Women in Red SAVERS 2019

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 30, 2019 23:32:25 GMT -5 Saving4Norway said:

Debthaven - I'm 50. The retirement plan I'm on (Called TERS 3) sets full retirement at 65. I started teaching at 22 so that would be... what? 43 years of teaching. Over the years I've seen the impact of a changing American society on children and families. It ain't pretty. With my current investments, I can easily retire at 60, in 10 years.

To be completely honest, at 50 years old, I'm already pretty burnt out and more unhappy than I've ever been. On top of that, my parents are 81 and 85 years old and although they are in very good health, you just never know. I want to be in the financial position that IF my parents need full time care, before I turn 60, I could quit teaching and live off my savings. (Some technical details - I'd be "separating from service" - not technically "retiring" because that implies you will start drawing on your pension, which I wouldn't be until 60.)

So, I've estimated how much I'll need each year if I quit early - $24,000. So, the way I look at it, for each multiple of $24K I can save, that's one year before 60 that I could quit teaching. At my rate of saving, aside from winning the lottery, I'll have to save my butt off to have any hope of quitting as early as 5 years from now. (When my parents will be 86 and 91.)

Well shoot, I never answered your question - somewhere between 55 and 60.

24000/yearly expenses? That is pretty reasonable! I would think that the pension may be able to fully or more cover that.

Are you relying entirely on the pension and/or SS? Is there any 401k/roth vehicles you could tap early if need be?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 30, 2019 18:02:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Please stay safe forwardwego !

Saving4Norway if it's not rude, can I ask at what age you plan to retire? Because I'm getting closer, and thinking about it. I'll be 60 this year, and I can retire at 62, so in 2.5 years.

I'm thinking about this a lot more as well. I'll be 55 this fall, and I'm not quite sure how that happened! But - career-wise, I'm almost done - when I feel in some ways that I'm just getting started! Thinking I have to give up the MBA idea, because - time. I'm not quite the energy ball I was previously. But - I could retire from my current job, and feel like I did what I needed/wanted to do career wise, although - I am hopeful that I could do 1-2 more changes (promotion - new org that is larger) before the end. But then sometimes, I think no - I'd prefer to step down back into oldjob type position (but not oldjob pay!)

Not being able to max my 401k in 2019 was a disappointment, but I'm hopeful that when I get a few things taken care of this fall, that I will be able to arrange that in 2020. I do need to start making retirement planning a real priority - in regards not just to saving, but in terms of if I stay in this house, in chicago, or what I might do. Those questions all feel very daunting!

How do you all - who are approaching retirement - wrestle with these big-picture questions? What factors do you consider when making these big decisions?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

In other news, I did secure my side-job I've been working to bring in, and will be pulling in 1,250 for that. It isn't a whole lot of "extra" but I'd really like to make that count in some way. I'm thinking I'll siphon 250 off for fun money, and use 1k to pay down/save/invest.
This is payable on a 1099, but I do think I am overpaying on my taxes this year. Since I owed the IRS a lot for 2018 taxes and couldn't pay up right away, I didn't want to take a chance and lower this too much. I also won't owe SS taxes on the money, but maybe medicare? is there an income cap on that?


I'm expecting payment for this first week of October, so I am thinking I can up my 401k by 1% (will equal $375 by years end), another 375 for debt reduction, and 250 into my EF savings fund I've been working on here.

Appreciate any thoughts on this plan!

Ok - so I guess that can be my answer...


You know you are a WIRSaver when you plan out savings on a tiny sum of money months in advance!

[nikiz628]

Aug 1, 2019 21:19:08 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

Jul 1, 2019 12:27:49 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

August Update:

2019 Savings	START	CURRENT	GOAL	STILL NEED
Emergency Fund	$2,091.03	$2238.12	$4,500.00	$2261.88
DS1's Savings	$1,750.51	$1,851.06	$2,000.00	$148.94
DS2's Savings	$576.65	$676.84	$800.00	$123.16
TOTALS	$4,418.19	$4,766.02	$7,300.00	$2,533.98

NikiZ628 8/31/2019 $4,766.02 (Goal $7,300 WIRS1)

Like I said previously, the EF took a bit of a hit to pay for some medical bills. It still stings, and probably makes our goal super unrealistic now, but I am glad we had the money saved when it was needed. 

