This is pretty shocking: 45% of Americans have less than $25k in savings

[ringmastery]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/bal-te.bz.retire06apr06,0,2481471.story?coll=sfla-business-front

Americans are overly optimistic that they will be able to afford a comfortable retirement and are doing too little to prepare for one, a study released yesterday shows.

About 45 percent of workers have less than $25,000 in total savings and investments, excluding the value of their home, and 42 percent aren't saving for retirement at all, according to the 2004 Retirement Confidence Survey released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the American Savings Education Council.

[nickinSTL]

1. less than $25k in savings

Yeah, I'm one of them.

Thanks very much 'President' Bush, for such a great economic plan. /sarcasm

[lapislzi]

3. Me too

and that's WITH a 401k/matching. I MIGHT hit 25k by the end of the year...if the market doesn't tank again.

[Skidmore]

27. Me, too...although I did have much more than that

before the Bush economic recovery hit. With taxes and prices of goods and services going up daily, and the hit my retirement fund took--we are supplementing our budget some months with money from our savings. We don't live extravagantly by any means. All it took was my husband requiring a surgery and needing an unending course of medication and me undergoing a series of diagnostic procedures.

[Qanisqineq]

2. I have a grand total of $14 in savings

what my husband and I OWE is scary

[bicentennial_baby]

4. I got $00000 is savings!

But it's ok, I could always rob a bank!

[mhr]

5. Unemployed Four Years - Savings Yeah Right!

Anyway, what do expect when the vast majority of Americans earn less than 30K per year.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. $avings??? It is to laugh!

ha-ha

[kentuck]

7. If they had said 95%, I could have believed it....

Few people I know have that much in savings....

[Florida_Geek]

8. 3 years out of work and all my 401Ks are history

Thanks bush outsource some more jobs.

[supernova]

9. Well, I do have savings

but not nearly where I should be at this stage of my life. :-(

I usually read in reports similar to this that people also don't count on retiring in the traditional sense. A lot of people will keep on working at some type of job.

I think I will be among them.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. I haven't got shit in savings

But I'm still at the start of my career and am paying off college debt as we speak.

[Dogmudgeon]

11. I have 88 cents

However, I shall soon have about a thousand bucks in there again, thanks to a tax refund and some sundry trickles of cash for some trivial work.

Every penny counts, especially when your pResident can't.

--bkl

[Beaker]

12. to many americans, they consider their "savings account" balance-

to be the total of the available balances left on their credit cards.

[ringmastery]

13. part of it is also the culture of consumerism

keeping up with the jones'..buying crap you don't really need, getting into debt unnecessarily, not being smart with your lifestyle, living in high cost of living areas, etc.

People aren't taught to save. They are taught to spend. My dad grew up in the depression and was a cheap bastard all of his life. He taught me to always live below my means and save and invest as much income as I could bear for a rainy day because shit happens in life. It gave him peace of mind to know that if everything went to hell, and he lost his job, that he could still have a roof over his head and food on his table because he saved wisely.

[KoKo]

19. Yes, those who lived through the Depression never wanted to be caught

without something to fall back on to live. Unfortunately they are all so old that they have little influence and times have seemed good for so long that the stories they told seem just weird to their grandkids.

I had many older aunts and uncles who talked about the Depresson so much that some of it sunk in with me, so I know what you're talking about.

[yardwork]

28. That culture of consumerism "drives our economy."

It's no wonder that Americans are in debt when our entire economy rests on the idea that we will consume and consume and consume some more. Whenever times are bad, the government urges us to go out and buy new refrigerators, cars, and houses.

Interest rates are kept low so that we don't notice how bad things are, we just feel compelled to buy more on credit.

It keeps industry rolling. It's the bedrock of our entire system.

The government and industry makes sure that we are addicted to buying more and more and more from the time we are little kids. And then they have the nerve to run news articles talking about what selfish morons we are to keep buying things on credit.

It makes me sick.

