Yes, I think its realistic.
When I was 22 I saving and only making 8 bucks an hour. In fact I was working retail at home depot during its hayday. I was putting quite a bit of everyone of my paychecks in company stock. This was the time HD stock was doing very very well. When i quit after 5 years I was making a around 30 grand a year as an assistant manager and had over 90K in home depot stock.
How did I find that money to invest? Pretty simple. I sold my car, rode a bike or took a bus to work. I didnt have things like cable TV or a telephone. I made do with pay phones and a beeper. I ate a lot of dollar store mac and cheese and top ramen. And when my buddies wanted to do things like hit the nightclubs, I chose not to go most of the time.
What came from this? When I graduated college, I put 60 grand down on a 90 grand house. Which was really nice.
You have to remember there are many ways to save money.
Investing
Side jobs
Even gaining equity your home is saving.
I can honestly say that i have been working since I was 16 and I have never had a paycheck I didnt save at least something. I also dont finance cars. I wont drive something I can pay cash for. Sure early in life I drove some real crap that i paid cash for. But over the years I have built up enough to drive nicer cars and pay cash.
So yes, I do think a 25 year old being able to save that kind of money is reasonable. It takes some hard work and sacrifice....but it can be done. I did it and Im really not that smart of a guy....lol

 

That's just wrong, hobo. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

What?!? You've never seen the movie "Dances with Wolves??"

What ELSE is a "Sheepdancer?" :lol: :lol:

Besides, Sheepy knows I'm just razzin him! Them Indians sure could get creative with names, eh? Although, I can't help thinking that "Dances with Sheep" was a bit of a putdown, don't you think? With all the Buffalo, Mountain Lions, Horses, and whatnot that the Indians lived amongst and revered, Why would anyone name his kid "Dances with Sheep?" :lol:

You've HEARD that joke about the two dogs, haven't you? :shock:

Hey.... don't look at ME!!! "I" didn't pick his login!! :wink:

BTW.... I actually slowed down a bit last week to let one of YOUR kids cross the road safely!! I really AM a nice guy! I just play an AZZ on the Internet! :wink: 8)

 

That is where my name came from. For many many years, my screen name on AOL, MSN, Yahoo ect...is Danceswthsheep. When i came to this board I just shortened it to sheepdancer. The name comes from way back when i was at University of Texas and my frat brothers found out I was moving to arkansas. From that point on my "frat name" was Dances with Sheep.

 

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I gotta give you credit, Sheepdancer! You got cajones!!! To keep, and promulgate, a FRAT NAME on here shows you are very self assured!

Remember that movie with Glenn Ford?? Don't remember the title. He moved into cattle country in Texas, or thereabouts, and wanted to raise SHEEP! This was a REAL part of American history! Without the BRAVE men who chose to "dance with sheep," we'd ALL still be wearing LEATHER clothes! :lol:

Of course, if you went to Australia, you'd probably be revered as a Maji!"

But then, you'd have to lower your standards where FELONS are concerned.... being a Penal Colony and all! :lol:

Dancing with sheep is actually pretty simple, if you have the right type of boots! What brand do you endorse? :lol:

Okay.... Wabbit!! THAT was wrong!! :wink:

 

I really havent seen too many sheep in person. Im a bit of a city boy. And really we dont have many sheep in this part of arkansas...only chickens.
However, not too long ago I was at the county fair with my family and they had sheep. I handed my wife my camera and I was going to try to dance with one and get a picture. I found out two things. Sheep dont like people grabbing their front legs. And those little future farmers of america kids get really angry when you mess with their sheep....Oops

 

That's too funny! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

You should have known better than to mess with another mans' sheep. :twisted:

 

Useless wrote

I've never heard him push real estate on anyone. He always says its usually a good investment BUT if you don't have much money it's not a good investment. It will bit you.
Have you ever heard him talk about murphy moving into your spare bed room and bringing his friends broke, desprate and stupid????
He Also says that you should never invest in anything you don't understand.
He refers people with questions about investing to his ELP's (endorsed local providers). He makes no money from this refferal. Just that you get the help from a person with the heart of a teacher.
There is also a disclaimer that says you should additional see the services of a compent professional.

