Saving4Norway
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jan 1, 2011 18:27:56 GMT -5
Posts: 1,383 
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Post by Saving4Norway on Jun 3, 2020 16:53:27 GMT -5
When I refer to "my Early Retirement Fund" I'm talking about my own unique situation.
I'm 51 and have been teaching for 28 years. I'd like to stop teaching anytime after I've done my 30 years. So, I'm going to spitball (something I do a lot) that I'll be done with earning the "big money" at around 55 or 56 years of age. That would leave me with 5 - 7 years between a decent, reliable salary and... a "who the heck knows" kind of salary until I decide to start drawing on my IRAs, TSAs, pension, etc.
Before we got married 25 years ago, my DH and I were really good independent money managers. So when we got married, we divvied up the bills and everything has been peachy-keen having separate accounts. When I quit teaching I'll either get no job, or a low paying one. Point is that I would still hold myself accountable for "my share" of the bills. That, plus offering, and other incidentals come to roughly $2300/month.
So, between now-ish and when I stop teaching, I want to have about $25,000 per year saved for each year between the end of my teaching career and technically retiring (AKA drawing my pension). Clear as mud, right?
I have hefty IRAs, TSAs, and the like, but that money is pretty much off limits until I hit... what? 59.5? or 62.5? Regardless- a long while. So, I want to have this wad of "Early Retirement" money in a vehicle that is safe, generating as much interest/income as possible but still rather liquid/accessible for whenever I decide to quit teaching. Now is a great time to invest in the stock market so I'm doing some of that, but I also want to avoid risk so I'm also funding a Money Market account that's getting a bit more than my CU's savings account.
So, I ask myself, how would I set this as a goal?, how could I count it down? Kinda tricky where there are no firm dates. Would it look like...
Save the first $25,000 = Won't have to teach after 59 years old?
Save the second $25,000 = Won't have to teach after 58?
Save the third $25,000 = Won't have to teacher after 57?
Save the next $25,000 = Won't have to teacher after 56?
Save the last $25,000 = Won't have to teach after 55?
And they're such big hunks of money to set as a goal. I kinda like smaller bites.
Well, enough blathering on.
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idlechatter
Initiate Member
Joined: Sept 7, 2013 15:12:54 GMT -5
Posts: 70
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Post by idlechatter on Jun 3, 2020 20:24:42 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. My thoughts go out to you and the family. To your point, one of my goals this year was to make self care a priority. I have a very stressful job, especially right now, and I've made it a point that when I shut down at the end of the day (which is rarely at 5, but I've been making it happen more), I'm shut down for the day and not checking emails until the morning. I'm taking my weekends without doing work. And I'm trying to take some time each day to take a walk or clean or read a book or do something for myself that relieves stress. None of those things currently impede my financial goals, but even if I had to walk my goals back a little bit to make my day to day more manageable from a mental and emotional standpoint, at this point I would. As for my goals - this month my vacation fund is fully funded (!) thanks to one of my vacations being cancelled and one being pushed to next year. Bittersweet, but it's nice to have the extra cash on hand just in case right now. Student loans account is still being excluded from goals and saved totals (which I think I messed up on last month so it's fixed now). I'm now on track to meet this year's Emergency Fund goal by mid-July rather than the end of the year due to some accelerated savings in related to COVID so let's hope I can continue on this pace. The $4K was an intermediate Goal to bring my total EF to $18K by Dec 31, but if I can continue to manage, it should be just a hair shy of $23K instead. Work committed to not laying anyone off in 2020, so that's good, but I don't know what comes after that. So I went ahead and signed my lease renewal offer. I reviewed my lease and if I have to break it, it's only one month's rent plus 60 days notice (so technically 3 months' rent) and I definitely can cover that if it comes to it. I hope everyone is staying safe amid the myriad of things we're facing right now. idlechatter 5/31/20 $21,555.67 (Goal:$30,000), WIRS3
| Savings Account | Goal | WIRS Start 1/19/2020 | 5/31/2020 | Difference from WIRR Start | Remainder to Save | Percentage Saved | | Emergency | $4,000.00 | $0.00 | $2,907.42 | $2,925.93 | $1,092.58 | 72.69% | | Car/Moto Maintenance | $1,500.00 | $4.80 | $1,501.56 | $1,496.76 | -$1.56 | 100.10% | | Christmas | $1,200.00 | $3.09 | $1,201.26 | $1,198.17 | -$1.26 | 100.11% | | House | $1,000.00 | $0.47 | $0.47 | $0.00 | $999.53 | 0.05% | | Car/Moto Purchase | $1,200.00 | $0.00 | $500.57 | $500.57 | $699.43 | 41.71% | | Dad (long term) | $1,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1,000.00 | 0.00% | | Vacation (slush) | $4,500.00 | $2,300.00 | $4,500.00 | $2,200.00 | $0.00 | 100.00% | | Student Loans (Temporary) | $5,625.00 | $0.00 | $1,625.00 | $1,625.00 | $4,000.00 | 28.89% | | 401K | $15,600.00 | $550.00 | $10,944.39 | $10,394.39 | $4,655.61 | 70.16% | | Total | $30,000.00 | $2,858.36 | $21,555.67 | $20,340.82 | $12,444.33 | 77.27% |
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nikiz628
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jun 11, 2013 17:25:59 GMT -5
Posts: 1,456
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"4ee2dd"}
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Post by nikiz628 on Jun 3, 2020 21:46:21 GMT -5
idlechatter- I love that you're making self care a priority! What a great way to easily work it into your week.
