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Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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I've heard up to six months is recommended.
Is that at your current lifestyle or at "oh oh, time to cut back till we get back on track" rate?
For example I early retired off my investments which are rental properties and plan on spending everything I get and living life to it's fullest after building a reserve.
To live in decent comfort with no travel or outlandish cars etc I need $4894 per month.
But at the lifestyle I wish to lead it will be $9843/month.This budget includes 3 car payments on luxury cars and about 24K a year to travel. If things went bad I can cut the travel, cars might be a bit harder as I would have to sell, maybe at a loss. I have no mortgage or debt except for cars.
Outside of a health disaster I can't forsee anything really hitting me.
I'm thinking maybe putting aside about $50k to $60K for reserve.
What do you think?
Also where would you put this much. The idea of getting .002 from the bank doesn't sit well with me.
Last edited by aslowdodge; 08-26-2016 at 06:37 PM..
I don't see one answer fitting everyone. Some people have very stable, secure employment. Others, like myself, worked in fields undergoing downsizing and consolidation. I lost my job several times due to M&A. I always found a new job and usually a job that was better than my previous job but that could take months. I really needed to be able to cover basic expenses for way more than 6 months and even then I never felt financially secure.
I don't see one answer fitting everyone. Some people have very stable, secure employment. Others, like myself, worked in fields undergoing downsizing and consolidation.
That, plus if you do a search on emergency funds, you'll find many many threads about this topic.
I've heard up to six months is recommended.
Is that at your current lifestyle or at "oh oh, time to cut back till we get back on track" rate?
For example I early retired off my investments which are rental properties and plan on spending everything I get and living life to it's fullest after building a reserve.
To live in decent comfort with no travel or outlandish cars etc I need $4894 per month.
But at the lifestyle I wish to lead it will be $9843/month.This budget includes 3 car payments on luxury cars and about 24K a year to travel. If things went bad I can cut the travel, cars might be a bit harder as I would have to sell, maybe at a loss. I have no mortgage or debt except for cars.
Outside of a health disaster I can't forsee anything really hitting me.
I'm thinking maybe putting aside about $50k to $60K for reserve.
What do you think?
Also where would you put this much. The idea of getting .002 from the bank doesn't sit well with me.
Truthfully I dont carry car payments. I refuse to carry them in retirement when I retire. I would pay off the cars.
Seems like you plan on living it up till the day you die. While I plan on having some fun in retirement I'm not going to blow money like a sailor on leave.
We have multiple accounts/investments. One is designed as the emergency fund. If you need $4800 a month to maintain some lifestyle in retirement you're spending a lot. Usually in retirement you slow your roll.
50k would be the minimum I would put aside if I were in your position.
If you've put nothing aside for disaster , you've decided to become victim, not a survivor.
When the dollar crashes, like it did in south America there will be no stores to go to, that will take worthless paper, in exchange for what ever is left on the shelves .
In the midst of any disaster, those not prepared with food and supplies will be dependent on public services to survive no matter how long it last.
Remember Katrina. FEMA is incompetent .
Early in my 60s I began to more aggressively begin to learn how to properly store food and water and other medical supplies and learn alternative medicines I can make my self.
Also gathering skills and broadening my training in more primitive methods of making do if it becomes necessary.
Having a portion of gold put away to exchange for the new currency ,what ever that may turn out to be, is not a bad idea, but you can't eat gold, and it's only good for barter to those that don't need any thing else .
I am retired now, and live on about 1k a month ,and from time to time borrow for my reserves, which are good for about 2 years .
I am learning to garden and can food ,so I can blend that with my stores, and last significantly longer ,God willing.
2k a month would be luxurious IMO
The beauty is ,should I die now , my children can make use of my investments ,to brighten their future and survival, adding to their stores as well .
We have 2 times my take home income. We save/invest all of my husband's income so we don't include that in our calculations for the emergency funds.
Are you saying you have two years of take home pay in an emergency fund? How many years of expenses is that? Is it sitting around in CDs? Savings accounts?
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