Taking care of yourself- Preparing for the future, saving, retiring comfortably

ΚΑΤΑΝΑΛΩΤΗΣ · August 04, 2015, 08:23:22 PM

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Turkey · August 04, 2015, 08:50:48 PM

Invest at least 10% of your salary in your retirement plan. I use a Roth IRA; others prefer Traditional IRAs.

Don't buy a performance car; get something that is reliable. There are still plenty of fun, good-looking cars that will be low in maintenance costs, sticker price, and mileage.

Once you get established and start making raises or bonuses, consider investing those amounts amounts and living off of your original salary. For instance, I make an extra $150 for flight pay, so I put that into my savings plan instead.

Don't attempt to pay off student loans too quickly, but also consider paying it off 1/4 earlier than estimated.

Make essential purchases for a household on a zero-interest credit card and pay it off in a year. Essentials would include basic furniture, and a washer and dryer.

Open new credit cards to take advantage of zero interest for a year, and pay attention to what those cards give you in terms of cash rewards (usually high at gas stations or air travel).

Don't let a credit card sit unused after the no-interest period has expired, and try to pay off the balance for those each month so you don't get hit with interest.

Slowly accumulate a 6-month 'rainy day' fund in case you lose your job; this is especially important for contract workers.

Don't be afraid of growing up, severing ties with immature friends, and letting go of habits that are keeping you stuck in an old life. Life isn't a party when you're 26 making $10 an hour, no long-term relationship, drowning in debt and living in a crappy apartment.

Get a puppy.

ΚΑΤΑΝΑΛΩΤΗΣ · August 04, 2015, 09:07:01 PM

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Turkey · August 04, 2015, 09:09:17 PM

Quote from: HEAT SEEKING GHOST OF SEX on August 04, 2015, 09:07:01 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on August 04, 2015, 08:50:48 PM
Invest at least 10% of your salary in your retirement plan. I use a Roth IRA; others prefer Traditional IRAs.

Once you get established and start making raises or bonuses, consider investing those amounts amounts and living off of your original salary. For instance, I make an extra $150 for flight pay, so I put that into my savings plan instead.

How can I apply this as an actor, since I won't be making a consistent salary, but rather be payed for each production I am casted in?

I would ask other, more experienced actors how they do it, but you can still invest 10% of each paycheck you get.

Mordo · August 04, 2015, 10:09:02 PM

Step 1: Give up acting.

Step 2: Find an economically viable career prospect.

ΚΑΤΑΝΑΛΩΤΗΣ · August 04, 2015, 10:13:22 PM

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challengerX · August 05, 2015, 04:30:35 AM

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challengerX · August 05, 2015, 04:33:09 AM

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Sandtrap · August 05, 2015, 01:21:53 PM

I can't really provide much that would apply to your lifestyle or hold any relevance to you. But I can say two things. The first being, Challenger raises a fair point.

I don't trust in the safety net of "the golden retirement years." Assuming that you're in your 20's, when you're 60-70 is a long time. Give or take 40 years. That's a long fucking time for change to occur. In 40 years, a lot can happen and you've no way to predict that. My personal believe on this, is fuck waiting. Do it now. The sooner I get a place up that I'm comfortable with, that is my space to both live in and enjoy, the stronger my future security will be no matter what happens to me.

I could travel anywhere after that. Pursue any goal. I could get sick and crippled and never reach retirement age. But I'd always have a place to come back to. That doesn't only apply to me but it applies to everybody, like you. Don't bet your stakes so far ahead. Don't bet and count that things are going to work out for you later on in life.

Second. I do what I like to call 50/50. And this is, any money I make, I split down the middle. Half of it goes into funds for everyday use. Gas, food, general expendiatures. The other half goes into an envelope that I do not touch. This envelope is a savings account for larger things like emergencies. 50/50 is a pretty big divide but you can change it up as you like. 25/75, whatever.

Now, the important thing here is, not to restrict yourself. Say you're doing 50/50 and it's not enough. You don't have enough for general expenses. Then take some out of that folder if you have to. Personally, what I do, is I put a limit on the folder. 1000 dollars. When the folder hits 1000 dollars, I take the money out of it, and put it into a safe. Anything that goes into that safe does not come out again unless it's for a true, large sum transaction or emergency.

But I don't put the full 1000 in. I split it in half. 500 goes into the safe. 500 goes back into circulation into my general pool and it can give me a boost when I need it. I have never, ever fallen into a true state of bankruptancy this way and I have never met a monetary problem that I couldn't handle this way.

That's all I can add really. But, one last thing. Should you ever acquire land, by any chance. Never sell it. You'll spend your life chasing after it to find it again.