 

Flood, first let me say this; This piece you quoted didn't come from my post... :wink:

Also, sorry if I confused you with anyone else... The posts were so long, they eventually just seemed to meld one into the other... I think I was a bit tired, when I first read them... :lol: :wink:

Second question I would ask to SheepDancer is;

When you were 22, or, 25, were you living on your own paying rent, on that $8.00 per hour, or were you living at home with your parents, or, with other "family", or, friends?...

To Flood...

If you buy used vehicles that's one thing. But, from your post it appeared you had bought a "new" vehicle for your step son... Also, you didn't explain that he had been "earning" the vehicle in other ways. It just came across as you just gave him a car, period.

So, not looking for an arguement, I'm just responding to what I read... :wink:

I would also just like to add, that if you buy a new vehicle it is cheaper in the long run to own, then buying a used vehicle... I bought my vehicle brand new, cash you could say, since they wouldn't take $16,400.00 in cash, I had to give them a check... :wink: But, still bought, and paid for my vehicle outright, no loan, nothing. Had title in hand the day I brought it home. I've owned it 18 years now, and as I believe I stated before it now has cost me less than $1,000.00 per year to own...

When you buy used, you don't know what your getting. It can be a lemon, it can have mechanical problems your not aware of, etc... It can end up costing in mechanical repair costs in some cases more than the vehicle is worth...

I don't know how many years you saved before you bought your car with cash. Which you stated you sacrificed your opportunities to go out to clubs with friends, and ate a malnourishing diet for a period of time. But, you shouldn't have to "suffer" in other ways, just to be able to afford to buy anything... That's the point I'm making as well...

Everyone in this country should be able to make a decent wage for the job they do... Doesn't matter if you are on the low end of the wage scale, or the high end. They just announced on the news, that corporations are cutting back again on raise percentages for 2008... They are cutting them too 3.8 percent. They stated that most corporations paid average raises of 5 percent in 1990...

So, that said, if wages are actually decreasing while inflation, and cost keep rising, if anyone can find a way to save "serious" money, without it hurting them (suffering), to do so, then they are lucky...

This isn't supposed to be a pain/pleasure situation. It was always said, that if you worked hard, you could make a good living, in this country. Well, there are many who do work hard, and they still have situations that they could not have predicted, that have set them back financially, such as illness, death in the family, injury, disability, etc...

Also, if you are married, you are fortunate because regardless of the jobs, you for the most part these days have a two income family... If you are single, you are screwed... They take the most taxes out of those who are single, housing, whether rental, or, purchasing a home is very expensive, that unless your in the 1% of the population making those millioins, and nowadays, Billions. Your not going to have it easy to save much, for anything...

It also depends on what years you were referring too... In recent years, the entire countries economic's has been messed up. The middle class is disappearing, and it has been stated as fact that this country is becoming a contest between the rich, and the poor... People have stated if you lose your middle class, you lose your democracy...

A lot of what happens in life too, also is a matter of being in the right place, and the right time. Not everyone will get the opportunities, or the breaks, others may be fortunate to have come their way...

If it has been stated that most woman (80%) will retire to poverty, they are not referring to single, poor woman. They have included woman from all economic backgrounds. That is scarey, especially if you are a woman in this country.

Woman from divorce, widows with children, etc... Trying to remember back to when I was in grade school, I don't think they even taught us how to use a check book... :lol: :sad:

Then again, depending on where you grew up, and the educational system provided, would also affect what your were taught in public school... There are children who attend private schools, and Ivy league schools, they are going to have advantages that for the most part, the general population won't receive. Also if you come from a poor rural area your public schools won't be as good, as those in more suburban, areas. We all know that is a fact of life in this country. Equal opportunity just isn't the case in fact if you look across this entire nation, in regard to education.