[seriousthistime]

Aug 31, 2019 11:11:31 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Since I owed the IRS a lot for 2018 taxes and couldn't pay up right away, I didn't want to take a chance and lower this too much. I also won't owe SS taxes on the money, but maybe medicare? is there an income cap on that?

There is no income cap on Medicare taxes.  A self-employed person would pay 2.9% on income earned through self-employment. And without knowing how much you make, but it is apparently more than the SS income cap, there is an additional Medicare tax if you earn more than $200,000 from wages, compensation, or self-employment.  It's an extra 0.9% on the amount above $200,000. 

[finnime]

You know you're a WIRSaver when you realize you keep an emergency emergency emergency $20 in the car, that you never spend.

[finnime]

Goals for Spending

Goal	Goal Amount	Saved	Spent	Percent Saved
House	10,000	6260	6200	52.17%
Car	2,500	0	0
Dog	500	0	0
Medical	1500	500	0	33%
Gifts/Misc	3,000	0	0
Travel	7,000	0	0
Total	24,500	6760	1000	22.92%

Finnime1 $6760 6/3/2019 ($24,500)

Goal for Keeping

Security	5,000	3000	60%
Total	5,000	3000	60%

finnime2 $3000 8/31/2019 ($5,000)


Spent $ on the yard and garden, with more to come out soon. We needed some major work done including 2 days of a bulldozer to dig up roots from the maple trees that have come down over the years. So the work is done now, it looks good, but I'll have to save up the rest of the $10,000 to cover it.

I did add $250 to security savings. This month has been much more outgo than income.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 31, 2019 18:37:23 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Aug 31, 2019 11:11:31 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Since I owed the IRS a lot for 2018 taxes and couldn't pay up right away, I didn't want to take a chance and lower this too much. I also won't owe SS taxes on the money, but maybe medicare? is there an income cap on that?

There is no income cap on Medicare taxes.  A self-employed person would pay 2.9% on income earned through self-employment. And without knowing how much you make, but it is apparently more than the SS income cap, there is an additional Medicare tax if you earn more than $200,000 from wages, compensation, or self-employment.  It's an extra 0.9% on the amount above $200,000. 

Thanks! I had a fairly large income bump in late 2018 switching my day jobs, worked a PT job that was taxed differently (university system) which I think does not do SS/Medicare, all of which contributed to owing the IRS a pack of money in April. University was taxing like that was my only job, and then I got a large vacation time payout when switching companies. Still paying on those taxes!

This is the first year that I will make more than the SS cap on my day job, so I'm really not sure how it all works. I'll make just a little bit more than the limit, so won't own SS on the 1099 extra income. But not sure how the medicare money will go, how I might figure that out in terms of the tax forms. But thinking I will start splurging and have a preparer rather than turbotax.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 31, 2019 18:48:27 GMT -5 finnime said:

Goals for Spending

Goal	Goal Amount	Saved	Spent	Percent Saved
House	10,000	6260	6200	52.17%
Car	2,500	0	0
Dog	500	0	0
Medical	1500	500	0	33%
Gifts/Misc	3,000	0	0
Travel	7,000	0	0
Total	24,500	6760	1000	22.92%

Finnime1 $6760 6/3/2019 ($24,500)

Goal for Keeping

Security	5,000	3000	60%
Total	5,000	3000	60%

finnime2 $3000 8/31/2019 ($5,000)


Spent $ on the yard and garden, with more to come out soon. We needed some major work done including 2 days of a bulldozer to dig up roots from the maple trees that have come down over the years. So the work is done now, it looks good, but I'll have to save up the rest of the $10,000 to cover it.

