Anyone live below their means?

[Anonymous]

OP, don't you mean to ask whether anyone is living frugally despite a sufficient income? I view myself as living below my means because I save 10% of my six-figure salary in addition to saving for retirement and college. In my view, it is fine for me to spend what's left after taxes and bills. Some of the time I put the money towards sensible things, such as car maintenance or home improvement, and some of the time I put it towards frivolous things, like a handbag.

[Anonymous]

Always have and hopefully always will. Keep doing what you are doing and boost savings, retirement, investments, etc. and you will be in a good position if the unexpected happens. And if life goes along smoothly, you will be well-placed when you want to change to a less-demanding, lower paying job or retire earlier than most. It's a smart thing to to and you shouldn't feel compelled to spend more money just because you have it. Congrats on being fiscally responsible. It's a great discipline.

[Anonymous]

I'm not. We have a fairly high mortgage. I'm maxed out on my 401(k), have college savings plans for my twins. My husband contributes to his 401(k), and is also starting college savings plans too. He contributes $ to savings, I don't. All my money is spent on the kids - formula/diapers/wipes. I can't save at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not. We have a fairly high mortgage. I'm maxed out on my 401(k), have college savings plans for my twins. My husband contributes to his 401(k), and is also starting college savings plans too. He contributes $ to savings, I don't. All my money is spent on the kids - formula/diapers/wipes. I can't save at all.

Actually, PP, you are. Paying down a mortgage, maxing out on 401(k)s, and contributing towards college savings plans ARE all forms of saving.

[Anonymous]

OP, maybe you could *mostly* keep doing what you're doing but let yourself splurge a little in an area where you'll really notice?

I am a girl who appreciates a nice car. And I keep my cars a long time - my current car is from 2003 and has 90K miles on it and I hope to keep it until 2014. But I didn't buy the bare-bones model for $15K; I bought the $26K car that I really liked. I will probably do the same thing in a couple of years - spend a little more on something I feel good about driving for the next 10 years or so. Other than that, I'm pretty sensible.

Or get a monthly massage if it'll make you feel good. Or spend a little more on your furniture if it's something that will make you feel good, but otherwise keep living pretty frugally.

[Anonymous]

To PP 1:43, thanks! That makes me feel better! I feel bad because I'm not putting anything into a savings acct., although my husband does. But I put more into my 401(k), and more into the 529 plans, than he does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To PP 1:43, thanks! That makes me feel better! I feel bad because I'm not putting anything into a savings acct., although my husband does. But I put more into my 401(k), and more into the 529 plans, than he does.

You are doing very well, OP. Pat yourself on the back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To PP 1:43, thanks! That makes me feel better! I feel bad because I'm not putting anything into a savings acct., although my husband does. But I put more into my 401(k), and more into the 529 plans, than he does.

You are doing very well, OP. Pat yourself on the back.

Oops, I meant PP, not OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will buy you freedom later. I am 50, making 3x as much, and I see the 25 yr olds in my office buying stuff that I don't buy myself (lunch out, pricey coffees 2x a day, new smartphones). If they just banked that they would be sooooo glad later. I don't say much/anything (old nag rag bag down the hall) but they just can't see it or stop themselves I guess.

Stfu you got lucky and benefited from the housing boom of 2000 to present. The main cost is a place to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will buy you freedom later. I am 50, making 3x as much, and I see the 25 yr olds in my office buying stuff that I don't buy myself (lunch out, pricey coffees 2x a day, new smartphones). If they just banked that they would be sooooo glad later. I don't say much/anything (old nag rag bag down the hall) but they just can't see it or stop themselves I guess.

Stfu you got lucky and benefited from the housing boom of 2000 to present. The main cost is a place to live.

You win the non sequitur award of the day.

[Anonymous]

I had to laugh at the PP who lived below his/her means, saving 130k a year--on a 400k/year salary! How frugal one is, and how easy it is to ilve below the means also depends on what one's income is--one could still eat out frequently, take vacations, have nice cars andgenerally not scrimp while living 'below ones means" if one made tons of money!
at any rate, in my late 20s/early 30s, I made in in DC on 40k a year--put a bit away in retirement and built a small nest egg for rainy day/downpayment. Now, I make just about twice that, as does DH, but we have 3 kids and life is crazy expensive. So, no, we don't live below our means. We are just barely making it==we have enough to pay for daycare, car payment, mortgage, transportation, gas, food, medical bills, insurance, 401k (not at the max) and one trip a year to see family. But when unexpected things happen--like needing a major house repair, or car repair, etc--we struggle. And we are not saving for college yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to laugh at the PP who lived below his/her means, saving 130k a year--on a 400k/year salary! How frugal one is, and how easy it is to ilve below the means also depends on what one's income is--one could still eat out frequently, take vacations, have nice cars andgenerally not scrimp while living 'below ones means" if one made tons of money!
at any rate, in my late 20s/early 30s, I made in in DC on 40k a year--put a bit away in retirement and built a small nest egg for rainy day/downpayment. Now, I make just about twice that, as does DH, but we have 3 kids and life is crazy expensive. So, no, we don't live below our means. We are just barely making it==we have enough to pay for daycare, car payment, mortgage, transportation, gas, food, medical bills, insurance, 401k (not at the max) and one trip a year to see family. But when unexpected things happen--like needing a major house repair, or car repair, etc--we struggle. And we are not saving for college yet.

Not PP but have to laugh at people like you who say they "are just making it" on six figures when they have three kids but are able to afford a home, cars, an annual trip and put some money away for retirement but can't budget for house or car repairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to laugh at the PP who lived below his/her means, saving 130k a year--on a 400k/year salary! How frugal one is, and how easy it is to ilve below the means also depends on what one's income is--one could still eat out frequently, take vacations, have nice cars andgenerally not scrimp while living 'below ones means" if one made tons of money!
at any rate, in my late 20s/early 30s, I made in in DC on 40k a year--put a bit away in retirement and built a small nest egg for rainy day/downpayment. Now, I make just about twice that, as does DH, but we have 3 kids and life is crazy expensive. So, no, we don't live below our means. We are just barely making it==we have enough to pay for daycare, car payment, mortgage, transportation, gas, food, medical bills, insurance, 401k (not at the max) and one trip a year to see family. But when unexpected things happen--like needing a major house repair, or car repair, etc--we struggle. And we are not saving for college yet.

Would you feel better if I said that instead of saving $130,000 a year, we couldn't save a dime because of all of our debt?

[Anonymous]

OP, in your position it sounds like the smart thing to do is to keep banking money until you hit the stage in your career where you bottom out. If you never hit that point then you will have a nice nest egg for retirement. If you do hit it, you'll have the resources to either ride it out until retirement or make a career change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live below our means so we can fully fund our 401k and make it on one income if ever needed. Its a little less stressful to worry about $

+1

I decided to SAH for four years and financially it was not a problem. It's nice to have a mortgage you can afford on one salary, be able to buy a new car by writing a check, and max out your 401k.