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seriousthistime
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 20:27:07 GMT -5
Posts: 5,178
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Post by seriousthistime on Jun 4, 2020 6:52:18 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke , thank you for posting the story of your friend. That's very sad. I'm sorry for your loss. Mind if I "make it about me" for a minute? As I've written here before, I hope to retire this year. Actually, I'd hoped to retire on February 29 of this year (leap day; leap into a new phase of my life). But then I got handed a big project at work before I put in my notice. I got done with that in early May, so I've been thinking of the new best time to retire. Finances are playing a part of that, but maybe they are playing a bigger part than they should. My doctor asked me if I was thinking about retiring and I said I couldn't just yet, there was too much work left to do. She said there'd always be too much work left to do, but that was not my problem. Years ago when I was barely an adult, I worked with a woman who saved all her life and had qualified for a hefty pension from working for the company for so long. She announced her retirement, and made plans to travel and enjoy herself. She had a fatal stroke three weeks before her retirement date. The Savers thread is all about money saved. Do we have enough? Can we do better? Do we feel happy when we manage to save more, and sad when life gets in the way and we only manage to save less, or none, or have to take from savings to pay expenses? I've said before that ALL savings are saved to be spent someday, even if that means in retirement 30 years from now. Savings gives us options. And let us not confuse "want" with "need." We'd all like to hit that "magic number" in our mind, but that's a "want." What do you really "need"? In this time of Covid19 what do you really need might not so much be about money but more about lifestyle as in what will I do if the SIP will be extended or come back in the fall?.Can I handle being locked in my home without the structure a job provides? I hsve been in a financial position where I can retire whenever I want to. So my plan was once I reach 70( less than 1.5 years from now) or I have had enough of this job. That has changes to not before this crud is under control. For now I need the structure of work in my life. So my question to you is, do you know what your life will look like retired in this current situation and is it something that looks attractive to you? Only when you can answer that question should money become a primary consideration again All true, and I have thought about this. I intended to do some volunteering a few days a week, but hadn't really decided where or what. I also intended to take better care of myself (eating properly, getting more exercise) and enjoying being outdoors more. And certainly, traveling. I have so many miles and vouchers saved up! I did think that I could wait until I was called back into the office and would retire then. I figured that would be around the end of the year. With SIP, volunteering would be iffy. But the rest is doable. I could take car trips. There's a lot of the area I haven't seen. And eventually, I could travel by air - while I'm still healthy. I sometimes think about "pull" vs. "push" factors in my life. Am I making a choice because I am pulled to that choice, or am I being pushed out of the status quo? Retirement would definitely be a "pull" choice. I have options at work, could step down from my current position to my former position (and earn the same salary, I don't get paid extra for the aggravation of management) but the pull of retirement is strong. Even though my current "office" is 15 feet from my bedroom. |
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Rukh O'Rorke
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 4, 2016 13:31:15 GMT -5
Posts: 10,347
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 4, 2020 7:53:38 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. My thoughts go out to you and the family. To your point, one of my goals this year was to make self care a priority. I have a very stressful job, especially right now, and I've made it a point that when I shut down at the end of the day (which is rarely at 5, but I've been making it happen more), I'm shut down for the day and not checking emails until the morning. I'm taking my weekends without doing work. And I'm trying to take some time each day to take a walk or clean or read a book or do something for myself that relieves stress. None of those things currently impede my financial goals, but even if I had to walk my goals back a little bit to make my day to day more manageable from a mental and emotional standpoint, at this point I would. Thank you. The family is consumed with grief and guilt and it's heartbreaking. I feel guilty myself as I didn't know they were really sick and didn't offer my herbal regime. In the face of so much grief, caution and social distancing has been thrown to the wind a bit, and I'm concerned about others getting sick. It's all so painful. I've