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Do you guys know of any good personal finance podcasts? I like Dave Ramsey but I don't appreciate his political rants.
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May 20, 2010 07:08
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Has anyone used You Need A Budget before? Any thoughts? Would be nice to use software instead of my own spreadsheet all the time.
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Aug 26, 2010 08:53
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My wife just got a new job, with set hours and pay, and so I updated my budget as a result. Any advice? I'm 23 and she's 26. Income (Weekly, after tax): Me: 684 Wife: 570 Tithe - 125 Savings - 275 Groceries - 100 Rent - 286 Health Insurance - 23.5 Car Insurance - 22.5 Internet - 22.5 Utilities (Water/Electricity/Gas) - 35 (this is often over budgeted and I end up with money leftover at the end of the quarter) Mobile phones - $34.5 (kind of high, but we both have iPhones and we're actually getting very good deals) Auto Repair - 10 Public Transport - 100 Spending money for both - $90 each Sponsoring a child - Whatever's left over, which is about $10 per week. I think the mobile phone bills are a little high, but we're on contract and we're saving 21% of our paycheck each week, and our rent is only 22% of our paycheck as well after tax. I also save $50 of my weekly spending money every week, and money for clothes, haircuts, etc, comes out of that weekly spend. I think we're doing okay, we have no debt and our emergency fund is nearly filled with three-four months' expenses. We've nearly paid off our $8,000 vacation we're taking in April in cash as well. My employer pays into my super each week (9% of my salary). I don't believe I've missed anything but if anyone can point anything out it'd be appreciated.
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Sep 8, 2010 04:34
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waffle posted:Those are per week figures, so he pays $1150/mo on rent. Yeah, $180 is a little high, but that's also split between two people so we only have $90 each week. In my defense, I think it's justified because the cost of living in Australia is higher than it is in the States...a movie ticket costs $17, for instance. But you're right, it is a good area for savings. I save $50 of mine each week and my wife usually socks a little bit of hers away, so it's a good area to target for further savings. Thanks  The $275 in "savings" each week is currently going towards maximising our emergency fund, which will be finished by the end of the year. That's in an ING savings account. After we finish that up, we'll start savings towards a deposit on a house, which will also be in an ING account. The interest rate is currently set at 4.9%.
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Sep 8, 2010 23:33
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I posted this in the budget thread, but I'm afraid it may get missed so I'll post it here as well: My wife and I have been budgeting pretty strongly this year, after managing to pay off a small debt to my parents last March or so. We bring in about $AU75k a year combined. As of right now, we have: four months put away in expenses. Only four months because the job market is incredibly good where I am, we can survive on one salary and it would be very easy to get a temp. job very quickly. We also have $1,000 in a separate emergency fund. We budget to the penny and after getting kicked in the rear end by some goons last year, I've managed to create budgets for ongoing expenses such as car repairs, etc. So we're all set. I've projected that by the end of this year, we'll have saved up just over $20,000, if all goes to plan. My question is - what should we do with it? Do we just keep plugging it away? Eventually I'd like to save up over $150k for a house down payment, (housing is extraordinarily expensive in Australia), but I wonder if it's worth investing some of that elsewhere? Just seeking some other opinions. Note: retirement is paid into a super account by my employer, 9% of salary. I could put some extra in there, I suppose.
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Jan 12, 2011 04:56
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moana posted:Not sure if things are much different in Australia, but check out the house buying megathread for possible places to store the down payment. Usually you'll want to keep it in a lower-risk place. Your retirement is probably mostly in equities, which is very risky if you want to pull the money out within a few years. Other options include bonds, money market accounts, CDs, high-interest savings accounts... I was very conservative with my down payment and just kept it in a mix of a money market fund and CDs. Great, thanks!
