Single people vs married people

[edenky22]

Hi everyone.  Sometimes I get discouraged reading the amounts people have saved.  It seems like a lot on here have a lot more saved than I do.  But I know a lot of you are also married, and I am single.  Any of you that are single, do you remember how much you had saved at 36 years of age?  

[Deleted]

I was married twice, but single at 36 and I'm pretty sure second marriage was a financial liability, not asset.  I had around 100K (give or take 10K or so) in retirement at 36.  I'm 45 now. 

[Gardening Grandma]

Oct 25, 2014 14:24:50 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Hi everyone.  Sometimes I get discouraged reading the amounts people have saved.  It seems like a lot on here have a lot more saved than I do.  But I know a lot of you are also married, and I am single.  Any of you that are single, do you remember how much you had saved at 36 years of age?  

Although I'm married now, at 36 I was divorced and had about $35,000 in my 401K.

[edenky22]

Oct 25, 2014 14:31:13 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I was married twice, but single at 36 and I'm pretty sure second marriage was a financial liability, not asset.  I had around 100K (give or take 10K or so) in retirement at 36.  I'm 45 now. 

Thanks MLP.  I have about 130k currently.  Do you think there's been a lot more progress btwn 36 and 45?

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2014 14:34:27 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Oct 25, 2014 14:31:13 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I was married twice, but single at 36 and I'm pretty sure second marriage was a financial liability, not asset.  I had around 100K (give or take 10K or so) in retirement at 36.  I'm 45 now. 

Thanks MLP.  I have about 130k currently.  Do you think there's been a lot more progress btwn 36 and 45?

My retirement accounts are now about 250K.  I don't add a lot.   At most 10K/year between 401K and IRA including employer contributions.  You reach this critical mass and then the growth of what's in there overtakes your contributions.  Well, at least recently during these good years for the market. 

[edenky22]

Oct 25, 2014 14:33:38 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

Oct 25, 2014 14:24:50 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Hi everyone.  Sometimes I get discouraged reading the amounts people have saved.  It seems like a lot on here have a lot more saved than I do.  But I know a lot of you are also married, and I am single.  Any of you that are single, do you remember how much you had saved at 36 years of age?  

Although I'm married now, at 36 I was divorced and had about $35,000 in my 401K.

Thanks GG.  Do you mind me asking how you feel about your current situation now?  And did your income go up, stay same, or go down in general?

[Deleted]

In 2002 (when I was 33), my 401K was 22K.  I rolled that one into an IRA because I had quit my job and that account is now 93K with zero contributions since then.  Pretty sweet. 

[ZaireinHD]

PFFT - age 36!
couple $100

[edenky22]

Oct 25, 2014 14:37:50 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Oct 25, 2014 14:34:27 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Thanks MLP.  I have about 130k currently.  Do you think there's been a lot more progress btwn 36 and 45?

My retirement accounts are now about 250K.  I don't add a lot.   At most 10K/year between 401K and IRA including employer contributions.  You reach this critical mass and then the growth of what's in there overtakes your contributions.  Well, at least recently during these good years for the market. 

That makes me feel a little better.  How much do you think is the critical mass?

[edenky22]

Oct 25, 2014 14:41:55 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2002 (when I was 33), my 401K was 22K.  I rolled that one into an IRA because I had quit my job and that account is now 93K with zero contributions since then.  Pretty sweet. 

Wow!  That's amazing in 11. Years.  Are you in really aggressive funds?  

[edenky22]

Oct 25, 2014 14:42:31 GMT -5 ZaireinHD said:

PFFT - age 36!
couple $100

I'm not sure I understand your answer...

[ZaireinHD]

then again I wasn't serious about saving back then
then again I'm not really serious at saving now

but if I were serious at saving
and managed to live with another person (roommate or girlfriend)
I think I could give these married people a run for the money for saving

[Ava]

Being single seems to make it more difficult to save, but it can actually be an advantage, as long as you don't have any dependents.
At work, there are two people with young kids and their spouses are staying at home for a few years to raise the children. Those two coworkers make way more than I do, but I think I am financially more stable than they are. I don't talk finances at work, but sometimes I overhear them talk about "it's finally payday; I only had $50 left", "I haven't been to a restaurant since my youngest was born", etc.

I know many people will disagree with me but I'm a big believer in condominiums.
You save yourself a lot of time because you don't have to deal with mowing or raking leaves. You also save a ton of money; it's way cheaper to live in a condo than in a house. I don't believe in renting; it's more expensive over time. Although my condo is way underwater and has been a disappointment in many ways; I couldn't get a 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath and garage for what I pay here if I were to rent. No way. I would be paying around $250 more in rent, at least, than what I pay in PIT and HOA dues (which includes insurance).

I think the key to achieving a good financial position is having low fixed expenses.
I rather buy a used car and pay cash (or at least give a big down payment), and live in a modest home. It makes you more liquid.

[ZaireinHD]

edenky22 then again on third or fourth thought!