been trying to do more for myself as well. Everyday seems to bring a new work-related crisis or major deadline, and I'm barely able to squeeze some meals and hygiene in, sometimes a walk, sometime a little yoga. I think it's time to blow a week of PTO and just veg out and forget about it. Tend to home stuff, self stuff, find out where I'm at mentally. I need to emotionally distance myself from the demands of work, and identify a reasonable amount and detail what can't get done. I've been sucking up so much work the past 18 months I've been here, waiting for assistance that never quite materialized, it may be a bit difficult to redefine what I'm willing to do. I've always been so worried about money, I've worked much too hard for what I got paid, and it's hard to change that after a couple of decades. But - I need to. And will talk with my boss soon. |
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seriousthistime
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 20:27:07 GMT -5
Posts: 5,178
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Post by seriousthistime on Jun 4, 2020 19:49:30 GMT -5
Update! | Stars | Name |
| Amount Saved | Goal | % Saved | Roses | Smilies |  | azucena |
| $26,347 | $30,000 | 87.8% | |   
| | | bobosensei |
| $8,262 | $25,430 | 32.5% | |  
| | | chiver78 |
| $52 | $910 | 5.7% | |
| | | debthaven |
| 552€ | 2,000€ | 27.6% | | 
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| debthaven |
| 8,000€ | 10,000€ | 80.0% |
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| | | finnime [1] |
| $0 | $0 | 0.0% | | | | | finnime [2] |
| $1,000 | $18,500 | 5.4% | | | | | flamingo |
| $9,218 | $13,000 | 70.9% | |
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| forwardwego |
| $7,600 | $15,000 | 50.7% |
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| idlechatter |
| $21,556 | $30,000 | 71.9% | 
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| jenpen |
| $18,892 | $52,600 | 35.9% |
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| minnesotapaintlady |
| $14,777 | $26,000 | 56.8% |
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| nikiz628 |
| $4,896 | $5,050 | 97.0% |
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| paynointerest |
| $47,350 | $71,000 | 67.0% |
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| plugginaway22 |
| $12,514 | $12,000 | 104.3% |
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| | | resolution |
| $21,100 | $35,000 | 60.0% |
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| Rukh O'Rorke |
| $17,278 | $43,600 | 39.6% |
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| Rukh O'Rorke [2] |
| $18,005 | $23,500 | 76.6% |
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| | | Saving4Norway
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| $3,400 | $3,003 | 113.2% |
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| Saving4Norway [2] |
| $7,000 | $3,003 | 233.1% |
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| seriousthistime |
| $30,279 | $30,478 | 99.3% |
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| seriousthistime[2] |
| $2,300 | $10,000 | 23.0% |
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| shanendoah [Q1] |
| $6,537 | $5,040 | 129.7% |
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| shanendoah [Q2] |
| $2,975 | $2,500 | 119.0% |
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| | | snapdragon |
| $8,235 | $9,500 | 86.7% | |
| | | speechchick71 |
| $23,413 | $28,500 | 83.6% |
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| steph08 |
| $26,905 | $32,600 | 82.5% |
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| | | teachermom |
| $2,778 | $75,000 | 3.7% |
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| tobinikui |
| $33,431 | $91,260 | 36.6% |
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Here you go, Savers. Let me know if I've goofed anything up. |
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Rukh O'Rorke
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 4, 2016 13:31:15 GMT -5
Posts: 10,347
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 4, 2020 20:07:17 GMT -5
given the usual update - I'm assuming I'm the only with no emojis here? Get a big wonky square where ever one is put
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forwardwego
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 3:54:23 GMT -5
Posts: 1,400
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Post by forwardwego on Jun 5, 2020 5:55:37 GMT -5