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Jan 12, 2011 06:15
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Okay, so I'm 23, my wife is 26 and we've been married nearly two years. We paid off a pretty minor debt early last year and have been saving since then. Only problem is, things just keep coming up that prevent us from getting the savings goals I really want. Not calculated expnses, but out-of-the-blue events. As of right now, we have a $1,000 emergency fund for quick emergencies, along with another long-term emergency fund that is stocked with two months' worth of expenses. (Unemployment is 4.9%, easy to find quick work if I were laid off - not going to happen in Australia right now). Apart from putting money aside for maintenance, putting more money in the emergency fund every month, budgeting for yearly expenses such as car registration, etc, I feel like there are just things that prevent us from getting further in our savings. Case in point: cousin getting married, fork out $800 for plane tickets, and so on. Right now we only have $600 in my desginated "long term savings" account, and by the end of the year we'll have over $6,000 in it by my count. We earn $5,200 a month combined after tax. Roughly 17% of my pay is going to different types of savings accounts, but only 14% of my pay is going into that "long term savings" account. Sure, I'll have $6,000 by the end of the year, but I just thought at 23 years old I would have more money to my name. Should I be stepping up on savings here?
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May 18, 2011 15:05
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Chin Strap posted:You need to be looking at what it is you are actually spending from month to month. You clearly have some leaks that you don't know about. You need a budget. Post a breakdown of your spending for the last month or two, and we can see what is out of whack. Sorry, I should have been clearer - I already have a detailed budget and i know exactly what im spending money on. My issue is just that i thought i would have more cash at 23 years old. This isnt a month to month thing...its that ill get to a point and then, poo poo, now i need to spend 500 dollars on new tires, or whatever. I have the money, it just takes me back a bit. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 18, 2011 20:44
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My wife and I earn $1,300 per week combined and we are saving 22% of that into general savings accounts for a future deposit on a home, continuing to boost our emergency fund and a little account for a holiday as well. Is that generally a good amount to save? This is in Australia, so superannuation is our retirement, don't need to worry about that. A few people at work seemed surprised that I was only saving 22%, saying they save like 40%. I always thought 10-15% was generally a good savings rate, but now I'm not so sure. There's not much more from my budget that I can cut.
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Aug 2, 2011 05:11
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Thanks! Just wanted to know if I was off the mark, as I thought as I was doing okay. Seems that I was right. Thanks for the reassurance.
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Aug 2, 2011 07:32
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I've been thinking about making a purchase but I just want to check if it's the right decision. My wife and I make good money - nearly six figures combined. Currently we have about $14,000 in savings, no debt, not mortgage. Aged 25 and 28, no children. Save 30% of our paycheck every week. I've been thinking about buying a MacBook. The cheapest model, which is $1,100 in Australia. I've been saving up for it with the "allowance" my wife and I give ourselves every week. I do some freelancing work, (I'm a writer), and I'm expecting a payment of $750 in the first week of September. It's guaranteed pay - I've finished the story and know 100% it's coming. Tomorrow, a big department store is having a sale - 10% off all Mac computers. I was planning on taking some money out of my savings account, buying the laptop, and then replacing that money with the paycheck in early September. My justification is that it's a good discount, and I was going to buy one anyway. Is this a stupid decision? We live in Australia, so there are no major health scares coming that I'll have to pay for, my job is completely stable, (so is my wife's), and I think the fact we have good savings and no debt should help out. Is it worth it waiting another six weeks, and just pay the extra $110? Or is the discount an opportunity that should be taken? I'm leaning towards taking it but reading BFC for so long has made me scared about any large purchases 
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Jul 24, 2012 12:22
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Cool! Thanks for the advice guys, I feel better about it now. kaishek posted:buy me a macbook. buy two macbooks and bury one as a spare. buy an extra and keep it outside playing a video of a mongoose to distract poisonous snakes. We can, but our financial year just ended and the laptop would be seen as a capital expense. As a result, I can deduct the depreciation but not write it off completely - but it won't happen until June next year. Poisonous snakes
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Jul 25, 2012 02:48
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How much money is good enough to have in savings for someone my age? I am 25 years old. My wife is 28. Together, we make $112,000 a year, but have only been making that much in the past year. We have no debt. No consumer debt, no student debt. Nothing. Our jobs are secure. (Cannot foresee being fired any time soon). Unexpected expenses wise: 1. We live in Australia, so no risk of large medical bills. 2. Our car is 10 years old and has been given a clean bill of health, and only has 46,000 miles. We repair it regularly. 3. We are saving more than 30% of our income every week. 4. No kids. Possibly in the next two years. We are able to live off my income alone. Currently, we have $17,000 in our savings accounts, and $18,000 in our superannuation. (Australian retirement fund system). By the end of the year, I have us targeted to have $33,000 in our savings accounts. That means we'll be 26, and 29, with no debt, and $33,000. I keep thinking that this is just too low, that we're so far behind. I see people on this forum talking about having like $50, $60, or $70,000 and they're younger than I am! Am I doing something wrong? My budget is airtight, there's nothing more we can really cut out of it. I mean we splurge here and there but definitely nothing crazy, we save more than 30% and our housing costs are only 22%. Unfortunately recently we've had to spend money on a few necessary things, (doctors appointments, a couple of fines). I look at that $17,000 figure and it makes me nervous. But I don't know whether that's just me being anal. What do you all think? (I should add we started the year with $12,000, so our net worth is going up, at least). CelestialScribe fucked around with this message at 07:49 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 24, 2013 07:45
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That's 112k before tax, I should say. Net income is just over 88,000. So I was actually wrong, I'm saving about 35% of that. Roughly. The numbers are off because I'm not in front of my budget right now but that's about right. I keep looking for places to save money, but it's difficult. Rent is high here and groceries are too. We don't eat out at all. I'm just worries that amount I have targeted is too small, is all. I keep comparing myself to all the younguns here who have much more cash than I seem to! CelestialScribe fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 24, 2013 09:16
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Omgbees posted:I think you are being anal unless you are saving for a house (not sure if you own or rent from your post) Really if you can get to 20k in savings you have enough on hand to replace your car if something catastrophic happened to it. Other than that what are you saving for? Nothing! I never plan to buy a house, ever, so I'm just saving to save!
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Apr 26, 2013 02:54
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I'm very strict with our money and we have a great budget, but sometimes you just have to say "gently caress it" and abandon the frugal lifestyle for a few minutes. My wife had a miscarriage last week and we were pretty down in the dumps. So we went to the mall and bought new bath towels and accessories because why not? Spent like $80 and we can still save $320 for the week, so I'm not upset about it. Clearly it's not a replacement for therapy and we will seek counselling but as a momentary pleasure I don't see the harm. Sometimes, as long as you're living within your means and not going into debt, splurging is okay. Or maybe I'm just kidding myself, I don't know!
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Jul 16, 2013 01:19
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One thing after another, it seems. After a lovely month in which my wife had a miscarriage and we spent about $600 on doctor's bills, my wife's grandmother dies. We live in Australia, and her grandmother - the last remaining grandparent - lived in Ohio. So the funeral is on Saturday. We're paying $2200 for last-minute flights. Not a huge deal, we definitely have the money and we're still stocked with a good emergency fund. I just hate losing cash.
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Aug 13, 2013 00:29
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FrozenVent posted:You've probably taken advantage of it, but I think many airlines will give you a duress discount on a last minute flight if you can show a death certificate or something like that. Oh really? Interesting, I should check that out. I shouldn't complain, this is an expense we have to pay, and it's a serious matter. I guess I'm just glad we've saved enough money to prepare for this sort of stuff.
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Aug 13, 2013 00:48
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Scratch that - found a better deal at just $1,311. Hooray!
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Aug 13, 2013 03:19
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Is $100,000 really necessary in retirement by the time you're 30? I'm 26 and I only have $25,000 :\
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Aug 29, 2013 22:59
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Ah, okay. I'm planning to put more in and I don't plan on retiring until I'm at least 67, so I think I'm doing okay. Just got freaked out for a second!
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Aug 30, 2013 00:13
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Does an emergency fund size depend on the country? We have free health care in Aus for instance...should my emergency fund be smaller because of that? Three months instead of six, etc?