I did add $250 to security savings. This month has been much more outgo than income.

Sounds like you are making progress! Which is the most important piece. Sometimes the numbers alone aren't telling the whole story.

[plugginaway22]

Rukh asked:  How do you all - who are approaching retirement - wrestle with these big-picture questions? What factors do you consider when making these big decisions?

Well this is right where we are and struggling with so many unknowns!  DH will be 60 soon, I will be 59.  We always thought we would retire to FL or southern states until...Grand babies.  One here and one on the way and it has totally changed our way of thinking.  We also both are burnt out at our jobs and want to retire NOW, and could swing it if it weren't for the big "medical coverage" dilemna.  We probably don't have enough saved to get us both to 65 and Medicare.  Another factor is that both of our jobs, randomly became not so stable this year, and could possibly go away! 

So for now, we max our 401ks and try to save as much as we can (home paid off, no debt).  But we also are traveling and fixing up our home so that if we do decide to downsize it will be quick to put on market. I am always trying to balance the saving hard/enjoying life battle!

[sealy]

Back to square one. Summer was interesting. I’m glad I was able to work SS.

Sealy $1,000 9/1/2019 ($25,000).

[seriousthistime]

Revised updates below at message #471.

[paynointerest]

I appreciate this discussion on the Savers thread because I think it great to share our ideas and concerns and possibly resources to help find answers. I'm 46 and right now, think I want to retire at about age 55. The factors I'm thinking about now are saving as much as I can and maxing out my 403b and 457b; with any extra money I have each month, putting it into a taxable investment account so I have money to live off of between my retirement age and age that I can withdraw from my retirement funds without penalty.

I've often wondered if the pension system is a bad idea because once individuals reach a certain point in life, they burn out (especially in education-- It gets harder and harder to deal with the kids and bureaucracy in education each passing year) and they need to move on to something else.  However since they have not met the requirements in terms of years of service, age, etc., to get their full retirement benefits, they just hang on, burnt out, tired, and counting the days until they retire.


The factors that I'm thinking about right now are:

#1) With my position, I'm am working on wrapping up unfinished projects and not taking on any additional projects that create busy work for me rather than bring enjoyment. Staying close to the responsibilities listed in my job description and letting others take on the "extra" activities that pop up.
#2) At my job, how can I move into a different type of position (for me, these factors are moving into online teaching so I can live where ever I want, maybe change the courses I teach, changing the terms of my contract to give me more time -- hopefully this can happen after I get my final promotion)
#3) Making time for fun stuff and self-care to help my mental and physical health
#4) Where to put my savings (retirement and taxable accounts) and what I should do after retirement -- I like working! To gather this information, I read a lot of blogs from people who became financially independent early in life and see what other types of projects/work they have found. None of them stopped working completely, they focus on only doing work they love. Many are using insurance from the Affordable Care Act and are still young. I'm curious to see how it goes for them if their health starts to fail. One person moved to a country that provides universal health care -- he is lucky.


One of my favorite blogs is the "Mad Fientist". He interviews individuals who have reached financial independence (FI) and shares it on his podcast. They all have different stories and it is interesting to see what they have gotten into after retirement.
Another couple I follow are the owners of "Our Next Life". I like that they go into detail on all of the factors they thought about before making the decision to retire and I like how they set up their spreadsheets to help one figure out the amount of money they should save for each phase (e.g., before they get their SS benefits and can access their retirement funds) rather than a the typical "save a million dollars" or "save 25x your annual spending" blanket statements. One size will not fit all in this situation. Here is the link that goes directly to their spreadsheet: ournextlife.com/2016/02/17/how-we-calculated-our-numbers-for-each-phase-of-early-retirement/

I recognize that everyone has a different situation and circumstances but I believe that IF their is a way to leave a position that one is burnt out in, it is best to do so for everyone. It is best for the individual, the organization, and the individuals that work for the organization.

I hope this information helps!

