@fatbob: I agree with this to a point. While it's true that you should focus first on savings (especially for security) and paying off higher interest debt such as on credit cards, if you can afford to have just an appreciating asset without having even the low interest debt, why not? Especially for those of us who…

@HurtsSoGood: Good points. It is definitely not a good idea to attempt to pay extra money towards debt at the expense of having security savings (at _least_ three months' worth). These are an essential that are all-too-often overlooked.

It should probably be noted that $289,883 30 years from now is NOT the same thing as $150,000 today. I'm not saying that the calculator is not useful, I'm just pointing out that you have to be careful when using it for long spreads of time like that.

@Matt Singerman: Very true about the IFs, but you make a good point. There is one IF that I wouldn't plan on being the norm in 30 years, though: the rent controls. These are almost always temporary phenomenon that crop up because people complain about rents being too high to their elected officials. Then, because…

@tmetzcc325: Good point — you said it in the time it took me to read the comment and sign in, haha.

@sweetmonkey: Great advice (especially the bit about finding other means of arriving at an agreement than money), but I'd like to add a few things too.

@UnMicD: That is an excellent idea. I'm gonna try that...

Quick question: why is aluminum our bad guy here? I realize we probably don't have aluminum naturally in our arm pits, but does that necessarily make it bad? I mean, we don't naturally wear polyester around our crotch but I don't think I'm going to die because I don't DIY some organic boxers...

@jslizzle: Shopping for food at the grocery store (and paying attention to prices while you're there) is one of the best ways to cut down on expenses. I'm always amazed at the difference to my debit card balances at the end of the month if I add up all the times I went to Subway and Dunkin' Donuts (my two…

@dulipishi: