Aged under 35? What's your biggest financial challenge?

[I'm a red panda]

@belgiandude ... You have 100K savings (after taxes, mortgage, utils, etc) and your worried about how it's invested? Put it under a rock and you'll be FI in no time. You have no challenges.

He said 100k PER YEAR!

I have 100k in non-retirement savings and it sure doesn't feel like it is going to go very far (especially when everytime I check Vanguard the only gain I have is slightly less than I deposited that week)- but 100k a year would be NICE.


Another thing- when I see the success of the generations who are hitting retirement now, so much of how they got to the high salaries they are at predicated on the high raises of the 80s and early 90s. 8%, 10% (even 15% some people said) a year does something HUGE.  Especially when you can stay with the same company for 40 years! People say millennial have no company loyalty, but that is because companies have no interest in their employees either.  A "good" raise is 2% now, and I've seen (first hand in one case) how quickly employers cut employees; not even bothering to reassign them to an open position, that way they can be rehired to that position without their grandfathered benefits.   The only way to get a raise is to company hop; and 15 years into my career, on my third company, I don't think I can do much more hopping.  My industry isn't large enough.

[without_a_map]

I'm female, 27

biggest challenge for me is I'm only just finishing my PhD studies, so I've got to make the leap into earning some proper money, although struggling to identify decent jobs, particularly in the rural area where my boyfriend has positioned himself. I feel like I'm getting a late start, but as soon as I can start earning a proper amount I'm ready to get going on the journey to FI. Just not sure how to make a start yet! Boyfriend is in a similar position also, and he is not good at keeping hold of any money he does earn!

[MrsPete]

I'm 33 and my husband and I are doing very well right now.

We are worried about college costs for our future children.  I think we are on an okay track to save for retirement (I say "okay" because it is difficult to really know what is needed. We certainly have well more than average for our age, and maybe even average for people reaching retirement; but with NO pension, and a question of whether there will be much social security, and it all depending on the market, well it is still scary); but to also pay for the incredible rising cost of college, for more than one child, just makes retirement look so far away- if even ever possible.

I was very worried about saving for college when I was your age too, but now I'm in the year I dreaded:  I have a college freshman and a college senior ... and my total outlay for college expenses was around $300 for the fall semester; yes, a number of positives came together all at the same time.  Last year I spent more when we only had one in college (junior year of nursing school is incredibly expensive because that's the year they start student nursing, and that was tremendously expensive -- but this year she already has her school scrubs, stethoscope, all her books, etc.). 

Having spent so much less than I expected, I'm feeling generous and am taking them shopping today for some back to school clothes.  The oldest has specifically asked that we buy two outfits appropriate for job interviews. 

How'd we get here? 

First, we over-saved.  Not a problem, mind you, but we started saving aggressively when we were first married (I was just out of college, and he'd been working a couple years, but we wiped out our savings buying our first house -- that was not a mistake).  We lived frugally and saved in our own names, in generic accounts instead of college-specific accounts.  We saved while time was still on our side.

Around the time they started high school, we started seriously talking about college choices, and we set limits for our kids.  We told them we could pay for four years at a state school, and if they wanted out of state (no point) or a private school (again, no point), they'd have to pay the difference.  Neither had any problem finding what she wanted in a school.

Then both of our kids ended up earning academic scholarships -- enough to cover tuition; however, this is NOT something you should expect will happen.  I teach high school seniors, and the vast majority of our students -- even the really strong academic students, even the ones who are highly motivated and genuinely work to seek out scholarships -- do not get anything.  Save as if scholarships aren't going to happen, and then be glad if they do! 

Now that I'm 3 1/2 years into paying for college, I can say that thusfar we've only dipped into savings ONCE to pay college costs.  We've been able to do it most semesters from our current earnings. 

My advice about college costs:  Save, save, save while they're young.  Don't be afraid to set limits (an amazing number of parents don't talk to their kids about what they can/can't afford for college).  And it'll turn out to be easier than you expect -- but only if you save now. 

[Guses]

Seems like the OP is just fishing for content to write an article. That won't stop me from contributing.

The biggest challenge is getting our ducks in a row so that we can be FIRE by 35. We are on track to finish paying our house this year and amass a very sizeable stache. In the next 4 years, asset accumulation will be on our minds.

I'm in NYC, getting a good deal, and my half of the nanny share runs $375/wk. She gets 5 sick days and 2 weeks of paid vacation (one her choice, one our choice), which is standard. She's on the lower end, price-wise for the area, but she doesn't have a commute (she lives a 5 minute walk away) so it's win-win.

It's worth noting that Quebec receives twice as many transfer payments as anywhere else in Canada. That's why they have really, really cheap services. That isn't representative of Canada as a whole.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization_payments_in_Canada

I don't think that equalization payments have much (if anything) to do with how much daycare costs. Nominally, Ontario receives about half what Quebec does in term of EQ payments, yet daycare costs an order of magnitude more. Similarly, PEI receives more EQ payments than QC per capita, does that make daycare cost less in PEI?

