Tell Me Exactly Where Your Money Goes
A friend asked me yesterday to accompany her and her partner on a trip down the Amazon. It is three weeks for just $5,000! What an amazing experience this would be. And I love exotic travel. But my level-headed self prevailed and I turned her down. Why? Because I need to save the money to buy a house. I’m also putting scads of money away for retirement.
When you’re as old as we all are, you often have many large responsibilities/goals/dreams competing for your little pot of income. For example, you may be paying a mortgage, helping your parents, paying for your children’s college tuitions, saving for a project or trip, starting a new business, saving for retirement, paying for psychotherapy, building an addition onto your home, etc., etc.
So I’m wondering: What are the big things YOU are putting your money toward?
March 31st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
You hit the nail on the head….. pay for the house, starting a business, raising a child, AND helping the 92y.o dad
March 31st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
To be honest with you Rhea, i don’t save much at all. My circumstances are a bit out of the ordinary, but even if they were not, i realized two things long ago: without memory, we lose everything; memories are all we have to take with us in the end. I want as many whiz-bang memories as i can possibly get.
March 31st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
We are putting anything extra into being debt free by the time we both completely retire in two years. It’s getting harder as the high gas prices are starting to trickle down to consumers.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:46 pm
3 weeks for 5 grand if you can afford it and it’s something you want to do…would have done it in a heartbeat. We are debt free, live within our means but travel and leisure should be a part of your budget. Ask my daughter the psychiatrist. Doesn’t matter how much money you make or put away, you have to get away or enjoy life.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:41 pm
College
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
We are fortunate in that all 4 parents have good pensions that include insurance, and they have also socked away a considerable amount in case of emergency. This is not to say we might not end up with one or more of them living with us, but with 6 total households between the 4 parents to choose from, I’m pretty sure that given our lack of medical care in the area, we would not be their first choice. That being said, since we chose to have kids after age 40, we’re saving for their college education, and we won’t be able to retire until approximately 15 years after we die.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Retirement, college funds, and guitar gear in that order with retirement getting the most focus. I’m in my fifties and work in technology so I’ve already gone past the expiration date for this industry. It’s been a real motivator to keep investing everything I can ahead of time
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April 3rd, 2008 at 10:32 am
College. We have one graduating this year and the other starting next year, and we are in that place where we have too much money to qualify for loans and grants, but not enough to pay for college without breaking our necks.