[supernova]

71. Is vastly un healthy

and ultimately unsustainable because those that carry a heavy debt burden will one day have to pay it off... and many won't be able to. `

[pnb]

81. You make it sound as if we are all brain dead children

We all have the power to be more responsible with the money we do have. It's not the fault of government or society if people consume too much instead of saving, regardless of how much so-called "enticement" there is.

It is never intelligent to buy what you cannot afford.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

87. We are all ultimately responsible for our decisions

But making good decisions sometimes is difficult when people have turned marketing into a science. Big companies spend tremendous amounts of money finding people's weak points and exploiting them. Consequently, I feel that those companies share some of the responsibility.

[cryofan]

14. Keep your eyes on the shiny, flashy, bauble, America......

The corporate state bamboozles Americans with "you are gonna be RICH....Any Day Now!" propaganda.

[shanti]

26. i know and it's very sad

several people that i know LIVE for the lottery, when they will be as rich as croesus!

[cryofan]

69. Salary Lottery, McMansion Lottery, social status Lottery entice us

That is what drives America--greed and the desire for social status--to be ABOVE our peers, to see the envy in their eyes. Wealth is not just dollars in the bank--it is being above others. That is the intrinsic definition of wealth. All other definitions are only indirect definitions.

[dweller]

15. No dough

no duh.
dp

[SoCalDem]

16. We have more than that, BUT

That won't last very long if my husband loses his job :(..

The future is NOT secure, by any means.. We have NO pensions to speak of. He has always worked for small companies that never offered it.:(

He is 60 and would like to (and probably needs to) retire, but there is no way.. Thankfully , he has a pencil-pusher job , and has a nice work environment..

My measly pension would barely keep the kitties in catfood :(

[tabasco]

17. Relax, people...

All those tax cuts to the rich will be tricling down soon. HOT DAMN! I can't wait to get my trickle!!!!!!!!!!!

[spotbird]

43. Isn't that tinkle down?

Like we are all one commode?

[SarahB]

18. Sounds about right

My husband has a pension with his job and likely I'll end up with a job with one as well, but I hold no faith in those really or social security. I'm cynical enough to believe there's a good chance there will be no safety nets when I hit 65, so I'll be working until I die. Another reason to take care of yourself, folks.

[chaska]

20. 46, no savings, and don't own anything but a 15 year old car.

Personally, I blame the Greedy Old Pharts. I refuse to beat myself up any longer. It's their fault.

Damn, that feels good!!!

[ikojo]

21. I have about 20k in 401k and an IRA but that is

not really savings to me. IMHO, savings is money you can access whenever you need it with no penalties. My 401k has stiff penalties should I withdraw it.

At my current job I have 9% of my income taken out for 401k and I hope it continues to do well. I also take advantage of a perk at work where I contribute $25 a month and the company puts in another $25 for a total of $50, this is then given back to me in the form of a savings bond.

I, however, do not own a house or any property. Nor do I see myself owning one anythime soon. It is simply out of my price range given my income.

What exactly are people supposed to save with? I am a single person with one income. I am not one of those who will inherit anything when my mom dies. Should we put aside so much for a not promised tomorrow that we cannot live today? I know someone who did that at one time and she ended up declaring bankruptcy when she bought a house and could not afford her 401k contributions and the bills that went along with owning a house.

[InkAddict]

51. My very little IRA CD currently pays 1% and because

it's not over five grand, the bank charges me a whopping $10 maintence fee taken directly from the account - So, they get to withdraw from my account without penalty, but I can't even save without penalty, let alone withdraw the funds without multiple penalties under any circumstances before I'm 59 1/2. Do they charge the big-boys the fee--NOPE! Why bother!

[fencesitter]

22. Savings? I wish.

In order to have savings you need to have something left over after the expenses are paid. My expenses are never really paid, just put off. I save a bit here and there, but I don't have anywhere near 25,000.

