how much % of your income do you save for retirement?

[TridenT]

if your working at any of those shops then you will be living in a place with bookoo high cost of living

Uh... Microsoft, Amazon, and quite a few other companies are not far away and I live in a $400/month place now. Fuck, places closer to Microsoft are actually cheaper than where I live now!

 

[brianmanahan]

I "retired" the first time at 42, Farmed full-time. Lasted for a short while, went into Management for 12 years, retired again at 54. Back to Farming.
Hard work, but you are your own boss & set your own hours (Like, daylight till dark-thirty! LOL) Very rewarding, to say the least.

nice, i would farm if i had the money to buy a decent amount of land

 

[spidey07]

I cannot imagine being 50. It's probably gonna suck being all old and saggy skinned. Have you entire body look like a scrotum... ugh.

I bet the poster above you is stronger, more fit and can run circles around you physically and mentally. If he's farming where I think he is, that's bacco farming, HARD work.

I don't think you know what 50 is, if you take care of yourself you are in incredible shape. You're 20s only last a short while, and most of the time one is too broke to enjoy it.

 

[brianmanahan]

Uh... Microsoft, Amazon, and quite a few other companies are not far away and I live in a $400/month place now. F***, places closer to Microsoft are actually cheaper than where I live now!

yeah but you dont striek me as the type who will get hired at a place like those

 

[Bignate603]

yeah but you dont strike me as the type who will get hired anywhere

Fixed that for you.

 

[Imp]

I'm going to say 0%. I officially have about a thousand in registered retirement savings. I have more than that in regular savings, and plan on using those savings to make me more money without using up the principal.

 

[brianmanahan]

oops i figured it up wrong, that %45 includes before AND after taxes!

 

[Elbryn]

I'm going to say 0%. I officially have about a thousand in registered retirement savings. I have more than that in regular savings, and plan on using those savings to make me more money without using up the principal.

that money in savings is a taxable account and gains year to year will be taxed. sending the money into a tax deferred account means you're only taxed when you take it out. or if you do a roth, never because you already paid taxes on it.

 

[ichy]

I'm going to say 0%. I officially have about a thousand in registered retirement savings. I have more than that in regular savings, and plan on using those savings to make me more money without using up the principal.

Wow, spoken like someone who has no clue how tax-deferred retirement accounts work.

 

[jupiter57]

I'm going to say 0%. I officially have about a thousand in registered retirement savings. I have more than that in regular savings, and plan on using those savings to make me more money without using up the principal.

Wow, spoken like someone who has no clue how tax-deferred retirement accounts work.

that money in savings is a taxable account and gains year to year will be taxed. sending the money into a tax deferred account means you're only taxed when you take it out. or if you do a roth, never because you already paid taxes on it.

Regardless, he has more money/savings than 99% of the posters in this thread.
🙄

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Uh... Microsoft, Amazon, and quite a few other companies are not far away and I live in a $400/month place now. Fuck, places closer to Microsoft are actually cheaper than where I live now!

I thought you said you planned on moving away from Seattle? In that case you can't count on $400/month rent and you can't count on getting a job at MS or Amazon (as if you could count on them even if you stay).

 

[Elbryn]

Regardless, he has more money/savings than 99% of the posters in this thread.
🙄

bah! i know i have more than 2k total and i'm 100% sure engineer does. that's at least 2%! 🙂

 

[ichy]

Regardless, he has more money/savings than 99% of the posters in this thread.
🙄

I dunno, his reply makes no sense at all. You can put money from "regular" savings into an IRA and put it into income producing investments just like he described. The only difference is that the money compounds tax-free.

 

[GotIssues]

Uh... Microsoft, Amazon, and quite a few other companies are not far away and I live in a $400/month place now. Fuck, places closer to Microsoft are actually cheaper than where I live now!

It's funny how completely clueless you are.

1) $200/mo on food? Unless you are eating strictly ramen and mac and cheese, forget about it. Go to the grocery store and see how much any meat costs. 1lb of beef and 1lb of chicken per week, and you eat up 20% of your budget, and that's for the entree' of 4-6 meals (of 21). See how many times you forget or don't bother to pack a lunch for work and need to out to eat. Expect at least $300 on food. As much as you think that you'll keep eating almost nothing, you won't. -$1200/year, down to $1200 discretionary spending.

2) a)Health insurance. If you are banking on someone else to pay for your health insurance, you are either Canadian or an idiot. From your posts, I know you aren't Canadian. My company has VERY generous benefits and I would pay (if I were singe) $50/mo for health insurance. That's $600/year from your already razor thin (adjusted) $1200/year discretionary money. Down to $600
b) Dental Insurance. If you don't have it, you are a moron. It's cheaper than checkups alone. That's another $250/year. Down to $350/year
c) Vision Insurance. Won't count it against, because you might have perfect vision, but that's another $120/year, or paying for checkups, which is about the same. If you need contacts or glasses, that's another $250/year.
d) Rental Insurance. You are an idiot if you don't have it. Haven't done renters in a while as I own my home, but lets just say another $100/year. Down to $250/year

3) General living expenses. Pots, pans, dishes, furniture, toilet paper, paper towers, cloth towels, deordorant, shaving cream, razors, cleaning products, etc, etc. These products aren't free. We'll assume you have all the furniture you want/need an all the pots/pans you want/need. $50/mo for the rest (and that's on the very low end). $600/year. Down to -$350.

4) Electric and gas. I'm assuming you will use AC sparingly and heat your apartment moderately. $60/mo, or $720/year. Now at -$1070/year of your plan

5) Assuming no car, you need to take the bus everywhere. You get a buspass. Here, it's $76/mo for unlimited rides. $912/year. You are now in the red another $782 to -$1852.

6) Internet and cable. Forget cable TV. Lets say you don't watch TV. Internet is $50/mo after taxes. $600/year. -$2452

7) Misc Entertainment. Unless you plan on sitting in your apartment doing nothing, this is a big expense. If you go to a single movie per month, that's 2 hours of entertainment month, it'll cost $150+ more. But we'll assume, with reasonable confidence, that you have no friends and really don't go out and say it's only a $20/mo expense for 2 paperback books. -$2692

8) Phone. Assuming cell phone. You also seem like someone who needs to have a smartphone. Assuming a cheap plan at $60/mo, $70 after taxes. Another $840 gone. -$3532

9) Various emergency expenses. No one plans them, everyone has them. Heck, in the last month, I've had $3k worth of them.

10) If you ever happen to run across a blind and deaf girl (or boy, not judging) who would consider dating you, that's a rather large and significant expense.

Thats not to mention any prescriptions, OTC medications, entertainment, student loan payments, cable TV or anything else I've forgotten to mention. Most, if not all, of these numbers are on the extreme low end of cost and will be much more than stated.

Frankly, you have no grasp on the real world and how much it costs. You are also assuming that you'll get whatever price for your job services when you graduate. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that's not going to happen. That $60k you think you'll get straight out of college will be more like $50k, if you even get a job right away. Heck, you probably didn't even plan in moving expenses if you get a job away from where you are at (or you are dumb enough to assume that the company will pay for it).

 

[EMPshockwave82]

I put in 16% of my salary. Employer puts in 3% of my salary.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Uh... Microsoft, Amazon, and quite a few other companies are not far away and I live in a $400/month place now. Fuck, places closer to Microsoft are actually cheaper than where I live now!

It's possible to live off of 48k per year but don't think you'll be putting away 80% of your salary. My first job out of college with a BS in CIS and an MBA made 35k / year before taxes with a fortune 200 company. I was living in a place that cost me $1080 / month and scraping by and saving 6% of my salary in my 401k just because the company matched 50% up to 6%.

At the time I was playing WoW to save money by not going to the bars and still being able to enjoy myself. I would go on "poverty weeks" as I called them where I ate nothing but home cooked pastas and didn't drink or eat out.

After everything I was saving around $300 per month into a savings account for rainy days on top of the 401k pretax.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

lol 1% for son's college fund. Either you are unaware how much college costs these days or you just don't care.

My son is very young, and 1% of our combined net income amounts to ~$3500/year.

Still not a whole lot when my financial advisor is projecting that college will cost $60-80k/year in 2027.

 

[brianmanahan]

My son is very young, and 1% of our combined net income amounts to ~$3500/year.

Still not a whole lot when my financial advisor is projecting that college will cost $60-80k/year in 2027.

350000$ after tax?!

 

[Sho'Nuff]

350000$ after tax?!

Some years, yes. Sometimes its more, sometimes less. FWIW, it used to be consistently more.

 

[Elbryn]

Some years, yes. Sometimes its more, sometimes less. FWIW, it used to be consistently more.

own business with some sep ira/401k?
and only 1% for future education? cheapskate 🙂

 

[blinblue]

It's funny how completely clueless you are.

1) $200/mo on food? Unless you are eating strictly ramen and mac and cheese, forget about it. Go to the grocery store and see how much any meat costs. 1lb of beef and 1lb of chicken per week, and you eat up 20% of your budget, and that's for the entree' of 4-6 meals (of 21). See how many times you forget or don't bother to pack a lunch for work and need to out to eat. Expect at least $300 on food. As much as you think that you'll keep eating almost nothing, you won't. -$1200/year, down to $1200 discretionary spending.

2) a)Health insurance. If you are banking on someone else to pay for your health insurance, you are either Canadian or an idiot. From your posts, I know you aren't Canadian. My company has VERY generous benefits and I would pay (if I were singe) $50/mo for health insurance. That's $600/year from your already razor thin (adjusted) $1200/year discretionary money. Down to $600
b) Dental Insurance. If you don't have it, you are a moron. It's cheaper than checkups alone. That's another $250/year. Down to $350/year
c) Vision Insurance. Won't count it against, because you might have perfect vision, but that's another $120/year, or paying for checkups, which is about the same. If you need contacts or glasses, that's another $250/year.
d) Rental Insurance. You are an idiot if you don't have it. Haven't done renters in a while as I own my home, but lets just say another $100/year. Down to $250/year

3) General living expenses. Pots, pans, dishes, furniture, toilet paper, paper towers, cloth towels, deordorant, shaving cream, razors, cleaning products, etc, etc. These products aren't free. We'll assume you have all the furniture you want/need an all the pots/pans you want/need. $50/mo for the rest (and that's on the very low end). $600/year. Down to -$350.

4) Electric and gas. I'm assuming you will use AC sparingly and heat your apartment moderately. $60/mo, or $720/year. Now at -$1070/year of your plan

5) Assuming no car, you need to take the bus everywhere. You get a buspass. Here, it's $76/mo for unlimited rides. $912/year. You are now in the red another $782 to -$1852.

6) Internet and cable. Forget cable TV. Lets say you don't watch TV. Internet is $50/mo after taxes. $600/year. -$2452

7) Misc Entertainment. Unless you plan on sitting in your apartment doing nothing, this is a big expense. If you go to a single movie per month, that's 2 hours of entertainment month, it'll cost $150+ more. But we'll assume, with reasonable confidence, that you have no friends and really don't go out and say it's only a $20/mo expense for 2 paperback books. -$2692

8) Phone. Assuming cell phone. You also seem like someone who needs to have a smartphone. Assuming a cheap plan at $60/mo, $70 after taxes. Another $840 gone. -$3532

9) Various emergency expenses. No one plans them, everyone has them. Heck, in the last month, I've had $3k worth of them.

10) If you ever happen to run across a blind and deaf girl (or boy, not judging) who would consider dating you, that's a rather large and significant expense.

Thats not to mention any prescriptions, OTC medications, entertainment, student loan payments, cable TV or anything else I've forgotten to mention. Most, if not all, of these numbers are on the extreme low end of cost and will be much more than stated.

Frankly, you have no grasp on the real world and how much it costs. You are also assuming that you'll get whatever price for your job services when you graduate. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that's not going to happen. That $60k you think you'll get straight out of college will be more like $50k, if you even get a job right away. Heck, you probably didn't even plan in moving expenses if you get a job away from where you are at (or you are dumb enough to assume that the company will pay for it).

I wouldn't argue most of those, but a number of those items can be a lot cheaper.
First, I'd argue that you can do groceries on $200/month. My current budget for me and my wife is $320/month of groceries, and we hit that almost every month (sometimes going over by a bit). So for one person, $200/month is certainly doable, and eating much better than just ramen.

Vision insurance is pretty useless. A Costco eye exam is $40, glasses from an online place are <$10 if you have a fairly simple prescription, and certainly no more than $100 for some crazy prescription. I just bought 3 pairs of prescription glasses, 2 for me (one sunglasses, one backup) and one for my wife for $32 shipped.

Internet can be a lot cheaper than $50/month. Midgrade DSL for $20-$25/month can be had in many parts of the US

Cell phone should be no more than $25/month thanks to Virgin Mobile (unlimited data, text, and 300 minute a month)

 

[Sho'Nuff]

own business with some sep ira/401k?
and only 1&#37; for future education? cheapskate 🙂

Sometimes it is good not to give a child everything he wants. My wife and I both had parents that had the means to pay for our entire education, but made a conscious decision only to pay for half. I'm convinced that we both turned out well simply because we were required to make a substantial investment in our own lives.

For the record, I do not run my own business. I am a patent attorney. My wife is a computer forensics specialist. Between the two of us, we do ok.

 

[TridenT]

It's funny how completely clueless you are.

1) $200/mo on food? Unless you are eating strictly ramen and mac and cheese, forget about it. Go to the grocery store and see how much any meat costs. 1lb of beef and 1lb of chicken per week, and you eat up 20&#37; of your budget, and that's for the entree' of 4-6 meals (of 21). See how many times you forget or don't bother to pack a lunch for work and need to out to eat. Expect at least $300 on food. As much as you think that you'll keep eating almost nothing, you won't. -$1200/year, down to $1200 discretionary spending.

2) a)Health insurance. If you are banking on someone else to pay for your health insurance, you are either Canadian or an idiot. From your posts, I know you aren't Canadian. My company has VERY generous benefits and I would pay (if I were singe) $50/mo for health insurance. That's $600/year from your already razor thin (adjusted) $1200/year discretionary money. Down to $600
b) Dental Insurance. If you don't have it, you are a moron. It's cheaper than checkups alone. That's another $250/year. Down to $350/year
c) Vision Insurance. Won't count it against, because you might have perfect vision, but that's another $120/year, or paying for checkups, which is about the same. If you need contacts or glasses, that's another $250/year.
d) Rental Insurance. You are an idiot if you don't have it. Haven't done renters in a while as I own my home, but lets just say another $100/year. Down to $250/year

3) General living expenses. Pots, pans, dishes, furniture, toilet paper, paper towers, cloth towels, deordorant, shaving cream, razors, cleaning products, etc, etc. These products aren't free. We'll assume you have all the furniture you want/need an all the pots/pans you want/need. $50/mo for the rest (and that's on the very low end). $600/year. Down to -$350.

4) Electric and gas. I'm assuming you will use AC sparingly and heat your apartment moderately. $60/mo, or $720/year. Now at -$1070/year of your plan

5) Assuming no car, you need to take the bus everywhere. You get a buspass. Here, it's $76/mo for unlimited rides. $912/year. You are now in the red another $782 to -$1852.

6) Internet and cable. Forget cable TV. Lets say you don't watch TV. Internet is $50/mo after taxes. $600/year. -$2452

7) Misc Entertainment. Unless you plan on sitting in your apartment doing nothing, this is a big expense. If you go to a single movie per month, that's 2 hours of entertainment month, it'll cost $150+ more. But we'll assume, with reasonable confidence, that you have no friends and really don't go out and say it's only a $20/mo expense for 2 paperback books. -$2692

8) Phone. Assuming cell phone. You also seem like someone who needs to have a smartphone. Assuming a cheap plan at $60/mo, $70 after taxes. Another $840 gone. -$3532

9) Various emergency expenses. No one plans them, everyone has them. Heck, in the last month, I've had $3k worth of them.