It is more a question of what the Province prioritizes in terms of services. Given that the ideology in QC is more socialist than the ROC (rest of Canada), it is not surprising that daycare is given more priority over other things.



On the cost of children, our toddler is costing us a bit more than 100$ per month, everything included. Well, not daycare, because he will start in a couple weeks.

[TravelJunkyQC]

I'm a 28 year old woman, boyfriend is 25. We live together and have similar financial goals, but for personal reasons we keep our finances separate apart from joint costs. Neither have any debt, both own property (trying to get rid of my rental condo, we live in his). So my own goal is increasing my income in order to get FI faster. Poor job market in Québec, high taxes, and a relatively vague degree has resulted in me making approximately 33,000$ take-home pay at my age. By far my biggest financial challenge is this.

[Apples]

We need to save a down payment equal to 66% of our annual gross income to buy a small farm, and we want kids in the next few years (while also saving 10% for retirement and 5% to a general EF).  Looking at the numbers, we have to do the down payment, then have kids because daycare is going to eat up everything we're saving each month towards the down payment, plus some.  And I don't know that we'll be able to save for their college until daycare costs come down, so we'll miss out of the best years for savings.  But it's possible our incomes could go up to accommodate it.  It's hard to know. 

And +1 to the person who said starting life is expensive.  We got married young so most of our kitchen was stocked, and were were giving a grill and lawn mower.  But my goodness my wardrobe and all the things to use on a yard and garden, and some furniture, and our first TV, heck our first stuff to wash our cars with, etc.  That sucked several thousand of our earnings away.  And we're still in that mode, though slower now, where we are still acquiring things.

Among my less financially fluent friends, I think the biggest savings challenge is not actually understanding how a 401k and Roth IRA work.  Tax deferral vs. "savings", limits, how compounding works, etc.  don't mean much to them.  They are all smart people, but the ins and outs trip up several of them.  And they all have budgeting problems, even though none of them have kids and all have at least ok jobs.

[galliver]

I'm 26. I'm concerned about choosing and building my career once I wrap up my PhD in engineering. I'm not really ready to actively start hunting yet for the types of jobs that interest me, but from what I see of the field it's looking like it might be a choice between high pay/long days&stress/preferred location vs lower pay/fewer hours & less stress/more time for home&frugality/less choice in location. Two different types of work, both equally interesting in different ways. Or if I were to go for a postdoc it would be lower pay/more stress/less time/less choice...so I'm really starting to give up on that academic "dream" as it seems to be (with my personality) more of a nightmare...

Also concerned about things like starting-out costs (particularly wedding &  house), finding agreement with the bf (we have lots of common ground, but he's definitely more in line with mainstream financial advice: put XX% in retirement but spend the rest, vs maximizing savings), and starting investing (right now my instinct is to pile up cash due to almost-certain future instability).

[Chris22]

Inside joke not translating so well... :)

Word on the 'kids don't cost as much as you think'. My daughter isn't in school yet, but at the moment, not including daycare, we're averaging about 200$/month for everything (diapers, toys, extra food and milk - dear god, the amount of milk that can go into one toddler, etc). Daycare where we are is subsidized and under 300$/month. We also get about 200$/month from the govt. So... not CHEAP, by any means, but definitely not as expensive as we had been led to believe before having kids.

I'd call this phenomenally cheap.

My daycare bill is going to be $240 a week (the places I looked ranged from $220-$280 per week).  I live in freaking Iowa. I can't imagine what someone in New York City pays.  You get 1 week of vacation a year where you can pay half-price to hold the spot.

And then we have to buy all the other things you included in "everything".

I'd say, having a toddler, the only thing really expensive about kids is daycare.  We paid about $1400/mo (4 days a week, a grandma had her 1 day a week) when she was 4-12 months, and then it goes down a couple hundred bucks each level to where now we pay give or take $1k/mo.  We also have an HSA account we can contribute $5k/yr to tax free to offset childcare expenses that we just use as a slush fund for whatever, so our effective cost is lower. 

Other than that, diapers are cheap (on the high end we'd use an economy size box maybe every 3 weeks, but every 4-5 weeks was more average, about $38 from Sam's or Amazon Mom).  Formula was somewhat expensive (we needed to supplement my wife's production capacity) at about $30 for a tin that lasted a week.  We're fortunate that we have moms who love to shower their granddaughter with clothes to the point we barely had to buy any, but if you do, you can make that cheap even buying new (a whole outfit is <$10).  And all the other "stuff" like cribs and swings and strollers can all be as $$$$ or $ as you want; we have decent sized families so our baby shower was "lucrative" and we only had to pick up a couple things ourselves.  Once the kid's on solid food, it's easy, ours loves fruit and basically lives off of a couple bites of whatever we're eating plus a crapload of fruits and veggies (she loves blueberries and cucumbers, for whatever reason).  I even splurge and get the organic milk for $7 or $8/gal, and that lasts us a week, give or take (she gets 5 or 10 meals a week at daycare; lunch and breakfast but often also eats a breakfast snack at home).

