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re: What's a "normal" amount of money for a late 20s person to have in savings?
Posted on 7/26/13 at 9:52 am to WG_Dawg
Posted on 7/26/13 at 9:52 am to WG_Dawg
I would look at goals towards retirement instead of a number. As long as you are on the path in your 20's, you are better off than most. You want to have an emergency fund setup.. Roughly 6 months of pure living expenses. Other than that, as long as retirement is on the brain and active savings are accumulating the number isn't that important because of your limited timeframe in the workforce. My 20's was an awesome time, experiencing life, travel, and friends all on my dime. Don't let a singular number bog down this time in your life.
1
Posted on 7/26/13 at 10:16 am to TROLA
As long as you have enough for 3-6 months of living if you were to get laid off/injured, you should be fine. If you have a ton of money in the bank, you're not doing it right. Pay off debts/invest some of that.
Posted on 7/26/13 at 10:22 am to sneakytiger
quote:I hope you are smart and diversify that 60 bucks when you do decide to invest it.
I'm 29 and am right about $100 net worth, split about 60/40 between savings and retirement. I need to do something with that 60% because it is literally just rotting away in a savings account.
This post was edited on 7/26/13 at 10:44 am
Posted on 7/26/13 at 10:40 am to WG_Dawg
quote:
The only reason I got to thinking about this is because it's something that you definitely can't/don't ask people IRL. And I don't really want to ask my friends honestly, it's none of my business and it doesn't affect my life at all, I'm simply curious.
I really wish this was one social construct that would disappear among good friends. I understand it not being polite walking up to random folks and talking about their money, but you would think the best people to talk too would be similarly situated individuals that you are close to.
I talk about money freely (at least in a strategic sense). If my friend were to ask me point blank how much I make and how I manage it, I would tell them. Otherwise, I keep the discussion on the macro level with tips and strategies that every income earner should know.
Whomever said 60% of salary at 28 can eat a dick. I didn't start working a career job until I was 26 years old.
This post was edited on 7/26/13 at 10:41 am
Posted on 7/26/13 at 11:48 am to Teddy Ruxpin
quote:
Whomever said 60% of salary at 28 can eat a dick.
I will commence said dickeating
Posted on 7/26/13 at 11:49 am to WG_Dawg
quote:
What's a "normal" amount of money for a late 20s person to have in savings?
A republican? $250,000
A democrat? $1,000
Posted on 7/26/13 at 12:18 pm to WG_Dawg
I keep about 5k in a checking account, roughly 6 months of savings in a very low risk bond fund, and about 70k in 401k/employee stock program/Roth IRA. I'm probably being a little risky by not having as much liquid funds. We've been splurging lately and really need to get down to saving and having cash on hand.
Posted on 7/26/13 at 1:56 pm to hiltacular
quote:If I could live on 5k for 3 months I would be in awesome shape
3 months living expenses is what I would aim for as far as what you have in your immediate savings/checking account. Depending on your circumstances that is around $5k. I think that's a pretty healthy number to aim for.
Posted on 7/26/13 at 2:24 pm to Bear Is Dead
quote:
I will commence said dickeating
Posted on 7/26/13 at 2:32 pm to WG_Dawg
This thread is and will be like asking the OT for their average dick size.
Posted on 7/26/13 at 2:59 pm to saderade
quote:
If I could live on 5k for 3 months I would be in awesome shape
+1.
IMO you should have a 6-9 months worth of expenses in a readily available account.
Posted on 7/26/13 at 4:41 pm to HurricaneDunc
quote:
This thread is and will be like asking the OT for their average dick size.
The MT is usually pretty good about answering even these types of questions realistically
Posted on 7/27/13 at 8:04 am to WG_Dawg
quote:
I know you can probably open a Roth online, but can I just go to my bank and do it there?
Probably, check with your bank.
The only thing I'd caution you about is that your local bank may only offer a limited set of investment choices that aren't really all that. But again, it depends on the bank.
Personally I've used Schwab for almost 15 years now and been quite happy, but most major firms are probably pretty good too.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 8:12 am to sneakytiger
quote:
That's an interesting strategy - Wasn't aware there were no penalties on a Roth. Are there any other advantages to this other than tax savings, as opposed to doing this with a normal investment outside a 401k?
The advantage is that your returns grow tax-free. Early on this doesn't matter much but later in life it certainly will provided you contribute consistently and heavily. And you probably won't be able to do that if you are diverting cash to an emergency fund that is taxable.
A psychological advantage is that most people will think twice before pulling from a retirement account too, which is perfectly fine. If you can put it off then it wasn't really an emergency to start with.
There aren't any disadvantages I know of.
Some people will say "you should never withdraw from a retirement account". My response is that if you are putting money into a taxable account first, then you aren't putting that money into retirement. Go ahead and do it now. An emergency fund is for emergencies, you shouldn't cripple the funds by putting them in a taxable account "just in case" when you don't have to.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 8:42 am to WG_Dawg
I keep about 5k in checking, 10k in savings at all times. I feel like that's a good amount(I'm 24), no reason to have much more that that sitting there doing nothing.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 8:52 am to Beerinthepocket
We only have 5k in checking. Need to start an efund. I'm afraid ill have to take a year off from retirement saving to build one.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 9:34 am to wegotdatwood
We have 7k in an actual savings. Our roth iras are liquid enough in an emergency greater than that amount. With 21k limit on our credit cards, we can use them immediately, then pay off the balance at the end of the month with whatever we need to withdraw from the roths.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 11:56 am to ell_13
quote:
With 21k limit on our credit cards, we can use them immediately, then pay off the balance at the end of the month with whatever we need to withdraw from the roths.
This is the correct answer.
I have no idea why people use savings accounts anymore. There isn't anything they do that you can't do better some other way.
Posted on 7/27/13 at 12:10 pm to WG_Dawg
Depends on the volatility of your profession. I currently feel very secure in my employment. Combined with the fact that I don't make a ton of money as a young professional, I only have about two months living expenses "cash" as I'd prefer to at least attempt to max out my Roth, and I'm not making enough to do both and enjoy the things I enjoy doing. Even if I made significantly more, I don't think I would go much above three months cash, as it is far too easy to put sudden expenses on a credit card to give myself time to pull contributions out of my Roth penalty free or liquidate some individual equity holdings, as another poster has suggested.
Getting sub-1% on a big chunk of change strikes me as unwise when there are so many other options. Put another way, I would be more concerned with how much capital you can have access to within, say, 15 days than what you can have access to in 15 minutes. But, that's just my opinion.
Getting sub-1% on a big chunk of change strikes me as unwise when there are so many other options. Put another way, I would be more concerned with how much capital you can have access to within, say, 15 days than what you can have access to in 15 minutes. But, that's just my opinion.
This post was edited on 7/27/13 at 12:11 pm
Posted on 7/27/13 at 1:06 pm to foshizzle
quote:
Personally I've used Schwab for almost 15 years now and been quite happy, but most major firms are probably pretty good too.
The closest Schwab to me is about 40 minutes away. Would setting this up for the first time be something I can do over the phone with someone? Again, I know I can probably do it online but I'm sure I'll have a bunch of questions and would like to speak to a person while I do it.
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