How much money do you have saved up?

[Rodimus Prime]

MONEY MARKET? That's like putting it under your bed. So many better places to put it...

If it is with a bank it does get interst and money market funds by definition only grow.. I have a money Market though my credit union and it is FDCU insured (same the one for banks just for credits unions) It has a set interested rate and it can only be positive never negative

 

[sporadicMotion]

I really hope that your thinking isn't coming from the bad stock market these days, because now is a great time to be investing! You won't be pulling out huge profits next week, but over a few years, it's likely that you could walk away with a lot more than you put in.

+1

I have put aside 3k purely for stock purposes. I'm waiting to see what happens in the new year... but I'll be play it no later that mid January. As long as you don't need the money and you're not tossing all your savings in, it's a great idea right now.

 

[sushi]

I was surprised when a friend asked me one time "Why do you save?" when I don't have any loans to pay off. I was like "because I want to have money in the bank and have financial security and prepare for the future". She seemed kinda baffled that all my money wasn't already accounted for in monthly bills and spending on "stuff".

Most people live above their means regardless of income level.

One key to becoming financially independent is to live below your means.

Come live in the epicenter of NYC, L.A., London or Tokyo and let's see how much savings you'll have then

I live in Japan near Tokyo. Everything is definitely expensive.

Does anyone have an online savings account? I want to get one with E-Trade but I don't have any credit...

I have one with HSBC. Works well.

not enough

Too true for most folks me thinks.

I have nothing to worry about it. My parents are saving my money whenever I have some in my pocket I just give it to them and they put it in a bank. I'm very trustworthy of my parents especially my dad who keeps the money very safe and my mom kind of lacks it lol.

You need to learn how to do this. And with parents like this, they should be able to teach and mentor you well.

I think the point made was that if YOU do it, you learn how to do it, how banking works, and develop the responsibility to save money without the involvement of your parents.

Exactly.

I've got an HSBC account; I've been very happy with it for the last 2+ years, except for the interest rate going down, but that is happening to everyone.

Same here. Currently at 3%

I was just thinking about some of the comments on this thread. I feel like some people consider "saving for something" as the same as "saving" money. Just from reading the OP first comment, he said he was "saving, maybe fore a cinema display". To me, that is not saving for the fact of being financially secure. I have separate savings that I'm not allowed to tough, but if I want something, like a new computer, then I would have to set aside a completely separate amount.

Agree. Savings is something that you don't ever touch.

Does anyone have an ING direct orange savings account? I'm looking into that too. How simple is the process of applying and do I have to have credit? Can I sign up if I'm only 17? and I plan on depositing $800 a month for 3 years. Will I earn alot of interest at 3.25% ?

If you put away $800 per month for 3 years at 3.25% you will have $30,289.66 in your account.

So you will have put in $28,800 into your account (36 x 800) and earned $1,489.66 (30,289.66 - 28,000).

Note, the amount earned could be reduced by taxes depending on your situation.

Assuming that the rate stayed at 3.25% and you wanted to maintain your principle (30,289.66), you would draw roughly $81.81 per month.

Excellent post Xfujinon. Americans really do need to learn to save their money and start acting their wage

True.

So many live way above their means.

saving? huh - whats that then?

seriously none - and I am ashamed of myself at 34.

I have made it a new rule to save from day one in my new job (as you never know whats coming around the next corner)

Suggest trying a payroll deduction type system for your savings.

You will not miss it.

Try to make your goal 20-25% of your gross pay. Start out at 1% or higher if possible. Then every 3-6 months increase the percentage until you get to 25%

I am working two jobs already. I also have a mortage and a car payment.

And your point is?

It's individuals like you who drive up interest rates and cause other problems.

Credit card comapnys gotta share some of the blame you know.

No they don't.

It's your fault plain and simple. You need to admit that ... and fix it. Otherwise, after you declare bankruptcy you will be in the same situation in the future.

I'll be forced to pay everything in cash for a few years.

I wish that folks like you who declare bankruptcy because of self induced charges would never be allow to get credit again for anything be it a mortgage, car loan, student loan, etc.

Maybe this time I'll learn my lesson about credit cards. I did the same thing back in 1997 with allot less debt and a crappy car with too many miles and $19,000 owed on it.

Obviously you haven't. And probably will not.

Folks like you who run up credit bills and then declare bankruptcy are a drain on society.

No, credit card companies don't share the blame. Just because you have a high limit doesn't mean you have to use it. I have a Visa with a $10,000 limit and another one with a $4,000 limit. You know how much credit card debt I have? None. Not a single penny. Chase probably hates me because I rack up rewards points and haven't given them a dime in finance charges. It's called personal responsibility.

Agree.

YOU are the reason why the world is in an economic melt down.

Charge charge charge.

Racking up debt that is 3-5x your annual income.

People buying a 500k house when they make 30k.

Everything is bought on credit.

Bestbuy wasn't going to send their thugs afer you if you didn't max your card out every month.

Agree.

yikes, im scared to get a credit card when i turn 18 now. i'll probably just get a gas card to build credit.

Credit cards are fantastic provided that you use them wisely.

BTW, suggest that you do not get a gas card. Instead get a Visa/MC or AMEX card. Then use your credit wisely.

There's nothing wrong with a credit card if you have some common sense.

Agree.

which is why i think an IQ test and a test of a person's general responsibility should be part of every credit card application.

Interesting idea.

people who think "oh, i will just declare bankruptcy" as they charge and charge and charge should be shot.

Agree, but disagree on being shot.

Rather, they should have to serve on a chain gang and do real work to pay off their debt.

I have no money saved, but I don't have any debt, which I suppose still puts me ahead of a lot of people.

Surprisingly, you are ahead of a lot of people.

Not having debt is rare these days.

Of course there is different kind of debt. Some debts are good. But credit card debt is bad with very rare exceptions.

That's why I just use a debit card, I know myself well enough to know that if I had a credit card I would use it when I don't have the funds for it.

I shy away from debit cards since they are directly connected to your checking/savings account.

Rather I use a credit card then pay it off at the end of the month. More secure than a debit card. Plus credit cards carry protection that debit cards to do not for purchases.

 

[w0ngbr4d]

Eh...

About $40 in the pocket
$600 in my primary checking account
$3000 my primary savings account
$1000 in the checking account linked with my car loan
$25,000 in a money market, and it seems to be shrinking...

-$14,000 car loan
-$1,400 in credit card debt

Not as well as I would like to be doing, but it's better than a lot of people these days...

I don't see why you have almost 15k in debt when you have 28k in liquid savings. Not unless you got a sweet deal on the car note and that card is 0% interest.

I wasn't talking about passively holding an asset. I was referring to writing options, which can yield a few percent within a one month time frame.

Ah, yes I forgot about covered calls.

Fidelity denied my request to activate the options trading on my brokerage account or else I would be doing the same thing.

 

[ChrisN]

Aprox 1300, now I barely work with school and sports so I only get 100 on my paycheck and I'm saving for a new pool table and MBP.

ChrisN

 

[UltraNEO*]

I don't really save, so-to-speak. Though I do enjoy my work and often work my ass off!! And in-between work and sleep I try to play hard too! I might as well enjoy life as much as possible.

 

[itcheroni]

Ah, yes I forgot about covered calls.

Fidelity denied my request to activate the options trading on my brokerage account or else I would be doing the same thing.

How can you be denied? They're covered.

 

[doubleohseven]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77a Safari/525.20)

I spent all my money yesterday on an iPod touch, so now I've only got $10. I do have money in my bank account, but that's for my adulthood.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I am working two jobs already. I also have a mortage and a car payment.

I sold the MBP and MB last summer. There is such a thing as bankruptcy for a reason you know. When you have too much debt it's there to get rid of it. Credit card comapnys gotta share some of the blame you know. They maks it so easy. I barely had a BestBuy mastercard with a $1500 limit, used it two months and paid it off. They increased the limit to $3000 without me doing a thing. Then they give a regular BestBuy card and uo the linit on it to $4000. ok. I don't feel guilty about filing bankruptcy in a few months. I'll be forced to pay everything in cash for a few years.

It's ok man, calm down. I'm not upset anymore about it. Maybe this time I'll learn my lesson about credit cards. I did the same thing back in 1997 with allot less debt and a crappy car with too many miles and $19,000 owed on it.

I should of said this earily but yes there is such a thing for bankruptcy for a reason but your reason for having to declare it is not an acceptable one.

For example if you lost you got slammed by debt because of medical. That one is understandable if your resources got drained and then some. Or if you where reasonable and had ok debt and lost your job for a few months. that one I could see debt over running you.

I know if I lost my job and was unemployed for 4-5 months I would be tapped out and debt would start getting out of hand. I know the first source of money I will tap would be my credit so my limited savings will last even longer.

But your reason for it is not a good one. You just spent more than you had.

 

[AppleMatt]

Ehh...I've got about $2500 in the savings. $100 of my paycheck is automatically deposited into it

This is without a doubt the best way of going about it, because you soon 'forget' the money and adjust living without it.

AppleMatt

 

[w0ngbr4d]

How can you be denied? They're covered.

I wish I knew. I had to answer some questions about trading expirence and they probably denied me because of that. I have a 401k and Roth IRA and my experience ends there.

After talking to a guy at work, I'm going to try activate options under my Roth IRA instead of my normal brokerage account and see what happens. They should allow it to go through since you can't do super risky things inside the Roth.

 

[sushi]

I should of said this earily but yes there is such a thing for bankruptcy for a reason but your reason for having to declare it is not an acceptable one.

