In reply to Duke :
Yeah... it seems like the expert rules of digits are out there to make you feel like you aren't doing enough. I've been maxing out my 401k contributions for much of my working life and I'm not sure if I had 3x my salary at 40, although that was shortly after the "great recession" market crash. After just reviewing my Q2 statement, I was reminded of one benefit of staying at the same company for almost 20 years - the longer you stay, the higher the matching percentage.
If that rule was "retirement accounts" or "investments" I'd be ok. Strick 401k? Nope... recent divorce took a big chunk out of there 
ProDarwin said:If that rule was "retirement accounts" or "investments" I'd be ok. Strick 401k? Nope... recent divorce took a big chunk out of there
That is what put me behind 5 years ago, divorce, 2 layoffs and multiple moves with in about 8 months of each other I'm just now getting back to a point, where all the debt I needed to take on (outside the mortgage) will all be paid off and I can really start hammering my 401k and take advantage of the ESPP, that gives a 5% discount at the end of each period.
Mazdax605 said:Why don't they have a class in HS for this sort of stuff? Any advice?
Our Provincial government just announced that they'll be doing exactly that starting in elementary school, and the unions and teachers are crying foul like we took away their summer vacation. It's about time. I never understood why one of the most important things in our lives is not taught in school.
Update:
It's a month later, and I still don't know what I'm doing. Our oldest son has now officially graduated though. Now to get his license, and a job. Slacker!!
Every time this thead comes up I chuckle.
Because, no, no clue. I say berkeley-it alot and do what I want.
I am quickly learning that I shouldn't be unsupervised. I've bought way too many T-shirts the past few weeks.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Financial "experts" seem to say paying off a mortgage early isn't the best use of one's money, but doing so provides a sense of security that is hard to put a monetary value on.
Regardless, being financially secure doesn't necessarily make someone happy. For berk's sake I'm proof of that...
As the old saying goes...
"Money can't buy happiness but poverty sucks"
RX Reven' said:As the old saying goes...
"Money can't buy happiness but poverty sucks"
Or my version:
"Money may not buy happiness, but it can make misery more tolerable."
...at least until it doesn't.
Money can't buy happiness, but you can park right next to it in your Prevost motor home/luxury yacht/Gulfstream jet.
Or, more to the point, money doesn't mean the end of trouble, but it does mean the end of the stuff that keeps me awake at night right now.
But, since I know myself quite well, I'm confident those worries will be replaced by newer, better ones.
"Money may not buy happiness, but it rents it for a while"
Streetwiseguy said:Money can't buy happiness, but you can park right next to it in your Prevost motor home/luxury yacht/Gulfstream jet.
I park mine next to my Dodge Class C motorhome and my ratty Bayliner. I heard you can build a kitplane for cheap.
I'd rather be miserable and rich than miserable and broke.
I've just hit 40, and I'm not sure I could even "teen" right now, let alone "adult." However, I have learned just enough to know that those who have all the answers aren't asking the right questions.
Your best bet is to find as many role models/mentors/people who have their poop together, and average them out. This board is a great start, since people who have enough money to do stupid stuff with cars (repeatedly)are well above average in terms of fiscal competency. No one other person is going have the perfect path for you to follow, but several bright folks can give you an idea if you are heading in the right direction.
Our credit union is offering 20 year fixed rate mortgages at:
2.375%-2.125 points-2.718%APR
2.500%-0.875 points-2.704% APR
2.625%-0.000 points-2.732% APR
We're at 12.5 years or so remaining on a 25 year 3.5% mortgage, and would like to do a bunch of updates/repairs on the house.
preach said:Every time this thead comes up I chuckle.
Because, no, no clue. I say berkeley-it alot and do what I want.
Glad I can give you a chuckle. I honestly thought when I was a kid that adults had it figured out, but now that I'm an "adult" I am pretty lost. Apparently I'm not alone in those feelings.
Today is our oldest sons 18th birthday. Now I am really feeling lost. How can I have an adult "kid" when I'm not an adult?
In reply to Mazdax605 :
My two oldest kids move to college this week. They were a year apart in school and the younger one graduated a year early. So half my kids are leaving the nest within 24 hours. And honestly, the overwhelming majority of my adult life has been spent taking care of them. I've still got two at home for a few more years, but it occurs to me that I have no idea how to adult in a way that doesn't revolve around taking care of children. The last one should leave when I'm 50. That leaves me a berkeley ton of time to just worry about me/Mrs. Deuce and that's terrifying.
GameboyRMH said:and a 4th guy will trade a slightly used sex toy for some Bitcoin at the right moment and be 10x richer than the first guy
funny thing, i was talking to a kid (under 30, i'm 53) at work the other day, i said something about only working for money and he said "i was mining bitcoin back in the day, sold a big chunk of it about 10% from the peak, now i work for fun." i asked for a dollar amount and he said ballpark $1.5M. berkeleyer.
NOT A TA said:Even when we think we know what we're doing and have a plan of some sort things may not work out. I've given up for this lifetime. Almost everything I worked for, saved, tried to keep, protect, insure, etc. gets taken away by someone or some company. Oh ya, and Wells Fargo sucks, don't do business with them.
it still kills me to think of how badly you got horse-berkeleyed by that situation. and i admire how you've made the best of it, and i appreciate the knowledge you've dropped on us in this forum. i imagine you saying 'E36 M3 sandwich? pass the frank's red hot!"
mtn (Forum Supporter) said:This is getting away from the question of do we know WTF we're doing, but here are two simple phrases that should NOT be a source of shame, and should be said when necessary:
- I cannot afford it
- It isn't in the budget
when i was a kid and asked for something not directly related to the expenses of keeping me alive / fed / clothed / educated, my parents used to say "we don't have money for that". i recognized the importance of the words "for that" when talking to my kids about why we dont' get a slurpee every time we drive by a 7-11 in the 5-series.
I guess I'm the outlier, but I am also at the weird age (32) where I've been an adult long enough to feel like I have the hang of it, but I am also still too green to know what I don't know. I could very well be a Sophomore (SOFisticated MORon), but I think one thing that has served me well so far is recognizing that schools DO teach you finance, but it was hidden in the examples in math class. You were taught interest, exponential growth, all of that but maybe the teacher didn't explain the practical link to real life. Many teachers fall into that "you have a calculator, so you'll never need this, but learn it for the test" crap and screw the kids up for life with it. Heck, I remember balancing an imaginary checkbook in math class to practice addition and subtraction as part of the curriculum.
Math is everywhere though - your speedometer is showing the first derivative of position. Calculus. Doing your finances is simply addition and subtraction, but too many people have been taught to fear numbers rather than embrace the fact that they represent literally everything.
My wife and I went to a timeshare pitch several years ago because we were promised $500 for attending. At the end, the lady was getting extremely pushy and called over her supervisor to give us a "great deal". The breakdown was simply pay $xx,xxx or so many payments of $yyy. I did the math in my head and used the "rule of 72" (divide 72 by 100x the interest to see how long it takes the principle to double) to figure out that they were charging around 17% interest on this plan. I called her out on it since the breakdown didn't even have anything about interest written out anywhere on purpose. She got mad, and said "no it isn't!" to which her supervisor sheepishly nodded his head in agreement with me. She went white - she has two of these said plans and just then realized how badly she had been berkleyed.
Mazdax605 said:Today is our oldest sons 18th birthday. Now I am really feeling lost. How can I have an adult "kid" when I'm not an adult?
I've seen more instances than I should where the child is the adult in the house.
In reply to cyow5 :
Did you get your $500?
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