I'm in a mixed marriage!

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:30 pm

I'm a spontaneous SPENDER, & my wife is a SAVER! Luckily for me she was a saver, cause now I was able to take early retirement and am financially confortable thanks to her!

SO ARE YOU A SPENDER OR A SAVER?:-2

minks · Post by **minks** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:33 pm

cars wrote: I'm a SPENDER, & my wife is a SAVER! Luckily for me she was a saver, cause now I was able to take early retirement and am financially confortable thanks to her!

SO ARE YOU A SPENDER OR A SAVER?:-2

I am a born again.... I now save thanks to being on my own

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:34 pm

I'm both, I save all year to stay home in the summer-hopefully again this next year. But I have to spend, how else will there be groceries in the 'frig?

jennyswan · Post by **jennyswan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:37 pm

SO ARE YOU A SPENDER OR A SAVER?

We're both spontaneous spenders who are saving at the moment.

Sometimes I just have to have it but I'm slowly getting sense. (I said slowly :wah: )

hotsauce · Post by **hotsauce** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 2:57 pm

i didn't have money for sooooo long while in college...i paid for it all as i went too...now i spend, spend, spend!!! i'm starting to cool it a little though. it was just soooo exciting having money that wasn't going straight to tuition!!!

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:35 pm

hotsauce wrote: i didn't have money for sooooo long while in college...i paid for it all as i went too...now i spend, spend, spend!!! i'm starting to cool it a little though. it was just soooo exciting having money that wasn't going straight to tuition!!!

OK college gone, so now you have to save a little something each month for retirement. I know you're young, (This goes for all you young folks out there to) but I was it seems not so very long ago young to. And here I am, it kind of just sneaks up on ya, when you weren't looking! I didn't really start heavilly saving until about a dozen or so years ago. If I had listened to my older friends back when I was younger, I would have much more than "comfortable" now, I would be very well to do. As the saying goes- A word to the wise should be sufficient, So. . . . . . .

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:52 pm

cars wrote: OK college gone, so now you have to save a little something each month for retirement. I know you're young, (This goes for all you young folks out there to) but I was it seems not so very long ago young to. And here I am, it kind of just sneaks up on ya, when you weren't looking! I didn't really start heavilly saving until about a dozen or so years ago. If I had listened to my older friends back when I was younger, I would have much more than "comfortable" now, I would be very well to do. As they saying goes- A word to the wise should be sufficient, So. . . . . . .

So Cars....give the word now, oh wise one, and tell us how you have saved or what you have invested in to make life comfortable? What would you recommend as a good way to save?

We have a lot of ads here for 50+ plans, which tell you how you should save to leave money for your family. Then, at the end of the ad, it says very quickly "If you don't keep up your savings plan (umtil you die presumably) then you lose everything you have paid in!!

There are also ads telling you to borrow a lump sum against your house and build a conservatory or go on holiday....but they dont tell you that they'll probably be able to take your house from you in the end!

What is a good type of saving/ investment plan which you can add to, but also take from in an emergency?

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:29 pm

Rapunzel wrote: So Cars....give the word now, oh wise one, and tell us how you have saved or what you have invested in to make life comfortable? What would you recommend as a good way to save?

We have a lot of ads here for 50+ plans, which tell you how you should save to leave money for your family. Then, at the end of the ad, it says very quickly "If you don't keep up your savings plan (umtil you die presumably) then you lose everything you have paid in!!

There are also ads telling you to borrow a lump sum against your house and build a conservatory or go on holiday....but they dont tell you that they'll probably be able to take your house from you in the end!

What is a good type of saving/ investment plan which you can add to, but also take from in an emergency?

OK here goes, all good stuff for me. My former company provided a pension plan (run by Fidelity) that gave me half of my 6 figure salary as my pension. Also in addition, the company matched 50 cents to evey dollar I saved in my pre tax sheltered 401K plan (also run by Fidelity) up to a maximum of 16% of my annual salary. Every year I usually got a 5 to 7% raise, (twice 10%) & I just increased my 401k savings that same amount, so I didn't even feel it. And some years I even went up to 20%, so 4% was not matched by the company, but so what. Then there was my wife who over the years took our left over monthly money and wisely monitored the markets & got us the highest CD rates being offered by the various banks. Then there were my company's stock options that over the years I got as perks, where I just converted some of them over into my "cash Income fund" that's currently paying "6"% interest, which is a pretty good rate these days. (Only want FDIC accounts) Then I actually bought some of my former company's stocks when they took a dip last year, because I knew that they would rebound, and sure enough now they're up 12-1/2 points, again all good stuff for me. But 401K's are a good thing for all, especially for the young, as they have lots of time to grow their accounts. Start small, if you get a 5% raise, put 2-1/2% into your 401k & spend the rest, and as you get older work up to putting all the raise into the 401K. Then even add extra over the raises, as time goes bye.