Shoutouts part 1 of 2:azucena May was a stellar month for you, with the tax refund, stimulus $$, tax refund, and 3 paycheck month propelling you to $26347 and nearly 88% to goal. bobosensei Congrats on achieving $8262 and 32.5% in May. You are doing a great job of being proactive during this time between jobs by reducing expenses and pausing your WIR races. I think EF's and savings and general awareness of managing your finances are paying off in keeping uncertainty to a minimum. Please let us know how your job finding unfolds.   chiver78 With your goals and financial picture changing in big ways it's very important to track savings even if they aren't growing predictably. Some Savers have posted their savings even though the goal is to 'hold" for now. It's a good way to keep your awareness and accountability.  debthaven Thanks for checking in with a status update. Hopefully your sale of the studio will proceed smoothly and completely. Thank you also for your ongoing encouragement and support of your fellow Savers. Don't despair, you will be a more active saver as soon as circumstances shift. In the meantime you are a Saver temporarily holding.  finnime How have you been? Hope you'll pop in soon.  flamingo Good job cash flowing the new laptop computer in addition to increasing savings by $600, and going over 70% to goal . idlechatter A good savings month of May for you speeding past the $20K mark to $21556.  Yes, it's bittersweet to have a full vacation fund as a result of having to cancel a vacation. However, that earned you a third rose with 2 more close on the horizon. Thank you for sharing your experiences and perspective on remembering to have self-care as a priority. It's easy to gradually forget, and possibly suffer emotionally, mentally, or physically. jenpen How are you doing? And how is your sweet kitty?? minnesotapaintlady Another great update for you, nearly $15K total and earning your second star. nidena Nice update, with savings growing in all areas. Very thoughtful of you to set up your brother for ready funds in case he is needed for you down the line. nikiz628 Good steady savings in May, keep on rollin' . paynointerest ROTH numbers are looking great, and congrats on achieving goal on your 403b, and then channeling that $$ on to the 457b. I join you in supporting the economy by buying garden supplies...which reminds me, congrats on earning your third rose plugginaway22 Congratulations on achieving your dancing banana . Though we'd rather the state of the world was closer to what we thought it would be, it's still great you have achieved these savings and continue building toward your retirement years. 
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forwardwego
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 3:54:23 GMT -5
Posts: 1,400
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Post by forwardwego on Jun 5, 2020 5:55:57 GMT -5
Shoutouts part 2 of 2:
resolution WOW you surely did leap ahead! kudos on jumping from 33% to 60%! Rukh O'Rorke Congrats on your 2-pronged savings of $17278 and $18005, putting you at 39.6% and 76.6% to your goals! And thank you very much for sharing the heartbreaking story of your friend and their family. I am so sorry for your and their loss. It's so important and so very hard to find the balance between living and making a living, and as this family's experience shows sometimes there is no do-over. The only slight silver lining I can think of is if we & others can think on this and use it for a different outcome. Saving4Norway Well done on savings and on zeroing in on the tracking format! Congrats on $10400 for 58% seriousthistime Congratulations on achieving 99.3% on your initial 2020 goals...your status on that one is like a trip that is so close to the destination that you can stop peddling and just steer it in to the end point. Looking forward to you scoring your first star soon on savings race #2. And thank you for your perspective and ponderings on needs vs wants. This "simple" phrase can be powerful in helping to protect our financial wellbeing against unneeded spending. However, especially here on the Savers board, we could apply the question to the goal of hitting a certain targeted number. Is it possible we have turned that into a want more than a need? This one really hits home for me.  shanendoah Good work seizing the opportunity to parlay assorted spending savings and C's check into a $1K bump on your way to surpassing your Q2 goals. Yahoo for $2975 and 119%. snapdragon Good work in May with 2 nice updates! I see a rose on the horizon for your general savings line item. Hopefully you will see some action on the part of the "powers that be" so that you can move forward in settling your dad's estate. I hate that you are in a state of waiting, and will be glad when that is over. I love that you are my Saver Friend, and that you aren't up the crick or facing gnarly rapids (I relish colorful speech.)  speechchick71 (Sometimes i see your name as "spee cha cha chick" .) U R Well on your way with 2 roses earned, 2 roses to go, and savings growth of over 2 thousand and 2 hundred dollars in May. That is more than 2 (too) grand!! steph08 Very nice work building over $5K more in savings in May! Excellent news on the 3-4% bump to the 401K.  teachermom How are you doing? Looking forward to your next update, whether financial or life activities. Thanks for your input regarding refi's! tobinikui Good work paying the federal tax bill, and planning ahead for the next round!! And though sadly your family vacations were squashed, you seem to have found a comforting and satisfying outlet in your garden/yard. Your automated savings are serving you well with forward motion of $9480 across two months. I'll close May's Shoutouts by quoting tobinikui : "These are such strange times. I hope everyone stays safe, and healthy."
