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Post by smitty45 on Jan 20, 2020 20:02:36 GMT -5
Heed these words young readers. Start saving now. If you are younger than 15, get decent grades in school and get a little part time job,,, in summer, work full time. Here's the secrete. So simple,,, wished I'd thought of it back then.
Save just 25.00 a week all the way up to retirement. A cushion if you will. Why struggle like I'll have to do.
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Post by Drifter on Jan 20, 2020 20:24:29 GMT -5
Are you struggling at your age? Thought you said last April, when you made crew chief, that you would be able to put money aside for a "rainy weather fund" from the (more) money you made during the Summer and Fall. takerefuge.freeforums.net/post/135967It's not too late for you to start saving too, you know.
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Post by 2old on Jan 20, 2020 21:48:05 GMT -5
It's never too late! Early in my career, I never worked for an employer who offered retirement benefits. With a young family, it was difficult to put money back. We tried and, thanks to some decent investing, had a pretty nice nest egg. In 2005 we were hit with a financial disaster, through no fault of our own, that ripped away what savings we had. Woke up on our 39th wedding anniversary, broke... bankrupt. Pretty devastating. Picked up the pieces and knew we couldn't change what had happened. All we could do was look ahead and try to dig ourselves out. The firm I had only been with for two years, at that time, soon promoted me and allowed me to begin buying stock. I became not only a valued employee, but part owner of the firm. We retired three years ago and the financial guy says we will be fine until our mid-90's, living at the same standard we are today. We aren't millionaires. We live frugally, but have the things we need.
Three points... 1.) If you haven't begun saving for retirement... start doing it today! 2.) You never know when something unexpected may rip away your financial dreams. 3.) Never look back. You can't change the past. What you can do is keep focused on the future.
When we hit rock bottom, the mind does terrible things. I had a specific tree and curve on a highway picked out that I felt I could crash my vehicle and make it look like an accident. Insurance would allow my wife to "get well" financially. In the meantime, I got lucky. I had no idea the commitment the firm I was with felt towards valued staff. We would waver between 430 and 460 employees. Only two of us could/would do what I did. My job wasn't easy. My wife was left home while I spent 2,000 nights in hotels. At the same time, she became more invested in her career and began making fair money. But, with me gone... everything from a bad hail storm, tornado, garage door quit working, flat tire at work, etc. and I was miles away. She handled it all extremely well!! My "luck" extended far beyond my firm to the most important person in my life... my wife.
Never give up!!!
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Post by smitty45 on Jan 21, 2020 9:30:06 GMT -5
Are you struggling at your age? Thought you said last April, when you made crew chief, that you would be able to put money aside for a "rainy weather fund" from the (more) money you made during the Summer and Fall. takerefuge.freeforums.net/post/135967It's not too late for you to start saving too, you know. Right now I am. The franchise I worked for closed it;s doors after 35 years being in business. The owner fell behind the ball due to a bunch of small jobs throughout 2019 and was left no choice. Usually the company owner and his wife spent winters in Florida,, but this year I guess it wasn't in their budget. I'm back in the job market, what I did have saved thankfully is getting me through a rough patch. I have signed up for unemployment, but hopefully I find something soon. Unemployment will barely cover my expenses,,, IE,, rent, utilities. Thankfully I have an interview tomorrow ( Wednesday ). So far I;ve had 2 interviews for 2 different jobs,,, hoping 3rd will be lucky. When they called yesterday,,, 5 minutes after sending my resume out to them on Indeed they seemed eager to interview me in person. Especially when asked if I could pass a background check and a random drug test.
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Post by Drifter on Jan 21, 2020 9:37:18 GMT -5
I wish you well smitty45 on the job interview! At your age, working 2 jobs to make up for lost time and to get ahead shouldn't be a problem for you, especially since you are single. You have to motivate yourself to continue to go forward and make a better life for yourself. I hope the jobs that you are applying for, offer a better benefit package as well as good wages.
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Post by smitty45 on Jan 21, 2020 9:58:39 GMT -5
I wish you well smitty45 on the job interview! At your age, working 2 jobs to make up for lost time and to get ahead shouldn't be a problem for you, especially since you are single. You have to motivate yourself to continue to go forward and make a better life for yourself. I hope the jobs that you are applying for, offer a better benefit package as well as good wages. Thank you Drifter The job interview I have tomorrow, it's a job that also requires on-call 24/7. The pay equals close to having 2 full time jobs, plus an excellent benefits package, medical, dental, vision, 401K with company match, paid time off, sick days, personal days, and vacation. 2 weeks after the first year. All the jobs I've applied for have a benefits package. Insurance is something I really need at my age. Not that I;m old by no means,,, no ones old if they don;t want to be mentally, but the body,,,, well it has a kind of it's own. lol
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Post by QuickSilver on Jan 21, 2020 11:51:19 GMT -5
I agree... start early... I started saving through my employer savings plan in my late 20's... I always had them take out what they would match with their money... most employers will match your savings up to a certain percentage.. That's FREE money and you would have to be a fool to not take advantage.
