Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know, that's like saying "Do you have too much beer", lol.
Stimulus didn't move the needle much for us. In fact, a good portion of the stimulus we received was invested in our "kids" investment account.
Are you saying that people who did not need the stimulus check got one and cashed it? The food bank and inner city communities must have been stimulated into happiness over all your cash donations!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,576 posts, read 81,186,228 times
Reputation: 57813
In addition to the stimulus checks we didn't need, over the last 3 years I have had two promotions plus annual raises, and going remote then hybrid have saved $200-300/month in commute costs. We have been able to put a significant amount in both of our credit union savings accounts, and increased our contributions to our retirement accounts. This is the first time in my life that I could handle an unexpected expense of $10,000 or more without having to take a loan or use a credit card. As it turns out the stimulus money was only a very small part of that, with my salary now $50k more than in 2019.
Didn't really get much stimulus money, even with kids. I think we got like $1.2k on the first one and then never got anything else.
Like others I'm not sure what excess savings means. But I do know that this year we've saved more money than we have in previous years as best as I can tell. This is the first year we've actually tracked how much we saved, usually I just track how much we spend. But, I was honestly surprised by how much we saved/invested.
Yeah, it wasn't the stimulus for us either. I suddenly had lots of extra time because I wasn't commuting or going to the bar after work. I worked more hours in 2020 any year before.
Stimulus check is a separate issue. I used mine to pay taxes. Income tax was due on the stimulus money, so 30 percent of it was returned to the federal government as income tax and then the state got some as income tax. . The rest went towards the property taxes, which had gone up because the stimulus programs caused inflation, which caused house prices to go up, which increased my property appraisal which increased my property taxes.
Are you saying that people who did not need the stimulus check got one and cashed it? The food bank and inner city communities must have been stimulated into happiness over all your cash donations!
We are a solidly middle-class, blue-collar family, and things like buying homes and saving for retirement are tougher than ever for my young adult kids, so I'll concentrate my charity by donating "excess savings" to the investment account I run for them, and they will all inherit and equal share of it under the step-up rule when I die.
I'm looking for input as to how much "excess" savings Americans actually have as opposed to how much the press and the Fed say we have.
Chairman Powell and others at the Fed and in the press allude to excess savings and attribute it mainly to all the stimulus money passed out starting over 2 years ago now. I'm trying to wrap my head around how these cash injections are seen as a valid indicator of Americans savings.
My take is if you needed the cash injection you didn't put it in savings and if you didn't need the cash adding it to your savings account didn't really move the needle on how much you ordinarily spend.
Any opinions or perspectives?
I was going to try and post a poll but can't remember which hoops to leap through.
I figured the poll thing out.
My wife and I have a ton of cash (1.4 million) in three CDs which will expire next summer. At which point we will lock the money in (5 years)
I'm 65 and my wife is 60. We can live fine on the rental income we receive. When I reach 70 I will start selling our 6 rental properties. We'll leave the 1.4 million alone until we reach 80.
We have no children and plan to to a lot of travelling once I reach 70 (and wife reaches 65)
However, i hope to live until I'm at least 100 (like many in my family.) I want to make sure there is enough money when the time comes I need to hire people to come over and assist me (or wife.).
If at all possible we do not want to live in an assisted living facility and will spend what is needed to make sure we are comfortable at home.
My current Medicare and supplemental health care plan including a drug plan will cost me roughly $300 a month. i will pay this out of pocket and will collect my ss when i reach 70. my wife will get half of what i receive since she doesn't qualify on her own. my guess is in 5 years I'll be paying close to $375-400 a month and my wife something similar when she reaches 65. however, the social security income should cover this. i expect to receive some $600 a month and my wife will qualify for half or maybe $300.
i made several poor financial decisions over the years and learned i needed to be very careful when it came to retirement. i know many people who will be working past 70 because they need the money. I liken my situation to the story of the three little pigs: I built my house (retirement) out of brick so when the big bad wolf (economy) comes blowing at the door we'll be fine.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