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chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,727
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Post by chiver78 on Jun 5, 2020 6:19:31 GMT -5
given the usual update - I'm assuming I'm the only with no emojis here? Get a big wonky square where ever one is put not sure what browser you are using, but I'm using Chrome and clear my cache and cookies successfully reset my emojis. |
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resolution
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:09:56 GMT -5
Posts: 7,273
Mini-Profile Name Color: 305b2b
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Post by resolution on Jun 5, 2020 6:23:55 GMT -5
given the usual update - I'm assuming I'm the only with no emojis here? Get a big wonky square where ever one is put not sure what browser you are using, but I'm using Chrome and clear my cache and cookies successfully reset my emojis. Thank you! That fixed it for me. |
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chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,727
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Post by chiver78 on Jun 5, 2020 6:34:27 GMT -5
also - seriousthistime, I'm not sure how you want to list this for me in the smiley updates. as my home sale approached, I abandoned the card game (yes, again....but...  ) and pulled whatever I had in the jar back into circulation. I don't have a specific savings goal for the rest of this year now, but will work on figuring that out for 2021. in the meantime.... now that I have sold my house, I am starting to pay off my huge pile of debts. however, I took $1000 off the top of the proceeds and put it into the basic savings account at my primary CU. they offer 6.17% interest on the first $1000 in that account! I also took $30k of the proceeds and stashed it in a high-interest savings account with American Express (1.15% APY). I expect that will be my next down payment, but it can earn some interest while it sits there. since I don't know exactly when I will need it, I don't want to tie it up with anything longer or set term like I have in the past. and, finally, I returned my 401k contributions back to the 4% company match. I had nixed it completely back in December in the interest of having a little more breathing room in the cash flow in case the former roommate stopped paying rent his last month in the house. so glad all of that is behind me now! looking forward to getting back in the positive columns moving forward! |
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seriousthistime
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 20:27:07 GMT -5
Posts: 5,178
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Post by seriousthistime on Jun 5, 2020 8:44:56 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke 05/15/2020 $17,278.17 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)
+ $4,500 extra to EF
+ $3,500 bonus
Saving Goals for 2020| Account | Goal | Added | Saved | Percent | | 401k | $26,000 | $328.79
| $4,683.86 | 18% | | HSA | $7,600 | $292.31
| $3,215.41 | 42% | | EF:MM | $5,000 | 0
| $5,000.00 | 100% | | EF:ETFs | $5,000 | 0 | $5,000.00 | 100% | | Total | $43,600 | $621.10 | $17,278.17
| 41%
|
| Emergency Fund | Goal | Added | Amount | Percent | | Money Market and ETFs | $20,000 | $1,000
| $14,505.11 | 72.5% | | Retention Bonus | $3,500 | $3,500
| $3,500.00 | 100% |
| Spending Categories | Goal | Amount | Percent | Vacation | $3,000 | 0 | 0% | | Holiday/Gifts | $2,000 | 0 | 0% | | Rukh Discretionary | $1,000 | 0 | 0% | | Total | $3,000 | 0 | 0% |
still minimums to 401k, another 1k extra added to EF. Have added automatic 250 to EF/pay period. Really want to beef that up before focusing on 401k. Will put in a small upgrade on the 401k though. Still have extra cash in checking from the RI payment. Looks like I will end up keeping that bonus payoff as a job I was pursuing isn't going to work out after all for the moment. So - that is a nice consolation prize. Rukh, I had to think about how to post this update in the smilies. I decided to add a second tag line to the smilies for you. The first one is as you have up top. Rukh O'Rorke 05/15/2020 $17,278.17 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)
and then with the +$4,500 extra to EF and +$3,500 bonus, I tried to figure out what to do with those. I thought maybe the extra $4,500 is already within the tag line, but the $3,500 was added to a goal we don't have a tag line for? So that's why I added the second line to the chart because it seemed to be part of your multi-year goals. I think it would be: Rukh O'Rorke [2] $18,005, Goal $23,500 76.6%or something like that. See the color coding. Did I do it right? And yes, clear your cache and cookies. I had the boxes instead of the smilies, and there was a question and answer in I Have a Beef with the Admins about it. That is what moonbean suggested to do to get the smilies back. |
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Rukh O'Rorke
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 4, 2016 13:31:15 GMT -5
Posts: 10,347
