Ppl in high cost states - How do you save money?

[Ns1]

I hustle to make more money

 

[zinfamous]

Damn. You just saved him $4.5k. He's going to be rich!

Actually, he just saved him $7330.00 over 10 years at 5% compounded.

 

[zinfamous]

Now I can choose when I work, where I work, with whom I work, if I work, and make enough to fund my various hobbies. It pays to think outside the box.

Damn, I wish I could be a space assassin, too.

 

[Sonikku]

This thread makes me wonder how the people in society not smart enough to get specialized skills and degrees survive on $7.25.

 

[z1ggy]

Did you need a $17k car? In NJ or Chicago you should be able to get a certified Corolla or Civic with 35k miles on it for $12.5k OTD or less that would probably last you another 150k+ miles. Keep it for 10 years bank all the car payments you're not making after its paid off

Need? of course I don't NEED anything, but Right now I am udner water on my car if you check the KBB values. Car is worth about $6k and I owe $9k, so trading or selling is kind of pointless.

In the future, I don't think a civic will work for me if I have kids. It would work until they grew into young kids and I gotta cart them all over to practices and stuff. I pretty much will be stuck in a larger car which I won't be getting that cheaply with reasonable miles.


Anyway, I just need to focus more on the things I can change right now. Mainly that's debt and hopefully getting out of it sooner than I'm anticipating. Hopefully more than 2.5% raise next year.

 

[ponyo]

I hustle to make more money

This is really the only real answer. You can't save what you don't make. You want to save money? Make lot more money.

 

[Exterous]

Damn. You just saved him $4.5k. He's going to be rich!

It's actually $5k with interest assuming he doesn't do anything that gains interest with the savings. But we must ignore all possible answers to "How do you save money" unless it meets ponyo's lower limit right?

 

[z1ggy]

This thread makes me wonder how the people in society not smart enough to get specialized skills and degrees survive on $7.25.

Me, too. Basically you live with no health insurance, take public transit all over, work as many hours as possible, live in section 8 hosing, and shop at Goodwill for as much as you can.

 

[ponyo]

Actually, he just saved him $7330.00 over 10 years at 5% compounded.

And is that meaningful amount of money? You can blow that on single 1 week vacation. I could've saved extra $50-60k if I didn't take vacations the past two years.

 

[z1ggy]

Another option I have is to move to PA. One guy at work and a friend we know does this. Housing is literally 50% of what it is here in NJ but you can work near the bigger cities (if you don't mind a 90 min commute) while still making the higher NJ salary.

I'd just need to make sure I could get 200k+ miles out of a car otherwise I'd be buying a new one every 4 years.

 

[Exterous]

In the future, I don't think a civic will work for me if I have kids. It would work until they grew into young kids and I gotta cart them all over to practices and stuff. I pretty much will be stuck in a larger car which I won't be getting that cheaply with reasonable miles.

Plenty of people manage to survive having a small car and kids. Its pretty easy to come up with reasons to not save money - our entire economy is based on it and cars are one of the biggest expense areas (mortgage\rent and student loans being the only ones that are often higher) It takes a lot of cuts elsewhere to equal what a car payment costs.

 

[Exterous]

And is that meaningful amount of money?

You tell me. If it isn't meaningful then you should have no problem sending me a check for $7300.

 

[ponyo]

It's actually $5k with interest assuming he doesn't do anything that gains interest with the savings. But we must ignore all possible answers to "How do you save money" unless it meets ponyo's lower limit right?

No, the reality is he can't save decent amount of money until his income increases to meaningful amount. That's the sad reality. You can waste time and spin your wheels and try to save cost to barebone but that's still not going to solve the income problem.

 

[z1ggy]

Plenty of people manage to survive having a small car and kids. Its pretty easy to come up with reasons to not save money - our entire economy is based on it and cars are one of the biggest expense areas. It takes a lot of cuts elsewhere to equal what a car payment costs.

Believe me, I'd love a little car. I have a mazda3 right now and that's the perfect size. I know I can easily have 1 small kid in that biotche, but I feel like the back would be cramped once you had 2. Almost no leg room for anybody larger than a midget. We'd make it work though if it came down to it.

 

[Exterous]

No, the reality is he can't save decent amount of money until his income increases to meaningful amount. That's the sad reality. You can waste time and spin your wheels and try to save cost to barebone but that's still not going to solve the income problem.

Who said it would solve the income problem? He asked for ways to save money. I gave him a reasonable one

 

[z1ggy]

No, the reality is he can't save decent amount of money until his income increases to meaningful amount. That's the sad reality. You can waste time and spin your wheels and try to save cost to barebone but that's still not going to solve the income problem.

Sigh, it is true I am now realizing. Even once my student debt is paid in 4 years, and my car in 3.. child care costs will more than double that savings amount, even though my salary might only go up say $8-9k in that time frame.

 

[Viper GTS]

You tell me. If it isn't meaningful then you should have no problem sending me a check for $7300.

That is an absurd standard and you probably know it.

For most people a Civic is perfectly reasonable transportation and a one time savings of what likely amounts to less than 10% his annual income for something he's going to keep a long time... Who cares. It's not like he's out leasing a brand new car every year and rolling negative equity into the next one.

It largely sounds like he has the basics under control (including reliably being able to save money), the easy gains are going to come from the income side not crushing his lifestyle down to the absolute minimum necessary for survival.

Viper GTS

 

[Exterous]

That is an absurd standard and you probably know it.

No - its absurd to imply that $7300 isn't a meaningful amount esp given what you can do with that over time

For most people a Civic is perfectly reasonable transportation and a one time savings of what likely amounts to less than 10% his annual income for something he's going to keep a long time... Who cares. It's not like he's out leasing a brand new car every year and rolling negative equity into the next one.

Personally I don't consider a potential $60k in savings something in the 'Who cares' bucket

crushing his lifestyle down to the absolute minimum necessary for survival.

In what world is a low mileage civic the minimum necessary for survival? Stop acting like I told him to stop buying anything from the grocery but rice, peanut butter and beans

 

[Svnla]

This is why I like to live in cheaper cost of living area. I can save a lot more money and can retire and do my things on my own a lot faster than living in the coasts.

<<-- is saving at least $20K a year after all expenses and investments/retirement/vacation/fun money/misc expenses.

 

[Leyawiin]

I finally gave up living in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to the Sacramento Valley. I was paying my bills, had a nice water view apartment, took a fun vacation about every other year (did a "stay-cation" on the off years). Still, I could see the writing on the wall that I'd never afford a home in that area on a single income with my education and skill set. Packed it in, moved to inland NorCal and within two years (2010) easily bought a modest 3/2 with 20% down (which I'd been saving for ten years over on the coast). P.I.T.I. amounts to a measly $750.

Do I miss being close to SF? Sure, but its only 2 1/2 hours away and Sacto isn't a hellhole.

 

[z1ggy]

That is an absurd standard and you probably know it.

For most people a Civic is perfectly reasonable transportation and a one time savings of what likely amounts to less than 10% his annual income for something he's going to keep a long time... Who cares. It's not like he's out leasing a brand new car every year and rolling negative equity into the next one.

It largely sounds like he has the basics under control (including reliably being able to save money), the easy gains are going to come from the income side not crushing his lifestyle down to the absolute minimum necessary for survival.

Viper GTS

It all comes down to how much convenience I can afford. Used civic will be much cheaper, but will be hell trying to pack a family of 4 or 5 into for travels. Totally acceptable for a DD to work and back, just not practical for family carting business.

And those who are thinking or saying, "don't have a family", that's not really an option and is naïve.

 

[zinfamous]

And is that meaningful amount of money? You can blow that on single 1 week vacation. I could've saved extra $50-60k if I didn't take vacations the past two years.

well, good for you?

I guess other people have different priorities and needs than ponyo, maybe?

I could eat for several years on that money--and eat well--cooking for myself.

 

[zinfamous]

In the future, I don't think a civic will work for me if I have kids. It would work until they grew into young kids and I gotta cart them all over to practices and stuff. I pretty much will be stuck in a larger car which I won't be getting that cheaply with reasonable miles.
.

weird how a family of 4 (mine) grew up with a ~1978 civic hatchback and, eventually, a half-cabin Nissan pickup truck, through the 2nd & 5th grades, respectively.
I did not realize that humans had evolved so drastically in size and need in less than one generation to require more car than outside the US--90% of the world--actually thinks is reasonable.

 

[Viper GTS]

This is why I like to live in cheaper cost of living area. I can save a lot more money and can retire and do my things on my own a lot faster than living in the coasts.

<<-- is saving at least $20K a year after all expenses and investments/retirement/vacation/fun money/misc expenses.

This isn't necessarily true for everyone. If your skill set is worth enough more on the coasts to overcome the cost of living difference then you're better off on the coasts - Everything else costs the same (cars, electronics, etc), so if you're making 3x the median household income on the coasts vs say the midwest you'll have a lot more buying power in disposable income on the coasts.

Make the money in the high income area, then move and exploit the cost of living difference when you want to retire. The housing/tax load is the price you must pay to play in the high opportunity areas.

Viper GTS

 

[zinfamous]

That is an absurd standard and you probably know it.

For most people a Civic is perfectly reasonable transportation and a one time savings of what likely amounts to less than 10% his annual income for something he's going to keep a long time... Who cares. It's not like he's out leasing a brand new car every year and rolling negative equity into the next one.

It largely sounds like he has the basics under control (including reliably being able to save money), the easy gains are going to come from the income side not crushing his lifestyle down to the absolute minimum necessary for survival.

Viper GTS

throwing away nearly a year's maximum contribution into a Roth/trIRA, or 1.5x year's worth of contributions into HSA savings is not a worthwhile amount of money to consider saving? I feel that I have stepped into crazy land.

(and with trIRA contributions being deductible, he's actually contributing more than $4500 in that situation)

at 6% interest on that "worthless" $4.5k, that is $25k+ in value after 30 years that no longer exists in his savings.