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Oct 30, 2013 04:32
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I have no debt. I have a six month emergency fund. My wife and I spend less than we earn. We have money funded for car repairs, etc. We're doing very well. So why do I feel uneasy when I look at the 30k in our bank account? If that's enough to keep us safe, why am I worrying? At this point, I'm not sure how I'd cut down our spending anymore. Logically, I know we're doing well. But I keep comparing myself to people my age (26) who have 50, 60, 70k, etc. If I have enough, why should it matter?
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Nov 22, 2013 04:05
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I am kinda risk intolerant. Having that cash there is a bit of a security blanket and I'm hesitant to look into anything else. Maybe I should speak to a financial planner? And my expenses are below 5k but yeah my wife and I earn over six figures combined.
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Nov 22, 2013 06:08
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Hmm. Definitely not the advice I expected to hear, but useful all the same. Maybe I should check out some therapy or counselling. Couldn't hurt, right? Thanks (By the way, wrt to retirement savings, we have employer-mandated contributions to retirement accounts at 9.25% of salary. Currently we have just over $33,000 saved in that regard).
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Nov 22, 2013 17:05
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I have 11. Works for me.
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Dec 3, 2013 21:00
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So I have a good five month unemployment fund saved up. I'd like to stick it somewhere other than my savings account in order to keep it growing. Is something like a Vanguard account a good option? I want something relatively low risk.
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Jul 6, 2014 01:25
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Why should being paid monthly change anything?
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Aug 4, 2014 12:30
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Gotchya.
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Aug 4, 2014 12:47
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Make your commute work for you. I take a train and manage to do freelance work or other stuff while sitting, rather than just listening to music or w/e.
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Aug 7, 2014 23:45
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My wife is 30, I'm 27. We just had our first and only kid. Always time to save and buy a house. Having a kid is the one thing that'll get tougher as you get older. Kids don't care if you're renting or buying, they care if they have loving parents and feel safe. I'm okay with saving until I'm 50 and then buying a house. I'd rather not stretch my budget. (I live in Australia where young people who don't know better put 75% of their pay into mortgage repayments and no one can afford a house by themselves).
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Aug 9, 2014 22:44
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Hey. Some background: I am Australian, 27 years old. My wife is 30, now a stay-at-home mother with our two-month old. I am the sole worker and will be for the foreseeable future. I earn $80,000 a year, about $1050 a week after tax, with extra from freelancing. (About $5-10k a year). We are completely debt free. I have a six-month emergency fund. Our budget is as tight as we can get it, so we’re roughly saving around 20-25%. We rent. My question is, I’m at a point now where we are budgeting really well, all our emergencies and expenses are covered and then same. I have lots of money to play with. What do I do with it? We’re never going to buy a house, (a deposit in Australia is upwards of $60k and that will take forever). I want to do something with it in the mean time. But what? I’ve been considering going into shares and doing some small trades. But is there something better I can be doing? I’ve looked mutual funds but the returns aren’t particularly great. Then again, they’re safer. I’m not sure if I can receive Australia-specific advice here, but what should I be doing? I should add 9.5% of my salary is put into a retirement account by my employer. We have about $40,000 between us combined in superannuation.
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Aug 21, 2014 02:49
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I'v finally paid off the last of my student loans. I have absolutely no debt whatsoever. Feels loving awesome. Except for yesterday, when I paid $700 to repair a broken coolant gasket on my car. But it's amazing how much this type of thing turns into an annoyance rather than a downright catastrophe. I'm *annoyed* that I don't have that money. I'm not panicking or losing sleep over it.
