[Poddi]

I was wondering what everybody here want to eventually achieve by being frugal and managing money well.

What do you hope to get eventually? The "ultimate goal" should be long term, not like "pay off my car loan in the next 3 months".

The poll options assume everybody want to be debt-free and have a comfortable life. If your goals are different please enlighten us.

 

[zinemama]

1. A comfortable retirement

2. A good chunk of college savings for the kids (we won't be able to fully fund, but we're doing as much as possible

 

[LilyGrace]

I want to not have to worry about money. I want freedom. No bills, a managable mortgage on a small house, a paid-for car, large fund in the bank...I want to stop living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[Alare]

We, too, are looking towards a comfortable retirement and no mortgage.

 

[Denvergirlie]

A life free from stressing about money and having no fear of not having enough money.

In solid terms....

Paid for land and house
Enough money to retire on once home/land is paid for - guessimating needing maybe up to $2K a month in retirement

That being said, no where near that..

Still saving for downpayment/ outright purchase of land/ house, so it's going to be some time before that occurs.

It can be very hard to keep such a goal in mind and actively working towards it when it's so many years off in the future. But I try to remind myself that every time we eat out for $30 a pop, is just delaying that freedom even more. It's a HUGE challenge to be completey honest.

 

[Poddi]

You guys are sooo fast! Please vote for the poll.

 

[KatWrangler]

voted!

 

[onlygirls]

Pay off all debts, own a nice house, fully fund retirement and college is what I voted for.

We want to pay off CC's and cars. Finish funding retirement, fully fund state colleges for our 3 kids, have a house paid for by the time DH retires. We have a nice house, but it is not my forever house. When he retires, we want to be able to do whatever we want. No debt.

 

[bobandjess99]

freedom to spend my time doing what I want.....not having to work 70 hr weeks...being able to take long trips, vacation, spend time with DH and the kids....basically,be able to do what we want with our lives...we are about 9 years away from this!!!

 

[Delicateflower]

You didn't really have an option for me, just to live my life comfortably with whatever I want to have, doing whatever I like doing. But I chose keep it simple, live more work less.

 

[Carson]

Other. Pay off mortgage here in US, sell it when we retire, buy retirement home abroad and move. Be able to fund frugal retirement without needing employment.

Second priority is to help kids with some college costs (DH and I feel the costs are shared responsibility and will let them know that)

 

[Astrogirl]

I chose "keep it simple, etc" but its not what i think people think it is.

I am already debt free and have some investments. I want to have at least 1 Million in the bank to live off of so i can retire early, work less, live a simple life, etc. I just want a nice little cushion and not have to worry about other people supporting me (i.e. not count on any inheritance, not count on government pension, should something happen to that, etc)

 

[Poddi]

You should probably have picked the having a million or two option, then.

 

[Seasons]

Aren't #2 and #3 the same?

#2 Get rich - a million or two's net worth would be good enough
#3 Pay off all debts, own a nice house, fully fund retirement and college

I think most retirement calculators figure you need at least a million invested to comfortably retire. Add on a paid-off house (MEDIAN cost in my city is half million) and college (a hundred thousand?) and you're close to 2 million net worth. I wouldn't consider that "rich" by any means, just prudent, reasonably secure.

And #6 could be the same, too:

#6 Keept it simple, work less and live more, retire early, leave lighter foot prints...etc.

To retire early, of course you need MORE money, not less, than if you worked until retirement age. So even if you mean "simple" to mean "below median value house, or renting," well, you'd still need about that 2+ million to fund your life.

 

[fek&fuzz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seasons Aren't #2 and #3 the same? #2 Get rich - a million or two's net worth would be good enough #3 Pay off all debts, own a nice house, fully fund retirement and college I think most retirement calculators figure you need at least a million invested to comfortably retire. Add on a paid-off house (MEDIAN cost in my city is half million) and college (a hundred thousand?) and you're close to 2 million net worth. I wouldn't consider that "rich" by any means, just prudent, reasonably secure.

That was my thought. Around here with RE prices you could easily have 1-2 million net worth if your debts were paid off, you owned a nice house and had a fully funded retirement account.

 

[LilMama23]

I voted for: keep it simple, work less and live more, retire early, leave lighter foot prints...etc.

I'd like to get my debts paid off and then do that.

 

[Storm Bride]

hmm...pay off all debts, hopefully buy a place, and fund our retirement. Paying for college isn't really on my radar. If we have the money, I'll help the kids out, but I'm onboard that it's a parent's responsibility to pay for post-secondary education.

 

[Kyamo]

Have enough to retire early. I don't need a mansion or fancy cars, the extra time with family is more important.

 

[dancebaraka]

Ah I chose "other"

For me, that means "all of the above"... I'll take any/all of them.

... and I am completely open to being extremely wealthy

 

[ollineeba]

Nice home with no mortgage, plenty of land (I want to be able to gift some to our grown children someday), yearly vacations/lots of family time, fully funded retirement and funded college plans for the kids. Most importantly- no debt!