24K Retirement "budgets"

[cute fuzzy bunny]

TH, how do you know so much stuff!?

I'm ER'ed! I have nothing else to do except read and learn stuff!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I am pleased to serve as the resident cheap ba$tard... 8)

[ShokWaveRider]

Shock,
Much relieved to hear it! I was cringing for your engine and was going to come out there and change the oil myself if need be!

ESRBob

ESRBob:
Thanks for your concern. I did spend 30 of my working years (WOW, you do not realize how long you actually worked?) as an Electronics & Mechanical Engineer, so I do have a little insight to how things work. BUT for some reason the Ol' 88 Bronco II just keeps going and going. It is BETTER than the Energizer Bunny! I think it is a Karma thing though. If I paint it, or perform too much unnessessary (SP) maintenance on it, I am sure it will fall to bits. I took it to the dealer for it's first service, they promptly overfilled the gearbox, and it blew the seals, after they finally repaired it, and cleaned up the mess, I swore I would do all the maintenance from then on. I never thought I would still own it after 17 years. For Example; I remember the Lotus continuously broke, even when I maintained it per the specs, and then some. I will be so sad when she "Old Faithfull" dies. She is worth more to me than any other car I have owned, and is by far the best car I have owned from a reliability perspective. She still has no rust. But I took her to Toronto from California last year, she is the Canada car now. Not long before she gets car cancer I am sure.

SWR

[ESRBob]

*But I took her to Toronto from California last year, she is the Canada car now. Not long before she gets car cancer I am sure.

SWR

After 17 years of California living -- the old Bronc is in for a rough end now.

I figured that just about everybody here knows about car maintenance and engineering stuff -- seems to go with the territory? I was the poet in a house full of engineers but some of it obviously wore off.

[azanon]

The thing foremost on my mind about cars is my next purchase for myself, and my internel anguish. The frugal side of me is saying buy a new, but conservative base model corolla or something similar, and the aggressive, youthful, you-only-live once side of me is saying get a new Subaru WRX.

I'm about 50% frugal minded, and 50% you only live once minded. Its tortureous, and the best way to describe how i feel is the comic character "two-face".

[yakers]

Buy the Subaru. Its not like the choice is a Corolla or a Hummer. The Subaru is a reasonable vehicle and if it gives you pleasure and you can afford the small increase in costs go for it. There is a "living" in living below your means.

Yakers, who has a Subaru engine in his 1985 VW Westfalia.

[JWV]

want to protect her - so Money was not an object here.

CutThroat IS that guy on the ad who screams on the plaza 'I LOVE this woman'

Show me the woman who doesn't melt at that commercial and I will will show you a 'encephalographically challenged woman'.

Judy

[gwix98]

The thing foremost on my mind about cars is my next purchase for myself, and my internel anguish. *The frugal side of me is saying buy a new, but conservative base model corolla or something similar, and the aggressive, youthful, you-only-live once side of me is saying get a new Subaru WRX.

I'm about 50% frugal minded, and 50% you only live once minded. *Its tortureous, and the best way to describe how i feel is the comic character "two-face".

You probably can't go wrong on either the Subaru or the
Corolla. I personally feel that the Corolla is one of the best buys on the road for value and longevity. I particularly like the fact that they usually sell at a discount to the Honda Civic, and that they are less likely
to be stolen(like the civic). Having owned 5 Toyotas over the last 15 years, I continue to be impressed with their durability and styling. Of course the Lexus would be
my dream sedan, they continue to rank at the top or near the top of any study out there.

My thanks to all who posted their budgets. Very interesting on how the 24K budgets break down.

gwix

Show me the woman who doesn't melt at that commercial and I will will show you a 'encephalographically challenged woman'.

Now there is a $100 word! - I had to look it up and I think it means dead. - Not sure where it's roots are though. And I'm positive I can't pronounce it!

[haha]

Now there is a $100 word! - I had to look it up and I think it means dead. *- Not sure where it's roots are though. And I'm positive I can't pronounce it!

I doubt you really wanted to know, but it comes from cephalic which means pertaining to the head. I think that English word comes from latin, which comes from a Greek root kephalos.