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.  That's $120k of principle, and with market appreciation should send her anywhere she wants to go (I didn't have a limit and don't intend to give her one).  If the market tanks, no one else will be able to send their kid to school either, so something's gotta give ;)

[Chris22]

Oh, worth noting for parents. Costco formula is the cheapest I've found; it's the same price online and in-store if you buy the 3 pack (Free shipping) and unlike most other formulas on the market, it uses lactose for the sugar, not corn syrup or sugar. As it's supposed to be a breastmilk substitute, this is probably good.

IIRC, the orange Target can is the same as the yellow brand name can (I don't remember what brand) that the doctor recommended.  I want to say the yellow can was $38, and the Target $28?  Something like that. 

[spud1987]

Good topic. Our biggest challenge will be maintaining our high savings rate when we have a mortgage and kid. We are currently saving 65% of our income. However, even if we change nothing about our lifestyle after having a baby our budget will increase at least $17k/year for daycare. Then there are the added costs of having a kid (healthcare being the largest). So our savings rate will plummet to 50% even though our baseline spending will remain the same. That is kind of depressing.

We thought about one of us staying at home when we have a kid, but that makes even less financial sense since our individual incomes are both 100k+.

But we already have a nice stash, so hopefully FI won't be delayed significantly.

[I'm a red panda]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.

That's pretty smart.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant we started dumping the daycare cost into a Vanguard account.  That way we have 8 months to ease into not having that money (with our savings rate, it's been a non-issue, but at least we have systematic contributions to investments, instead of our "checking account looks awful full, we should buy some stock" system we used to use); and MAYBE when the time comes we'll be able to pull the money from elsewhere and keep up the contribution.

[Chris22]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.

That's pretty smart.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant we started dumping the daycare cost into a Vanguard account.  That way we have 8 months to ease into not having that money (with our savings rate, it's been a non-issue, but at least we have systematic contributions to investments, instead of our "checking account looks awful full, we should buy some stock" system we used to use); and MAYBE when the time comes we'll be able to pull the money from elsewhere and keep up the contribution.

The only risk is the rules around re-allocating the money out of a 529 if necessary (kid has scholarships, doesn't go to college, or you over saved).  I haven't read all the rules yet, because at $100/mo or whatever I stuff in there now it doesn't matter, but at some point I need to understand when I step up contributions.  I don't worry about affecting the ability to receive financial aid because basically anyone over $100k/yr and any assets at all will be inelligible.

[Travis]

Wife and I are a couple months shy of 35.  We don't have any real challenges right now (renting, no payments, no debt, $115k household income), but our biggest financial challenge of the last 10 years was figuring out how to build an adult life with the right habits.  It took her years to really care about family finances and it took me until four years ago to really focus on investing and saving.  She's never been a spender, but money was just something that I took care of.  One of her goals this year is to vastly increase her financial education.  I've always saved a little, but I never put it anywhere productive until coming here.  We also delayed children until 30 due to how busy my job has been.  Our challenges in the near future are figuring out when we can safely pull the trigger on FIRE and where.  I'm 7 years away from a pension, but I won't know for another 3 years or so if I'm going to qualify for it.  Since I move every couple years we could FIRE just about anywhere and not knowing where we're going to settle makes those financial equations swing drastically.

[EricP]

The hardest thing for us were the capital costs involved in starting an adult life. In the last five years, we've moved three times for work, bought a car, filled an apartment with furniture, gotten married, stocked a pantry, stocked a kitchen, bought two professional wardrobes, and paid for my husband's immigration. Those are all fairly expensive things. Some of these we will never do again, or won't do again for many years. Now we're at the point of maintaining existing systems, so while we might replace a couple articles of clothing in a month, or buy a single piece of furniture or restock our spice cabinet, the cash outlays are not the same. It's actually been great; we have a lot more money to save now that we aren't being hit with a couple multi thousand dollar expenses per year. We put $50,000 into retirement last year and are on track to do it again.

Pretty much this.

Sure, these things can all be thousands of dollars, but you can also do a lot of it on the cheap.  Craigslisting, spreading it over time, hand me downs, gifts, etc.  In my first apartment I had a mattress, a card table, a computer, a folding chair, a television and a $30 Wal-Mart TV Stand.  I got my grandmother's old pots and maybe dropped $50 at Wal-Mart for some place settings.  Sure, I got lucky with Grandma's pots, but there's some usable stuff at Goodwill that could be acquired on the cheap.  I have slowly upgraded and added more stuff but I never felt like "adult life start up costs" were holding me down.

[jhess002]

1.  Daycare costs ~$1,400 for toddler and will cost ~1,800 for the new baby.  This is more than our mortgage payment.  Hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel that will mean we may have only 1 year of double payments thanks to DC's pre-k for 3 year olds, it is a lottery so it is not guaranteed.

2. Student Loans - Although I was fortunate to have the VA pay most of my tuition for undergrad and grad school, I still had a modest student loan burden.  Once I was able to get on top of my student loans it allowed our savings mode to improve greatly, and allow for greater investment.  These loans are also a psychological drain that I have seen influence bad professional and personal finance decisions for my friends.   

3. traveling costs - visiting out-of-state family twice a year adds up quickly now that we have to buy 3 seats on an airplane due to toddler no longer being a "lap infant".

[Lis]

The 'start up fees' for becoming an adult can be real haha. Buying work appropriate clothes for the office job was a bit of a shock (thank god for Goodwill!). I'm currently living with a ton of (free) hand-me-down furniture and some cheap, low quality, purchased new stuff. My futon collapsed twice, but I luckily have a few handy friends who literally bent pieces together so it would hold (most likely not surviving another move though - a shame, that thing is comfy!).

I jumped into paying off my student loans and retirement right away - paid off a $20k, 20 year loan in two and a half years, and I currently have half of a year's salary in a 401k after two years. I also opened and maxed a Roth IRA this year and am planning on maxing again by February of next year.

The biggest struggle I deal with is the whole socializing aspect. Many of my friends want to try this restaurant and go to that concert, and while I convince them to do cheap/free things often, I do spend a decent amount of money on going out a month. Plus I like going to new restaurants and trying new things. I love cooking, but cooking for myself gets lonely after a while, and there are only so many potlucks and I can host or suggest at a time.

I'm also trying to figure out when/if I want to purchase a home in the near future, and how best to save for that. Specifically, what do I 'invest' in first, a downpayment, my Roth IRA, or my 401k? Different personal goals line up differently than some of my financial goals.

Overall, I think I'm doing pretty decent for a 25 year old.

[TheAnonOne]

25m married to a 23f, we make 230-250 a year. So making enough isn't an issue. Keeping focused on saving is an issue. I have a strong desire for a 2016 Stingray and it would only put back retirement by 3-5 months.

First world problems I suppose.

[EricP]

The hardest thing for us were the capital costs involved in starting an adult life. In the last five years, we've moved three times for work, bought a car, filled an apartment with furniture, gotten married, stocked a pantry, stocked a kitchen, bought two professional wardrobes, and paid for my husband's immigration. Those are all fairly expensive things. Some of these we will never do again, or won't do again for many years. Now we're at the point of maintaining existing systems, so while we might replace a couple articles of clothing in a month, or buy a single piece of furniture or restock our spice cabinet, the cash outlays are not the same. It's actually been great; we have a lot more money to save now that we aren't being hit with a couple multi thousand dollar expenses per year. We put $50,000 into retirement last year and are on track to do it again.

Pretty much this.

Sure, these things can all be thousands of dollars, but you can also do a lot of it on the cheap.  Craigslisting, spreading it over time, hand me downs, gifts, etc.  In my first apartment I had a mattress, a card table, a computer, a folding chair, a television and a $30 Wal-Mart TV Stand.  I got my grandmother's old pots and maybe dropped $50 at Wal-Mart for some place settings.  Sure, I got lucky with Grandma's pots, but there's some usable stuff at Goodwill that could be acquired on the cheap.  I have slowly upgraded and added more stuff but I never felt like "adult life start up costs" were holding me down.

Yeah, I always pay my immigration fees on Craigslist too. It wasn't furniture and home goods that were the biggest one among those. Not even close.

How many people pay immigration fees?  Oh, that's right very few.  Don't be an ass. That's the one exception to what I was saying, but "Stocking a Pantry" and "Stocking a Kitchen" are only "multi-thousand" dollar expenses if you let them be.

Sure a wedding is often a multi-thousand dollar affair, but by no means does it have to be.  Immigration fees are the one item that is a legitimately expense item, everything else you listed becomes a "multi-thousand" dollar expense by choice.

[supomglol]

I'm 28, the wife is 26. 
We own a home w/loan we purchased from family. 
Own two cars we bought used from craigslist.
I paid my own college tuition in cash working two jobs, wife entered marriage with 0 debt and has been going to school for last 2 years (we pay the tuition from income)

I think the biggest challenge for us is resisting lifestyle creep.  All of our friends our age (most are a few years older) continue to spend spend spend on consumer purchases seemingly every day.  New cars, bigger houses, new video consoles, more kids & pets.  The list goes on.  It is very tempting for us to get pulled into this mentality; and it does sometimes cause contention (we ended up with a bit of an argument over tipping just this last weekend).  I have to remain double-vigilant as the wife isn't as frugal as I, and she can be very persuasive. 