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 5, 2020 11:14:55 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke 05/15/2020 $17,278.17 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)
+ $4,500 extra to EF
+ $3,500 bonus
Saving Goals for 2020| Account | Goal | Added | Saved | Percent | | 401k | $26,000 | $328.79
| $4,683.86 | 18% | | HSA | $7,600 | $292.31
| $3,215.41 | 42% | | EF:MM | $5,000 | 0
| $5,000.00 | 100% | | EF:ETFs | $5,000 | 0 | $5,000.00 | 100% | | Total | $43,600 | $621.10 | $17,278.17
| 41%
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| Emergency Fund | Goal | Added | Amount | Percent | | Money Market and ETFs | $20,000 | $1,000
| $14,505.11 | 72.5% | | Retention Bonus | $3,500 | $3,500
| $3,500.00 | 100% |
| Spending Categories | Goal | Amount | Percent | Vacation | $3,000 | 0 | 0% | | Holiday/Gifts | $2,000 | 0 | 0% | | Rukh Discretionary | $1,000 | 0 | 0% | | Total | $3,000 | 0 | 0% |
still minimums to 401k, another 1k extra added to EF. Have added automatic 250 to EF/pay period. Really want to beef that up before focusing on 401k. Will put in a small upgrade on the 401k though. Still have extra cash in checking from the RI payment. Looks like I will end up keeping that bonus payoff as a job I was pursuing isn't going to work out after all for the moment. So - that is a nice consolation prize. Rukh, I had to think about how to post this update in the smilies. I decided to add a second tag line to the smilies for you. The first one is as you have up top. Rukh O'Rorke 05/15/2020 $17,278.17 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)
and then with the +$4,500 extra to EF and +$3,500 bonus, I tried to figure out what to do with those. I thought maybe the extra $4,500 is already within the tag line, but the $3,500 was added to a goal we don't have a tag line for? So that's why I added the second line to the chart because it seemed to be part of your multi-year goals. I think it would be: Rukh O'Rorke [2] $18,005, Goal $23,500 76.6%or something like that. See the color coding. Did I do it right? And yes, clear your cache and cookies. I had the boxes instead of the smilies, and there was a question and answer in I Have a Beef with the Admins about it. That is what moonbean suggested to do to get the smilies back. Yes - that works out! Thank you! The colored ones are savings that I didn't have 2020 goals for, but decided to give more of a buffer given recent events. |
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Rukh O'Rorke
Senior Associate
Joined: Jul 4, 2016 13:31:15 GMT -5
Posts: 10,347
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 5, 2020 11:16:03 GMT -5
given the usual update - I'm assuming I'm the only with no emojis here? Get a big wonky square where ever one is put not sure what browser you are using, but I'm using Chrome and clear my cache and cookies successfully reset my emojis. I had to long into the YM just now - and all fixed. Didn't do anything really, but emojis are back |
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seriousthistime
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Post by seriousthistime on Jun 5, 2020 17:05:19 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke, okay, from now on please add two tag lines for each update. Thank you! And great job on the savings! I'm willing to bet there are few, if any, Savers who are not grateful for their savings at this point. Being able to sleep well at night means a lot. And I bet we can all remember a day in the past (maybe even the recent past) when we had nothing in savings and were doing our best just to pay the bills each month. It's so much easier to spend than it is to save.
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Saving4Norway
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Post by Saving4Norway on Jun 5, 2020 19:27:29 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke, okay, from now on please add two tag lines for each update. Thank you! And great job on the savings! I'm willing to bet there are few, if any, Savers who are not grateful for their savings at this point. Being able to sleep well at night means a lot. And I bet we can all remember a day in the past (maybe even the recent past) when we had nothing in savings and were doing our best just to pay the bills each month. It's so much easier to spend than it is to save. Oh yes, an amen to that! |
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Saving4Norway
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Post by Saving4Norway on Jun 5, 2020 19:44:57 GMT -5
| Month | 2020 Goals | Saved | % Met | | | So far this year | $12,000 | $10,400 | 87% | | | B of July | $2,000 | $- | 0% | | | E of July | $1 | $- | 0% | | | B of August | $2,000 | $- | 0% | | | E of August | $1 | $- | 0% | | | B of September | $2,000 | $- | 0% | | | E of September | $1 | $- | 0% | | | TOTAL | $18,003 | $10,400 | 58% |
Saving4Norway (Q3) 6/05/20 $10,400 (Goal $18,003) This is my first guess about how I'll track my Early Retirement Fund. It's bound to change. |
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Jun 5, 2020 19:49:52 GMT -5
Ladies, I know a lot of you know a lot about bank accounts. I have a Credit Union account and they offer a money market option that pays more interest than the savings.