Aug 31, 2019 11:06:34 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Aug 30, 2019 18:02:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Please stay safe forwardwego !

Saving4Norway if it's not rude, can I ask at what age you plan to retire? Because I'm getting closer, and thinking about it. I'll be 60 this year, and I can retire at 62, so in 2.5 years.

I'm thinking about this a lot more as well. I'll be 55 this fall, and I'm not quite sure how that happened! But - career-wise, I'm almost done - when I feel in some ways that I'm just getting started! Thinking I have to give up the MBA idea, because - time. I'm not quite the energy ball I was previously. But - I could retire from my current job, and feel like I did what I needed/wanted to do career wise, although - I am hopeful that I could do 1-2 more changes (promotion - new org that is larger) before the end. But then sometimes, I think no - I'd prefer to step down back into oldjob type position (but not oldjob pay!)

Not being able to max my 401k in 2019 was a disappointment, but I'm hopeful that when I get a few things taken care of this fall, that I will be able to arrange that in 2020. I do need to start making retirement planning a real priority - in regards not just to saving, but in terms of if I stay in this house, in chicago, or what I might do. Those questions all feel very daunting!

How do you all - who are approaching retirement - wrestle with these big-picture questions? What factors do you consider when making these big decisions?

[debthaven]

I am really loving this topic/discussion!

Thank you to Rukh, Norway and Pay-no-interest for your contributions.

I have some comments to add but I just got home.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Thanks paynointerest !

It's helpful to see how others are figuring things out, looked at the ONL spreadsheet. seems encouraging!

[plugginaway22]

9/2/19 Update: Plugginaway22: $38,343 (goal $36,000)



Brick bank          7,700
On-line bank   
  19,061
Credit Union     11,582
Total                  $38,343


HSA balance     $12,696

A good month considering all this spending:  garage opener replaced, plumbing work done, bought new living room rug, new refrigerator, took 2 trips, bought baby stuff for soon to be grand baby, although most of this is on a CC due 10/1 that I won't be able to cashflow, so we will see a decrease next month.  Happy September to all!

[seriousthistime]

Regarding the discussion started by Saving4Norway , paynointerest and Rukh O'Rorke and everyone, here are some random thoughts that I've been mulling over for some time.

-- I am past full retirement age as defined by Social Security.  I could retire now.  But if I wait two more years, I can retire with a much higher benefit.  So two years is the target.

-- I have a pension from my current job.  It will be okay money. Staying for two more years would make it better.

-- I collect a portion of an ex's monthly pension.  

-- I have a 401(k) and a few IRAs. 

Here are the mitigating factors on the above:

-- Social Security will be reduced at some point.  Some people say there's a real possibility it could happen sooner rather than later.  

-- The way the discussion about public pensions is going, the pensions we've been promised could be cut or converted somehow.

--  My portion of ex's pension could not be cut because of the way we drew up the paperwork (if the pension is cut, it comes out of his share, and I don't think any cut would be big enough to completely wipe out his share and dig into mine), but he could die and that income stream would end. 

-- I have some of my 401(k) and IRAs in stocks.  If the market tanks, I could lose some money. 

Given those uncertainties, this is what allows me to sleep at night:  the notion of virtual wealth.  Say, for example, I didn't have Social Security but had savings that I could withdraw at 4% per year.  What amount of savings would be needed where 4% would be equal to my Social Security benefit?  So, for example, if I will get $1,500 per month from Social Security, that's $18,000 per year, and if $18,000 is equal to a 4% withdrawal from savings, what is the amount I'd need to have in savings? Turns out $18,000 / 0.4 = $450,000.  So $1,500 per month is like having $450,000 in the bank and withdrawing 4% per year. 

I've done that with Social Security, my pension, and ex's pension.  So while I have monthly income numbers I'd like to hit before I retire, I also have virtual wealth numbers I'd like to hit, that answer the question "if I had nothing to count on except money in the bank, what would be enough?"  

