[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'W')eirdness.

We just pile the income into one bank account. Each pay period, the primary bill (either child support for my oldest son or the mortage for our house) gets paid first, then $297 cash for 2 weeks of groceries, haircut money, discretionary mad-money etc, then specific amounts for rainy day funds and spending funds for the car, medical bills, clothes, gifts, house maintenance etc and any other bills.

All credit cards paid off in full every 2 weeks like clockwork. (if there isn't enough cash to buy something, a credit card is not used... credit cards mostly for automatic payments like daycare or something like gas @ Sam's Club)

I run a tight ship financially, and considering my background, am suited for that rather than just letting wife do finances. (My major from 1986-1989 was accounting until I switched to computer science. After I got my MS in computers in May 2003 it looked like job search was going to be a Fail so I went back to finish BS in accounting only to get a job end of December 2003 in computers. So I continued a few semesters in accounting after that and stopped 5 classes shy of a degree. (which sounds silly but it would cost a pretty penny to finish, and time is also an issue with the wife doing an MS now and a baby to take care of)

But I do my finances on spreadsheet, run tax scenarios on TurboTax, etc. Calculate how much money I'll have available for buying solar panels when child support ends in 6 years, etc. I got amortization tables in Excel for mortgage & solar panels & preps, and factor in specific events like child support or daycare costs ending etc.

The big thing is a multi-sheet spreadsheet that has separate pages for student loans, credit card balances, investments, bank balances, etc and a summary balance sheet page that shows the net amounts from the separate pages, including net worth and reserve funds available for a crisis. (This gets updated every 2 weeks, and the goal is every 2 weeks to show an increase in net work and reserve funds)

[SeaGypsy]

We are investing our spare dough into a business in the Philippines, based on the closest surf beach to Manila about 90 miles north. The business is in surf film, photography, sailing lessons to Anganwangin beaches and Capones islands. Our rent is zero pesos per month. The deal done with the local Barangay Captain (Council president) over a bottle of napoleon brandy ($4USD). He likes our business because it promotes his locale. (My wife's father was the municipal mayor for 25 years before he died a few years ago, she does all our negotiating, I have been a business manager in the private and public sector, so I do the paperwork side of things and earn the money to set things up)
We plan to do a land claim on Anganwangin peninsular in the next year or so, cost: survey and registration fees of under $1k USD. The catch is it can't be sold for 15 years.
If and when TSHTF we will sail back to Australia.
The way things are going I will quit nursing this year some time.
Things are 'weird' in the Philippines.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 's')olar panels in six years! wow you ARE an optimist!
I have a kid who graduated with Int. business/Int. economics double major in 2007 living at home (he makes three times what I do). he has saved every penny since he graduated. I hope he spends it while it still has value...

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 's')olar panels in six years! wow you ARE an optimist!
I have a kid who graduated with Int. business/Int. economics double major in 2007 living at home (he makes three times what I do). he has saved every penny since he graduated. I hope he spends it while it still has value...

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 's')olar panels in six years! wow you ARE an optimist!
I have a kid who graduated with Int. business/Int. economics double major in 2007 living at home (he makes three times what I do). he has saved every penny since he graduated. I hope he spends it while it still has value...

[the48thronin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '
')
Chris, Bing and I have had an agreement since we got married. What I make, I give to her.
What she makes, she keeps.

[the48thronin]

For 5 years i "saved" 600$ a month, not in the bank but by making double payments on 20 acres..of farm land. Then I switched my $300 dollar rent payment for a $560 dollar house payment ( 33 payments to go)

Soon after beginning the house payments I started by "saving" money each month by investing them in used containers to bury in the yard, followed by above ground buildings for chickens etc. Oh I also had a 200 ft well put in and retired the water ram from the spring for now.
Mary and I added a 500 gallon propane tank and 'retired the wood cook stove for now also.

For a couple of years I added to my savings by investing $200 a month in trees and bushes, gardening supplies, animal feeding and watering supplies, also in horse drawn implements. This year I finally bought a 45 hp tractor. Ran out of planned investments years ago, so I stocked up on long term storage and tripled the gun safe also the black powder supplies etc.

This year I am beginning to double the groves and vineyards because in the last 5 years we have added several paid off double wide trailers for children to come home to, ( they are all already occupied LOL)

I guess spread sheet and the hope that things will not happen in some cliff event are better than throwing up hands and doing nothing, but in the last 2 years the price of many of the things I have invested in little by little have doubled.... really doubled... The difference in trees and vines and farm supplies in the hyears we have had them also has I see gone way way up.

Worth thinking about, cash in the bank will do little except hopefully grow more cash in the bank..IF things work out great.. if not.. well half an apple orchard is better than none..

I am glad Mary decided that believing what I did money in the bank meant little to us. I have no savings.. unless you count a few odd silver and 1/10th oz gold pieces I put back many years ago because of the TAX man. He may not accept chickens..LOL

[JJ]

rangerone said:
Actually, under what conditions can you take out 401K money, or can you just take it out and simply just take a huge penalty (including taxes) on it?


In the case of my 401k (which is pretty small anyway) you can't touch it unless you quit the company. Then if you cash out, the gubmint gets one third up front and you pay taxes on the remainder.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', 'r')angerone said:
Actually, under what conditions can you take out 401K money, or can you just take it out and simply just take a huge penalty (including taxes) on it?


