• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

What's your current financial buffer?

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
I don't know! So many factors. Would we pull the kid from daycare to save $? That would help. Would it be a 0 income situation or the other 1/2 still employed?

I need charts!
 
4-6 months lol

I go on a lot of vacations. Gotta live a little.

But we could survive on the wife's income so technically I could last forever!
 
If I lost my job...about 6+ months of immediately liquid assets (not dipping into retirement,not selling anything)

If my wife lost her job - just less savings.
 
ATOT is so ahead of the curve. While the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck ATOT has 5 years worth of cash stashed away and that's not even tapping into the 401k that's been maxed out since they started their 250k a year job they've had since the day they left college.

Sigh... I really hate to see what your lives are really like outside of making shit up on the internet. What a sad existence.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
ATOT is so ahead of the curve. While the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck ATOT has 5 years worth of cash stashed away and that's not even tapping into the 401k that's been maxed out since they started their 250k a year job they've had since the day they left college.

Sigh... I really hate to see what your lives are really like outside of making shit up on the internet. What a sad existence.
Click to expand...


Some of us are like that.

Me and wife have about 200k in retirement savings (401k/tsp, roth, her pension, etc...), another 100-150k in the house, plus our cars/bank cash/etc... Oh and maybe 5k in my 2 year olds college fund account.

If we were both laid off we have a good 3-5 years if you include unemployment. Even longer if we sold the house, our only true large bill.

Some people don't blow their cash as soon as they get it, have $100+ month cable bills, $100+ cell phone plans, car payment, etc...
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Sigh... I really hate to see what your lives are really like outside of making shit up on the internet. What a sad existence.
Click to expand...

Realize you're not going to get a true sampling in a thread like this. Do you think a poster in a shitty financial situation is going to air that info out? 9 times out of 10, probably not. It's somewhat embarrassing.

As for myself, I could live off just my savings account for 4-5 months.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
ATOT is so ahead of the curve. While the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck ATOT has 5 years worth of cash stashed away and that's not even tapping into the 401k that's been maxed out since they started their 250k a year job they've had since the day they left college.

Sigh... I really hate to see what your lives are really like outside of making shit up on the internet. What a sad existence.
Click to expand...

QFT
 
A couple years, maybe more if we started selling assets.

Our income was slashed by 80% when I was forced to retire and my wife became disabled. We really learned to live lean. Things are a little better now that the wife received a disability judgement against an insurance company, but during the year and a half it took to get it, it was a learning experience in how to budget.
 
/14 YO ATOT Basement Dweller/: about 33 years without a change in lifestyle /14 YO ATOT Basement Dweller/

And, my $0.02:
I really have no idea.
Still able to work, could survive on Min. wage. (Security Guard at McDonalds?)
No debts, no auto payments, no house payments. (2 autos, one is 13 YO, other is 15 YO, both serve all our purposes).
Only monthly utilities, Elec., water, trash, Dish Network & DSL, auto & Life insurance.
Farm is not yet showing a profit, but should in another 1-1/2- 2 years.
Both of us have savings, no idea what wife has since buying me this farm, but she doesn't seem worried.

Of course I would have to curtail my addiction to cheap laptops & farm equipment, but I could live with that.

Edit:
Monthly Income (Retirement): $2417 Mo.
Wife: ~$1400 Mo.
 
Last edited:
Being very frugal, I could probably last a year without a job. Would last much longer if I moved in with the 'rents
 
pcgeek11 said:
Just that IMO very few people (as in nearly zero) have enough liquid assets to pay for ALL of their current expenses and could live just as they do with no change in their present lifestyle.

Everyone has diffent expenses, How much cash would it take for you to live just as you do right now for three or 4 years. Give me a number.
Click to expand...

I only need 4k/month or 48k a year. That would be 200k for 4 years.

I can guarantee you plenty of posters in this thread have that much and more and you will as well if you're young and you save. You can tell in the way they calculate how much they need to live regarding retirement, they've already run the numbers.
 
Last edited:
About 2 years if I don't change anything. But if i tighten the belt (I have an expensive car, large mortgage, etc) then I could probably make it last much longer.
 
With no lifestyle changes, probably about 6-7 months. I figure I average spending $3k/month for necessities and purely discretionary spending.
This would also be only touching my purely liquid assets and no touching retirement funds or running up credit cards.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
ATOT is so ahead of the curve. While the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck ATOT has 5 years worth of cash stashed away and that's not even tapping into the 401k that's been maxed out since they started their 250k a year job they've had since the day they left college.

Sigh... I really hate to see what your lives are really like outside of making shit up on the internet. What a sad existence.
Click to expand...

Quite frankly i would rather have my father and grandparents back. I make decent money, and spend wisely. Its not hard to bank 2K per month. That lets you max a IRA out for a year and still have money to put into retirement/savings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top