The truth is that there could be a doomsday scenario.  A big downturn in the markets or an economic depression equal to the Great Depression could devastate those plans.  Pensions would be cut or ended, Social Security might end, money in the bank might evaporate despite any guarantees by the FDIC. But that would devastate everyone unless you keep all cash in a mattress, and then you have to worry about a fire. Whatever cuts or downturns might materialize, we'll all be weathering the storm. 

The truth is, I'm not ready to retire just yet.  I need a plan for retirement life, not just retirement finances.  I hope to spend the next two years figuring out the retirement life plan. 

[debthaven]

seriousthistime about the spreadsheet, alas, that money was saved to spend this summer, and it has indeed been spent lol!

The pensions here (France) are different. You contribute to a "pot", and you get money out of that "pot".

The government is in the process of reforming the system, but neither DH (63) nor I (59/60 this year) will be affected by those reforms. However, although I am entitled to retire at 62 (in 2.5 years), my "projected statements" also show how much extra I'd earn if I work till 67.

Long story short, I'd earn another 80 euros/month in retirement for every additional year I work between 62 and 67 (it's capped at 67.) So I ask myself, is it worth working another.entire.year for 80 euros more/month?! It doesn't seem worth it to me.

But an extra TWO years is 160 euros more/month. Hmm. That's not insignificant. Etc etc etc, till you get to those extra 5 years worth 400 euros more/month. So a potential extra 80/160/240/320/400 euros more per month, for every year I work past 62.

That's MY dilemma LOL.

I have two other options (besides retiring at 62):
- I can retire, and continue to work (less). But once I officially retire, I can no longer "contribute" to my pension, so it would cease to increase.
- I can retire "part time" and continue to work (less). I WOULD continue to contribute to my pension, so it WOULD increase (but again, not by much).

For now I'm leaning towards option B. I still have time to decide. Here they advise making an appt with the (government) retirement office one year before the EARLIEST you'd consider retiring. For me, that means I need to make that appt in 1.5 years (since the earliest I could retire is in 2.5 years). 

[debthaven]

Other (random) thoughts:

- We plan, and Gd laughs. My DH nearly died after his bicycle accident in 2011. Either of us could go at any time.

- Our house is worth a lot of money. I love it and it's home to all my kids, so I can't imagine downsizing. But realistically, it's an option.

- We have NO CLUE where we want to retire (which is why the easiest option is to stay put and just travel). Our kids are 21-32, and not completely settled (yet?!) As much as I would LOVE to retire in the US, we can't afford the healthcare. So my hope is to continue to live in Europe and travel to the US for long stretches.

- Unlike many of you, teaching is my SECOND career, so I'm NOT suffering from burn-out. I do hate having to get up at 6 am, marking 240 papers/semester, etc ... but it's not "burn-out". My previous career was as a print journalist. When I left my previous employer (with a generous payout) after 18 years there (and 23 years as a journalist), I figured, hey, I'm sure I can teach till I retire without getting burned out. Nine years later, I STILL feel that way (in general ... yes there are changes I see that I don't much like either.)

- Recent realization: I want to be a NPS Park Ranger when I grow up. LOL!!!

[finnime]

I'm very interested in the retirement discussion, too.

I was terminated from my job 3 years ago now, after I asked for time off due to depression. Since then I've settled a lawsuit with my former employer and am now on SSDI. SSDI is more than I had figured, so that's good. I do not expect that I will not work again; my plans are to return to work in some capacity in perhaps a year. I'm hoping to be able to earn enough writing and doing consulting work to be comfortable.

My DH is 10 years older than I; he'll be 70 in October. He also has some daunting health concerns, including diabetes and CKD as well as orthopedic issues. He's been retired for years now, getting both a pension and SS. We have plans to downsize and move to a different state, where my siblings live, within a couple of years. I'd really like to also go to Hawaii with DH while he is still able to travel easily. We've never been and I'm sure he would love it.