Verbatim · August 05, 2015, 01:35:36 PM

Thinking about the distant future is probably my least favorite thing ever, so. Fuck that.

I prefer to just go with the flow. If I could just set my brain to auto-pilot, I so would.

challengerX · August 05, 2015, 01:38:30 PM

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Turkey · August 05, 2015, 04:56:32 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 01:21:53 PM

My personal believe on this, is fuck waiting. Do it now. The sooner I get a place up that I'm comfortable with, that is my space to both live in and enjoy, the stronger my future security will be no matter what happens to me.

You can't just buy a home now. It takes decades to pay off a mortgage, and then you have property taxes and upkeep. It's just not feasible to think you can accomplish such a goal without planning for it.

Sandtrap · August 05, 2015, 09:15:07 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on August 05, 2015, 04:56:32 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 01:21:53 PM
My personal believe on this, is fuck waiting. Do it now. The sooner I get a place up that I'm comfortable with, that is my space to both live in and enjoy, the stronger my future security will be no matter what happens to me.
You can't just buy a home now. It takes decades to pay off a mortgage, and then you have property taxes and upkeep. It's just not feasible to think you can accomplish such a goal without planning for it.

I'm aware that you can't just "buy a home now." It does take a little bit of planning. But generally, you try to get there as quickly as possible.

And no, you don't absolutely need a mortgage. A mortgage is just a rat-trap. I'm not saying that they don't have their uses but it's not an impossibility to buy a house without using a mortgage. That's another thing I tend to operate on.

No credit or loans. If you can't buy it yourself in cash then you don't and shouldn't be going after it in the first place.

It's important to note here though, we're straying onto different fronts. I understand it's not exactly a parrallel to repeat in a place like a city because of the high expenses and the fact that most people don't own their houses these days what with mortgages and all.

But my country's economy and my province's divided and half-old timey population allows me to take full advantage of things that you can't so easily do in a city. All the same, my point still stands.

The sooner you have a home that's yours, that's paid off, the more secure your future is. That should always be your number one priority.

Turkey · August 05, 2015, 09:51:29 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 09:15:07 PM

I'm aware that you can't just "buy a home now." It does take a little bit of planning. But generally, you try to get there as quickly as possible.

I really disagree with this. A house isn't going to pay dividends, send my kids to college, or pay for trips and hobbies in my retirement.

Quote

And no, you don't absolutely need a mortgage. A mortgage is just a rat-trap. I'm not saying that they don't have their uses but it's not an impossibility to buy a house without using a mortgage. That's another thing I tend to operate on.

Quote

No credit or loans. If you can't buy it yourself in cash then you don't and shouldn't be going after it in the first place.

It is highly unusual for someone that has no made significant investments into retirement to be able to pay for a house with cash. Unless you were born with money, it doesn't make sense to let $500,000 (or whatever) accumulate in a savings account or money market. You'd put it into stocks or an IRA and then you can withdraw that in retirement and then eschew a mortgage.

Quote

The sooner you have a home that's yours, that's paid off, the more secure your future is. That should always be your number one priority.

Again, I really disagree. Real estate can be a very risky investment, and it's dangerous to think that once you have it paid for that you're secure, especially if you're not prepared for loss in equity or property taxes.

Sandtrap · August 05, 2015, 10:05:34 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on August 05, 2015, 09:51:29 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 09:15:07 PM
I'm aware that you can't just "buy a home now." It does take a little bit of planning. But generally, you try to get there as quickly as possible.
I really disagree with this. A house isn't going to pay dividends, send my kids to college, or pay for trips and hobbies in my retirement.

Quote
And no, you don't absolutely need a mortgage. A mortgage is just a rat-trap. I'm not saying that they don't have their uses but it's not an impossibility to buy a house without using a mortgage. That's another thing I tend to operate on.
Quote
No credit or loans. If you can't buy it yourself in cash then you don't and shouldn't be going after it in the first place.
It is highly unusual for someone that has no made significant investments into retirement to be able to pay for a house with cash. Unless you were born with money, it doesn't make sense to let $500,000 (or whatever) accumulate in a savings account or money market. You'd put it into stocks or an IRA and then you can withdraw that in retirement and then eschew a mortgage.

Quote
The sooner you have a home that's yours, that's paid off, the more secure your future is. That should always be your number one priority.

Again, I really disagree. Real estate can be a very risky investment, and it's dangerous to think that once you have it paid for that you're secure, especially if you're not prepared for loss in equity or property taxes.

As I said Turkey. You're a person who likely lives in a higher class kind of area with a different set of standards to live by. We've got different perspectives on things due to our respective environments. I can't say I can ever see why securing yourself with a home base first is a bad thing.