[Kong]

23. Are You All Nuts?

I have never made a lot of money in my life, and I'm getting pretty close to retirement (I'm 57 now). I have managed to save about $160K. For Christ's sake, if I could do it anyone could. We have two vehicles, both used, there have been very few new cars in our lives. We eat well, but we eat out infrequently. We don't spend a lot on clothes, fashion means nothing to either my wife or myself. We managed to raise children, they are doing just fine. Some months some bills get paid late, but every single paycheck for the last 25 years has had a little bit go into savings - sometimes a very little bit.

With pension funds being underfunded to an alarming degree and Social Security being used like a pot of free money you would have to be straight forward nuts to not be saving on your own.

[NeonLX]

29. Yeah, I'm nuts...

...watching my "extravagant lifestyle" (940 square foot ranch house in an older, declining neighborhood, two old clunkers in the driveway, both of us working full time, Hamburger Helper almost every night of the week) go slowly down the terlit as our expenses increase but our wages hold steady or actually decline in real terms. Your right, that does drive me nuts.

Wish I was still farming. At least I'd have some excuse for watching my money evaporate.

Our one extravagance--we send our daughter to a parochial school. The public schools in our area have deteriorated to the point of absurdity. We're always willing to take on even more work to keep her in this school. As it is, we don't see much of each other because we work staggered shifts to keep one of us home when our daughter isn't in school.

We don't have cable TV, DSL connection for the internet or any other of the "necessities" of modern life either...

[bearfartinthewoods]

47. hamburger helper is macaroni and spices and chemicals

pasta can be had for 33 cents a pound. add 10 cents of spices and omit the chemicals. how much does hamburger helper cost? if you eat HH everynite, i just saved you 300.00 bucks a year.

[NeonLX]

54. Well, hot damb!! I'm movin' on up!

No more HH for us, not even the generic version! We'll be in that mansion like they have on the Beverly Hillbillies in no time! We might even have us a cee-ment pond!

[bearfartinthewoods]

58. i hope you don't take offense

but it is this attitude that keeps people poor.

if they put a sign up at the grocery store that said 30% off, there would be lines around the block to get in.

she bear shows people from the shelter her receipts or even takes them with her when she does her shopping and they are always amazed to see the "amount saved" listed on the receipt.

last year, just with coupons and buying on sale, we saved around 1700. that doesn't take into account the savings from making our own hamburger helper and skining our own chickens. the amount we save each week goes into a fund for buying cars. so every three or four years, we buy a newer car with cash and save the financing.

if you think about it, we get a free car every couple years because we shop smart. i know it's not a ce-ment pond but it's still a free car.

[NeonLX]

65. Nah, no offense at all...

I was just being flippant. We might not sound like it, but we consider ourselves to be "smart shoppers". Most of our clothes come from Salvation Army or other second-hand outlets. In fact, most of our furnishings are second-hand too. We buy mostly unprocessed food at a local co-op where we are sweat equity members. My current car came from an auction where I picked it up for $1100 under average wholesale (not retail). It's a cheap little car that's cheap to maintain (I should know coz I maintain it myself). We don't own a big screen TV and don't have cable/satellite...etc.

[bearfartinthewoods]

67. boy do i envy you the food co-op and auction access

i've never been able to find either of those...color me green with envy.

[NeonLX]

68. The co-op was easy...

...but the car auction required a "friend in high places". :)

Actually, I'm chummy with the sales manager of a local dealership-- one of the few "used car salesmen" whom I actually trust...

[LynzM]

77. Bear

I have to say, I have great respect for your ablitity to live 'below your means' to that degree, and to save. It is inspiring to me, and something that we are working towards, in little steps....

[ikojo]

36. What do you mean by "never made a lot of money" in

my life. It seems a lot of people have a different definition of what "never made a lot of money" means. For some in the Senate, a middle class income is seen as $200k.

Also, if there are two incomes, it is a little easier to put some aside. Even with two incomes there are not two mortgages or rent payments. Even if you and your wife each made $35k a year that's $70k for two people and $70k is a nice income in my area. Not rich by any stretch, but not exactly poor either.