For example if you lost you got slammed by debt because of medical. That one is understandable if your resources got drained and then some. Or if you where reasonable and had ok debt and lost your job for a few months. that one I could see debt over running you.

Well said.

Bankruptcy is there for a purpose and it is not because someone simply decided to run up credit card debt.

But your reason for it is not a good one. You just spent more than you had.

Unfortunately, it seems more and more individuals think that this is okay to do and apparently, the courts are letting them.

 

[oli2140]

[deleted]

 

[sushi]

I have a bit of my money in Gold at the moment, it's doing quite nicely

Actual gold bars?

FWIW, I have a friend who does that. Loves to see his gold when I visit him. Neat little pure bars of gold.

 

[toolbox]

Approximately $52 thousand - Been working since i was 16, now 21

 

[sushi]

Approximately $52 thousand - Been working since i was 16, now 21

That's awesome!

I know many folks who are 45-55 that have just a fraction of that saved up.

 

[Lurchdubious]

Approximately $52 thousand - Been working since i was 16, now 21

What the heck do you do for work?

 

[Demosthenes X]

I don't see why you have almost 15k in debt when you have 28k in liquid savings. Not unless you got a sweet deal on the car note and that card is 0% interest.

Interest rates on cars can get very competitive. GM and Hyundai commonly offer "0%"* financing, for example. Makes a lot more sense in those cases to finance than to pay it off quickly.

* - to be perfectly fair, lots of those "0%" deals are anything but, since you have the option of taking either 0% financing or $XXXX "cash back". So the interest charge is there, but hidden. But assuming you don't have cash in the bank to pay full price in cash, that 0% is still a good deal. If you finance at 0%, it makes sense to take the full term to pay it off (assuming you're going to keep the car - if you're not, then pay if off quickly, or you'll end up owning more than it's worth, which is an ugly situation...).

No excuse to have that much CC debt. I pay my CC off every month, and never put more on it than I can afford. I think my CC companies probably hate me, too, since I get a 1% cash rebate on all purchases, but never give them a dime.

 

[toolbox]

That's awesome!

I know many folks who are 45-55 that have just a fraction of that saved up.

What the heck do you do for work?

I fix computers and setup servers, networks and vpns. Also i have a eye condition which means i can't drive. if i can't drive there is no point of owning a car.

So i am not paying loans, fuel etc. That being said i find my self the be privileged to have this kind of money. Because there are people that are worse of then me

 

[itcheroni]

I have a bit of my money in Gold at the moment, it's doing quite nicely

Very wise investment right now for Americans. Within the next few years gold should be 1:1 with the Dow Avg. It was 42:1 in 2000.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

No excuse to have that much CC debt. I pay my CC off every month, and never put more on it than I can afford. I think my CC companies probably hate me, too, since I get a 1% cash rebate on all purchases, but never give them a dime.

Oh but you do make them money. They get a cut out of everything you buy. Just you do not pay them a penny in interested.

 

[trule]

Eh...

About $40 in the pocket
$600 in my primary checking account
$3000 my primary savings account
$1000 in the checking account linked with my car loan
$25,000 in a money market, and it seems to be shrinking...

-$14,000 car loan
-$1,400 in credit card debt

Not as well as I would like to be doing, but it's better than a lot of people these days...

Depending on your loan repayments and interest rates on savings you could be better off retiring the debts, particularly the credit card. Normally this is the case, cash is paying near 0% and debt is costing between 7-20% - do the math and you might find yourself better off.

Also, if your accounts attract fees, could be worthwhile to close one or keep the balance at a level that reduces fees. You have plenty of options to move cash around.

 

[Demosthenes X]

Oh but you do make them money. They get a cut out of everything you buy. Just you do not pay them a penny in interested.

Well, yeah. But the seller pays that fee, and it's just part of the price of the product. Unless the seller charges a different price of cash vs. credit, it makes no difference to me.

Apparently, with those new chipped CCs, the cut the CC companies get is going up... or at least, if a retailer takes a chipped card over the phone, it is.

 

[oli2140]

[deleted]

 

[FX120]

Depending on your loan repayments and interest rates on savings you could be better off retiring the debts, particularly the credit card. Normally this is the case, cash is paying near 0% and debt is costing between 7-20% - do the math and you might find yourself better off.

Also, if your accounts attract fees, could be worthwhile to close one or keep the balance at a level that reduces fees. You have plenty of options to move cash around.

Eh, I've still got another 6 months at 0% APR on the CC, used it to buy a new TV. The car loan is at 4.99%/ 48 months, and I am paying those both off at well over their minimum payment each month right now while I can, so interest isn't that big of a deal. I got pretty lucky with my timing and bought in early August before the whole credit crunch.

The biggest thing that is hurting me is the insurance on the car as the terms of my loan require me to carry full insurance including full comprehensive and collision, and being 23 doesn't help either.