You mentioned: There are also ads telling you to borrow a lump sum against your house.

Well, I saw those ads, and yes they will give you a "reverse mortgage". Which is my understanding that's for people who are "House Rich", but Cash poor.)

You can get tons of equity money out of your house, & have little or even no monthly mortgage payments. And yes in the end they do take your house, but you won't need it any more at that time. If this appeals to you you can Google it and get all the particulars. It would be prudent to stay away from those 50+ deals. The bottom line is you won't get rich over night, but over time, by continually saving even small amounts, over thirty to forty years will add up to a healthy nest egg!:) Happy saving!

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:55 pm

Well since its only been me, myself and I since the big divorce in 1972 if I spend or save I only have myself to blame ...

Now that my daughter and grand daughter are living with me all the savings have started to dissappear quickly..:-5 :-5 By the time she is ready to move out I will be in the poor house..:-3

Mookey1229 · Post by **Mookey1229** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:19 pm

OMG, I am a terrible spender and my husband is a saver. Although he never says anything when I spend. Sometimes I wish he would, but don't tell him that ok?

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:47 pm

Mookey1229 wrote: Sometimes I wish he would, but don't tell him that ok?

The term "hush money" comes to mind here.

cars · Post by **cars** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:36 am

CARLA wrote: Well since its only been me, myself and I since the big divorce in 1972 if I spend or save I only have myself to blame ...

Now that my daughter and grand daughter are living with me all the savings have started to dissappear quickly..:-5 By the time she is ready to move out I will be in the poor house..:-3

Oh Oh CARLA, I know you love your daughter & granddaughter, and it's a wonderful thing sharing your home with them. But your savings starting to dissapear is not a good thing for you. You may want to reconsider your current arrangement, cause if & when your daughter & granddaughter do move out they will be concentrating on their starting own lives. (As they should) And at that time if most of your savings are then gone where does that leave you financially? You don't have another 25 or so years to build up your savings again! :-2 (Just trying to look at the situation as an impartial outsider)

chrisb84uk · Post by **chrisb84uk** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:23 am

Well I'm mostly a saver, but when I do spend it tends to be quite a lot in one swift go. But I am pretty careful when it comes to looking after my money for the future, which can only be a good thing.

weeder · Post by **weeder** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:00 am

I was responsible for supporting 3 of us. Myself and two sons. Despite working 2 jobs for many many years.. saving was out of the question. I attempted to buy a business in Georgia two years ago... lost my shirt, pretty much. Like Carla, my younger son is staying with me. He is recovering from being devastated over his young marriage breaking up. He isnt working. Other people have always been on my payroll. My prospects for old age dont look too good. It would be great if things had been different.. but they are the way they are. It seems to me that life is just destined to be a struggle for some.. despite trying to do the right thing. Its OK though. As I learned this past summer, any day can be our last. So I am grateful to be alive, warm and fed and still able to help those I love. We will see what the future brings.

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:56 am

We are both spenders!:D

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:56 pm

I save, invest and give more than I spend... nowadays. I got into trouble early on whilst I was working on obtaining my first bachelor's degree, with plastique... but I paid all my credit cards off by setting aside half of my paycheque from my first j.o.b. for nearly a year and invested it until I accumulated the some $60k in debt with 71% interest (total)... now I realise that it's better to earn that high interest for myself rather than give it to somebody else... if I ever do get married, though...

venus · Post by **venus** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:09 pm

I think we are botha a bit of both, thankfully we never are the same at the same time, and for larger purchases and even some smaller ones we always talk about it..

but lm a starving student now so no saving at the moment.. and my spending tends to be when l see a bargain..:rolleyes:

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:52 pm

:driving: CARS, You are 100% correct kind sir. I haven't gotten into my 401K saving to date and as if someone from above heard my story I'm getting a fairly large raise at work and a new job title... Wooo Hooo...!! I sure can use it

7 years till I attempt to retire..:rolleyes: Thanks cars for looking out for me your a sweetheart..:-4

cars · Post by **cars** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:31 am

CARLA wrote: :driving: CARS, You are 100% correct kind sir. I haven't gotten into my 401K saving to date and as if someone from above heard my story I'm getting a fairly large raise at work and a new job title... Wooo Hooo...!! I sure can use it 7 years till I attempt to retire..:Thanks cars for looking out for me your a sweetheart.

You're most welcome CARLA, wow 7 years to go yet, you'll be surprised just how fast they'll go. Before you know it the big day will be here. It's a good thing that you did not dip into your 401K, & I'm happy for you & your deserved raise!!

But I never heard of the job title... Wooo Hooo

:rolleyes: