Money What do you do with you paycheck - Page 5

El Jefe · 08-16-2016, 06:38 AM

As the title says, what do you do with your paycheck/income. Essentially how do you allocate it? I have got serious about saving for retirement this year, and I have been upping my contributions here recently to about 20% of my paycheck. I don't know how long I will be able to do 20% because it is difficult to do that with a 9month old, because every other day we need something for her lol.

I give 10% of my income (my wife's and my combined income) to charity, really been trying to focus on Cancer research/St. Judes, a girl who works with my wife has a 1year old with horrific cancer, she has done 46 weeks straight of Chemo, they have been trying to raise 15k dollars, so we are donating to that again. I have spent a few of our monthly donations helping people fix their cars at our shop, and that eats that budget up quickly.

I save about 10% of our money each month. The rest is paid on bills; mortgage, utilities, 1 car payment, car insurance, etc.

**lewdog** · 08-16-2016, 05:06 PM

We do close to the following. I do a budget, but it's more for tracking purposes. We buy what we need when we want, but also do it smartly and try to plan major expenses spaced through the year. We live frugally but do what we want, taking road trips when we want to get out of town and a few trips a year around the country. Best way to live frugally is to buy a house you can comfortably afford and buy nice used cars and keep them a long time.

Have a decent chunk in retirement account already for our age/income and 9 month emergency fund in cash.

13% income to 401k, Roth IRA and Brokerage account
10-15% into liquid savings account. Once this gets high enough, more will be shuttled to our Brokerage accounts.
19% of our net income is our mortgage.
We have no car payments
$500 a month goes to student loan debt that should be paid off in next 4-5 years.
Our grocery bill always seems quite high to me for the two of us. If you've never kept track on your food bill for a month, do it, you'll be shocked.

Rest goes to all the little things we need like TV, internet, cell phones, insurance and clothing/housewares.

I think one of the best feelings you can have is being relatively worry free about money.

jspchief · 08-16-2016, 05:15 PM

Nice humblebrag thread

PunkinDrublic · 08-16-2016, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

It takes time and it takes actually knowing that change is hard. I will say earlier in the thread that sometimes jobs suck so bad you just need to get out of there before you waste too much of your life there. If you are in tears everyday it is time to get out of there. The one mistake I make is taking a job too quickly because of the fear of not being able to pay bills. You got to make a smart choice when choosing a job or you will end up in the same situation. As with anything in life...if you count on your job, your family, your spouse, money, sex, sports, if you count on anything other than yourself for happiness you are going to be ****ed. Hitch your wagon to finding inner peace or helping others or religion or something more stable than material and other bullshit.

I just left my last job 2 and a half weeks ago. I got enough money put away for about 7 months of rent. No huge debt, cars paid off, not on a lease, a degree with no student loans. It really depends on how you use the time off. It feels good to slow things down and really take the time to figure out what you want to do for a career. The economy in my area is great, finding a job isn't an issue. Finding a job that doesn't make me miserable is a challenge.

**Fire Me Boy!** · 08-26-2016, 09:50 AM

One of the places my wife interviewed called her today and is going to make an offer. Sounds like the pay is good, just need to look over the benefits. Good timing, since today is the last day at her current job.

**Rain Man** · 08-26-2016, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

One of the places my wife interviewed called her today and is going to make an offer. Sounds like the pay is good, just need to look over the benefits. Good timing, since today is the last day at her current job.

Did she decide not to start up the Battered Wife Bakery?

**Fire Me Boy!** · 08-26-2016, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Did she decide not to start up the Battered Wife Bakery?

Not yet. This might be a short term thing while she continues to try to get on at a bakery somewhere.

Alabama doesn't do homestead licenses, so that would be a small business type of thing down the road.

El Jefe · 08-26-2016, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

One of the places my wife interviewed called her today and is going to make an offer. Sounds like the pay is good, just need to look over the benefits. Good timing, since today is the last day at her current job.

Awesome brother, hope everything works out exponentially better for you guys!