My father died very suddenly when he was 60. That has colored my thoughts about what we need to save for and when we need to use savings. I'm trudging along with saving what I can and hoping for some bursts of income in the future. We have enough for what we really need. It's the rest of life that needs funding.

[debthaven]

finnime my DH's health is a concern for me too. My DH is 38% disabled (no clue how the French gov't came up with that figure.) He works from home now. He is pretty much on his own schedule at this point.

I find it very difficult to be away from him 4 days a week, given how close we came to losing him. I worry about him a lot.

To be honest, I would NOT want to be home with DH 24/7 either. But 4 days/week away is a lot, knowing that he's home on his own.

My goal would be to get it down to working 3 days rather than 3.5/4. But as much as I'd love to be able to reduce down to that, I can't afford to. 

The other wild card for us is, DH feels that getting DS3 through college debt free is enough (remember DS3 is in college in the UK, it's much less expensive). I want to at least contribute to an eventual Master's degree. DH doesn't feel the need for that (which pisses me off, but that's another story.) 

Again, thank you all for participating in this discussion which is very timely for me and very informative.

I'm lucky enough to have a few friends I can talk about this with IRL, but they all took years off to raisie their kids. I was always the outlier, I have ALWAYS worked (albeit PT for many years). So they are all planning on retiring at 67. The way I teach/work, I know I will never manage to work till 67.  Frankly I wish I could retire yesterday, but I'm only 59 LOL. 

[seriousthistime]

Updates 

Stars	Name	Amt. Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
	azucena	$18,456	$25,000	74.0%
	bobosensei	$2,008	$18,750	10.7%
	chiver78	$216	$910	23.7%
	debthaven (S)	1,713€	1,713€	100%
	debthaven (K)	10,000€	10,000€	100%
	finnime [1]	$6,760	$24,500	27.6%
	finnime [2]	$3,000	$5,000	60.0%
	forwardwego	$16,100	$24,000	67.0%
	kindthatjingles	$1,000	$3,500	28.6%
	minnesotapaintlady	$26,697	$40,000	66.7%
	nikiz628	$4,766	$7,300	65.2%
	paynointerest	$50,300	$55,900	90.0%
	plugginaway22	$38,343	$36,000	106.5%
	Rukh O'Rorke	$250	$20,000	1.3%
	Saving4Norway	$18,800	$18,101	104.0%
	sealy	$1,000	$25,000	4.0%
	seriousthistime	$31,700	$42,000	75.5%
	shanendoah [Q1]	$8,994	$300	2998.0%
	shanendoah [Q2]	$3,010	$3,020	99.7%
	shanendoah [Q3]	$680	$2,020	33.7%
	snapdragon	$17,740	$18,750	94.6%
	steph08	$5,431	$19,400	28.0%
	teachermom	$32,558	$107,000	30.4%
	TheHaitian	$34,835	$60,000	58.1%
	tobinikui	$44,320	$105,658	41.9%
	trimatty471	$14,424	$14,424	100.0%
	trimatty471 [2]	$3,897	$4,355	89.5%

We have our first    for $50,000 saved!  Congrats, paynointerest!

[Saving4Norway]

Aug 31, 2019 10:40:41 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Aug 30, 2019 23:32:25 GMT -5 Saving4Norway said:

Debthaven - I'm 50. The retirement plan I'm on (Called TERS 3) sets full retirement at 65. I started teaching at 22 so that would be... what? 43 years of teaching. Over the years I've seen the impact of a changing American society on children and families. It ain't pretty. With my current investments, I can easily retire at 60, in 10 years.

To be completely honest, at 50 years old, I'm already pretty burnt out and more unhappy than I've ever been. On top of that, my parents are 81 and 85 years old and although they are in very good health, you just never know. I want to be in the financial position that IF my parents need full time care, before I turn 60, I could quit teaching and live off my savings. (Some technical details - I'd be "separating from service" - not technically "retiring" because that implies you will start drawing on your pension, which I wouldn't be until 60.)