[bearfartinthewoods]

52. we have never made more than 30 k.

we own our own home free and clear and 12 acres of land. we each have our own car, both of which we saved for rather than borrowed for. the only car i ever financed was my first car.

we have a boat and one fifth share of a little cabin in the woods and ten thousand in saving, which will go up now that there are no more mortgage payments.

we don't go to movies, rarely eat out, and giving the poor manners of the other patrons i doubt we would if we were rich. we cut up the chicken instead of paying an extra buck to have someone else cut it up. i have never had a starbucks because it cannot possible be good enough to be worth more than what we spend on a good steak dinner for one.

the ONE secret i will never tell is the cut of meat, which is almost the equivalent of delmonico, that sells for 4 bucks a pound instead of ten..

[FlaGranny]

37. Don't want to throw a wet blanket on you, but

That $160,000 could be gone in an instant with a major illness, even if you have insurance.

We have no savings, both my husband and myself (in our 60's) had illnesses that caused major financial problems in the past 15-20 years (lost work and medical expenses). We have managed to now own our own home free and clear and have whittled our expenses to a level where either one of us (alone) could live on our Social Security and we have no credit card debt. So I consider us relatively well off.

[bearfartinthewoods]

64. i know what you mean

she-bear had cancer when she was 30. we did have insurance but it was a 20% copay and after several operations, months in the hospital and radiation, we ended up with a bill that was more than i made in two years. it was hell to pay that bill.


we are doing what you are. we are downsizing our lives now so we won't be in for a shock when we retire. i have to say i don't mind it much at all. it's freedom and actually, pretty sweet.

[FlaGranny]

70. Exactly. Freedom.

Right now, we are the most free we've ever been in our lives. We downsized to a mobile home community for seniors - thought I'd never see the day we did that, but it is the best thing we ever did. We were able to buy house and land with proceeds from the sale of our home. We did it a year ago and I just sent in our last payment (we took a 1-year mtg with the seller). Our housing expenses (homeowner association fees AND taxes) are less than $1400 per YEAR. With NO bills! Such a wonderful, wonderful feeling. The only thing that could make it better would be to remove the noxious bushes. ;-)

[Skittles]

57. I agree Kong

I've always scrimped to save for the rainy day. Bush Inc put a dent in my 401K but I still have some. I did it by not being a fashion queen and always driving old, used cars and very rarely taking a vacation. And I have never, never bought anything I did not have the money for.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

74. The vast majority of Americans have not had the opportunity to save...

...the way you are telling us that you have saved. The record, and still rising, numbers of personal bankruptcies and foreclosures should be a major clue in that regard. Nobody expected the roaring economy of the Clinton years to implode, either.

By the way, how long do you and your wife expect to live on that $160K after you retire?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

75. All gone to save my business...and it failed anyway.

[eridani]

89. No. They're too young to have our generational privilege

I'm 57 too. Live in a paid off house. Fully vested in pension plan. Have had periodic unemployment in my life, but also

1. Private school education with scholarship and NDEA loans with 2% interest. Schooling was far more accessible and cheaper back then.
2. Comparatively cheap housing prices when we bought.
3. Old enough to have worked for employers that still have things like health and pension plans.

The level of education debt and crappy job options that younger people are facing are truly scary.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

24. "...excluding the value of their home"

so how many DON'T own a home?
Owning property is big thing. A lot (MOST) struggle to do it but they do find a way to do it.

[NeonLX]

25. BWAHAHAHA!!! Saving for retirement--that's a laugh!!

What sick forker thought that one up??? Bushco is robbing us blind and the author of that article is whining about people not saving for retirement...what a pantload.

[Oddman]

30. What amazes me is that

a political party that represents only 2% of the population gets 50% of the vote . . . How do they pull the wool over that 48%??? How do they keep them fooled for so long??

"What? Me lie?"

“President” Bush Takes a Vacation!!!
http://www.arts-america.com/vacation.htm

[NeonLX]

32. That's simple...

...a "free" press that has utterly failed at its job. And an electorate that seems to revel in its own ignorance.

