NTR, Anon, clicky poll: How much do you have in savings?

LipstickLibrarian · December 2009

Sometimes I feel like we have enough in savings, sometimes I feel like we are not saving nearly as much as we should be.

ETA: I don't mean 401k or any retirement accounts - I mean savings right now that can be used for emergencies, used to buy a house, etc.

[Poll]

tmp-354536812503300 · December 2009

can I make friends with the person that said they have more than $100,000?

BetchySprout · December 2009

AudreyGolightly:
can I make friends with the person that said they have more than $100,000?

I want to be their friend too.

OP, you might want to distinguish between "Retirement" and "Savings", IMO they are different things.

mom2be:)2008 · December 2009

I'm in the poor crowd

We do ok though...just not really putting any savings away at this time.

kipper1128 · December 2009

We have used all of our savings because in 2009 - we had only 1 income (when trying to have 2) for more than half of it.

Stupid lay offs.

102503Natalie · December 2009

More than $100,000 liquid? Hmm

Lucky_Dragonfly · December 2009

I voted but is this savings accounts or 401K/IRAs?

betsnup · December 2009

kipper1128:
We have used all of our savings because in 2009 - we had only 1 income (when trying to have 2) for more than half of it.

Stupid lay offs.

This will probably be us since my job ends come January. My answer will probably be significantly different next December.

LukeAndAmanda · December 2009

We won't have anything extra until tax return time. Then we're going to start with Dave Ramsey's 1k, and we'll see how it goes from there.

SuperCuteBenz · December 2009

I about peed my pants at that. How does one person have more than $100,000 in savings?

I am sure we are in the average area. We put some into savings every month but not enough. Our resolution for 2010 is to put at least $500/month into savings. We will see how that goes though since DH found out yesterday that he will probably be let go in January.

violetvirgo · December 2009

we have a lot in savings but most of our money is tied up in stock/bonds/MF and other investments where it has more of a chance to make more money for us.

violetvirgo · December 2009

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

that is my reaction to that. we have a lot in savings, but i would never just let 100,000 sit in a low interest account when it could be in investments making more money for me.

klink11 · December 2009

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

I would say it's possible especially if it was inherited. When DH's Father passed last year each of his kids was given a lump sum. Not really the way you want to see you bank account grow though I would prefer to have him here.

EuroChick · December 2009

violetvirgo:
we have a lot in savings but most of our money is tied up in stock/bonds/MF and other investments where it has more of a chance to make more money for us.

I understood the question as liquid opposed to stock.

klink11 · December 2009

violetvirgo:

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

that is my reaction to that. we have a lot in savings, but i would never just let 100,000 sit in a low interest account when it could be in investments making more money for me.

true.

102503Natalie · December 2009

klink11:

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

I would say it's possible especially if it was inherited. When DH's Father passed last year each of his kids was given a lump sum. Not really the way you want to see you bank account grow though I would prefer to have him here.

That's understandable (and I agree); however, I can't imagine letting 100k sit in a regular, low-interest earning savings account.

Maybe I misunderstood the question? I ASSumed she was talking about a regular, liquid, cash-on-hand savings account at your local bank vs. stocks, bonds, 401-ks, etc.

violetvirgo · December 2009

102503Natalie:
klink11:

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

I would say it's possible especially if it was inherited. When DH's Father passed last year each of his kids was given a lump sum. Not really the way you want to see you bank account grow though I would prefer to have him here.

That's understandable (and I agree); however, I can't imagine letting 100k sit in a regular, low-interest earning savings account.

Maybe I misunderstood the question? I ASSumed she was talking about a regular, liquid, cash-on-hand savings account at your local bank vs. stocks, bonds, 401-ks, etc.

i read the question as liquid also.

exhausted_bride · December 2009

Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

LipstickLibrarian · December 2009

I am the OP: yes, I mean liquid.

Sherriberry · December 2009

We just bought a new house so that took $10,000 of our savings.

We always put DH's bonus on our mortgage rather than leaving it in savings.

LoriFalce · December 2009

I voted, but ours seems more impressive than it is. We have long-term savings and short-term savings since we frequently draw on it while waiting for someone we've worked for to pay us.

MegGary · December 2009

Not to mention if you have your money in a low interest savings account and it is over 100K you have to claim it on your taxes. Why bother? I'd rather put it into an IRA or other investment account so you aren't slammed in taxes on it.

That or hide it under the mattress.

edt: you have to claim it on your taxes even if it's not at 100K for some savings accounts. If it's over 100K I wouldn't want to.

KittyCatBio · December 2009

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

but what the PPers and I are saying is that that is incredibly dumb money wise, unless they have an amazing interest rate on that savings acct. not that someone couldn't do it, but that they shouldn't.

SarahBukisi · December 2009

we have 10,000... the most we have ever had but sadly and gladly, it will all be gone when we complete the house buying process. we have to pay all the closing costs since its a short sale.

i just hope we get the papers signed before the April deadline for the tax credit!!!

6fsn · December 2009

I considered stocks and bonds and mutual funds as part of my savings portfolio. It's not retirement, but money set aside if we need it in the next 5+ years.

I did not include IRAs or 401ks. I wasn't the 100k person.

violetvirgo · December 2009

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

i don't think having 100K is impossible, i just don't understand - from a financial standpoint - why you would just leave that sort of money in a low interest savings account. we never let our savings get above xK b/c investing it is more practical and begets more money.

exhausted_bride · December 2009

KittyCatBio:

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

but what the PPers and I are saying is that that is incredibly dumb money wise, unless they have an amazing interest rate on that savings acct. not that someone couldn't do it, but that they shouldn't.

Yeah, that's why I said we don't have anywhere near 100k in saving so don't know how investing that goes.... I have no idea how they are investing it.I never cared enough to ask .

Andrewsgal · December 2009

violetvirgo:

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

i don't think having 100K is impossible, i just don't understand - from a financial standpoint - why you would just leave that sort of money in a low interest savings account. we never let our savings get above xK b/c investing it is more practical and begets more money.

I agree, I have a hard time believing that someone who was good enough with money to have 100k in the checking account is not good enough with money to know what a horrible idea that is. Why would you keep that much money in a low interest account when it could be earning a whole lot more somewhere else? Makes no sense to me. Oh and I read the poll as actually liquid like what i see when I log into my savings account I did not count investments or such.

exhausted_bride · December 2009

Andrewsgal:
violetvirgo:

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

i don't think having 100K is impossible, i just don't understand - from a financial standpoint - why you would just leave that sort of money in a low interest savings account. we never let our savings get above xK b/c investing it is more practical and begets more money.

I agree, I have a hard time believing that someone who was good enough with money to have 100k in the checking account is not good enough with money to know what a horrible idea that is. Why would you keep that much money in a low interest account when it could be earning a whole lot more somewhere else? Makes no sense to me. Oh and I read the poll as actually liquid like what i see when I log into my savings account I did not count investments or such.

Like I said, I have no idea how they invest it. I never asked. I never said they have it in a low interest saving account. I'm not asking them about how they invest their money...

Echowysp · December 2009

violetvirgo:
102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?
that is my reaction to that. we have a lot in savings, but i would never just let 100,000 sit in a low interest account when it could be in investments making more money for me.

Considering the hit our investments took, I'm quite happy to have it sitting in a bank account right now. Better safe than sorry right now.

EuroChick · December 2009

Some people have tax situations where 100k liquid could make sense, especially if they have (legal) accounts in more than one country.

MegGary · December 2009

EuroChick:
Some people have tax situations where 100k liquid could make sense, especially if they have (legal) accounts in more than one country.

That makes sense. I'm just an average shmoe though. I honestly never had to think about this. Having an extra $100 sometimes is a godsend let alone an extra 100K incase of an emergency.