So, I've estimated how much I'll need each year if I quit early - $24,000. So, the way I look at it, for each multiple of $24K I can save, that's one year before 60 that I could quit teaching. At my rate of saving, aside from winning the lottery, I'll have to save my butt off to have any hope of quitting as early as 5 years from now. (When my parents will be 86 and 91.)

Well shoot, I never answered your question - somewhere between 55 and 60.

24000/yearly expenses? That is pretty reasonable! I would think that the pension may be able to fully or more cover that.

Are you relying entirely on the pension and/or SS? Is there any 401k/roth vehicles you could tap early if need be?

I won't start to draw my pension until I'm 60, regardless if I quit teaching early. I also won't access my Roth, or any of my investments until I'm 62, that's why I want to save so much in cash/easily accessible funds now.

My husband doesn't have any desire to retire early, so my plan, if I do retire early, is to pay him in cash the equivalent of how much it would cost him to add me to his medical insurance.

[Saving4Norway]

PayNoInterest - I just finished reading Work Optional, there was so much to think about!! I have also recently read Playing With Fire and Frugalwoods which I enjoyed too. Right now I'm reading Rightsizing Your Life, or something close to that.

[forwardwego]

August Shoutouts Part 1 of 2:


Rukh O'Rorke Nice bump up in your savings in August! And congrats on securing your side job!! I love your awareness: you are a saver when you preplan out savings of even smaller amounts. Good work doing exactly that. It's a good way to make sure that money doesn't "evaporate". I think it's Dave Ramsey who says we should tell our money where to go, or we'll wonder where it went. I'm excited for your next few updates and the savings you will achieve. 

Saving4Norway Thank you for sharing how well WIRSaving has worked for you. I'm eager to see the format and methods you put into place for this next phase of your Savings. I believe with the saving skills you have developed you will have the ability to retire by 55. I look forward to watching you create that for yourself and your family. Hearty congrats on winning another dancing banana with $18800 saved for 104%. 


sealy Thank you for checking in. Kudos to you on surviving the challenge that the summertime pay gap presents with $1K savings intact.  

seriousthistime Nice work in August building savings by more than $5K and earning your     . It seems you have a solid multi-faceted retirement planned, and much of it already in place. Thanks for the discussion on "virtual wealth". And thank you for your continued work and contribution to the Savers with Updates and Smileys. 

shanendoah Good work saving another $340 for $680 so far in Quarter 3. Very glad your roommate has paid all back and that allowed you to cash flow some expenditures. It seems that the Quarterly goal arrangement has worked well for you rather than planning by the year. 

snapdragon Good work topping off your travel account and earning your second & third , and being on pace to have your lasik surgery money in place. Very funny the vision of you using snapdragon flowers to "attack"! Glad you had a memorable girls' trip and are safely home, though a bit burned and sore. How is the cat sitting going? Is that a side gig, or a favor?? 

trimatty471 Excellent work climbing from $1377 to $3897, and achieving "pert near" 90% of goal #2!! Nice use of multiple resources!!!  

[forwardwego]

August Shoutouts Part 2 of 2:


azucena Nice climb to 74%, that third star is straight ahead! And you have the most smileys among those who posted an August update with ten:  

debthaven Nice work checking in for discussions and non-number updates. As seriousthistime says, we are flexible and there are many ways to be an active Saver member.

finnime Nice bump of $250 to your second bucket of savings for 60%. Thanks for your thoughts and shared experience in the retirement discussions. I think a Hawaiin trip sounds like a good goal!
 
minnesotapaintlady Good job of pushing forward with $23976 and 66.7%...exactly on target for the year! 

nikiz628 It sure stings when that diligently built EF takes a hit, but oh how much better than the pain of not having had it. You are still ahead of your start of the year EF. Times like these are when being a WIRSaver is a real safety net. Good job updating!! 

paynointerest You make excellent point of the down side of pensions and associated burnout. Congrats on achieving 90% to goal for savings and earning the first  !!!

plugginaway22 Congrats on continuing to fill your savings bucket...$38343 and a whopping 106.5%! Even with expected expenses you should still stay well above your 2019 goal. You set a good example of saving to prepare for the unknowns of retirement.  