One thing I've really found helps is the automatic deductions from my paychecks.  Having the money deducted before I effectively ever see it has allowed me to steadily increase my 401K contribution from the minimum 4% to 18% over the last 2 years.  A slow increase has been lowering my net income direct deposit by about $50 each time I increase.  I am amazed each time I open my 401K balance to see how much is accumulating in there. 

[jprince7827]

Paying for this damn wedding. Not that I don't have the funds, it's dealing with the existential shock of paying 100$/minute for six total hours on a single day. Call it an emotional trauma.

[Philociraptor]

26 year old DINKs, biggest challenge is patience. We're both early in career and so not making much money, but enough to fill out 401(k)'s and IRA's. With those two we can FIRE in 12.8 years according to my spreadsheet, but we'd love to accelerate that. My student loans are a big chunk of change that magically disappears every month. Family expectations for gift giving also eat a lot of money (Mint tells me we spent $2.2k on gifts last year and already $1.4k this year, not counting picking up the tab for celebratory meals that go into the Restaurant category). And of course, our love of frequenting restaurants costs a lot.

[choppingwood]

Hey fellow Mustachians!

I’m researching what financial questions sub 35yr olds have; so would love to open a discussion about what your financial pains are?

What questions do you have around personal finance?

Thanks,

Sam

Hi Sam, good to see a new poster. Can I ask what you are researching this question for?

[I'm a red panda]

Paying for this damn wedding. Not that I don't have the funds, it's dealing with the existential shock of paying 100$/minute for six total hours on a single day. Call it an emotional trauma.

Holy crap that's an expensive wedding!

I really want to sell my kids on the idea of getting married at church (No need to decorate! It already has shitloads of pretty stained glass!)

The church I used for my wedding was shocked I didn't want to decorate. The altar was covered in trees and poinsettias that couldn't be removed. (which were pink; my Dad actually offered to donate them that year, he generally does to lilies for Easter, if they could be red- but the priest wouldn't go for that.). It looked great already; why would I add more flowers? And who needs bows on pews?  (Not that I had a budget wedding; I tried, but my parents wouldn't go for it- and it was their money not mine.  But it still didn't come close to what was quoted above.)

[daveydinner]

31. Wife 30. Biggest scary thing is the insane cost of living in the SF Bay Area and never being able to afford a house around here... ever.
Also her mom is recently widowed and her landlord raised her rent $500/mo to $2800. For a single woman on low income it's WAAAY too much.
As many other posters have alluded to... this all makes planning kids harder and pushes it farther down the line.

[gReed Smith]

Paying for this damn wedding. Not that I don't have the funds, it's dealing with the existential shock of paying 100$/minute for six total hours on a single day. Call it an emotional trauma.

I really want to sell my kids on the idea of getting married at church (No need to decorate! It already has shitloads of pretty stained glass!) and then holding a giant lamb roast reception in our co-ops courtyard. I suspect I'm going to lose that one.

This was essentially my wedding.  We spend $5,000 total on rings, dress, suit, church, reception space, food, preacher, music, gifts for groomsmen/bridesmaids, hotel and everything else that I forgot.  The wedding was indistinguishable from (or nicer than) all other weddings that I have been to except for one wedding that probably cost $75k.

[yuka]

Paying for this damn wedding. Not that I don't have the funds, it's dealing with the existential shock of paying 100$/minute for six total hours on a single day. Call it an emotional trauma.

I really want to sell my kids on the idea of getting married at church (No need to decorate! It already has shitloads of pretty stained glass!) and then holding a giant lamb roast reception in our co-ops courtyard. I suspect I'm going to lose that one.

That co-op lamb roast sounds fantastic! About a year out from a wedding myself, and I wish I could convince my fiance to do things in a more homespun way. I admit I don't know all the intricacies of wedding planning, but that sort of feels like a strength in that I just want to distill the process down to its essentials of a ceremony, friends, food, and alcohol. Last weekend she told me that wedding photographers cost 3-4k... No pictures without their own earning potential are worth that much to me.

[MrsPete]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.  That's $120k of principle, and with market appreciation should send her anywhere she wants to go (I didn't have a limit and don't intend to give her one).  If the market tanks, no one else will be able to send their kid to school either, so something's gotta give ;)

Yeah, that's pretty much everyone's plan ... but then when your child starts school, you realize that you still need before /after school care, and they cost about 60% of what you're paying for day care now.  Per hour, it's more expensive than what you're paying now.   