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Jul 22, 2015 00:41
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I feel like I hosed up. But I probably haven't. So, some context. Last year my wife stopped working and is now a stay at home mother. She plans to stay that way until he starts school - so about another four years. Our income obviously went down from about $150,000 a year combined to about $100,000. This year, we made some huge milestones. I finally got rid of student debts. I started contributing $200 a month re-tax to my superannuation, (I'm in Australia). Combined, we have $48,000 in superannuation - I am 28 and my wife is 31. I feel like this is putting us well on track. (For those who don't know, my employer must put an additional 9.5% on top of my take-home pay into my superannuation. This with my $200 a month means I'm adding about 12.5% to superannuation every month). But because I paid off my student debt, and we're now free of debt of any kind, we went a little crazy with the spending these past few months. It's not huge, we have a six-month emergency fund, (around $17,000), and we're able to budget for ongoing expenses such as car repair, etc. But I planned to finish the year with $10,000 towards a house deposit on top of all our other savings. I'm only going to end up with $4,000 :\ It's stupid poo poo too. We've gone out for little weekend trips, bought a sound system we always wanted, etc. Maybe it's the years of the harsh commentary on this forum that have gotten to me, but I feel like a loving failure. On the other hand, we save 22% of our income every week, and after a four month break of buying my lunch every day I'm not making them again, so I'm putting us back on track. At the end of the year our net worth will be over $80,000. I don't know, I just look at everyone on this forum and feel like I'm so far behind. Part of the problem is that my wife's family lives overseas, and no matter what they *will* not fly to Australia. So we've had to spend thousands of dollars over the past six years going to visit family and poo poo. But maybe that's just an excuse. Is it too late at 28/31 to start accumulating more wealth? I just want to be further ahead than where I am. CelestialScribe fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Aug 10, 2015 |
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Aug 10, 2015 06:45
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moana posted:You sound like you're doing fine. This forum is full of people who love to chat about personal finance, of course we're going to be skewed higher when it comes to savings. Do you have a goal like FI that you're working towards? For most people, saving 20% is plenty as long as they plan on working for a while. If you wanted to retire in ten years, you'd need to do more, of course. Yeah my goal is 100,000 towards a house on eight years. And I'm on track for that. Maybe I just needed a little perspective!
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Aug 10, 2015 21:20
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So here’s the deal. Background: I take in $85,000 a year, with another $20,000 or so in freelancing. My wife doesn’t work. (Stay at home Mum). We have no debt and a six month emergency fund, by the end of the year we’ll have about $5,000 towards a down payment on a house. (This is alongside ongoing savings for things like Christmas, car repair, car registration, etc). I’m 28, my wife is 31. The logical thing to do now is to save up for a downpayment on a house. But here’s the thing – a 20% deposit in my area is about $80,000. It’s going to take me about eight years to save up that much money. (We would save more, but we have to visit family in America regularly as they won’t come here. Those trips suck up money like nothing else). Plus, even when we do get to the point where we have a 20% deposit, we’re never going to be in a situation where a mortgage repayment is less than 25% of my take-home pay. So…I’m at the point now where I’m seriously considering *never* buying a house. But I just don’t know what to do. What is my strategy apart from that? Do I just pump everything into my superannuation, (401k equivalent), or some other types of investing? Is there an opportunity for own a house here that I’m missing? Is it dangerous for me to never buy a house? I guess I’m looking for some direction as to what to do next with my money. I have no direction!
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Sep 18, 2015 02:17
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Yeah I'm definitely learning towards renting forever, but I guess the question, what else do I do with the money?
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Sep 18, 2015 02:36
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Duckman2008 posted:Hookers and blow. I guess I want to put the money to work, if I'd otherwise be putting it in a house. (I know property value doesn't always rise, etc).
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Sep 18, 2015 02:45
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Hmm. So what I'm thinking I'm going to do is this: - Up my contributions to my superannuation. (Currently my employer pays the equivalent of 9.5% of my salary in there, and I pay another 3%. I'm going to up that to 15% total). - Erase house deposit savings from my line-item budget. Instead, start saving towards investing in various forms. I may start with a Vanguard mutual fund. - Put any freelancing I get towards a house deposit, which means that I'm still saving that money and it's earmarked for a house, but I won't be bothered by the fluctuation in income as I don't care when we buy a house at all. Any thoughts?
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Sep 18, 2015 04:11
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Devian666 posted:If you can add a before tax contribution that would be best as you get the returns on tax free money. There is a post tax contribution from the government but it is limited to $500 per year similar to kiwisaver. The general recommendation is contribute tax free or up to the limit of government contributions. Just remember all that money is locked away. Great, thanks! Re: before-tax contribution, my superannuation contributions are all before tax dollars. I salary sacrifice through my employer.
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Sep 18, 2015 04:54
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