If you had an update and I've missed you please message me.

[debthaven]

Thinking I have to give up the MBA idea, because - time.

Rukh O'Rorke , and because money too! I think you are right to give up the idea of the MBA and concentrate on Rukh Inc (ie your own company) as a side-job/extra source of income, and pay down your SLs.

I feel like an imposter on this thread now because I ain't saving anything now. I AM trying to keep my 10K in "saved savings" but I know it's just a matter of days or weeks before I have to use some.

I REALLY want to stay active on this thread, it keeps me accountable. I have been bringing lunches in most days for the past 2 weeks. I work 4 days/week: 3 days/week at Job 1 (my main job) and 1 day/week at Job 2. I'm allowing myself to buy lunch once/week at Job 1 (so bringing in lunch the other two days) and at my day at Job 2 (EVERYBODY at Job 2 eats in their amazing subsidized canteen. I can get a 3-course meal there for $5.)

I'm in no rush to see DS3 go back to college in 2.5 weeks. But once he does go back, DH and I will definitely be eating out of the pantry/freezer.

 

[seriousthistime]

debthaven, you can always stay active on this thread!

Some people save money and keep it on the books even though it's been spent, because it's still been saved.  All savings will be spent at some point!  Some people count just what's in the bank at any given time, taking what was saved minus what was spent and posting the net result.  (That's for sinking funds or depletion of funds.)  If you're saving for the end goal to have $X in an account and stay there, you can do that here.  Savings can take many forms.  You do what works for you!  And stick around here.   It is a motivator.

We are a flexible bunch.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Sept 2, 2019 21:41:09 GMT -5 Saving4Norway said:

PayNoInterest - I just finished reading Work Optional, there was so much to think about!! I have also recently read Playing With Fire and Frugalwoods which I enjoyed too. Right now I'm reading Rightsizing Your Life, or something close to that.

Work optional has mixed reviews but I was considering getting it for DD. I'm pressing her to start investing but she is very spendy. $400 purses et al.

What do you think about this book for a recent grad making and spending too much money?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Sept 4, 2019 17:16:33 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Thinking I have to give up the MBA idea, because - time.

Rukh O'Rorke , and because money too! I think you are right to give up the idea of the MBA and concentrate on Rukh Inc (ie your own company) as a side-job/extra source of income, and pay down your SLs.

I feel like an imposter on this thread now because I ain't saving anything now. I AM trying to keep my 10K in "saved savings" but I know it's just a matter of days or weeks before I have to use some.

I REALLY want to stay active on this thread, it keeps me accountable. I have been bringing lunches in most days for the past 2 weeks. I work 4 days/week: 3 days/week at Job 1 (my main job) and 1 day/week at Job 2. I'm allowing myself to buy lunch once/week at Job 1 (so bringing in lunch the other two days) and at my day at Job 2 (EVERYBODY at Job 2 eats in their amazing subsidized canteen. I can get a 3-course meal there for $5.)

I'm in no rush to see DS3 go back to college in 2.5 weeks. But once he does go back, DH and I will definitely be eating out of the pantry/freezer.

 

I think maintaining your EF makes you a saver! Stay in the club

Exciting news for Rukh, Inc. I'm working another lead on a project that would be about 5-10-15k. Super excited 😊. One time deal, but getting my name out there!! Still in preliminary talk so not sure at all.

While I'm struggling with giving up additional weekends and evenings hours, I feel I am really starting to build a bridge towards partial retirement via Rukh, Inc. even just a steady track record of 25k a year could mean a real difference in retiring and what age.

Retirement and other savings, paying off debts to lower monthly budget numbers is taking on new and immediate meaning.


ETA: for the MBA, its more time than money, because I could really make it pay off if I had more time left in my career.