I wouldn't be able to give a good savings challenge to the married people because I don't make nothing close to what others make / income. I also would feel bad for not having such a large amount saved after reading some comments here. because the competition income is so much more then what my income is, I couldn't give a challenge.

when I was at age 36 I only had a couple hundred saved. at most I would think five hundred tops?

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2014 15:10:15 GMT -5 ZaireinHD said:

edenky22 then again on third or fourth thought!


I wouldn't be able to give a good savings challenge to the married people because I don't make nothing close to what others make / income. I also would feel bad for not having such a large amount saved after reading some comments here. because the competition income is so much more then what my income is, I couldn't give a challenge.

when I was at age 36 I only had a couple hundred saved. at most I would think five hundred tops?

Income is a good thing to keep in mind.  I would look at savings more as a "how many times your annual pay" do you have set away then just dollar amounts.  Someone that makes 200K having 100K set aside at 35 is different than someone that makes 20K also with 100K savings at 35.  One is doing very well, one not so great if they want to replace their income.

[ZaireinHD]

oh ok I can understand that percentage wise over dollar amount
if the goal / challenge is 30% of annual pay makes it even for everyone!

Then HA! I would be back in the game!
NO KIDS here! for me
HA HAA!

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2014 14:47:39 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Oct 25, 2014 14:41:55 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2002 (when I was 33), my 401K was 22K.  I rolled that one into an IRA because I had quit my job and that account is now 93K with zero contributions since then.  Pretty sweet. 

Wow!  That's amazing in 11. Years.  Are you in really aggressive funds?  

It's all in one fund.  FLPSX.  I don't really advise that, but now I'm kind of letting it ride.  Back in 2002 I briefly considered cashing my 401K in rather than rolling it over.  At the time I had a 15K truck loan and I figured after paying taxes and penalty there would be just about enough left to pay it off.  Well, that truck is long gone and now I'm curious what that account will be in 17 years when I plan to retire without ever touching it.   

[Deleted]

My guess is $100K, which would have been a little over 1X my annual income. Thing is, my then-husband was a huge spender so a lot of my income went to pay for stuff I didn't care about, and by 1992 he'd lost his job and gone though 2/3 of his inheritance (the other 1/3 was the down payment on our house), so he was a liability.

Yeah, it would have been nice to have been one-half of a high-earning Power Couple or been married, like a friend of mine, to a guy who retired with a nice pension and retiree health care from IBM, but it didn't happen.  I did remarry at age 50, to a wonderful man who didn't have a lot of money but know how to live on less than he made, and life is good.

Be glad that you and you alone, have a say over how your money is spent.  There's a lot to be said for that!

[SVT]

I'm single but haven't reached 36 years of age yet.

[Tiny]

Well, I'm single, no kids, never married, and 50yo now. So, I was 36 about 14 years ago... I was 3 years into a 15 year mortgage on my house (probably about 80K on the mortgage), I had about 90K in a 401(k) from an old employer and about 15K in my current employer's 401(k). I probably had about 10K liquid $$ back then. No other funds.

I did live at home with mom until she died - but I was paying rent from the time I was 21. Rent got upped every time I got a raise. I probably didn't have as much of a 'shelter expense' as I would have if I lived on my own. When My mom died and we got a look at her finances - it was a good thing I was paying rent, my mom wouldn't have been able to keep the house without it. When she died I took over the bills for the family home (which wasn't too financially difficult - a couple hundred more per month than I was already use to 'paying in rent'). Once my siblings and I sold the house I purchased my own home...

I had received 20K in inheritance from the sale of the family home -- which I used towards the purchase of my own house. I had just finished paying out of pocket for a BA degree (night school). Back then I had consistently contributed 8% to my 401(k) - from the first day I signed up back in the dark ages (when the advice was "contribute 3% and you'll retire filthy rich". By the time I got to the second job that offered a 401(k) the advice was "contribute 5% and you'll retire filthy rich" I think the advice now is to contribute 10%.

I didn't spend a lot of money on "stuff" back then or now. The 8% contribution to my 401(k) wasn't hard to do - I never missed the $$.

[Tiny]

Oct 25, 2014 14:47:39 GMT -5 edenky22 said:

Oct 25, 2014 14:41:55 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2002 (when I was 33), my 401K was 22K.  I rolled that one into an IRA because I had quit my job and that account is now 93K with zero contributions since then.  Pretty sweet. 

Wow!  That's amazing in 11. Years.  Are you in really aggressive funds?  

The last 7 years have been great for investments (the Great Recession wasn't cruel to all investors.).   

[Deleted]

I'm single and have been since I was 35.  I had no money then since I had to pay to get rid of him.  I did have my home with some equity in it.  Every dime I had went to the ex for two years.  I was barely able to pay the mortgage and utilities, but I did it.  After he was paid I started focusing on retirement.  Opened my first retirement account at 40+. 

You are only 36.  Start now and you'll be fine!!!

P.S.  I'm still single and a millionaire 30 years later.