When I was in public school, the schools didn't really focus much on girls, and their needs for a good education. They assumed that they would all end up getting married, and raising families, once they reached adulthood. Girls were not prepared to go onto college either. So, you can't say that everyone got an equal start in their educational life, in this country.

Back when I was a kid, most woman married, and stayed home, raising their kids, while the husband was the "bread winner"... That isn't the case these days. Even toward the end of the 70's, it was clear that even married woman were going to have to take up jobs, to help support their families.

In my own family, my mother worked part-time jobs, while we were in school to add to the families income... Also, my Dad was fortunate to have the GI bill, which helped them to buy their first home, and for him to receive more education, which helped him toward eventually starting his own business. It didn't benefit my mother directly, just indirectly...

I can say this, if my parents even at the age they are now, were for some reason to divorce, my Dad would do well, and my mother would be screwed financially. He has his own business, and she works as a receptionist.

She certainly won't have the financial opportunities he has, and she certainly wouldn't be able to live the lifestyle she does now, if she had to go it alone, on her own...

They are now in their early, to mid 60's... My Dad is semi retired, but, he will still have to work... He's already told me that, even with his own business. Because he didn't grow the business into something that could be "taken over" by others for him to truly retire. He created his business, and made it a "one man show"... Doing it on his own, no employees... That was his choice, and he will pay the price for that choice...

They didn't invest in buying additional properties as investments, because they didn't want the liability, or the aggravation of having rental properties. They wanted a different lifestyle...

It's not easy to own, and operate rental properties, the laws, the liability, the risk of damage to the properties by bad tenants, etc... It wasn't worth it to them... They have however traveled, bought boats, had time to do what they wanted to do... But, it basically was a trade off...

Some people I think also look at life in different ways, thinking they should enjoy life now, before they get to old to enjoy it. Those who think they should save for retirement, then enjoy life. But, often times either die before they get to retire, or, are too ill by then to enjoy the fruits of their labor. So, it very much depends on which end of the spectrum you are from... Depression era people saved, 60's era people lived up to that song "live for today"...

Today, it is difficult to do either... :lol:

You have the attitude that reminds me of something my father once said... He was asked if you, and your children went overboard on a boat, who would you save?... He said, he would save himself, and my mother... When asked why?... He replied, because you can always have more children...

That is kind of how your looking at society, it is save yourself, at the expense of the other guy... In the long run, what goes around, comes around. :wink:

There may come a day, you could find yourself in such a situation, then who will you reach out too?... Most importantly, who will be there willing to save you?... But, hey, if you've got all the bases covered, then I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about, and your life will continue to be one of optimism, and true happiness.

Just remember those you discard in society usually are the ones who try to rob from you, take your life, and all because basically they were denied the same opportunities you were fortunate to have obtained. That's why there are millions in prison, and we all know that most of them get out of prison eventually, only to re-offend...

If you don't do things right, and equally from the start, then you will never truly have a healthy, well adjusted, peaceful, and productive society... Look at the horror stories of who end up caring for the elderly, in nursing homes, etc...

The low wage earners, with little education, caring for you in your most vulnerable state, elderly, possible ill, disabled, etc., and having to rely on them for your vital daily needs.

Do you think they should be paid low wages, for the work they do?... I certainly wouldn't... If you remember some stated 9/11 happened because you had low wage workers in security positions at airports... Who do you think should be paid more, Airport security, or the flight attendents, serving you juice?...

Something to think about in your scenario of how life should be in the US...

Frankly, as far as SSI, if it had been set up properly, the money taken in taxes should have had interest paid on it annually, then it would have been possibly worth enough for most Americans to retire on... Corporate pensions are disappearing, and a 401K is no longer a guarantee either... Look at how some corporations have cut, their payment matching on those, affecting many who invested in them...

America now is more like your attitude... It is screw the other guy, get what you can, as fast as you can. I'll live in denial, and hope nothing bad happens to me, or my family, and let the rest of the country go to He!!... At least that is now it appears from your post...

Remember, no man is an island... :wink:

.... and yes, it is a long post.... :lol: :wink: