The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: DCKatie09 on August 25, 2015, 08:45:33 AM
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So the Post had some perfectly reasonable (if not quite mustachian) advice for 30somethings to get their financial houses in order: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/08/25/6-money-milestones-to-hit-while-youre-in-your-30s/?postshare=4671440508677971
But to read the comments, you'd think that saving 15% towards retirement was going to the moon. "There simply isn't enough money to go around. 15% of your income? Where is that coming from?"
Saving: it's just so hard!!
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So the Post had some perfectly reasonable (if not quite mustachian) advice for 30somethings to get their financial houses in order: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/08/25/6-money-milestones-to-hit-while-youre-in-your-30s/?postshare=4671440508677971
But to read the comments, you'd think that saving 15% towards retirement was going to the moon. "There simply isn't enough money to go around. 15% of your income? Where is that coming from?"
Saving: it's just so hard!!
Haha! 15% of your income? Where is that coming from?
Oh I dunno... your daily Starbucks latte, the SUV you drive 20 miles one way to work every day, The $200 a month cable subscription that you can't live without? The weekly happy hour bar tab?
I should know better by now than to read the comments section of articles like these.
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What's probably not represented on this board is the person that has dug such a hole that they live in a high COL area, are under/uneducated, and work in a crappy min wage job with tons of debt. At this point in their lives 15% is unrealistic because they have to essentially start over.
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Comments sections really are the worst. Good to see Justin Timberwolf in there preaching the good word.
But seriously, people going to school for 10 years and still not having earning potential to meet these bullet points by their 40th birthday? What were you doing in school?
You've got to have some messed up priorities if you can't pay down your student loans by your 40th birthday.
People calling this author "out of touch?" That's ridiculous, I think this author is right on the money for the normal "herds." If I was writing something like this I'd be telling people they need to have 6 months of E-Fund saved up within 18 months of graduation and 15% into retirement savings about a week after you move into your first apartment and it should be prioritized slightly below mattress but above the new-to-you couch.
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... this is exactly why I try not to read the comments section of most articles.
Think you can't save 15% of oyur income? Find someone nearby who earns 15% less than you. That's about all the proof needed that it can be done. What people really means is "but I don't wanna!!"
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What's probably not represented on this board is the person that has dug such a hole that they live in a high COL area, are under/uneducated, and work in a crappy min wage job with tons of debt. At this point in their lives 15% is unrealistic because they have to essentially start over.
Agreed that person isn't going to be saving 15% for retirement and you know what? They really don't have to. Social Security and Medicaid will be able to cover their needs in retirement and eventually they'll just discharge that debt through a bankruptcy or it will be forgotten and pass the statute of limitations.
I didn't feel like anyone in the comments section was preaching for min wage workers more just "OMG I have so much debt how can I afford my 1 BR apartment in Manhattan by myself and save 15% for retirement." I mean, seriously $2100 for rent? If you want to pay that much for rent, you should have a High paying job to go with your High CoL, otherwise move out to a LCoL area.
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15% happens to be close to the magic self-employment tax number, so I'm constantly trying to get people to "save" 15% of their income in order to pay their estimated taxes! It's always my starting point when people are having trouble with their tax liability: "Let's start with 15%, then you know your self-employment taxes are taken care of."
It's like pulling teeth. I have clients who have seen their businesses grow exponentially in the past few years and still think they can't save 15%. I just want to shake them and say, "Three years ago, you were making a third of what you do now. So close your eyes and imagine life three years ago... AND STOP SPENDING ALL YOUR MONEY!!"