Thus someone with his head up his a$$ could be said to be "cepahalo-colonically integrated".

Mikey

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I believe we used to call that "recto-cranially inverted" to save a few syllables...

Goldang, this is interesting. After reading some old
posts which I missed, I noted how much other folks have tied up in personal property (non-income
producing). I sold off a lot of excess stuff after I ERed
(jewelry, artwork, guns, etc). I no longer own a suit.
Anyway, for your amazement and amusement, here
is a rough breakdown of our personal property.
This does not include personal property at the Texas
condo, as that is corporate stuff.

Truck 5,000
Jeep 1,500
Motorcycle 4,500
Boat, motor, trailer 1,000
Clothing 500
Appliances/TVs/computer 1,000
Furniture 1,500
Jewelry, guns, artwork 1,500

Total 16,500

Like Cut-Throat, I used to drive a single car worth more.
But.............I am quite content with this. Keep every
dollar working if you can.

John Galt

[windedhare]

The frugal side of me is saying buy a new, but conservative base model corolla or something similar, and the aggressive, youthful, you-only-live once side of me is saying get a new Subaru WRX.

If you are on this forum, you probably dont have plan to buy many cars over your life. Then go for what you really want, if its what you really want and enjoy every ride, drive it until the bottom rusts out and won't run anymore! Either direction can result in buyer's remorse, and if you end up trading up after buying the Corolla, your practical decisions loses its practicality.

[quote]
I can relate, I recently diagnosed myself with Dr.Jeckle and Mr. Hyde syndrome. I wasn't always as frugal as I am now. Fresh out of school, my mantra was "I want it and I want it now", where 'it' was some new designer handbag, or fancy car. Today , the 'it' is ER so I am learning to change my ways.

[Martha]

CutThroat IS that guy on the ad who screams on the plaza 'I LOVE this woman'

Show me the woman who doesn't melt at that commercial and I will will show you a 'encephalographically challenged woman'.

Judy

I hate that commercial. It's an embarrassment. But I am a Norwegian married to a Finn. I much rather be given a stock certificate for a good, dividend paying stock. Or even gold. My gold bug husband once gave me a minature gold bar with a loop to hang it on a chain. He told me I could wear it on a string around my neck and use it as a bribe if I ever was stopped by border guards. Now that made me melt.

[bow-tie]

... youthful, you-only-live once side of me is saying get a new Subaru WRX.

Azanon, buy the WRX. My buddy has one, and it is one bitchin' little pocket rocket... it's not extravagantly priced, either.

I agree living below your means still has 'living' in it. I have to remind myself of that sometimes

[haha]

Azanon, buy the WRX. *My buddy has one, and it is one bitchin' little pocket rocket... it's not extravagantly priced, either.

I test-drove one. Excellent car! I just wish it didn't look like a poor cousin to a Kia.

Mikey

[azanon]

I test-drove one. Excellent car! I just wish it didn't look like a poor cousin to a Kia.

Oh yeah, they're relatively ugly, no doubt, but I think that actually meshes well with the character of the car. *Its supposed to be a mud-plowing rally car, so it'd probably look a little inappropriate if it were attractive and had clean, smooth lines and curves like, say, an Infinity G35.

[AltaRed]

Ahhh, an Infiniti G35 would be my choice to replace my Infiniti I30, but like some people here, I try to buy something nice and keep it a looooong time. I can enjoy a good car for a long life. So by the time I am ready for a new one, there will probably be another 2-3 model changes.

Maybe it's because I don't really have a budget, or maybe that we don't have much personal property
to start with, but I never have set aside any "fund"
for replacement of anything. Either I happen to
get a little windfall, or I rely on creativity when the car
(washer, dryer, frig, etc) dies. So far, this has never been a problem. Also, the concept of an "emergency"
or "rainy day" fund is quite foreign to me. If I did get in
a bind for cash, I can think of about 100 ways to fix it.
Thus, a "fund" seems superfluous to me.

John Galt

[bow-tie]

...if it were attractive and had clean, smooth lines and curves like, say, an Infinity G35.

Hooey.. gonna have to respectfully disagree. The G35 looks homely in IMO. Although their M series looks pretty sweet.