[RangerOne]

@belgiandude ... You have 100K savings (after taxes, mortgage, utils, etc) and your worried about how it's invested? Put it under a rock and you'll be FI in no time. You have no challenges.

He said 100k PER YEAR!

I have 100k in non-retirement savings and it sure doesn't feel like it is going to go very far (especially when everytime I check Vanguard the only gain I have is slightly less than I deposited that week)- but 100k a year would be NICE.


Another thing- when I see the success of the generations who are hitting retirement now, so much of how they got to the high salaries they are at predicated on the high raises of the 80s and early 90s. 8%, 10% (even 15% some people said) a year does something HUGE.  Especially when you can stay with the same company for 40 years! People say millennial have no company loyalty, but that is because companies have no interest in their employees either.  A "good" raise is 2% now, and I've seen (first hand in one case) how quickly employers cut employees; not even bothering to reassign them to an open position, that way they can be rehired to that position without their grandfathered benefits.   The only way to get a raise is to company hop; and 15 years into my career, on my third company, I don't think I can do much more hopping.  My industry isn't large enough.

  The biggest incentive for middle class people to stay put in the past was pensions. With those gone there is very little reward for staying with a company indefinitely. That is the primary reason there is little incentive to stay with a company. Any jobs get dull if you do the same thing too long. Most people staying with one company these days are changing roles, moving up or specializing. You have to have progression to stay with a job.

There are downsides to too much retention as well though. Older employees can become jaded if in the same position too long which can effect moral and make changing course difficult. 

In software, many companies use a new retention tool. Its called a green card and it makes it hard for employees with them to jump companies because any lapse in employment can jeopardize their green cards and possibly cause them to have to be sent to their home country.

Aside from the removal of pensions, think very little else has changed at major companies. Jobs at large orgs are still very stable. Pay raises may be in a lull compared to some past decades but these things are always in flux.

[Chris22]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.  That's $120k of principle, and with market appreciation should send her anywhere she wants to go (I didn't have a limit and don't intend to give her one).  If the market tanks, no one else will be able to send their kid to school either, so something's gotta give ;)

Yeah, that's pretty much everyone's plan ... but then when your child starts school, you realize that you still need before /after school care, and they cost about 60% of what you're paying for day care now.  Per hour, it's more expensive than what you're paying now.   

Actually, we're enrolling my daughter in pre-K real soon.  The before and after school (6AM-8AM, 3:30PM-6:30PM) is $5/hr.  In reality we'll probably max at $15/day (we'll do an hour before and 1-2 in the evening), $300, which is about 25-30% of the bill now. 

[Paul der Krake]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.  That's $120k of principle, and with market appreciation should send her anywhere she wants to go (I didn't have a limit and don't intend to give her one).  If the market tanks, no one else will be able to send their kid to school either, so something's gotta give ;)

Yeah, that's pretty much everyone's plan ... but then when your child starts school, you realize that you still need before /after school care, and they cost about 60% of what you're paying for day care now.  Per hour, it's more expensive than what you're paying now.   

The large after-tax cost of having strangers raise your kids for you is the most compelling argument to start pursuing FI immediately upon entering the work force. Getting the financial house in order early is the best way to avoid the two income trap.

In software, many companies use a new retention tool. Its called a green card and it makes it hard for employees with them to jump companies because any lapse in employment can jeopardize their green cards and possibly cause them to have to be sent to their home country.

I'm seeing this at my job. Lots of hopefuls, vague promises, etc. It's a sucky proposition for the employer too as it's expensive and the employee is more than ready to jump ship when they finally get it.

[kiwichick]

How many years until a robot takes my job?

Yes! I think about this often actually. The Japanese are already selling domestic 'companion' robots, so it's only a matter of time I think.

I work in administration and I've now hit a wall with salary progression. I'd have to move up into another role, with some pretty douchy people to earn a higher income - I really don't want to do that. The only reason I'm still in my current role is because I really like the people and it's a pretty good gig if you can get past the boredom. I'm almost set on going back to university, but it's a pretty big leap considering my age (29 this month) and the fact I'll be starting from scratch in a field you really need a PhD to get in to (Astrophysics). Money will be very tight, but I think I can make it work. My fear is that I'll flunk out or get bored like I usually do, blow through savings or there'll be a house price correction and wind up broke with no idea what to do with my life. Oof, that's scary.

[mozar]

I would love to do something like astrophysics. Maybe when I FIRE. The problem with a lot of cool jobs is that day to day, they're not that cool. I just talked to a recruiter who said that I have 5 years until a robot takes my job, so that's good news!

[Gin1984]

My plan for college is when she's in kindergarten to dump that $1k/mo of daycare costs into her 529 (I already don't have the money, I figure I won't miss it), and do that for 10 years.  That's $120k of principle, and with market appreciation should send her anywhere she wants to go (I didn't have a limit and don't intend to give her one).  If the market tanks, no one else will be able to send their kid to school either, so something's gotta give ;)

Yeah, that's pretty much everyone's plan ... but then when your child starts school, you realize that you still need before /after school care, and they cost about 60% of what you're paying for day care now.  Per hour, it's more expensive than what you're paying now.   