Pasta Little Brioni · 08-27-2016, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

Nice humblebrag thread

Lulz yup

WilliamTheIrish · 08-27-2016, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I dump some off in an IRA before I even see it, which is nice.

For the rest, I have very few bills these days:

Credit card bill, which is usually quite large because I put everything on it (and then pay it off each month)
A couple of utility bills - gas, cable.
A couple of tax bills

That's pretty much it. I always have some cash on me because I can't stand how modern people walk around with no cash, and yet I very seldom use it.

I'm kind of amazed at my financial evolution over the last decade. I never carry cash. It's just too easy for me burn through. I rarely even carry credit or debit cards since I do 95% of my shopping on line. Eliminating the impulse buying over that time, by taking the time to look for deals, has saved me thousands over the last 15 years.

I keep a large jar of bills and change that I cash in at the end of the year. I might put it toward a gift or just throw it all back in to the jar and cash it all in the following year. I paid for a nice FLA vacation that way. Right now there's about 3k in cash and change in it.

**Fire Me Boy!** · 08-27-2016, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

I'm kind of amazed at my financial evolution over the last decade. I never carry cash. It's just too easy for me burn through. I rarely even carry credit or debit cards since I do 95% of my shopping on line. Eliminating the impulse buying over that time, by taking the time to look for deals, has saved me thousands over the last 15 years.

I keep a large jar of bills and change that I cash in at the end of the year. I might put it toward a gift or just throw it all back in to the jar and cash it all in the following year. I paid for a nice FLA vacation that way. Right now there's about 3k in cash and change in it.

I'm like RM. I always carry some, but never use it. I have like the same $40 I've had since April.

I'm also rocking the old school money clip. No wallet.

08-16-2016, 06:38 AM
El Jefe Don't tread on me. Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Where the peaches grow Casino cash: $9030572	What do you do with you paycheck As the title says, what do you do with your paycheck/income. Essentially how do you allocate it? I have got serious about saving for retirement this year, and I have been upping my contributions here recently to about 20% of my paycheck. I don't know how long I will be able to do 20% because it is difficult to do that with a 9month old, because every other day we need something for her lol. I give 10% of my income (my wife's and my combined income) to charity, really been trying to focus on Cancer research/St. Judes, a girl who works with my wife has a 1year old with horrific cancer, she has done 46 weeks straight of Chemo, they have been trying to raise 15k dollars, so we are donating to that again. I have spent a few of our monthly donations helping people fix their cars at our shop, and that eats that budget up quickly. I save about 10% of our money each month. The rest is paid on bills; mortgage, utilities, 1 car payment, car insurance, etc.
Posts: 8,540

08-16-2016, 05:06 PM	#61
lewdog Mod Team Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Valley of the hot as **** Casino cash: $-1548100	We do close to the following. I do a budget, but it's more for tracking purposes. We buy what we need when we want, but also do it smartly and try to plan major expenses spaced through the year. We live frugally but do what we want, taking road trips when we want to get out of town and a few trips a year around the country. Best way to live frugally is to buy a house you can comfortably afford and buy nice used cars and keep them a long time. Have a decent chunk in retirement account already for our age/income and 9 month emergency fund in cash. 13% income to 401k, Roth IRA and Brokerage account 10-15% into liquid savings account. Once this gets high enough, more will be shuttled to our Brokerage accounts. 19% of our net income is our mortgage. We have no car payments $500 a month goes to student loan debt that should be paid off in next 4-5 years. Our grocery bill always seems quite high to me for the two of us. If you've never kept track on your food bill for a month, do it, you'll be shocked. Rest goes to all the little things we need like TV, internet, cell phones, insurance and clothing/housewares. I think one of the best feelings you can have is being relatively worry free about money.
Posts: 46,351

08-16-2016, 05:15 PM	#62
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	Nice humblebrag thread __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207

08-26-2016, 09:50 AM	#64
Fire Me Boy! Cast Iron Jedi Join Date: Nov 2004 Casino cash: $9999900 VARSITY	One of the places my wife interviewed called her today and is going to make an offer. Sounds like the pay is good, just need to look over the benefits. Good timing, since today is the last day at her current job.
Posts: 35,253