I was fortunate to work for three companies who also offered a pension. My Husband has two small pensions.. So now we are collecting monthly amounts for life. Not huge mind you.. but they help a lot. Both my husband and I invested in guaranteed annuities early on.. Those provide some income also.. So between the Pensions, our social security checks as well as our annuity income.. we can pay our bills and have some extra money to spend on enjoyment. This is called PLANNING... but like all things, we were fortunate enough to be able to do it and no huge unforeseen illnesses or catastrophes stopped us.. Many are not that lucky that's for sure.
In addition, when I was in my mid-thirties.. we took money out of our 401Ks to purchase a four flat apartment building on a FHA loan.. We only needed 10% down and the building was in need of many upgrades and improvements.. But.. we bought it.. So for sixteen years we managed and maintained that building ourselves.. Doing all our renting and background checks of tenants. I did the budgeting and bill paying, and hubby, who was very handy did all the repairs both inside and out. Together we cleaned and upgraded each apartment between tenants.. we remodeled kitchens. put down carpeting, painted and basically worked like dogs. it was nothing for us to spend 12 hour days on the weekends working on that building. However, in 2006 I sold it for triple what I paid.. again.. that is also called planning.. Nothing was handed to us.. we just had a work ethic and some foresight.. BUT as I said above.. we were healthy and able to do it.. many cannot.
This is why I do not feel the least bit guilty about some extravagance and luxury.
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Post by nkat on Jan 21, 2020 13:29:16 GMT -5
Good luck Smitty on getting that job.
Nkat
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Post by louie on Jan 21, 2020 16:06:34 GMT -5
The job interview I have tomorrow, it's a job that also requires on-call 24/7. The pay equals close to having 2 full time jobs, plus an excellent benefits package, medical, dental, vision, 401K with company match, paid time off, sick days, personal days, and vacation. 2 weeks after the first year. All the jobs I've applied for have a benefits package. Insurance is something I really need at my age. Not that I;m old by no means,,, no ones old if they don;t want to be mentally, but the body,,,, well it has a kind of it's own. lol Good luck on this job ! I had a great job like that too with a 24/7 on call requirement and I answered the phone to go in and get the extra work. I'm saving right now as much as I can for when I am the only one left in my household.
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Post by helen on Jan 22, 2020 15:55:57 GMT -5
I have simple advice for young people:
(1) Live within your means whatever they are - always Children are the single biggest lifetime expense of a family. Don't have them until you can afford them. (2) Know the difference between a need and a want and always take care of the needs first Rent/mortgage/food are needs, cable TV is not
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Post by QuickSilver on Jan 23, 2020 15:11:39 GMT -5
I have simple advice for young people: (1) Live within your means whatever they are - always Children are the single biggest lifetime expense of a family. Don't have them until you can afford them. (2) Know the difference between a need and a want and always take care of the needs first Rent/mortgage/food are needs, cable TV is not Well that's the secret of the whole thing.. living within your means... or as I did, live below my means. I live in a 60 year old 3 bedroom 1 bath brick bungalow. I have been in this house 39 years.. it's on a small city lot.. it's nice.. I keep it well maintained.. and best of all... It's been paid for a long time... because, I looked ahead and knew I needed to sock away some money so I took out a 15 year mortgage but paid the house off in 13 years.
Now, nurses make a pretty decent salary and if you really work your butt off you can pull in 6 figures. But that's REALLY working hard with double shifts and picking up extra days. I have seen many of my nurse friends driving BMWs or Mercedes.. and living in pretty extravagant houses.. AND they were up to there eyeballs in debt.. So they had to continue their ball busting work just to meet the mortgage and car payments. I told my kids... "The only car you can really afford to own is one you can pay cash for".. Fancy cars are a horrible investment.. and a home where you are underwater on your mortgage is even worse.. as many found themselves in when the housing bubble burst. Live in a nice but affordable home... drive a nice reliable but paid for car... and you will then be able to put some money away for the future.
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Post by smitty45 on Jan 26, 2020 10:10:23 GMT -5
Thankfully, my new employer offers a 401K with company match.
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Post by QuickSilver on Jan 26, 2020 10:53:11 GMT -5
Thankfully, my new employer offers a 401K with company match. Take advantage and put in the highest amount they will match.. It's free money after all...
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