But then again, it comes down to taste as well. I would never spend 500,000 dollars on a house. Prefferably, I'd make the thing on my own. And, yeah, you are right, a house isn't going to pay dividends and send your kids to college, or pay for trips to where you want to go.

You are.

So therefore, make the money required to do so on top of having a secured home base to work off of. I know I sound like an asshat right now saying, "just do it," but so far in my life from personal experience I've proven to myself that if I need money I can find it, and I can do it quickly. Again.

We've different lifestyles is all.

Turkey · August 05, 2015, 10:33:57 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 10:05:34 PM

So therefore, make the money required to do so on top of having a secured home base to work off of. I know I sound like an asshat right now saying, "just do it," but so far in my life from personal experience I've proven to myself that if I need money I can find it, and I can do it quickly. Again.

Jesus, and you're saying I live in an upper class area? (Btw, I don't; I live in the deep south.) Like I said, unless you're old money, there's really no feasible way to buy a house with cash outside of a very lucrative job, which you're probably not going to have away from urban centers. I'm not trying to shit on your dreams, I just want you to be realistic about your expectations.

Verbatim · August 05, 2015, 10:42:02 PM

Quote from: challengerX on August 05, 2015, 01:38:30 PM

Quote from: Verbatim on August 05, 2015, 01:35:36 PM
Thinking about the distant future is probably my least favorite thing ever, so. Fuck that.

I prefer to just go with the flow. If I could just set my brain to auto-pilot, I so would.
In 20 years time you'll have a wife and kids and a mortgage you can barely afford to pay with your job you hate that you wasted years in college for and your wife is cheating on you and you never get to see your kids so they don't really like you or care about you and then you die from pancreatic cancer.

Doubtful.

Sandtrap · August 05, 2015, 10:44:55 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on August 05, 2015, 10:33:57 PM

Quote from: Sandtrap on August 05, 2015, 10:05:34 PM
So therefore, make the money required to do so on top of having a secured home base to work off of. I know I sound like an asshat right now saying, "just do it," but so far in my life from personal experience I've proven to myself that if I need money I can find it, and I can do it quickly. Again.

Jesus, and you're saying I live in an upper class area? (Btw, I don't; I live in the deep south.) Like I said, unless you're old money, there's really no feasible way to buy a house with cash outside of a very lucrative job, which you're probably not going to have away from urban centers. I'm not trying to shit on your dreams, I just want you to be realistic about your expectations.

I am realistic about my expectations because I've achieved them. I own land that's fully paid off and I own about 90% of a house already. All I need to do is find time to build it. And yeah, there is a way to buy houses with cash.

You keep your hears open for offers, approach the owner of said house, talk to them, and make them an offer. 10,000 dollars in cash makes a good bargaining chip for most people because it's instantaneous money. If they agree, you both sign a paper that's worded correctly, take it to a lawyer and verify it, and then sign the official paper.

Boom. You're a house/land owner without ever having a mortgage or setting foot anywhere with the banks save for property taxes of course.

And yeah turkey, I'd wager in terms of class everybody on this website is higher than me. I need to haul my clean drinking water from a well 30 miles away dude.

You don't get much more lowclass hick than that.

BaconShelf · August 06, 2015, 11:44:01 AM

1) Sit back
2) Wait for WWIII
3) Become a raider

PSU · August 06, 2015, 11:54:09 AM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on August 04, 2015, 08:50:48 PM

Invest at least 10% of your salary in your retirement plan. I use a Roth IRA; others prefer Traditional IRAs.

Don't buy a performance car; get something that is reliable. There are still plenty of fun, good-looking cars that will be low in maintenance costs, sticker price, and mileage.

Once you get established and start making raises or bonuses, consider investing those amounts amounts and living off of your original salary. For instance, I make an extra $150 for flight pay, so I put that into my savings plan instead.

Don't attempt to pay off student loans too quickly, but also consider paying it off 1/4 earlier than estimated.

Make essential purchases for a household on a zero-interest credit card and pay it off in a year. Essentials would include basic furniture, and a washer and dryer.

Open new credit cards to take advantage of zero interest for a year, and pay attention to what those cards give you in terms of cash rewards (usually high at gas stations or air travel).

Don't let a credit card sit unused after the no-interest period has expired, and try to pay off the balance for those each month so you don't get hit with interest.

Slowly accumulate a 6-month 'rainy day' fund in case you lose your job; this is especially important for contract workers.

Don't be afraid of growing up, severing ties with immature friends, and letting go of habits that are keeping you stuck in an old life. Life isn't a party when you're 26 making $10 an hour, no long-term relationship, drowning in debt and living in a crappy apartment.

Get a puppy.

^Solid Advice