How much do you have in your account now

amother

Cyan

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:04 pm

Right now we live pay check to pay check literally. It’s really hard. We recently bought a house and renovated it so that’s where most of our savings went. We also went through a mental crisis so therapist and psychiatrists used some of that money as well. Who knew psychiatrists were so pricey?! Iyh well be able to get back to saving again soon. It definitely gets harder as the kids get older. -mid to late 30s-

amother

Ivory

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:06 pm

Why don't you join Frum and Frugal the Dave Ramsey group on Facebook?

I'm in my 30s, I usually have between $500-$2,000 in my accounts we usually finish the month in a minus of $1,000-$2,000 or so but every few months some miracle happens and we pay off the accrued credit card debt.

Before covid we usually finished the month on 0

amother

White

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:07 pm

Low 30s. Own our home. Bh it's worth 300k more than when I bought it. Bh we save monthly so we have about 200k saved at this point. We do have some investments that should bring in some money in the near future as well. We each have a few life insurance policies which we can technically pull money out of if we want as well as small. Funds for each of our kids. By the time they are 18, iyh we will have 40k to give them towards a down payment for a future home.

amother

Plum

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:11 pm

amother [ White ] wrote:

what advice do u have to a newlywed couple to be able to do this?
im a therapist my husband works in business

amother

Khaki

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:22 pm

We are in our 40s. We have about 100k in savings and 200k in retirement accounts, along with about 350k of equity in our home.

We pay full tuition and between 2 kids in HS, 1 in seminary and 1 in elementary school that keeps us busy, and not able to save more...though when I took dd off our auto insurance I put that savings directly into our bank account. Similarly, when we stopped paying tolls during this whole time period I put that monthly savings into our savings as well. I continue to look for small ways to add to it.

amother

White

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:25 pm

amother [ Plum ] wrote:

what advice do u have to a newlywed couple to be able to do this?
im a therapist my husband works in business

Bh we always lived below our means. I grew up with family in real estate and mortgages and always was told to buy early and struggle rather than wait. I bought my first house 1.5 years after marriage (saved all my bas mitzvah /babysitting / wedding money etc) and sold it two years later at a small. Profit. (all my siblings bought within a year of marriage and struggled for a bit) I bought my next house in a very new neighborhood. I paid in the 5s. Now 6 years later it's worth almost 9.
We don't make such high salaries honestly but do nicely. Dh lately (more for the fun of it honestly) started a side job and is making nice side money from it. We are able to save at least a few thousand monthly.
We are also not high maintenance, I buy clothing when I need it but am not into brand names etc. I have cleaning help once. A week now but for years didn't have even though I was honestly able to afford it.
On general, live below your means if you. An and save. Buy early if you can.

amother

Salmon

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 8:37 pm

My husband is almost done with his medical training and then God willing his salary should quadruple overnight.

We have been married almost 15 years and he’s been training almost that entire time. We’re paycheck to paycheck down to the last penny, with some help over the years from my very generous parents. Just last week I was waiting for some checks to come in and we had $100 in our bank account.

I don’t know how people do this long term, I really don’t. We have a small family and even that has huge expenses. How do people live like this their whole lives?? The only thing keeping me going is knowing that it will get better.

I guess my question is, seeing all these numbers in black and white, why would people choose to put themselves in a lifestyle where they’re scratching for every penny until they die? 10 kids + low paying jobs = financial insecurity.

I just don’t get it.

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 9:00 pm

amother [ Salmon ] wrote:

I guess my question is, seeing all these numbers in black and white, why would people choose to put themselves in a lifestyle where they’re scratching for every penny until they die? 10 kids + low paying jobs = financial insecurity.

I just don’t get it.

Because my kids bring so much joy to my life that they're worth the financial insecurity!

Our income has crept up over the years, still low paying but as long as we can cover our expenses then we're good. I'm already used to living hand-to-mouth, and with a little bitachon it's not too bad.

amother

Yellow

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 9:30 pm

amother [ Crimson ] wrote:

We're in our mid-20's. We have about $60k in an investment account, about $20k in our retirement savings, and about $50k in a HYS account. We both started working last year after finishing school so hoping that it will grow more quickly than it has been. Ideally I'd like to have about $400k net worth in the next 4 years and use a chunk of that to buy and renovate a house. We save about $60k a year with 2 kids living in a cheap apt.

What do you both do that you have only been working for a year and have such a nice amount in savings/investments?

amother

Hotpink

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 9:44 pm

Were early 30s, own a home and over 200,000 in investments/savings. The only reason is b/c were heavily heavily supported by my parents. Yes, DH and I both work, but making peanuts right now compared to what our house cost us (over 1M). Without the support we'd never be able to afford a home in the area we live.

We know we're very very lucky and thank Hashem every day. Just wanted to point out, for those asking for advice, my parents are BH, very well off, but it comes with a price. My father was never home when I was growing up- he was always working (business). He was in the office until late on erev shabbos, motzai Shabbos, not usually home for family dinner time, he never came on our family vacations etc. Literally constantly working. My mother said when he was first starting the business, (I wasn't born yet) he would leave the house at 7am and get home at 3am. Not involved in his kids daily life at all. Obviously me and my siblings love him tremendously, have tremendous hakaras hatov etc. But I can't say we have a close relationship unfortunately.

I'm nervous about my own kids. My husband recently bought part of a business where he's now working. He's very busy with it, not making much yet b/c still starting up, but Im really at a crossroads here. Should I encourage him to work more so we can eventually give our kids the same opportunities we were given, or should he stay home more, and our kids will get whatever we can give, but probably not near the amount we are currently getting. But at least they will have a involved father. What would you choose?

amother

White

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 9:51 pm

amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:

An involved father any day. Teach your kids money skills. Personally I don't believe getting supported so heavily is good for anyone. I would love to be there for my kids, help them when needed but NOT support them unless 100% really needed.

amother

Pearl

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 9:57 pm

involved parents. hands down. I see a value of a parent being able to support their young children, to take care of their needs... but if I have a choice of my husband spending quality time with my kids now or being able to help adult children years later I would choose husband home now. I actually told my husband I would rather him earn a little less and get more vacation days so that's what he did. This is assuming bills can be paid, saving for retirement... but just to be able to buy my children an expensive house no, time with daddy is way more important.

amother

Pearl

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 10:04 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

$35 in one account and $-130 in the other. No savings, we do not own a home. 2 children. DH is the most hardworking person I know. We have a lot of medical expenses. DHs computer (a specific expensive piece that he uses for work) just broke. He broke down crying today, no idea how he will buy a new one as he would need about $4000 for it. (Has to be a specific type to handle the work that he does.) we know HaShem helps and takes care but sometimes it seems as if He forgot about us.

please reach out and see if someone can help you, even just to longterm loan you the money! I'm sure there are plenty of people who specifically want to help people who are trying and just had financial curveballs thrown their way. Maybe there is a local rabbi that you can reach out to? My heart breaks for you. may you see yeshuos quickly!

amother

Hotpink

Tue, Nov 24 2020, 10:09 pm

amother [ Pearl ] wrote:

Yup, agree. My question was kind of rhetorical, just wanted to point out that money is not everything...