[ikojo]

33. Want an idea of why so many working class people vote

pug....read the cover story from the April 2004 issue of Harpers Magazine....

[wicket]

31. I live paycheck to paycheck...

...so I don't have much of a choice.

[Lisa0825]

34. Savings? What's that?

I've been in debt since I graduated from college, and I mostly live paycheck to paycheck. I am 35, and I have never had savings. I don't live extravagently. I just don't make enough to do more than live decently paycheck to paycheck.

[bearfartinthewoods]

35. this isn't going to sit well but

unless everyone who is complaining about no savings is posting from a library, you are missing a savings opportunity.

of course, you might say that the internet keeps you sane so it is a necessity for you. a lot of people say the same thing about cable tv or a couple beers after work or ciggies or lunch that doesn't come in a brown bag.

one of the things i do at the shelter is to teach life skills, which in this case is more about prioritizing. internet access can be free or at least, only 9.99 per/mo. jeans can be purchased for 3 bucks. if you must drink soda, house brands are half of pepsicoke.

i have yet to encounter anyone with any income who i could not show how to save at least 10%. if a person, even a person who earns 20 grand a year, saves 2000 a year, they will have a hundred grand at retirement, without interest or investment, if they manage to work continuously.

the problem is, they don't often take the recommendations to heart. it's mostly a matter of the desire for immediate gratification. if a person can't afford to go out for a nice 20 buck steak dinner, they compensate by buying a ten dollar steak instead of 2buck's worth of burger. when people find themselves in deep financial woes, the little treats they buy provide a little short term comfort rather than
the long term remedy that savings might.

it's very hard to resist the lure of advertising and crap like 'cribs' and other versions of lifestyles of the rich and famous.
most people know they are never going to be rich. they compensate with little luxuries. it's a shame that they can't see the luxury in having money in the bank.

i sure wish someone would have taught me this lesson when i was younger. frugal living has enabled me to own my home free and clear and weather several periods of no income but had i started in my 20's instead of my 40's i'd be better off.

[JCMach1]

40. It also helps to work in an awesome economy

I will save close to that amount 25k this year alone and still have an awesome lifestyle...

Note, I do not work in the U.S.

[ikojo]

49. Do you work in the United Arab Emerites? If so, I have

heard that any money you make is tax free (NBC news reported that many people applying for jobs in Iraq are attracted to the fact that they can make six figures and not pay any taxes on that money. I must say I'd be tempted to consider such employment for a year or so of making the kind of money it would take me three years to earn in the US.) If I didn't have to pay any taxes (a la Enron and a lot of other corporations) I would do quite well. But I pay approx. 26% of my wage in taxes. That doesn't take into account the sales taxes AFTER I get my paycheck and buy stuff.

[JCMach1]

61. Expats are exempt up to 90,000K in salary currently

So, I pay 0 taxes...

0 taxes in the UAE (they don't have any)

0$ for healthcare... It is 100% provided through employer madates (private system). This EVEN includes over-the-counter medicine and therapies prescribed by your doctor... all at 100%

Virtually everything is cheaper.

Why are Walmart's prices so low? They are screwing over the American consumer.

The only thing that I have found that is more expensive is saline solution for my contacts.

[ikojo]

63. If I paid zero taxes and nothing for medical care

including prescription drugs, then I, too, would be able to save $25k in a year.

I guess it's a good gig if you can get it.

[supernova]

46. Pennywise

I've posted here before about the virtues of the frugal lifestyle. And yes, I live cheap:

I drive a 12 year old car.
I shop at thrift stores for clothes.
I eat out maybe every other month (though it is a treasured activity),
I have no credit cards, just my debit card.
I don't have a cell phone
I don't have cable or sat TV
I buy everyday items in bulk: paper towels, cleaning supplies,
I don't buy highly processed or convenience foods.
I don't buy expensive colas. I buy the house brands or I buy seltzer if I want something fizzy.

