What percentage of your gross income do you save?

[Martha]

But, but, but they were so pretty!!!!! (girl logic )

Sorry, they don't explode, shoot anything or make loud or disgusting noises, so boy logic wouldn't have dictated their purchase.

 

[HFWR]

But, but, but they were so pretty!!!!!  (girl logic )

They were on sale!! 8)

 

[retire@40]

Come on, I probably bought a pair of $5.00 shoes for $80.00.     But they sure are pretty. 

The more my wife tells me she saved on a sale, the more I worry.

 

[Martha]

We have to quit talking about my shoes. Greg, the apocalypse, will probably be on-line soon. I would prefer this thread disappear from the top 50 posts.

 

[SteveR]

Isn't it more likely that you bought an $80 pair of shoes for $80?  

If they couldn't sell for more than $80, do you think they could ever really be worth $400?

Especially since they were made for less than $10. Clothing markup is beyond belief! How do you think they can afford to mark stuff at 50% off and still make money?

 

[SteveR]

They were on sale!!   8)

She "saved $320" by buying these! What are you complaining about?

OTOH, she also spent $80 on a pair of shoes that she may or may not ever wear.

I think we should open a shoe rental company for women. That way then can pick out what they want and never own them and still get the benefits or "retail therapy."

 

[haha]

I don't think we should rag on Martha, or any other woman who buys pretty shoes with her own money.

As men, we are the beneficiaries of this action. The woman pays the cost in money and discomfort bordering on pain just to give us something that we all like to look at- a pretty woman's leg in fashionable high heels.

Ha

 

[Nords]

1)Government work. Military, school teacher, city, county, state, it's all gummit.

I think # 1 is maybe the only very secure, very low risk way to get to ER without scrimping and denying oneself along the way.

If you hadn't included "military" in the same paragraph as "without scrimping & denying oneself" I'd be more inclined to agree. Especially if we're talking about the survivors.

Hey, Laurence, I just read that San Diego is paying over 8% of next year's budget to pay their retiree benefits!

 

[moghopper]

They were on sale!! 8)

"My wife will buy anything marked down. The other day I came home and there was an escalator in the living room."

 

[Sheryl]

I think we should open a shoe rental company for women.  That way then can pick out what they want and never own them and still get the benefits or "retail therapy."

I have a vague recollection that this was tried with purses - not as complicated, since the size issue was avoided... For a monthly subscription you could have a different purse each month. Sounds like too much work for me!

 

[justin]

I have a vague recollection that this was tried with purses - not as complicated, since the size issue was avoided... For a monthly subscription you could have a different purse each month. Sounds like too much work for me!

Owning more than one wallet or more than one pair of shoes of a particular type sounds like work to me. Shopping is also less pleasurable than real 9-5 work for me

 

[BigMoneyJim]

We have to quit talking about my shoes. Greg, the apocalypse, will probably be on-line soon. I would prefer this thread disappear from the top 50 posts.

Funny, you're not one I thought would say "the apocalypse is coming".

As men, we are the beneficiaries of this action. The woman pays the cost in money and discomfort bordering on pain just to give us something that we all like to look at- a pretty woman's leg in fashionable high heels.

Ha

Ah, so you are a leg man.

 

[greg]

"We have to quit talking about my shoes. Greg, the apocalypse, will probably be on-line soon."

I did find out (what she paid for them). Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! And, on top of that, they're WORK shoes. As far as I'm concerned, she just added another week to pre-retirement.

We're also keeping a budget now, and I just moved the roses I bought for her to her column (she can just pay for them herself)--and maybe a bottle of Scotch.

--Somebody else's D(future)H

 

[laurence]

If you hadn't included "military" in the same paragraph as "without scrimping & denying oneself" I'd be more inclined to agree. Especially if we're talking about the survivors.

Hey, Laurence, I just read that San Diego is paying over 8% of next year's budget to pay their retiree benefits!

Don't even get me started, my saving grace is being in a small incorporated city within San Diego County. It's disgusting to watch this scandal go on and on, and the pension board members continue to obfuscate without shame.

 

[Jack_Key]

I save nearly 60%, living on a 15k budget. If you are interested to see how I can do it, read my blog, http://retireat37.blogspot.com, sorry for the plug

More particularly, I detail my budget here: http://retireat37.blogspot.com/2004/10/my-15k-budget.html.

