Quick poll about saving for retirement
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Anonymous
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How much should a family (two parents in early 40's, one child 9-years old) take home pay of $90,000 be putting % towards retirement. Very low mortgage, only other debt is about 12K in a 3.5% loan. There is a 529 for the child but only to pay for 1 year of tuition. Currently it is about 31%, 20% is from income of $65k, 11% is from $25K. Been saving for 15 years, started at about 15%. Only about 3k in cash savings. Not in the DC area.
I feel like we never have any money for things our friends do that make about the same or even $30K less with larger housing costs. Things like vacations, bigger houses, working less.....We do waste a lot of money eating out, maybe $250 a month, but not doing much else like movies or expensive hair cuts. We mostly use a debit card or a credit card paid off each month. I don't know how much they put towards savings or their debt levels other than housing costs. Just feels like we are working but not enjoying it now and not sure there will be enough when we retire to make it worth it. Thanks for any insight. |
Anonymous
| In our 20s, we both put down 10%. I would think in your 40s you should be maxing out your 401k contribution. So about $17,500. |
Anonymous
so that would be $17,500 each. which means putting more into retirement? How do other people do it, is it like the commercial with the guy mowing his lawn talking about all the stuff he has & is "in debt up to his eyeballs" It makes me feel poor. |
Anonymous
It's not 31%, it's 17.5% of your income. Although, that is still good. More importantly what are the balances in your accounts right now? |
Anonymous
That does put it in a different light. I knew it wasn't really 31% because of the different income levels but had never figured out the true amount. Guess the harsh light of reality..... It is about 175,000 in retirement. That doesn't seem like much. My time on DCUM has defleated my economic self-worth. I now realize I am much poorer than I thought I was. |
Anonymous
Don't be dejected. 90K outside of DC and big metro is a huge amount of money. It is doable to save for retirement etc., but first track every single penny you make and spend everyday for 2 months. Then find out how you can cut costs. Are you subscribing to tons of magazines? Starbuck? Expensive lawn service? Do you not pack your lunch? Expensive cable, wifi, phone etc? Library fines? Gym membership? Trust me, you can cut costs and still live a great life. You just need to know where these costs are. Once you have the cash, there are tons of resources to tell you where you should put that money. At any age - make sure you put enough in your 401K so you can get the full matching contribution of your employer. |
Anonymous
Buck up. My stats are similar and we only have $50k. See ya in the cat food aisle. |
Anonymous
That is part of the problem, it doesn't seem like we spend money on that sort of stuff. Only two would be $20 a week on lunch out and cable/wifi of about $118. Everyone that knows me jokes about how cheap I am (including me). I'll take your advice and totally track our spending, easy since 95% is on the debit card. There must be something I've been missing or overlooking. I just don't see how other people do it. It doesn't seem like we should have to be pinching every penny. |
Anonymous
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Wait, your take home is $90k? Or your gross income is $90k?
I ask because usually your 401K contributions are coming out pre-tax, so you wouldn't be stating your contributions as a percentage of take home pay, you'd be giving it as a percentage of your gross pay. |
Anonymous
Take home pay is 90K. |
Anonymous
No, I'm a little off take home is more like 84K this year. My husband had less overtime than in years past. |
Anonymous
| What is your gross income? |