A&R2006 · December 2009

KittyCatBio:

exhausted_bride:
Well, DH has a friend and he and his wife both have excellent, high paying jobs. His money pays for all the expenses, living, childcare, etc. and her pay goes directly into savings. They have done it this way for years. I figure they must have close to a million in savings by now... But we have nowhere near 100k so have no idea how investing that goes. Some people are very, very good with their money and save for many years.... just sayin...

but what the PPers and I are saying is that that is incredibly dumb money wise, unless they have an amazing interest rate on that savings acct. not that someone couldn't do it, but that they shouldn't.

You can have money invested in mutual funds and other higher interest accounts that is still highly liquid. For example, we keep all of our non-retirement accounts with one brokerage company, and anything extra (portion of our income, bonuses, etc.) goes straight into it. We consider that our "savings" (keeping enough in checking to cover average monthly expenses and a minimal amount in the associated savings account). Anytime the amount in checking goes significantly over our monthly expense level, we transfer it to the brokerage account to earn at a better rate (depending on the stock market, of course!). However, when we need some for a major purchase, it's extremely easy to have that money transferred into our bank account.

So for us, highly liquid doesn't just include what is in our checking and savings accounts with the bank we use for everyday transactions.

cicija1 · December 2009

EuroChick:
Some people have tax situations where 100k liquid could make sense, especially if they have (legal) accounts in more than one country.

True. We have legal account in another country. I have had a trust fund since I was born

disbride061103 · December 2009

The OP's question asked about funds used for "emergencies or to buy a house". We didn't keep the funds for our down payment in a savings account at our bank. They were kept in a mutual fund.

The definition of a liquid asset is something that can quickly be converted to cash. It's not necessarily cash itself sitting in a savings account.

To me, liquid is funds that you can access fairly easily within the matter of a few days (at the most). Some of our investments are fairly liquid and we could easily have a check from our financial planner in a day or two (again, at the most). We also wouldn't incur any penalties by cashing in these investments, which again is why I consider them liquid. Given all of this, I can see how someone who is well-off could have over $100,000 in what they consider a "savings" account.

Toosdai · December 2009

Perhaps the 100K is their emergency fund which should, by definition, be something that can be accessed quickly w/o penalty. Therefore, having it in a low-interest account (as you all assume) might be the absolute best thing for this person. Or it could be someone just wanted to get the collective panties of the board in a bunch which seems to have worked?...

FTR, I am not that person. We have about a 12-month e-fund which is all in a savings account. I like having instant access to my cash, I don't want to have to pay penalties or brokerage fees when the time comes (god forbid) for me to access it.

MegGary · December 2009

disbride061103:

The OP's question asked about funds used for "emergencies or to buy a house". We didn't keep the funds for our down payment in a savings account at our bank. They were kept in a mutual fund.

The definition of a liquid asset is something that can quickly be converted to cash. It's not necessarily cash itself sitting in a savings account.

To me, liquid is funds that you can access fairly easily within the matter of a few days (at the most). Some of our investments are fairly liquid and we could easily have a check from our financial planner in a day or two (again, at the most). We also wouldn't incur any penalties by cashing in these investments, which again is why I consider them liquid. Given all of this, I can see how someone who is well-off could have over $100,000 in what they consider a "savings" account.

How much could you liquidate in a few days w/ no tax penalties? I'm just asking out of curiosity. I always thought that if you took over 10K you'd be penalized.

fIowerchild · December 2009

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

Yup, more than that, very liquid. But were are as old as the hills. We also have investment accounts, and 401K, but for *us*, it's important to have some liquid. We recently sold some stock so that added to the cash.

LaLaSweets · December 2009

violetvirgo:
we have a lot in savings but most of our money is tied up in stock/bonds/MF and other investments where it has more of a chance to make more money for us.

same here and with dh and i being teachers we have the teacher's retirement plan and the teacher's tax deferred annuity plan

KKM · December 2009

Our goal is to have 6 months living expenses in a savings account...and I am talking all expenses, not just the bare minimum. We had this for a long time, but it took a hit after our down payment for our house in June. It is being built back up right now.

MegGary · December 2009

fIowerchild:

102503Natalie:
More than $100,000 liquid?

Yup, more than that, very liquid. But were are as old as the hills.

How old is old?

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