Just curious how many actually do live paycheck to paycheck.

Our retirement is a very important part of our budget.

We have our retirement money invested in several places including 401k, CDs, stocks, a money market account, and we both have Roth IRAs that we max out every year.

I always say we live paycheck to paycheck (for everyday items we run money pretty tight) but we do put away in our 401K and stock purchase programs. There isn't much there, but they do exist .

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We aren't putting in as much as we would like for retirement but we are also saving to purchase our next vehicle several years from now...$400 a month - not bad on $2000 take home, huh? I guess when I look at it that way...not too bad.....BUT STILL I wish we could find more ways to save...

dh puts the max in 401k and i rolled mine when i quit work into and ira. we pay ourselves first. so we do live paycheck to paycheck but we pay ourselves for retirement first. also dh's 401k contributions help us out in the tax department he actually takes more home in his check because it is taken out before taxes..plus he has a pension.

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Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

we both max out our roth ira's each year

Yes - we do retirement (401k and IRAs) as well as emergency savings.

Maybe we need to re-define the term living pay-check to pay-check. Technically we do since all money is accounted for between savings and expenses, so every paycheck the money is already allocated to where it is supposed to go. Is that paycheck to paycheck?

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Debbie

"Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." --Benjamin Franklin

I have both retirement funds and some in savings. Not as much as I would like in either one so will work on that when medical bills are paid off next year. I have a pretty small income so if I can do it - others should be able to as well.

I think the term paycheck to paycheck is supposed to mean that if you suddenly didn't have a paycheck, you wouldn't be able to keep up with your bills. For a long time the experts were saying that a large percentage of Americans were just a paycheck away from being homeless. That is what I think 'paycheck to paycheck' means.

Lou

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Better to give your kids the values you have
than the valuables you can't afford.

We have savings, but not retirement. I should start looking at it considering that we both will work in professions with no stable existance of them. I'm only 21 but I know it will take a long time to save up.

i agree with this fdefinition of living paycheck to paycheck.
and we both max our 401K's.

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We buy things we dont need,
with money we dont have,
in order to impress people
we dont like?
(Ramsey, D)