settling for solid, accredited, non-Ivy league schools. They had the gumption, ambition, smarts, and know-how to achieve success through alternative means anyways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Datafeed
have you been to whole foods? That place is ridiculous. Get their meat and things like smoked salmon and it will be like 25 bucks a pack...
I drop about 300 each time I show up for four bags. I dont even shop there anymore because it cost too much.
4.25 for one Advocado!
It is possible to get reasonably priced groceries there... sure, you can buy a $7 head of broccoli, or $6 box of Italian seasoned kale chips (1 oz!), but they do have things on the cheaper side too. Alas, those prices would be beat by many wholesale clubs, supermarket chains, and definitely local supermarkets. They may not be the same quality, organic, or have whatever niceties you'd normally get from the Whole Foods brand, but some folks like myself would much rather save the money.
For example, going to a combo of local supermarkets (Mexican run), I bought the following...
$0.75 = small box of cherry tomatoes
~50c = green bell pepper
~20c = garlic clove
$5 = 2.3 lb of ground pork
~$1 = 2 servings of microwave brown rice at Aldi's
$0.69 = 1 lb of Kale --- (if I ever eat kale chips again, I'm going to find a recipe of how to cook it myself and see if that's worth the time)
I didn't use up all the kale, so I could've saved an additional 30c. The ground pork I only cooked half that portion, so it would've been $2.50's worth of that (admittedly, this was a generous sale). There's also the ingredients that last a long time, like cooking oil and all spice seasoning. $6 for food that'll last me 4 to 6 meals. Of course, it also took me about an 2 hours of prep, cooking, and cleanup (and I use a Slap Chop since I have yet to be able to chop veggies as quickly as vets do), but that still felt good
I've heard friends say they walk into WF, and leave shaking their heads in shock and awe. I've attended several healthy eating classes, and while they like WF, they really can't swallow their prices. Similar to the "underhanded" tricks consumers did with electronics where they go to Staples, Radio Shack, or Best Buy, try out a floor model, realize it's what they want, and go online and buy it at 15 to 30% off MSRP, some folks have tried certain foods at WF, and then get it cheaper online from then on.
Last edited by ackmondual; 09-08-2014 at 10:57 PM..
I meant 1400 on a scale of 1600. I graduated from high school in 1971 (and 1400 was not my score, but it was top 5% and a pretty good cutoff for Ivy League vs. other schools).
It is not suicide to go to an affordable undergraduate if you are smart. Grad school is what matters anyway. I'm very glad I went to a public university, ended up in the same place for grad school as many people from top 25/30 schools, only I had no debt and they were already at 85-100k in debt. They will be paying off debt until 35-40 and I never had any, which allows me to immediately start putting serious cash towards retirement.
If you graduate in the top 5% of a public university, with awesome recommendations from "name" professors, you can get into almost any grad school. Most students, me included, are not that driven.
This point is something I had always read about being an econ undergrad, but not something I had seen up close until I took a job for a software company that makes a product used by investment banks, hedge funds, and other large financial institutions.
Almost all of the good jobs in high finance are in Chicago, NYC, Boston, San Francisco, and possibly a few other scattered firms here and there. IT positions at these firms are so niche and specialized virtually anything pays at or near six figures in front and middle office. There are simply so few places these jobs are at you must move to where the job is, and people outside the area are unlikely to have the necessary skills or experience, as the work is done nowhere else.
Most Americans simply are not aware of the nuances of high-finance, big 3 consulting, or corporate law. You are entirely correct: The vast majority of such jobs are only available in a handful of urban hubs. Such places have a very high cost of living.
They moved the target, a third component was added to the SAT in the (?) '80s, so the 'new' SAT has a max score of 2400, while the 'old' SAT has a max score of 1600.
They moved the target, a third component was added to the SAT in the (?) '80s, so the 'new' SAT has a max score of 2400, while the 'old' SAT has a max score of 1600.
The change took place in 2005 not the 80s lol
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) paying for my mom's weekly groceries. It's about 160 a week. Groceries are not keep. Neither are paper towels or things like kitty litter.
