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Do you have money saved?

Do you save money?

  • I save money

    Votes: 55 80.9%
  • I don't save money

    Votes: 13 19.1%

  • Total voters
    68
I'm not the one deluded. First, PRICES ARE RISING. Just go to the grocery store and tell me they're not.
That would only tell me grocery prices...not gas prices, computer prices, tv prices, washing machines, etc. Weighting everything (and many food items, including basics like white bread, peanut butter, potatoes, have gone down in the last year) average prices haven't gone up much.

The inflation figures goobermint put out are spindled and mutilated - like the unemployment figures.
I have never ever encountered anyone who made this claim who actually understood how the figures were calculated.
I am extremely confident you don't either, but I'm sure you have links to bloggers or scare-mongers or gold-bugs which will be filled with misinformation.
 
It's not that I save it's more that I just don't spend money. My co-workers and friends tend to make fun of how a live but it doesn't take much to make me happy

That explains your name. :)
 
I always found that 8 hours was the max optimum amount of overtime. If I am not wrong the higher wage of overtime will face highest marginal tax rate. The overtime work can actually push one into a higher tax bracket.

But with our bracket system, you only pay the higher bracket rate on the amount of income that is in that bracket. So if someone made $1000 a week and paid $100 in federal income tax, the next week they made an extra $100, which all fell into the next higher bracket (let's just say 25%), they would only pay $25 more in federal income taxes, not $175 more.

Personally I would be OK with fewer brackets. They really server no purpose other than making things overly complicated. Even a flat income tax would be OK with me as long as it taxed all forms of income at the same rate (capital gains included) and was inclusive of payroll withholdings taxes (social security and medicare).
 
That would only tell me grocery prices...not gas prices, computer prices, tv prices, washing machines, etc. Weighting everything (and many food items, including basics like white bread, peanut butter, potatoes, have gone down in the last year) average prices haven't gone up much.


I have never ever encountered anyone who made this claim who actually understood how the figures were calculated.
I am extremely confident you don't either, but I'm sure you have links to bloggers or scare-mongers or gold-bugs which will be filled with misinformation.

Gasoline prices are down because crude oil prices are down; crude oil prices are down because the price structure is not reflecting cost of recovery, but the demands of the OPEC cartel. It's a manipulated price.

Computer prices are down as it's a mature industry benefitting from improvements in production as well as suffering from a soft market - as computers move into the bulk-commodity market. This is always the way of new technology - be it automobiles a hundred years ago, or phonographs, or televisions, or video recorders. Prices start high to pay for the startup costs, and then, as competition ensues and the initial demand slaked, prices fall.

Milk is about five times what it was seven years ago. Beef, over three times what it was. Clothing, nearly double. Many forces are at work there, but one reason the prices have adjusted upwards is that the individual dollar is worth less.

Because it's been diluted. Textbook inflation.
 
Gasoline prices are down because crude oil prices are down; crude oil prices are down because the price structure is not reflecting cost of recovery, but the demands of the OPEC cartel. It's a manipulated price.
Computer prices are down as it's a mature industry benefitting from improvements in production as well as suffering from a soft market - as computers move into the bulk-commodity market. This is always the way of new technology - be it automobiles a hundred years ago, or phonographs, or televisions, or video recorders. Prices start high to pay for the startup costs, and then, as competition ensues and the initial demand slaked, prices fall.
But can you find out what the price is at the grocery store? You suggested the grocery store was all that was needed for overall prices.


Milk is about five times what it was seven years ago. Beef, over three times what it was. Clothing, nearly double.
Yeah, you can't just make up numbers and try to pass them off. Currently milk is at abour $3.40/gallon at Walmart. But you're saying that it was $0.68/gallon 7 years ago and went up on average 25%/year? No.
Milk went up about 12% from 2007 to 2014 (21% since 2009)
Beef and veal went way way up in that time....41% increase. But you're claiiming a 200% increase. No.

There are no even semi-legitimate sources that would give you those numbers.

But you also missed a big part of my point is that you claimed the inflation and unemployed numbers are manipulated but you don't actually know how they're calculated.
 
Do you have any investments?

What are they in? What FORM are they in?

A business, my personal home, commercial real estate, and a tad in the stock market.

Now. How do you protect your savings or investment when the money supply is corrupted by a destructive government printing up more...dollars, sheckels, pesos, whatever? You had to work hard to earn those dollars; and you invested them in mutual funds - or put them in savings tools - and alluva sudden, those dollars are worth FAR LESS.

Currency may be worth far less, by my real estate, business, and stocks won't be. Anyhow, when was the last time that the American dollar was "alluva sudden" worth "far less"? Are you just talking about a couple of years of the Reagan administration when we had 10% inflation?

On average, the US dollar will be worth about 3% less each year, and that's reasonably steady. I expect that, and thus I don't hold large amounts of cash or cash type investments. Cash is unproductive, I've much rather invest in something productive or something that they aint making any more of, than to save cash.

It's just common sense. If someone ain't got common sense, that's not my problem, they deserve whatever they get.

It's the story of Wiemar Germany. Or of Zimbabwe a few years ago. Or US in a few years, when all that fake, printed-up money starts washing into the general circulation.

There are few practical ways of saving without a monetary currency and NO practical way to invest. And no, Beanie Babies or Britney CDs are not investments.

Every single instance of hyper inflation occured when there was some sort of shortage of goods or dramatic decline in production. Wiermare was invaded by France and Belgium who shut down their manufacturing sector. Production in Zimbabwe was distrupted by civil war. Even during the late Carter and early Reagan years, inflation was caused by the OPEC oil embargos.

Maybe you dont understand what causes inflation. It's inadequate supply to meet demand. When supply is inadequate, sellers raise their prices.
 
Gasoline prices are down because crude oil prices are down; crude oil prices are down because the price structure is not reflecting cost of recovery, but the demands of the OPEC cartel. It's a manipulated price.

Computer prices are down as it's a mature industry benefitting from improvements in production as well as suffering from a soft market - as computers move into the bulk-commodity market. This is always the way of new technology - be it automobiles a hundred years ago, or phonographs, or televisions, or video recorders. Prices start high to pay for the startup costs, and then, as competition ensues and the initial demand slaked, prices fall.

All of that is true, but the rest is a figment of your imagination.

Milk is about five times what it was seven years ago.

Milk is 3.99 at my local grocery store and $2.75 at Sams. Are you claiming that it was only 80¢ a gallon seven years ago? To the best of my recollection it was about $3 a gallon.

Beef, over three times what it was.

Ground beef is around $4/lb where I shop, seven years ago it was $3. That's not "three times".

Clothing, nearly double.

Clothing prices have substantially dropped. Bluejeans are cheaper today than they were 40 years ago. Tshirts are far cheaper than they used to be. 30 years ago a low end suit at JC Pennies was around $200, you can purchase a similar suit today at Pennies for about $100.
 
Yeah it does bump you into another tax bracket but you still take home a more. My 75hr check is a hell of a lot bigger than my 48hr check.

That is true. I used to be the OT king when I was a steel worker. But subtract the 48 hr take home pay from the 75 hr take home pay then divide by 27 and it is a lot less than 1 1/2 pay. But you are making more money no doubt. Just do this when you are young and your body can take it.
 
Yup. 6 months living expenses.

My discretionary income mostly goes into 401k, Roth, HSA, taxable...
 
If I have $100 when I die I'll have died one day too soon.
 
According to new studies released recently, roughly a third of American adults don't have any emergency savings. As for me, usually I put 20% of my income into my deposite account and I have some cash for a rainy day saved at home. Do you have savings for emergency case or maybe for retirement? What part of your income do you save?

It's not been worth saving in ordinary accounts for a while. I have two large pension pots (one I am allowed to pay as much as I want into tax-free) and I am paying off two homes.

If the same money went into ordinary savings, I'd be heading towards poverty in my old age.
 
I probably have over $100 in small change in a drawer in my bedroom.
 
I probably have over $100 in small change in a drawer in my bedroom.

You should exchange it for something that will hold it's value, like gold or pizza.

Hyperinflation is just around the corner.
 
According to new studies released recently, roughly a third of American adults don't have any emergency savings. As for me, usually I put 20% of my income into my deposite account and I have some cash for a rainy day saved at home. Do you have savings for emergency case or maybe for retirement? What part of your income do you save?

A third? The last I heard was that more than half of American's have pretty much nothing saved up.

"Approximately 62% of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair, according to a new survey of 1,000 adults by personal finance website Bankrate.com. Faced with an emergency, they say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (26%), borrowing from family and/or friends (16%) or using credit cards (12%)." (Most Americans are one paycheck away from the street - MarketWatch)

More recently: " About half of Americans are saving no more than 5% of their incomes, according to a new Bankrate.com RATE, -0.35% report." (Nearly Half of Americans Saving Virtually Nothing - MarketWatch)

EDIT: And to answer the question, no, I have jack squat saved up. About to start a part-time job tomorrow and I have some serious student debt.
 
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My wife does. problem is I have to die for her to collect those saving.
Same applies to her, for me to collect.

