Cost of Living

[miked]

For the first time I think Im proud to live in my little Texas town after looking at some of prices you guys are throwing around. My rent is currently 460/mo for a 2 bedroom house. Not the biggest, fanciest thing on the block, but its nice and our neighbors are friendly and more importantly quiet.

[dedalusdedalus]

Unless it was a very big apartment I'd have to have a two bedroom. I have way too much stuff to fit in a one bedroom. Anyway, my dad lived in apartments for a long time and it sucked. I really don't want to throw the money away anyway if I can pay slightly more and own something. Not to mention get a whole lot more.

Not to mention that mortgage payments are tax deductible, if you opt for itemized deductions rather than the standard deduction. So even if you're paying more on a mortgage than on rent, you're gonna see some of that money back when you get your tax refund.

[the King]

Living in a castle would nice. King

It is...



Jrecee,

My only real advice is owning your own place means alot more than any of the "extra" things like videogames or whatever else you are into. Those things can wait. You clearly want to be on your own, so take whatever steps to do that. Get your own place and then worry about the other stuff. You don't want to be that guy in his mid 20's or even 30 sill living with his parents.

[final fight cd]

$800/mo - mortgage
$100/mo - elec/gass
$100/mo - food
$80/mo - car insurance
$60/mo - House insurance
$70/mo - fuel
$60/mo - phone/internet

so you really only drop 100 a month on food and only 70 a month on gas? either you are fibbing or that is damn impressive.

with snacks, bars, going out for meals, and buying actual groceries i probably drop close to 300-400 a month on "food."

and i probably drop close to 100-120 a month on gas.

[Jrecee]

Living in a castle would nice. King

It is...



Jrecee,

My only real advice is owning your own place means alot more than any of the "extra" things like videogames or whatever else you are into. Those things can wait. You clearly want to be on your own, so take whatever steps to do that. Get your own place and then worry about the other stuff. You don't want to be that guy in his mid 20's or even 30 sill living with his parents.

Well I'm 24 so I already am. It'll be a year at least until I've got anything that looks like a down payment. That said, I don't feel like being the person who has no money, can't go anywhere or do anything, because I'm trying to pay for a house that I never see.

The obvious answer to all these problems is: Win the lottery.

Oh I also read a fun article a few weeks ago. Said for people currently in their 20s, in order to comfortably retire at 65, you'll need 2 million in savings.

[GSZX1337]

Living in a castle would nice. King

Oh I also read a fun article a few weeks ago. Said for people currently in their 20s, in order to comfortably retire at 65, you'll need 2 million in savings.

Ugh, better start selling my Metal CDs now...

[Jrecee]

Ha, no kidding. I did the math and I'd have to save over $60,000 a year for the next 30 years (starting. . . tonight) to reach that goal. Not to mention make enough money to live on for those 30 years. The average salary in the US is something like $45,000. I'd wager a whole lot of people aren't going to be retiring at 65.

[dedalusdedalus]

Ha, no kidding. I did the math and I'd have to save over $60,000 a year for the next 30 years (starting. . . tonight) to reach that goal. Not to mention make enough money to live on for those 30 years. The average salary in the US is something like $45,000. I'd wager a whole lot of people aren't going to be retiring at 65.

You don't need to save 60K per year to hit 2M by the time you're 65.

The reason for this is the magic of compounding returns. You're 25 now, so each $1 you put into your retirement fund this year, assuming you can earn a 5% yearly return, will turn into $7.03 by the time you're 65. (1.05^40)

Therefore, if you put away $8,534.85 this year, and it earned 5% a year, that money would be $60,000 by the time you're 65. So you don't need to save 60K to meet "this year's" quota; you only need to save $8,534.85.

Morals of this post are: (1) compound returns rule; (2) you better start saving when you're young.

[MrPopo]

Ha, no kidding. I did the math and I'd have to save over $60,000 a year for the next 30 years (starting. . . tonight) to reach that goal. Not to mention make enough money to live on for those 30 years. The average salary in the US is something like $45,000. I'd wager a whole lot of people aren't going to be retiring at 65.

You don't need to save 60K per year to hit 2M by the time you're 65.

The reason for this is the magic of compounding returns. You're 25 now, so each $1 you put into your retirement fund this year, assuming you can earn a 5% yearly return, will turn into $7.03 by the time you're 65. (1.05^40)

Therefore, if you put away $8,534.85 this year, and it earned 5% a year, that money would be $60,000 by the time you're 65. So you don't need to save 60K to meet "this year's" quota; you only need to save $8,534.85.

Morals of this post are: (1) compound returns rule; (2) you better start saving when you're young.

Most definitely. If your company has a 401(k) you better at least be putting in the amount that gives you the highest employee match, and it's probably a good idea to put in more. Nice thing about the 401(k) is it's pre-tax, so it can drop you a bracket if you're right on the edge.

[GSZX1337]

What do you guys think about Certificates of Deposit (CDs)? I've been thinking about investing in one of those.