Mods or save?

[jred321]

i've been playing with online retirement calculators and, of course there is a lot that is left to chance, but given how i'm saving it'll be $2-3m by the time i'm 65. i didn't start til i was 22 and actually would contribute more if i didn't have to pay my student loans. point being because of interest the earlier you start the better but 21-22 or however old you are after college is still early and should leave you with plenty to retire with

an interesting chart but it doesn't give ROR. there's another similar one in "the automatic millionaire"

Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?
The key to becoming a millionaire by age 65 is to start saving early!!!
Age Amt set aside per year Years to save Amount at 65
15 $2000 7 $1,020,430
15 $2,000 50 $2,327,934
25 $2,259 40 $1,000,000
35 $6,079 30 $1,000,000
45 $17,459 20 $1,000,000
55 $62,745 10 $1,000,000

 

[palerider]

The advice in this thread is hilarious. The kids 18 people. If the economy is going to be as bad as fourthmeal says(and maybe thats right).. then money wont be worth a damn anyway. And then you'll be poor, and broke, and trust me...the only thing you'll be grateful for is the time you had living it up the summer you were 18.....

you only get that once.

The couple grand you might save by buckling down and "saving"... aint gonna be worth s*** if the economy crashes. We'll all be scrambling one way or the other.

What the poor kid saves will be pointless. If he learns a work ethic... he'll be fine. Even if hes poor in a recession/ depression in the years to come.... he'll be working, eating, and hoping for better times ahead.

And when hes an old elderly man... he'll sit around and talk about the economy, and the summer he was 18.

 

[ZoomVT]

yeah a good work ethic involves saving your money and not spend it the minute that it touches your hand; it also includes differentiating between needs and wants. keep living the now, who cares about the future, you will have the govt and social security to save you... oh wait... ah nevermind...

 

[autoxes]

being a little brother myself all i have to say is your parents are ass's if they buy you another new car and give your brother your hand me downs. Does he get you old underwear too?
2 new cars for you and 0 new for your brother is favoritism and thats a no no in my book.

You need to take the lead on this and insist you are perfectly happy with your 1 year old car and that lil bro should be treated in the same manor as yourself.

You havent got a hair on your ass if you dont slap your mama for pulling this $hit.

My parents never gave me s*** as far as cars go. I've bought both my first AND second cars. So there.

Just FTR, I know a lot of people have bought their own cars, so I'm not looking for recognition at all.

 

[palerider]

yeah a good work ethic involves saving your money and not spend it the minute that it touches your hand; it also includes differentiating between needs and wants. keep living the now, who cares about the future, you will have the govt and social security to save you... oh wait... ah nevermind...

a good wotk ethic has nothing to do with saving your money. Those are two different things.

Work hard and play hard.... especially when your 18.

If at some point in your early twentys you havent saved a few grand.... and you have a decent job. well then its time to start changing your priorities.

And finally.... blowing 2-3000 on your car, girls, and nice clothes, when your 18 doesnt mean the govenments gonna have to save you when youre 65...lol.

I say maybe SAVE a tithe. 10% is plenty fine to save if you want to save. But if you need that 10% to get laid by that cute girl down the block... and your 18.... well then **** a tithe too.

 

[RUMBLEFISH]

Ahem...

Any stock is a risk, but I just mentioned one as a semi-sure thing, rather then putting your money in a .com business stock.

But, I think the point has been provided to the OP to save quite a bit and invest early.

You sir have been doing your homework. Good advice but I know when I was young life would only get better. I would assume that not many on this board went thru the 70's collapse or the 80's market crash but then again ignorence is the markets way of having a correction.

Gold, commodities,utilities, and foreign currencies are now the investments for the forseeable future. We are no longer a mfg based economy but a consumption economy. Wait until the chinese realize our dollars is not worth much then you have 1.3 billion chinese waiting inline to by cheap goods and that country is ready to roar.

I really do hope that I'm wrong in so many ways.

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

I still say that if he is going to end up giving the car to his kid brother he should save the money for two reasons.

1) He can spend it on mods on his next car that theoretically he'll be keeping for himself for a while.

2) His kid brother does not need this car to be faster than it already is when he gets it.

I also think he should take advantage of his situation to build up a nest egg for himself even if he has no intention of keeping it long term. It never hurts to have some "mad money" stashed away. Once he gets out of high school he will have numerous invitations to join the guys on a road trip or a short notice trip to one of those "girls gone wild" locations. Having the money for this kind of stuff stashed away burning a hole in your pocket is never a bad thing.

Live today like it's your last, but plan for tomorrow in case you're wrong.

 

[palerider]

I also think he should take advantage of his situation to build up a nest egg for himself even if he has no intention of keeping it long term. It never hurts to have some "mad money" stashed away. Once he gets out of high school he will have numerous invitations to join the guys on a road trip or a short notice trip to one of those "girls gone wild" locations. Having the money for this kind of stuff stashed away burning a hole in your pocket is never a bad thing.

LOL... thats great advice too. Especially if college is in the plans. Its alot more fun to have a few bucks in school than to be the broke kid.

It amazes me how much these kids travel these days... Im sure its mostly parents hooking them up.... but some of the best times ever for me were roadtrips "on a budget" in college. Good god great memories!!.... dont ask details though(drunk)

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

Good god great memories!!.... dont ask details though(drunk)

Mostly because you probably don't remember any. One of my favorite lines about that is, "anyone who remembers the 70's wasn't really a part of them."

 

[xyooj]

i agree. Im in the market for a MS3. Sure they are nice, but do I really need one now? Things that are above the MS3 are. 1. school. 2. house. Atleast for me.

SAVE.

The economy is going to tank, and you're going to want to have a lot of reserve money. It will happen, its just a matter of time and severity.

I went from well-off, high car payments, etc. to now (where I'm about to lose my car, and many other things.) All it took was for my wife to lose her job and not be able to get another. One little thing, and *poof*, suddenly you need to dig through your savings deeply. You're young, and you make $1200/month, or about $14,400 a year! That's not a lot of money in case something goes wrong in your life.

Save, and put your money in stocks like Gold or Silver, "sure things" in the market of today. But definitely spend a bit and have some fun when you have about 6 months' salary saved in the bank...or in your case maybe 10 grand.

 

[Not Jo3L]

Save your money...unless you think your brother is the best driver in the world then mod it and pass it on to him.

I would not invest into a car that much that would not be your own in the future. Let your brother do the work and get a since of pride in the 3 because its his and he was the one to mod it...this is if you even let it go to him.

I really dont know how kids start out with a mazdaspeed 3 though...unless their parents are super rich. I guess i just live in the ghetto were everyone drives 90's era civics.