10) If you ever happen to run across a blind and deaf girl (or boy, not judging) who would consider dating you, that's a rather large and significant expense.

Thats not to mention any prescriptions, OTC medications, entertainment, student loan payments, cable TV or anything else I've forgotten to mention. Most, if not all, of these numbers are on the extreme low end of cost and will be much more than stated.

Frankly, you have no grasp on the real world and how much it costs. You are also assuming that you'll get whatever price for your job services when you graduate. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that's not going to happen. That $60k you think you'll get straight out of college will be more like $50k, if you even get a job right away. Heck, you probably didn't even plan in moving expenses if you get a job away from where you are at (or you are dumb enough to assume that the company will pay for it).

1) $200/month on food is quite a bit if you know how to do it. That's something like $6.45 a day. That's quite enough for me. Eat a couple frozen pizzas ($3), a sandwich($0.80), crackers and cheese($1.00?), and a bowl of cereal($0.50)? That's probably more than what I'll eat in a day, but that's still under budget.
2) a) I plan on getting a good job, not just any job.
b) Uh, no. That's stupid. I can get dental cleanings for less than $250/yr. Local community colleges make you pay very little for that in comparison to businesses and do a good job from what I understand.
c) LOL WORTHLESS
d) Man, you are getting desperaaate

3) Things like those could be included in the food category but sometimes I might go over budget then. Although, I must say, I don't need any kitchen utensils or replacements. I do burn through my fair share of paper towels though. That's like $5 every 6 weeks though?

4) Included with rent.
5) Assuming I needed a bus pass. I can always bike if not walk. I do have legs and I can plan well.
6) $25/month for me. That's how much I pay now. I could get it to be even less if I got my neighbors to pitch in and we just shared it.
7) You don't budget misc entertainment. That's part of the money left over. 😛
8) I pay $0/month now. In the future, at most I'll pay $35/month.
9) Uh-huh
10) They won't be a large expense because I am not a sugar daddy.

The $60k figure is the low to average figure someone put here that I just went with. $48k after taxes. $9600 after 80% savings.

And, of course, I'd probably save six months of income before doing retirement. It's more than likely that I will come out of school with NO DEBT.

 

[brianmanahan]

1) $200/month on food is quite a bit if you know how to do it. That's something like $6.45 a day. That's quite enough for me. Eat a couple frozen pizzas ($3), a sandwich($0.80), crackers and cheese($1.00?), and a bowl of cereal($0.50)? That's probably more than what I'll eat in a day, but that's still under budget.
2) a) I plan on getting a good job, not just any job.
b) Uh, no. That's stupid. I can get dental cleanings for less than $250/yr. Local community colleges make you pay very little for that in comparison to businesses and do a good job from what I understand.
c) LOL WORTHLESS
d) Man, you are getting desperaaate

3) Things like those could be included in the food category but sometimes I might go over budget then. Although, I must say, I don't need any kitchen utensils or replacements. I do burn through my fair share of paper towels though. That's like $5 every 6 weeks though?

4) Included with rent.
5) Assuming I needed a bus pass. I can always bike if not walk. I do have legs and I can plan well.
6) $25/month for me. That's how much I pay now. I could get it to be even less if I got my neighbors to pitch in and we just shared it.
7) You don't budget misc entertainment. That's part of the money left over. 😛
8) I pay $0/month now. In the future, at most I'll pay $35/month.
9) Uh-huh
10) They won't be a large expense because I am not a sugar daddy.

The $60k figure is the low to average figure someone put here that I just went with. $48k after taxes. $9600 after 80% savings.

And, of course, I'd probably save six months of income before doing retirement. It's more than likely that I will come out of school with NO DEBT.

i will believe it when i seen it

 

[KentState]

I'm not sure about percentages, but I typically put 6&#37; into 401k, $5k in IRA, $1200 per paycheck into liquid savings, and I put bonus money into stocks and mutual funds.