Govt pension not large- Military
I also work
In 2 years at age 60 I collect-CPP- - Canada Pension Plan. As the Military paid at a differing rate into 2 pensions- Military (Superannuation) & CPP at 65 when I draw Canada Pension the claw back is about dollar for dollar.
Small mortgage as we decided years ago to travel more while still healthy.
Yes we have savings- a fair amount.
My wife is retired.
Myself I like to work. 4 days on - 4 off -10 hr days- as much vacation as I want - not all paid of course - so a ton of flexibility there.
So i work about 5 months of the year. Not a shabby deal.
I could retire but go foolish.
So why not stay working and still remain foolish is the way I am looking at it.
Extra cash never hurts when you have grandchildren.
So this summer we are taking all to NB & PEI
 
My wife and I both take advantage of our companies 401K plan and both have other retirement plans. Over the last couple of years we have got to the point where our retirement instruments make more money then we do.
 
Yeah it does bump you into another tax bracket but you still take home a more. My 75hr check is a hell of a lot bigger than my 48hr check.

I used to have a job that we could work as many hours of overtime that we wanted... I never heard so many people bitch about not wanting to work overtime because of them supposedly losing money when they work over a certain amount of overtime.
I never could get it through their heads that it's mathematically impossible to lose money by working more overtime.
I was an overtime hound at that job...I usually put in 14-16 hours mon-fri and 5 or 6 hours on Saturday.

when I struck out on my own, I was putting in 16-18 hours , 7 days a week, for nearly 3 years.... no overtime, but I was consistently billing 30-40 hours a day( at $75/ hr)

looking back.. it was totally worth it...every minute of it.
 
I love threads like this. Most Americans* don't save, but everybody on the internet does. :lol:

*- Have seen estimates ranging from 1/3 to 2/3.

Sure, they have years worth of salary in the banks, hundreds of thousands in 401K, brand new Corvette for self and wife, 6000 sq ft home (paid off). It's amazing how responsible people are online, yet say the dumbest things ever. :lamo
 
I never could get it through their heads that it's mathematically impossible to lose money by working more overtime....

"Losing money" or "tax bracket" is an excuse for a lot of people to work fewer hours.

If the more one made the less they brought home, then "rich" people would have a negative paycheck.
 
I save. Have to... to put three kids thru college. Via modest living throughout my whole life, I have enough to send all of them for four years of undergrad - even out of state - with no loans. Theyre on their own for graduate school tho (although I'll probably help out there too....) That money is starting to fly out the window now.

But I never understood the concept of a six month 'emergency fund'. I've never been unemployed- nor has my wife. In my profession, I doubt if I'd ever be unemployed for longer than a few months - and a severance should cover more than that. An emergency fund in money market funds or whatever seems silly to me in that case - that money would be better invested in a 401k and withdrawn if there was a true emergency.

The entire secret to saving is to live below your means.
 
"Losing money" or "tax bracket" is an excuse for a lot of people to work fewer hours.

If the more one made the less they brought home, then "rich" people would have a negative paycheck.

Its a basic misunderstanding of how tax brackets work. You dont get taxed at a higher rate for ALL your income, just the incremental income.

In my experience, the people who dont understand the concept usually turn out to be Conservatives - and guys who are specifically Conservatives because they dont like high taxes. Funny that.
 
"Losing money" or "tax bracket" is an excuse for a lot of people to work fewer hours.

If the more one made the less they brought home, then "rich" people would have a negative paycheck.

Well technically they are right, marginal income per hour worked decreases sometimes significantly and it may not be worth their time but I doubt most people who do understand that. For example the decreased income per hour worked may not be worth it to a couple with a new child and time with the child outweighs the decreased monetary benefit of working.
 
Well technically they are right, marginal income per hour worked decreases sometimes significantly and it may not be worth their time but I doubt most people who do understand that. For example the decreased income per hour worked may not be worth it to a couple with a new child and time with the child outweighs the decreased monetary benefit of working.

I agree that sometimes additional income doesn't outweigh family obligations and/or leisure time, and that money has a declining utility as one makes more and more of it.

However, most people in the US who get paid by the hour get time and a half for hours over 40/week, which generally more than makes up for any increase in income tax bracket rate.

So maybe someone who is at the top of the 15% income tax bracket makes $12/hr, then they work 10 hours overtime at time and a half, even after federal income tax at the next highest bracket (assume 20%) plus withholding taxes and even state income taxes, they still may have $11.88 left over, which is more per hour than they took home out of the first 40 work hours.

However in the case of a part time worker, who's additional hours still might not get them to the time and a half requirement, you may be right, especially if more hours would cost them means tested welfare benefits.

It used to be in the US that a certain class of low level white collar workers, the "non-exempt salaried worker" could be paid "Chinese overtime", which was half time for over time, but I believe that was outlawed. My wife got Chinese overtime for a few years with a particular employer.
 
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