Except that daycare cost more than my grad tuition.  If you are saving for your own retirement and can afford that, then you can just cash flow college like you cash flow daycare.

[toodleoo]

My biggest challenge is putting up with the corporate BS and sitting in a cubicle for 8+ hours a day for the next 10 years. Some days I wonder if I'll be able to make it that long...

[hyla]

It was figuring out how to do retirement savings and health insurance on my own, cause I've certainly never had a 401k or work provided health insurance.  I worked a lot of seasonal and part time jobs after graduating, which is a fairly common situation for young people today.  An lot of financial advice tends to focus heavily on employer based options and less on options for individuals.

[Merrie]

Additionally, paying down student loans have burned me out and we still have 55k left 10 years after we graduated. This is beyond depressing and really kills your drive. Its hard to see flexibility when you are paying off obscene loans for a career you don't even want to be in.

Same. I like my career okay, but don't like my job much, but for a variety of reasons I don't think I'm likely to get a better job. Husband is RE (not FI)/a SAHD/unemployed (pick your interpretation) and not likely to go back to his career in any sort of serious way, and we still owe an obscene amount on both of our loans. And we stupidly bought a house before getting on top of the student debt. And we have little kids. It's just kind of everything at once. If I could do it over again I would have a. focused more on developing his career so as to avoid him being out of work, b. delayed the house purchase and c. paid off the student loans faster. Delaying childbearing was not a sacrifice I was willing to make and I don't regret that one.

[WGH]

Me 35 Wife 34. Biggest challenge is just trying to juggle everything. I earn $130k and I have a ridiculous company match so the 401k is well funded but we have the whole enchilada of bills. Student loans, 2 kids, mortgage, two vehicles, etc.

And I agree with the cost of becoming an adult and filling up the house with furniture, appliances, decor, work clothes is overwhelming.

And am I the only one who has noticed that like every damn month there is a holiday or birthday? Gifts, parties, halloween costumes, pictures with santa/easter bunny, etc. etc.

Yeah I know it's first world problems and we should try to cut back more to reduce the stress. We did some major sacrificing to buy our house and now it's just a matter of slowly getting back on track and the wife going to work when the kids start school.

[Sailor Sam]

I'm feeling a compulsion to answer this, since I'm only going to be sub-35 for another 21 minutes Pacific Daylight Time. My answer probably won't help with any research, since it's more about emotions than budgets. I gross ~92k, so I'm not hurting, but I struggle with a few concepts.

Areblespy has stated several times that he buys exactly what he wants, he just doesn't want much. Not me, bub. I want all kinds of things. I want an SOC bag. I want a commuter bike. I want a new chef knife. I want, want, want, which conflicts directly with my desire for minimalism, mustachinaism, and environmentalism. Intellectually I understand unchecked purchasing is a net negative to my wellbeing. Emotionally, I chafe at endlessly reigning myself in. I struggle to find the balance.

Second struggle is resolving my donations to charity. I'm pretty staunch about 10% of net to others. Except 10% has grown from ~$720 per year to $7,400. That's so much! It's a significant chunk of ten thousand dollars! Every year! It stuns me to give away that much money. Should I be giving away that much money? Yes, of course. But it's so much! Endless loop.

Those are my thoughts, as I pass over the line into middle age....

Sam

Edit: for spling

Second edit: I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CAKE BY THE AGE MEANS! I guess I'm a little slow...?

[gecko10x]

25m married to a 23f, we make 230-250 a year. So making enough isn't an issue. Keeping focused on saving is an issue. I have a strong desire for a 2016 Stingray and it would only put back retirement by 3-5 months.

First world problems I suppose.

More like 1%er problems.

[asiljoy]

And am I the only one who has noticed that like every damn month there is a holiday or birthday? Gifts, parties, halloween costumes, pictures with santa/easter bunny, etc. etc.

and weddings/baby showers

[Chris22]

25m married to a 23f, we make 230-250 a year. So making enough isn't an issue. Keeping focused on saving is an issue. I have a strong desire for a 2016 Stingray and it would only put back retirement by 3-5 months.

First world problems I suppose.

More like 1%er problems.

1% is at least $100k more than $250k/yr.

[I'm a red panda]

25m married to a 23f, we make 230-250 a year. So making enough isn't an issue. Keeping focused on saving is an issue. I have a strong desire for a 2016 Stingray and it would only put back retirement by 3-5 months.

First world problems I suppose.

More like 1%er problems.

1% is at least $100k more than $250k/yr.

