What's a normal amount to have in the bank?

mizle10

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 2:59 pm

amother Amaranthus wrote:

lol I prefer to think of it as living with bitachon. If we need 60 or even 100k Hashem has always made sure we had it.
I love the books “it’s all in your mind” by sarah Yosef, it’s an amazing way to live. I don’t feel delusional though, I feel well taken care of. I don’t live in constant debt, this was something that just built up this year, I know we’ll pay it off in the next couple of months

Bitachon doesn’t mean knowing with certainty that you will be comfortable in the future. Honestly, that sounds llike the opposite to me. Bitachon is knowing hashem is in charge and the events and outcome of my life is His plan WETHER ITS PLEASANT OR NOT. And it’s for my best, wether it’s pleasant or not.

Bitachon doesn’t mean Hashem is a vending machine.

amother

Mocha

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 5:29 pm

We have about 70k in our personal savings account and another 25k in cash that my husband likes to have in the house. We are also under contract for a bungalow. In addition My husband and I have multiple life insurances.
For years and years we didn’t have a penny to our name (like we had to borrow money to make Shabbos) till about 3 years ago when my husband became a partner in a nursing homes. Right now we are bh comfortable but my mindset is that I’m a poor woman or that one day we can lose it all and be poor again, so I don’t spend on clothing or furniture etc. I do spend a lot on take out and on trips / getaways. I think people realise we have money from the trips but definitely not from the way I dress or the kids. I very rarely shop in Jewish stores. I like it that people don’t know how much we really have. But on imamother im somewhere between rich and poor. Compared to my old days and to imamothers that live pay check to pay check - I’m rich. Compared to the amounts people around me are spending on building houses clothing etc or imamothers that have a million dollars in savings - I’m poor. I also don’t have any retirement plan. Worse come to worse, I’ll sell my house and move into a condo. Hashem should help that I will have for what I need when I get to that stage.

amother

NeonPink

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 5:34 pm

amother Mocha wrote:

Wow!
Just goes to show how things can turn around so fast. All that in about 3 years is amazing!

amother

Bluebonnet

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:08 pm

amother Aster wrote:

My best friend is always crying broke but she owns 2 houses and has other investments (gold, stock market). I don't know its hard to feel bad for her.

My parents owned two homes and were extremely broke. Zero savings, living paycheck to paycheck no money for anything other than raw basics. Always borrowing money from gemachs etc. They lost both houses to foreclosure. Don't ever assume your friend's financial situation.

amother

Crystal

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:16 pm

amother NeonPink wrote:

That might happen, but we aren't specially spending money in the hopes that we get a yerusha. Its possible though, and we don't know how are futures will look, things can get easier. IyH.. My parents plan to invest most of their yerusha from my other grandmother with assets.
We try our best to get through the month/s, year/s and they already help us out when we need bh. They have money in their own right too, not just from their parent.

I wish we were able to save more, but at this stage we can't.

So much can go wrong with this scenario. If it were me, I'd pretend its non-existent and count it as a bonus whenever the time comes. For example, Yerusha can be contested, or you may end up being a senior yourself when the time comes, or sometimes a parent gets sick and needs extensive help for an extended period of time and it eats away at all the savings, etc.

Unless you're talking about huge sums here, this safety net may not be available when you need it. Just something to think about.

amother

Crystal

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:24 pm

amother Electricblue wrote:

I know I know I know
I know where a nice amount of change is. Dhs employees + accountant know the rest.

If DHs employees and accountant know the rest, and not you - that is actually worrisome. God forbid something happens to your dh, an employee can take advantage and do a lot of damage without you even having any insight at all. That employee may have the knowledge to move money around without setting off any flags and even the accountant wouldn't come across it unless actively looking for it.

These types of stories are really not rare. There are other stories where questionable financial dealings were listed in both dh and dw's names and when the feds came knocking, both parents were caught in the net.

One should really have a healthy knowledge about their personal finances, and keep tabs on their credit reports as well. Many a person has been taken advantage of by leaving their finances in someone else's hands - even a trusted family member.

amother

Emerald

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:59 pm

For those asking about retirement, having a fully paid for house in a good area is actually a very good retirement plan. You can sell & downsize, take out a reverse mortgage etc.

To op, having zero debt & 50k liquid in the bank is a very nice place to be, but not a place where you can spend it away.

If you look at statistics of people who have credit card dept, live paycheck to paycheck etc you'll see how the recommended savings is not a reality for many/ most families.

amother

Arcticblue

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 7:14 pm

When we got married we really struggled, both my husband and I had low paying jobs and we were dumping money into fertility treatments. BH the tables turned and my husband started making what was considered a decent salary for that time and we were able to start saving for a house (and bh we had kids!). In those days we had very minimal expenses because we lived in a low rent apartment, and really didn't spend much. At one point we had almost 100k in the bank, which was crazy for us! However, the time came to buy a house and we cleaned our all our savings for a down payment. My husband was nervous to be "poor" again but we would have been worse off squirreling our money and continuing to rent. (BH we did, our house is worth much more than what we paid for it, we wouldn't be able to buy today in this price market).
Problem is, we never were able to save after this. our mortgage was double our rent, and we had 2 kids back to back within a year of the move and incurred tremendous childcare expenses since we both work full time. Also, my husband hasnt gotten a raise for years, so what was considered a decent if not good salary 10 years ago, is not considered much today. His company is expanding soon which will imyh be a raise of 40k per year before tax, so his boss promises. I am davening that this happens, we really need the money.
But to answer the OP's original question, we have no money in the bank, work really hard, and truly live month to month. 50k sounds like a really nice safety net to me, enjoy it Smile

amother

NeonPink

Fri, Jan 20 2023, 9:35 am

amother Crystal wrote:

We're not in anyway relying on it, I said that above somewhere.
It might save us in the future, and if not then that's fine too. We'll manage like we have until now bH.