I did listen to my grandparents and my parents about the Great Depression.

My Mom had rickets as a kid due to malnutrition. And my ability to save $$ is what has gotten me through 1.5 years so far of unemployment.

Having said all that, before I got laid off from a very good job, I was able to save about 20,000 and would have kept at it. But I had to use that money for this down time. So, I'm kinda back to square 1.

My point is, you can do the right thing and still get screwed.

[MissB]

53. Preaching to the choir here

I found the joys of frugal living in my late 20s. We don't own our house free and clear, and we have made certain choices to spend money that we could save, but we do save more than the average American each month.

I wonder if the public schools teach a life skills class in high school?

[Fla_Democrat]

84. Great post.

"i have yet to encounter anyone with any income who i could not show how to save at least 10%."

I tell the guy's at work that all the time. Hey, 10% per week, for 52 weeks is 5.2 weeks pay saved at the end of the year. The thought of over a months pay is enough to get their attention. For those that say they can't save 10%, I give them a notebook, and tell them to write down EVERYTHING they buy for a month. It's quite an eye opener. :wow:

For a couple of the hard core cases, I made 'banks' out of some scrap 4" PVC and a couple of 'test caps'. They keep them behind their truck seats, and before they leave the bank drive-through on Fridays, they (are suppose to, anyway), pull them out and "pay" themselves just like it was any other bill they had to pay.


A list that has been making the rounds on another board is pretty interesting. It can be found at http://www.arches.uga.edu/~kswanson/save.htm and offers ideas on Saving.

"i sure wish someone would have taught me this lesson when i was younger. frugal living has enabled me to own my home free and clear and weather several periods of no income but had i started in my 20's instead of my 40's i'd be better off."

Aye, same here, I started late as well, but at least I started. :thumbsup: Perhaps others will read your post, and see the wisdom in it. :yourock:

[BiggJawn]

86. Dial-up through work, Bear.

Doesn't cost anything. Oh, the $35 a month for the landline, but are you gonna tell me that's a "luxury", too?

Sorry, I have a mental block. when I hear the term "Frugal Living" I think "Use BOTH sides of the TP before you flush it."

I have given up on the idea of ever retiring. and I have a PENSION!

[GOPisEvil]

38. I have a retirement account because I am forced to.

The state forces me into their retirement system, and takes 6% of my paycheck and sticks it into an account for me. I'm fully vested, so when I retire (or hit age 60), I'll get a monthly check and health insurance. It's not a HUGE check, but it's better than nothing. Left to my own devices, I might have SOME saved up, but not nearly as much as I do now. Between my 401(k) and state retirement I've probably got around $25-30k.

[CBHagman]

39. All it takes is one medical or legal disaster, and the savings are gone.

I know of a couple of cases where families either went into deep debt and/or depleted retirement savings over legal battles and health care costs. In one case, more than one member of the family had serious long-term health problems.

It kills me that Bush prances around telling us that tort reform is going to save us from rising health care costs. YEAH, right. A lot he knows about it.

I'm part of the 45 percent, though I'm not part of the 42 percent (I do save something). But given the cost of living and the stagnant wages in this country (and the high cost of housing), I'm not surprised nearly half the population has less than $25,000 in savings. Where exactly are most people expected to get the disposable income? After health insurance premiums, rent or mortgage, food and transportation, most people don't have much left over.

[Triana]

41. and I'm one of them - had to use it all

...for unemployment in george bu$h's enronomy. I USED to have a decent savings and IRA - but not anymore. Had to use the $ to live on.

[Buns_of_Fire]

42. Savings? Investments? Retirement? What are these terms of which you speak?

:shrug:

[MissMillie]

44. I was saving so that I could move but

I haven't seen any child support in 2 months, so the savings got eaten up pretty quickly.

[SmileyBoy]

45. All the money I have equals to about $350.

Of course, I'm only a 21 year-old college student living paycheck to paycheck.