Top 1% of the world income is $34,000k.  So, nearly everyone on this website is a 1%er.

(Google tells me top 1% of USA is about $430k agi.  But if that poster lives in Arkansas, he's top 1% there- it is only $230k)

[Thegoblinchief]

And am I the only one who has noticed that like every damn month there is a holiday or birthday? Gifts, parties, halloween costumes, pictures with santa/easter bunny, etc. etc.

and weddings/baby showers

So? Folks know that we don't give many gifts, and when we do it's often something really simple like homemade baked goods, canned preserves, etc.

[I'm a red panda]

When Neiman Marcus was clearancing out hand knit Scottish cashmere baby booties and mittens, I grabbed a few sets in gender neutral white to store for future gifts.

Man I'm glad the Joneses in my neighborhood are easier to keep up with than the ones in yours!  (They all have boats- it was easy to just not get a boat, and contribute a 6-pack of craft beer when going out on theirs.)

I cannot imagine putting my baby in handknit cashmere booties.  But good for you for getting them on sale!

[Frugal D]

The biggest question we have is ....can we stay the course? Keep the same careers for 10 years? Not get lulled into lifestyle creep? Keep the same values that led us to (relative) mustachianism in the first place?

This is the hardest part about getting rich - the required dedication and discipline.

[Apocalyptica602]

I'm 27, wife is 26. I concur with one of the other posters on here that my biggest challenge is impatience.

We're doing very well, I'm an Engineer and she's a Pharmacist (only 32-hours a week, she'd earn more at 40 hours but we just moved and she's low on totem pole) still though, our gross HHI is just under $200k with a solid savings rate.

We both graduated with student loans, which totaled around $90k combined, those have been gone for about 2 years for me 9 months for her.

Our net worth is around $275k or so, which is incredible, but also seems so far away from our goals. We want to buy a house in the next year or so, which means a lot of associated expenses outside of the downpayment even if we avoid the McMansion. We have a reasonably sized apartment now furnished with essentially new (IKEA) furniture so hopefully we won't require much additional stuff there.

Our investment accounts are starting to get pretty sizable but still aren't seeing the snowball take off yet and I'm eagerly anticipating it.

We're targeting ~40-45 depending on how life plays out for our FIRE date. I don't hate my job by any stretch of the imagination but I also simultaneously can't imagine spending even another 10 years sitting in this cubicle or one like it, let alone 25-30 like most people my age will end up doing.

[asiljoy]

And am I the only one who has noticed that like every damn month there is a holiday or birthday? Gifts, parties, halloween costumes, pictures with santa/easter bunny, etc. etc.

and weddings/baby showers

So? Folks know that we don't give many gifts, and when we do it's often something really simple like homemade baked goods, canned preserves, etc.

Sincerely, that's awesome that you've managed to structure your life that way. Sadly, I usually need to give the airlines more than baked goods in exchange for tickets to visit family for their key life events.

[winterbike]

28 here, GF is 27.

Biggest issue is which basket we should put our eggs in. The GF's career has a lot of ups and downs, and could crash in 4-5 years depending on the contracts she gets. Mine is extremely stable, but in a different city. We just bought a 4-plex.

Do we...
- Buy more real estate?
- Go more into debt to maximize our investments?
- Pay all of the debt first, even the low % ones? Or invest as much money as we can and drag the debts for longer?
- Do I aim for a PhD, or starting a business? (I dropped the PhD, but it was a big question for a while).

[I'm a red panda]

I'm also making her this, and we're just going to pray that Princess Pukesalot keeps her food down for the duration of the service and photographs.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4866776568_0f3a2b8e82_z.jpg

Beautiful!

I made this on the occasion of my nephew's baptism (not for him, but to add to the heirloom chest)- as a twin, he couldn't wear the gown that every other baby wore, because his brother got it, so I thought he needed something.
http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Skittl1321/29301435/Finished_DD2_medium2.JPG

Thankfully, no puking, but a lot of chewing! (I just washed and reblocked after the ceremony):
http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Skittl1321/34474561/ry_3D4001_medium.jpg

[I'm a red panda]

I'm also making her this, and we're just going to pray that Princess Pukesalot keeps her food down for the duration of the service and photographs.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4866776568_0f3a2b8e82_z.jpg

Beautiful!

I made this on the occasion of my nephew's baptism (not for him, but to add to the heirloom chest)- as a twin, he couldn't wear the gown that every other baby wore, because his brother got it, so I thought he needed something.
http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Skittl1321/29301435/Finished_DD2_medium2.JPG

Thankfully, no puking, but a lot of chewing! (I just washed and reblocked after the ceremony):
http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Skittl1321/34474561/ry_3D4001_medium.jpg

Ohhh, is that a Neibling pattern?

Nope, this is a Marianne Kinzel. 
Haven't tried a Neibling yet.