But when I go to Bank Of America, there is no such option. Is there a brick & mortar bank that offers MM account ? Does anyone know of a good one?
Thanks
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Saving4Norway
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Post by Saving4Norway on Jun 5, 2020 19:52:13 GMT -5
Ladies, I know a lot of you know a lot about bank accounts. I have a Credit Union account and they offer a money market option that pays more interest than the savings. But when I go to Bank Of America, there is no such option. Is there a brick & mortar bank that offers MM account ? Does anyone know of a good one? Thanks I'm not ignoring you, I just don't know of any... I'm also with a CU, but my MM is at E*Trade. |
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Jun 5, 2020 22:04:49 GMT -5
Do my kids need 529 accounts?
I have debated opening accounts for them for years, mostly because I wasn't sure if it was a true need for them or just something that is helpful.
Pros? Cons? Opinions?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2020 0:10:38 GMT -5
Do my kids need 529 accounts? I have debated opening accounts for them for years, mostly because I wasn't sure if it was a true need for them or just something that is helpful. Pros? Cons? Opinions? Need? No. Nice to have when you're paying college bills? Definitely. However, when making the priority list I would put it after debt paydown and adequately funding retirement. I would for sure max the Roths before doing a 529 as you can use that for college as well and it isn't counted as an asset for financial aid purposes. |
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jun 6, 2020 19:57:39 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke , okay, from now on please add two tag lines for each update. Thank you! And great job on the savings! I'm willing to bet there are few, if any, Savers who are not grateful for their savings at this point. Being able to sleep well at night means a lot. And I bet we can all remember a day in the past (maybe even the recent past) when we had nothing in savings and were doing our best just to pay the bills each month. It's so much easier to spend than it is to save. I don't remember what my savings was at the time but when I first retired from the military in 2016, that was my biggest time of struggle. My take home pay was $1637/mo and my bills were probably $1600/mo and then my Jeep broke every other month from the end of June until December with the worst one being the first one: the transmission. The reason that I'm saving is all purely want but also future need. I don't know when it'll happen but at some point down the road, my retirement and disability income probably won't be enough to sustain my lifestyle due to inflation. Our COL increases each January don't seem to be the same rate as inflation. I think they're in the 1%-2% range; rarely more. But I don't know that for sure. It's more than enough right now. Shoot! Moving to the Midwest reduced my COL to less than half of my takehome pay whereas it used to be half. $1472 vs $1645. Buying the house will reduce my "shelter" cost another $200. I did pull my earnest money out of my 3-6 months savings account but that will be quickly replaced once the house transaction is over. I will have to pay $1500 to break my lease which isn't due to expire until Sep 29th. I figure: with rent being $842 + whatever the water bill is, I'll be saving money by not paying those last two month's rent when they happen. $1500 vs $1684 The long and short of it is: My long term savings is to augment any shortfalls that my pension and disability don't cover in regards to my COL. If I can hold off on claiming SS, I will do so because that will only add to that amount and that's a good thing. That's another 18 to 26 years away. Just turned 44 Memorial Day Sunday. |
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nikiz628
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Post by nikiz628 on Jun 6, 2020 22:34:49 GMT -5
nidena- The Midwest may not have much to offer, but that low COL is sure worth it lol.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jun 7, 2020 1:24:35 GMT -5
nidena - The Midwest may not have much to offer, but that low COL is sure worth it lol. When my realtor showed me the house I'm buying and told me that it was gonna be listed at $99,000, I about fell over. That's how much I paid for my first house back in 1999. |
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forwardwego
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Post by forwardwego on Jun 7, 2020 11:09:27 GMT -5
6/7/2020 $8260 (begin $3200; goal $15,000*)
GOAL | AMOUNT | STARTING | $$ TO DATE | % OF GOAL | $$ TO GO | JPPCU CUSHION | 1000 | 100 | 200 | 20 | 800 | RENTAL MARGIN | 8000 | 2100 | 4700 | 58 | 3300 | PERIODIC EXPENSE | 5000 | 1000 | 3300 | 66 | 1700 | CASH STASH | 1000 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 940 | TOTALS | 15000 | 3200 | 8260 | 55 | 6740 |
Feeling good about 55% and the (downward) adjusted goals. I can see that I need to focus on CASH STASH, especially since FL is now in Hurricane season and there have already been 3 named tropical storms.