In the case of my 401k (which is pretty small anyway) you can't touch it unless you quit the company. Then if you cash out, the gubmint gets one third up front and you pay taxes on the remainder.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('the48thronin', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JJ', '
')
Chris, Bing and I have had an agreement since we got married. What I make, I give to her.
What she makes, she keeps.

[ECM]

I just have to comment on some of Ludi's clearly uninformed posts.

While men occupy the highest wealth positions many of them are married and that wealth will pass to their wives.
It isn't who makes the money that is as important it is who spends it.
For every man at the top of society there is a man who is homeless or at the bottom and the bottom is mostly by men.
The wage myth has been disproven in numerous western countries and in early 2009 the BLS put out a study, for the second time, why it is not true.

There is extreme sexism in western society today.

Who gets most of the health care dollars and research money dedicated to them - women
Who gets most of the social safety nets - women
Who gets to be the beneficiary of reverse discrimination - women
Who gets less time for the same crime - women
Who gets the better end of a divorce, including favorable custody determination - women
Who gets the traditional benefits while not having to carry out their traditional role and responsibilities - women
Which gender can make claims of superiority, being oppressed, and get away with physical violence against the other frequently - women
Which gender is portrayed as angels while the other is seen as devils - women
Which gender commits more violence against children - women
Which gender kills more children (non-war) - women
Which gender has the entire educational system and financial aid slanted in its favor - women
The list is quite extensive so I will stop here.

The service jobs of today's society are largely toil and unnecessary to the survival of the society. The nastiest, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs are almost totally done by men. Men suffer 93% of workplace fatalities. Male military personnel die or are killed 40 times as often in the current U.S. wars as women.

Women desire big government and the "nanny" state. This comes at the expense of the core producers, men. After the government gets too big it goes bankrupt as it completely destroys the incentive to produce.

Here is some further reading that shows history is against the current state of the western collective.
http://www.the-spearhead.com/2010/01/14/john-bagot-glubb/

[ECM]

This video shows just how "oppressed" women were:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHappyMisogynist#p/u/5/oMzcMATRGmE

There are many others by the author that show why feminism has been a destructive movement to society and that ultimately we all lose because of it.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ECM', '
') The nastiest, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs are almost totally done by men. Men suffer 93% of workplace fatalities. Male military personnel die or are killed 40 times as often in the current U.S. wars as women.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ECM', '
')There are many others by the author that show why feminism has been a destructive movement to society and that ultimately we all lose because of it.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ECM', '
')Women desire big government and the "nanny" state. This comes at the expense of the core producers, men. After the government gets too big it goes bankrupt as it completely destroys the incentive to produce.

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '
')What is the definition of "feminism" to you?

How do we all lose because of it, in your opinion?

[Ayoob]

This is the first year I made more than my old lady. I edged her out, my 81K to her 78K. Before that it was her 100-110K to my 15K. She retires this year, and any discretionary spending I used to do is done. We're taking a cumulative 90K pay cut with her retiring and me working full time and cranking out a Masters.

It's all good, though. I'm the only guy I know with a stay at home wife. Barefoot and pregnant.

We're not spending money on anything other than rent, vehicles, the upcoming baby, and retiring debt. Metric assloads of debt. With any luck we'll be out from under in 5 years, and that's only if the kid doesn't eat anything for the first five years.

Seriously, how many of you guys just turn over your paycheck? That's pretty fucked up. I wouldn't have done that to my wife, and she won't be doing that to me after we get a handle on stomping this debt down and getting some breathing room.

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'T')his is the first year I made more than my old lady. I edged her out, my 81K to her 78K. Before that it was her 100-110K to my 15K. She retires this year, and any discretionary spending I used to do is done. We're taking a cumulative 90K pay cut with her retiring and me working full time and cranking out a Masters.

It's all good, though. I'm the only guy I know with a stay at home wife. Barefoot and pregnant.

We're not spending money on anything other than rent, vehicles, the upcoming baby, and retiring debt. Metric assloads of debt. With any luck we'll be out from under in 5 years, and that's only if the kid doesn't eat anything for the first five years.

Seriously, how many of you guys just turn over your paycheck? That's pretty fucked up. I wouldn't have done that to my wife, and she won't be doing that to me after we get a handle on stomping this debt down and getting some breathing room.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', '
')Defacto "feminism" is the movement to discriminate and even criminalize male activities with the ultimate goal of eliminating all important male roles from society.

[SeaGypsy]

I think Novus and some others have been a/ screwed over by women; b/ watching too many of those 'happy misogynist' vids on youtube.

My mother gave me "The Female Eunuch" and "The Beauty Myth" in my teens, as part of what she considered a balanced education. As a result of reading these iconic feminist books (and understanding them) I have had much deeper and healthier relationships with women than most men.

I believe all well educated women are aware of the concepts delved into in these books. I believe they do not support man hating or denigration. If men choose to be ignorant of the intellectual development of feminism they are 'defacto' chauvinists; exactly the type of men who gave rise to the female angst which generated the feminist movement.

Men who want to regain a sense of equality they feel they have lost, I would advise to read and grasp the key concepts of feminist litterature as a starting point; thereby availing themselves a clear distinction between healthy feminism and mentally ill reactionary feminazism.

PS: 'Women Who Run With Wolves' is a modern feminist iconic litterature which I found profound in the extreme and very worthwhile reading for either gender.