Regards,
Jack K.

 

[justin]

I save nearly 60%, living on a 15k budget. If you are interested to see how I can do it, read my blog, http://retireat37.blogspot.com, sorry for the plug

More particularly, I detail my budget here: http://retireat37.blogspot.com/2004/10/my-15k-budget.html.

Regards,
Jack K.

He he... your $15k only includes your share of the household expenses. I guess in that case, I get by on $15k a year, too.

 

[retire@40]

He he...  your $15k only includes your share of the household expenses.  I guess in that case, I get by on $15k a year, too.

And don't forget, there is no health insurance expense in that budget because he's in Canada.  And, he only allocates $50 for summer vacations.

 

[justin]

My individual budget also includes no health insurance - 100% paid by employer (this is America, after all).

That is assuming I ignore my wife's expenses. Somewhat disingenuously

 

[moghopper]

My individual budget also includes no health insurance - 100% paid by employer (this is America, after all).

That is assuming I ignore my wife's expenses. Somewhat disingenuously

Justin Galt ?!?

 

[justin]

Justin Galt ?!?

No. Not for the most part.

I was making light of Jack_Key's budget (it's posted on his blog) - it excludes his wife's expenses and income. I'm the sole breadwinner for my family for the most part, so if I exclude my wife's expenses*, I suddenly have tons of extra money every month. You know, cut all my utility bills in half, house payment gets cut in half, etc.


*which is bordering on the ridiculous in my situation (not Jack_Key's necessarily)

 

[Sheryl]

It is something to be considered....

If my S.O. moves in and sells or rents out his house, (which needs to happen before FIRE) both of us will significantly reduce expenses.

In the case of a married or (living in sin) couple it makes more sense for the budget to be considered jointly - no way are we going to start worrying about splitting the grocery bill, etc., but we do each have separate finances, and both of us have to be comfortable with the situation before we both ER....

 

[justin]

In the case of a married or (living in sin) couple it makes more sense for the budget to be considered jointly - no way are we going to start worrying about splitting the grocery bill, etc., but we do each have separate finances, and both of us have to be comfortable with the situation before we both ER....

I agree that married couples should have joint budgets. Too much stuff is shared.

When my wife was just my girlfriend, and we lived in sin, I got tired of constantly keeping tabs of who owed whom for what (groceries, water bill, rent, etc). I set up a spreadsheet for her and I to use. We would record purchases on there like groceries, then allocate it to each of us. Occasionally we'd settle up so that no one owed the other anything. When we got married, the spreadsheet was retired.

Now she just spends my money without paying me back.

 

[Jack_Key]

And don't forget, there is no health insurance expense in that budget because he's in Canada.  And, he only allocates $50 for summer vacations.

$50 a month makes $600 a year, that's my share, so for the two of us, its $1200.

Jack

 

[Jack_Key]

It is something to be considered.... 

In the case of a married  or (living in sin) couple it makes more sense for the budget to be considered jointly - no way are we going to start worrying about splitting the grocery bill, etc., but we do each have separate finances, and both of us have to be comfortable with the situation before we both ER....

We actually just do that (we don't share every single bill, see my personal $15k budget as our household $30k budget, divided by two). But as you say, we both have our separated finances and I didn't want to include my wife's finances on my blog, to simplify things for me.

 

[haha]

I save nearly 60%, living on a 15k budget. If you are interested to see how I can do it, read my blog, http://retireat37.blogspot.com, sorry for the plug 

More particularly, I detail my budget here: http://retireat37.blogspot.com/2004/10/my-15k-budget.html.

Regards,
Jack K.

Condo (shared)
- Mortgage: $190 (includes life insurance)
- Taxes: $80
- Insurances (furnitures): $13
- Condo fees: $68 (includes insurance, heat and warm water)
- Electricy: $15 (electricity is cheap in Quebec, does'nt include heat and water, see above)

These are eye-poppers! For $373*2, or $726 Canadian, Jack and his wife have a condo, including heat!

Is this Montreal? What type neighborhood?

Quebec is beautiful, and these prices are wonderful. Tough for a US Medicare recipient, but pretty good otherwise.

Ha