[InkAddict]

48. And I'll bet that a full 50% of those

are or have been direct or indirect "victims" of Republican policies of greed and RW fundamentalist policies of "where there's God, there's no-need--outside mine", that have overshadowed Dems attempts to keep dreams alive over the past quarter century.

The folks told us to save for "a" rainy day - but not 1,000 days of rain! How far are savings supposed to last - three months reserve? Hah! When one loses one's job, the savings and benefits that protect those savings/investments slip-slide away as one tries to protect one's health, one's home, the transportation to get to that new job that will be landed any day now.

The failed policies that have led to mergers, outsourcings, golf-game Federal contracts, and underfunded corporate, federal, state, and local programs intended to feed, house, transport, employ, and retrain, have shaped the savings of many and there probably aren't enough years left for some to regain any semblence of a break-even position.

So, assume that those w/jobs will see major increases in taxes, or be sure to get a digital video of the death-carts coming down your street, or look for many little, old granny/grandpa-type armed bank robbers just looking for three squares, a bed, and some pills. Good luck!

[supernova]

50. About six months

for an emergency fund is what financial planners usually recommend as a minumum. But I had a year+ saved up and have needed every bit of it. :-(

So the real answer is save as much as you possibly can.

[RebelOne]

55. How can anyone afford to save?

It costs too much just to live. The only savings I have is my 401K, which only has a few thousands dollars in it.

[supernova]

56. You really have to

separate what is a necessity from a nice to have. You'd be surprised at what a person can live without.

[Lisa0825]

76. I don't have cable TV. I have dialup internet for under $10 a month.

(this is not a rant directed AT you. It just seemed like a good place to drop this post :-))

I rarely buy new clothes, and when I have in the past 1.5 years, it has been at thrift stores. After bills and food, I have about $500 a month left... less in summer time when my electric bill triples or quadruples. $500 a month for some minor entertainment expenses, car repairs, minor home repairs, a haircut, etc... it doesn't go all that far. I had $650 in car repairs in the last three months, so what I managed to save in three months went $100 to that. Before that, my water heater broke. Last summer, my lawnmower was stolen... it's either buy a cheap one for $125 of pay the neighbors way more through the course of the summer. There's ALWAYS some expense that comes along to take what I've put aside. that's why i DO put aside what i can. But it never makes it to longterm savings.

Sure, I could live like a pauper, cut the internet, never go out to dinner, and give away my cat... but then, why bother living? Gotta have a little bit of fun in life.

Meanwhile, I am looking for a better job, and going for a higher degree. I feel like I could live like this without raising my standard of living, and if I get a raise, I can put that to either savings, or paying off debts.

Now, when I was unemployed, I didn't drive my car, because I had no gas money. I walked to the employment office to apply for jobs. So sure, there is *always* something you can do without. But I think I live as frugally as I am willing to.

[callous taoboy]

59. Teacher here.

Need I say more?

[shrike]

60. I have more than that, but only because of an inheritance

My late father insisted on sitting on as much money as possible for us. We kept urging him to go out and live a little, but he kept saying, "No, you're going to need this." He lived long enough to see Bush get into office; I wonder if he could see the future.

[ikojo]

62. You are very lucky.

It has been said that when the parents of the baby boomers die there will be seen the greatest transfer of wealth from one generation to another in the history of the US. Of course not all baby boomer parents did well enough to leave any inheritance.

My mom worked hard and raised seven kids alone with little or no help from my father. He paid child support only when he had to (ie just regular enough to keep from being sent to jail.) My mom is now 68 and will be retiring in May. She will be receiving approx. $1000 a month in social security and that is it.

[shrike]

66. I know I am

And I am quite humbled to think that my father thought enough of me to deny himself pleasures so that I would have a better future.

[dawn]

72. This isn't shocking to me.

DH and I certainly don't have close to $25K in retirement/savings ever since we were both laid off last year. Now that he's working, we are doing better, but we had to cash out my 401k. My short-term contract gigs have been few and far between.

Hopefully, as we get older, things will stabilize and we can get our savings back.