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2014 17:57:28 GMT -5 @ezzie said:

I'm single and have been since I was 35.  I had no money then since I had to pay to get rid of him.  I did have my home with some equity in it.  Every dime I had went to the ex for two years. 

I'm glad you had a good lawyer and it lasted only 2 years.  I had asked my lawyer about my offering my Ex support for a fixed period and she didn't want to go there- said there was always the possibility that at the end of it he'd come back and plead that he still needed time to get back on his feet, or whatever.  She was a wise woman.  I ended up needing just about everything I made to pay the mortgage and property taxes and send DS to a military boarding school for HS.

[Apple]

I got divorced almost 14 years ago, with one son.  I own my own home, and have almost 9 acres (separate location), but otherwise no debt.  I started saving for retirement when I was 21, and have broken the $250k mark, most of the time contributing 15% with a 5% match (I did drop contributions lower for a few years).  I have a fully funded EF, and save for vacations, plus future needs as well.

I'm 35.  I do know that the five years between 30 and 35, my retirement fund really seemed to take off.  I'm hoping that's the case in the future.  Unless I have to quit my job for some reason, I don't see my income decreasing (I may not get overtime like I have the last two years, however, my base pay should not decrease).  I have applied for a job overseas that would mean a big paycut (and therefore smaller retirement contributions), but the benefits/experience are more than worth it to me.

[alinal]

I'm 34 and single. Was married at one point, but it had a neutral effect on my finances.

I have 2x my current income in retirement accounts. I have another 2x my income in home equity and emergency fund.

It feels like I made a lot of progress since 30.

[steph08]

I'm 29, married, one kid. I would have so much more money if I was single. And it's not the kid that takes up the money (well, daycare does). My DH just likes to buy crap.

I had about 1.5x my salary in my 403b before this past week or two with the market going down. Now I have about 1.4x my salary.

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2014 18:12:06 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Oct 25, 2014 17:57:28 GMT -5 @ezzie said:

I'm single and have been since I was 35.  I had no money then since I had to pay to get rid of him.  I did have my home with some equity in it.  Every dime I had went to the ex for two years. 

I'm glad you had a good lawyer and it lasted only 2 years.  I had asked my lawyer about my offering my Ex support for a fixed period and she didn't want to go there- said there was always the possibility that at the end of it he'd come back and plead that he still needed time to get back on his feet, or whatever.  She was a wise woman.  I ended up needing just about everything I made to pay the mortgage and property taxes and send DS to a military boarding school for HS.

I had a so-so lawyer; he didn't have one.  The first lawyer I went to wanted to go after him in a big way with private detectives and all.  I wanted to be fair (I was the one that wanted the divorce) so I went with a lawyer that wasn't looking to air all the dirty laundry.  It was simpler since we didn't have children and neither of us was vindictive.

I'm getting Off Topic.............. Anyway, edenky22, focus on building your retirement and you will be fine!

[msventoux]

I'm a little past 36 and have around $250K saved.  It's only been the last few years I've been able to fully fund my retirement accounts, and I don't get any type of employer matching. 

I'm single and have never married.  I've always known I would have to be entirely responsible for my future, so the least I've ever saved is 10% of my income in retirement accounts.  10% of minimum wage wasn't much, but it was a start and provided a good base.  Every raise I've tried to increase my retirement savings percentage.  I'm not making a six figure income so I can't save that much for retirement without making sacrifices elsewhere.  I wish I had more, but I don't think I'm doing too badly.  I'll be in much better shape than anyone else in my family, since they've never planned for the future. 

[svwashout]

I hit seven figures shortly before I turned 36, but it wasn't so much high income and savings, it was mostly the stock market bubble of the late 1990s. I was lucky not to give much back in the early 2000s and the 2003 recovery gave me another million. Personally I think staying single and child-free is a huge advantage towards wealth building. Marriage and children bring on expensive needs, where I live it'd be a house in the right school district plus all of the other necessities to conform to middle class family life. Singles can get away with a lot more both in terms of spending less and also taking on high risk ventures that can be hugely rewarding.

Anyway if you're looking over your shoulder, I think you're using the wrong yardstick. This shouldn't be a contest, to me it's a game of beat the clock-- namely how fast can you build enough income producing assets to free you from servitude. This means low expenses are just as important as high savings, so when the ratio of the two is 33 years, you're done with work whenever you like. Comparing yourself to others means you'll never reach enough, instead measure your wealth not in dollars but in years of annual expenses.

[reader79]

I'm 35 and single. As of Friday I have $75,908 in my 401K - which was at $71K earlier in the week.  This is a bit more than my current $69K salary. I have made pretty much every mistake I could with my retirement savings - taking money out of my Roth, 401K loans, etc. What I have consistently done was always save the minimum to get the max employer match. I need to step it up, as my financial obligations are probably lower now than they will ever be in the future. So, I am probably going to try to go for the full contribution next year, as well as start putting money in the Roth again.