Not really. It’s still apples-to-oranges. The question is what it pays for her home, not yours. If you’re paying over $7200 a year in property taxes ($600/mo. X 12), then you live in a nice place and make good money. My parents live in the middle of Silicon Valley and don’t pay that. (Median for Santa Clara County is…

Maybe. $600/month would cover mean property taxes on most homes in most states, which is $2149 a year on average. Highest mean value tax is New Jersey, which is about $7000 a year. But, if you live and work in New Jersey, odds are you aren’t making low five-figures and will end up with quite a bit more than $600 a…

Your statement implies it was at some point something else, but it never was. In terms of retirement, Title I of the 1935 act defines itself as “old age assistance,” but not for current payers. In other words, it was never a savings plan and shouldn’t be regarded as such. To do so is wishing it was something it isn’t…

Meh. I don’t agree, although I’m going to be civil and I’m not interested in picking a fight. I think we have a difference in perspective. From my perspective, SS dollars are not “my” money. I don’t “invest” or pay into the system at the rate I expect to get back later.

I miss it. I used to go often when I lived in Wallingford. That fucking strawberry shake...

The most important thing for me has been coming to understand my current situation in different terms. I took a decent job in a shitty flyover state nine years ago hoping to parlay that into a “good” position at a different school back on the West Coast. However, with tenure, and a bad job market, we’re “stuck” here…

I think you can do it. I was $89k in student loan debt when I bought my first house on a starting salary of $39k. That was in the “wild West” days before the mortgage crisis, but I didn’t get a shitty loan. In 2010 I bought a new house after a move, on a higher salary of around $58k. I had by that time saved a little…

These are all awesome goals.

This is a good thing.

I’m not saying it’s THE worst, because taste is subjective, but the soundtrack in my own personal hell will be Little Drummer Boy, playing ceaselessly while I push the rock up the hill for eternity.

Best thing I spent my money on: finally paying off my student loans. I get to go into 2018 debt free. Honorable mention: maxing out retirement.

You forgot:

I’ve always appreciated and have generally followed the advice to avoid lifestyle upgrades. I’m 45 and I make double what I did 10 years ago. However, we’re still driving older cars, live in a modest neighborhood, and didn’t move into an overpriced McMansion or expensive historic home. As a result, we’re debt free…

If they were cops the bar owner would probably be dead or under arrest.

Four wheel slide, as I used to call it when I drove a pickup.

Eh, I don’t agree that people who are good with money don’t need a budget. A budget is just another way to be self-conscious about how you spend, i.e., to be good with money. I eat at home most of the time, too, but we also like to go out 1-2 nights a week, go to museum, see a play, see a show, do things together and…

Really? Man, I think together my wife and I can go through $600 a month on entertainment, which for us includes driving to a nearby city for a day, going to a museum, movies, seeing music, etc. But, we really enjoy going out together. I think that’s why I like to set a limit.

We use an Excel sheet, too. Generally I only keep enough in checking to cover bills every month, or potential bills (i.e., I have some money in there for the vet, even though we don’t go every month, or copays, even though we don’t see the doctor every month). Groceries and entertainment comes out as cash, which is…

I use cash for any going out and for groceries. I try never to use my debit card and generally don’t even carry it around. Most of the time I just have a credit card in case of an emergency, but almost everything discretionary is cash for me. It keeps me on budget. When my beer money is gone, I stay home.

I’m curious how you do your budget. You must have an upper limit each month for certain things (i.e., “I won’t spend more than $600 in a given month on entertainment/eating out/day drinking”), so what do you use to keep track of what you’re spending? Is it as simple as saving receipts, or do you use an app associated…