[LisaM]

73. Who can afford a house?

What a laugh. When I moved to Seattle I worked in a daycare center. Great job, but I could barely afford to LIVE much less buy a house. In the meantime, housing prices soared. There is nothing in the city under $225K and how can an ex-daycare worker afford a down payment anyway? (I now work in a law firm, but have had to work my way up to a decent salary.) With one exception, my friends who own houses all got the down payments from their parents. My father taught in the public schools his entire working career, so they don't have that kind of money lying around. It maddens me.

[Catherine Vincent]

78. I'm included in the percentage.

I am single. My savings is about $20 until the next paycheck. I live paycheck to paycheck. Once my mortgage, utilities and other bills are paid there is barely enough to me. During the winter months I get a little extra because my electricity bill is only about $50. But in the summer I pay triple that (it gets hot here in Houston!). I know I could save if I cut back on stuff. I do pay for cell service including my Mom's. I didn't have cable but I got it back just recently, that's $50/month. I was paying $30/mth for dsl but just recently switched back to dial up for $10/mth. It's kind of hard to save being single and you're the only one paying the bills. My bf and I send about $50 to the cruiseline because we booked a cruise in april 05. We went a couple of times and fell in love with cruising, sending a little every month is the one way we can afford it. I have about 40K in my 401 excluding the 15K in loans. I do have a small pension with the company. I don't remember how much I get month from the government when I retire at 67 but I don't count that anyway. If I lose my job I'm in deep doo doo.

[silverpatronus]

79. what i've seen the 'savers' here saying...

is that you have to suffer or 'scrimp' to save. but why should you HAVE to live a life of sacrifice just so you don't get jacked in your old age? suffer young, enjoy life when your knees give out? a lot of people scrimp all their lives and NEVER get the chance to enjoy the fruits of it. i've never understood that. why should you have to sacrifice the things that make you happy? life is short, any one of us could drop dead tomorrow. life is to be ENJOYED not merely endured. and if enjoying life for me means having nice dinners, why shouldn't i have that if i can afford it? savings are important yes, for emergencies. you should always be prepared for a rainy day. medical emergencies, deaths, fires, floods, hurricanes, job loss etc. are seriously scary business, and it helps to not have to worry about money when you're also worrying about vastly more important things. you want to leave your kids something when you're gone, because you love them. but there's a difference between living within your means and just plain out scrimping. maybe it ain't the case in this economy, but there MUST be SOME way to save without having to sacrifice everything you enjoy.

[cornfedyank]

80. do not forget your share of the debt

the acknowledged national debt. $24,282 for every american.
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

[Catherine Vincent]

82. This needs a good kicking!

:kick:

[THATGIRL1]

83. Saving pay LESS than 1% these days!

If they'd raise the interest rates, perhaps people
could and would have more incentive to save! So SAD$$$$

[Ilsa]

85. We live frugally, and we save.

We didn't buy a big house when everyone else was. One car payment. One eight year old vehicle. No private schools, just private speech therapy for our disabled child. If it weren't for our insurance, we'd be broke buying our son's medications (a house payment). We don't eat out much. I cook alot. We fix almost everything ourselves.

But yes, I can see where people making just above min wage are unable to save.

[WillyBrandt]

88. That's not surprising at all.

[Piperay]

90. Luckily I inherited

from my aunt O8)who saved and scrimped and did without so she would have something to leave behind. I am eternally grateful to her and I am very careful with it because I know the sacrifices she made.

[DiverDave]

91. 2 Kids

mortgage, 1 car payment, childcare, had to put a new roof on the house, My boys are 3 and 6 and it seems they need new shoes/clothes each month. I've been unemployed off and on for 2 years, health insurance for the family is 400 a month...not much left over to save.
Altho things are looking up, I start a full time permanent job on Monday.
With free ppo health ins.
So, we need to get some more money into savings.
After we do alot of work on the house and my wife's car that we couldn't afford for the last couple of years.
I ain't bitching, alot of folks are worse off.