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seriousthistime
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Post by seriousthistime on Jun 7, 2020 13:40:27 GMT -5
6/7/2020 $8260 (begin $3200; goal $15,000*)
GOAL | AMOUNT | STARTING | $$ TO DATE | % OF GOAL | $$ TO GO | JPPCU CUSHION | 1000 | 100 | 200 | 20 | 800 | RENTAL MARGIN | 8000 | 2100 | 4700 | 58 | 3300 | PERIODIC EXPENSE | 5000 | 1000 | 3300 | 66 | 1700 | CASH STASH | 1000 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 940 | TOTALS | 15000 | 3200 | 8260 | 55 | 6740 |
Feeling good about 55% and the (downward) adjusted goals. I can see that I need to focus on CASH STASH, especially since FL is now in Hurricane season and there have already been 3 named tropical storms. Excellent point, forwardwego. What do you think you'll let sit in order to focus on the CASH STASH? Would you "rob Peter to pay Paul" and shift funds between your various savings goals if needed? |
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jun 7, 2020 15:48:57 GMT -5
forwardwego thank you, your post means a lot to me. Stay safe! Also, it's thanks to all of you that I haven't spent any of those savings since last summer. If Covid hadn't hit and I hadn't lost 4-5K in regular seasonal income, I definitely would have reached my goal.
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forwardwego
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Post by forwardwego on Jun 7, 2020 20:47:48 GMT -5
6/7/2020 $8260 (begin $3200; goal $15,000*)
GOAL | AMOUNT | STARTING | $$ TO DATE | % OF GOAL | $$ TO GO | JPPCU CUSHION | 1000 | 100 | 200 | 20 | 800 | RENTAL MARGIN | 8000 | 2100 | 4700 | 58 | 3300 | PERIODIC EXPENSE | 5000 | 1000 | 3300 | 66 | 1700 | CASH STASH | 1000 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 940 | TOTALS | 15000 | 3200 | 8260 | 55 | 6740 |
Feeling good about 55% and the (downward) adjusted goals. I can see that I need to focus on CASH STASH, especially since FL is now in Hurricane season and there have already been 3 named tropical storms. Excellent point, forwardwego. What do you think you'll let sit in order to focus on the CASH STASH? Would you "rob Peter to pay Paul" and shift funds between your various savings goals if needed? Good question seriousthistime ! I think the periodic expense account can afford to idle for a month, and then see how things look. The visuals are so revealing. ETA: Good point... I could rob PE a bit to pay Cash Stash a bit. In FL having cash on hand for Hurricane season is a periodic expense. debthaven I'm glad I could help with perspective and that you are feeling good about continuing to be a Saver while enduring this phase.  |
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 12, 2020 7:17:42 GMT -5
Rukh O'Rorke 06/12/2020
2020 goals: $19,287.17 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)
Multiyear EF goal: 18,005.11 ((Start=$500 / Goal=$20,000)
Saving Goals for 2020| Account | Goal | Added | Saved | Percent | | 401k | $26,000 | $1,095.96
| $5,779.82 | 22% | | HSA | $7,600 | $292.31
| $3,507.72 | 46% | | EF:MM | $5,000 | 0
| $5,000.00 | 100% | | EF:ETFs | $5,000 | 0 | $5,000.00 | 100% | | Total | $43,600 | $1,388.27 | $19,287.54
| 44%
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| Emergency Fund | Goal | Added | Amount | Percent | | Money Market and ETFs | $20,000 |
| $14,505.11 | 72.5% | | Retention Bonus | $3,500 |
| $3,500.00 | 100% | | Total Multiyear EF goal | $20,000 |
| $18,005.11 | 90% |
| Spending Categories | Goal | Amount | Percent | Vacation | $3,000 | 0 | 0% | | Holiday/Gifts | $2,000 | 0 | 0% | | Rukh Discretionary | $1,000 | 0 | 0% | | Total | $3,000 | 0 | 0% |
I finally upped the 401k to 20%. That level would have me maxing it and needing to drop it a bit towards end of year to not go over, but starting at that level in June won't get me to the 2020 goal. At the end of June/50% of year mark I can more easily calculate my shortfall and make a plan/adjust goals. Guestimating from here - seems like I'd need to get close to/around 30% to 401k to make the mark. And I'm not even completely sure I can keep it at 20%!!! I should be getting a small bonus next week, so I wanted to at least have the 401k upped for this month and hopefully the bonus will be enough to compensate for the extra 401k for this month's customary outgoes. So - leaving 401k at 20% and will reconfigure at another time.....
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