How much money after everything is paid for?

Ps, you gotta realize that this place has a mix of guys who pay cash and others who will take a second mortgage and pay 20 years for a 12 day hunt.

Imo it's a balance. You want to live today and be able to live well enough when the income stops. For some that means only 2 sheep hunts a year, for others that means making their own black powder because that's what they can afford.
 
24K for auto debt? When the average car is close to 40K, many much higher and the average truck is 70K+ and most households having at least 2 auto's and at least 1 is financed? I bet that number is a lot closer to 40K.

Lots of leases out there
Either they aren’t included in the $24k figure or only the principal of the lease is used to compute the $24k


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Comparison is the thief of joy. Take care of your 4 walls and plan for your future. Everyone seems to be nailing it, but someone (almost everyone) must be lying or they have a MUCH higher risk tolerance than myself.

Average US debt per CONSUMER not including mortgage or HELOC:
Auto: $24k
Credit Card: $6.5k
Student Loan: $39k
Totally agree that comparing your financial health to others isn't super helpful, but it is the internet after all, and I think people have offered some good tips throughout the thread.

When posting about financial questions, it makes sense that most of the responses will be from people who are more interested and knowledgeable about finances. The average US financial health is horrible, which is nice for feeling better about your situation but definitely not something to strive for.

The OP isn't getting responses from these kinds of people, because the average American most likely doesn't even know how much they are saving (or going more negative in their net worth) on a monthly basis. The average American also doesn't even know their net worth, which is a better measure of financial health.

I agree with all the posts that a budget is the first starting point for sure. I really liked Mint from Intuit but it went away at the end of last year. I've been using the free version of RocketMoney now, but I don't like it nearly as much and have been debating going to the paid version, which is like $4/mo. It's an eye-opening experience if you haven't ever created a budget before to see where all your money is going and allowing you to be more intentional with your goals and spending.
 
I guess I've never really viewed money or finances as a taboo or touchy subject. And this discussion is on a forum where most people are semi anonymous. Comparing, in any subject matter, is not generally unhealthy unless you let it be.
 
We’ve got about a $1000 to $1200 every month that is completely free and clear, maybe a little more, but we also put a $1000 into retirement/investments every month (on top of normal employer 401k/403b), and spend about $1100 on gymnastics for our daughter. I mention those last two figures simply because they are adjustable and not something everyone would be doing.

That’s with me working a good full time job and my wife working about 1-2 days a week.
 
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Unless someone has the exact same expenses and pre-tax deductions as you, then how much they have left over is a meaningless data point.

I been trying to save money for the last couple of months, but there always seems to be some one-off expenses popping up.....like the Whac-A-Mole game. The only person I have to blame though, is in the mirror.
 
I guess I've never really viewed money or finances as a taboo or touchy subject. And this discussion is on a forum where most people are semi anonymous. Comparing, in any subject matter, is not generally unhealthy unless you let it be.
I think the thing that made the post taboo was actual $ amounts. IMO finances are a personal thing, my wife is a CPA and her first boss frowned on doing taxes for friends and family. It was one of the first things he addressed after hiring her.

Everyone's situation and goals are so different, but everyone needs a budget, everyone needs to pay their bills, everyone needs to save for the future/emergencies. Some of that savings needs to go to retirement accounts and some needs to be in an emergency fund. Dave Ramseys suggested percentages are a great start.
 
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24K for auto debt? When the average car is close to 40K, many much higher and the average truck is 70K+ and most households having at least 2 auto's and at least 1 is financed? I bet that number is a lot closer to 40K.
Depends how often folks are churning vehicles and/or what equity they're bringing to the table when they shuffle. If you take a loan for 70k, pay it in 5-6yrs and keep the vehicle for 10yrs your average yearly debt load for auto would be about 24k. Seems like it pencils our pretty easily. Sure some folks carry more debt more often but for them there are others driving something that has been paid off for years.
 
I guess I've never really viewed money or finances as a taboo or touchy subject. And this discussion is on a forum where most people are semi anonymous. Comparing, in any subject matter, is not generally unhealthy unless you let it be.
Me either, else how do you learn?
 
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Only comment, Time value of Money and Compounding. You don’t get back the early decades and you likely dont want to play catch-up or work till your dead🤙
 
Also, don’t forget that 3-6 month emergency fund. That’ll keep those investments safe, when you have it to fall back on.
 
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I guess I've never really viewed money or finances as a taboo or touchy subject. And this discussion is on a forum where most people are semi anonymous. Comparing, in any subject matter, is not generally unhealthy unless you let it be.

Its never a bad idea to "save" double or triple what you think you need especially if you have it.

I am getting ot the age where I get to see alot of my friends parents that didnt plan well for their "retirement" years that cant make ends meet with medical bills and medications included.
 
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