These are good paying jobs. As a bench chemist 20 years go (in expensive NJ), I managed to sock away $15K after 5 years. First to go to college. You do no miss what you do not have.
No, they don't. You should see some tax returns I see! In our mid 40's, we are the millionaire next door.
Re: Don't people save money? You're both right !!! Our Country is heading into uncharted waters and as a Nation we are in REALLY BIG TROUBLE ---8 Trillion in Debt will not just disappear overnight ! The main point here is that a major research article broke over a week ago regarding this subject (btw, not fully covered by the lame stream media, as everything with them is just picture perfect) -------> How much $$$ does the average American save every week <-------- Answer: HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A BUMPY RIDE ! The average American saves $ 0.00 every week ! I had to read the article twice, for ladies & gentlemen, this is recipe for disaster on a level of biblical proportions. Soon enough the P. Piper will come calling and it will not be pretty. Just look at our company, industry, and Wall Street.... It will get to a point soon where there will not be anyone to lay off. Couple that with O.care cost & the bubble will burst again. I am not a doomsday preparer, but slowly start building up a supply of emergency food and water for you & your families !
The sad fact is, no they don't. I know more 2 income professional couples who are constantly bemoaning that they have no money. Unfortunately, people who make a lot of $$ tend to piss it away just as fast. They just cant seem to resist every new luxury item or pricy trinket that is dangled in front of them. Saving money takes discipline, a skill that unfortunately is sorely lacking in our country ( 17 trillion dollar debt might be a clue ). You know you are in trouble when you see that waste of sperm couple, the Clintons, try to convince us that they were one step away from the being in line at the local food bank. I guess 100 million dollars just doesn't buy what it use to
I do save as much as I can - I have a six figure emergency fund and some stocks worth about as much. But, I have to admit, I often wonder why I bother. I bought a house with a 20% down payment, within my means and no programs were given to me to refinance in the housing bust. Sure, I 'qualified' for a house at twice the price in a much nicer neighborhood and I could have kept all of the money I saved to put down. But I did the 'right' thing and now see the neighborhood dotted with foreclosures and abandoned homes. The government always rushes to the aid of the people who do the wrong thing. Why am I bothering? Oh, and I should point out that I do not have children so I pay a ridiculous amount of taxes. I'm starting to think I might be the idiot in this equation.
In the same boat...except I have 2 kids. Don't feel bad, once your Adjusted gross income is over $110K as a married couple, you don't get much of a tax credit for the kiddos...even though I am paying over $20,000 in childcare each year and all the addition expenses of 2 children. I think I get a $200 deduction for daycare, and I get the minimum child tax credit because we make over the $110K. Did I mention low income and welfare families get HUGE tax credits for their kids, and are eligible for FREE childcare at the same daycare? How does that make sense? Even though we make good money it is really hard to save with the expenses associated with childcare. Once my kids start public school it will be like getting a raise!
You got it right! Doing the wrong thing seems to get you rewarded in too many places! No wonder this country is in big trouble....the workers get the penalties and are forced to carry the burden for the undisciplined....yep, those slackers. Geez.....its just like our work here...*$&%^$!!!
Re: Don't people save money? Vanguard 500 index mutual fund. Very low fees. Also credit unions pay higher interest rates.
Save is fine, but make sure you know what you are saving for. Your useful employable lifetime is age 22 - 50. You need to be able to survive off of mostly saving after 50. 401K is not suitable with the penalties and restrictions of withdrawal OF YOUR OWN FUNDS until 59.5. Saving is not for retirement at 65, its for survival at 50. Plan accordingly.
Correct, up to $6000, and this is a credit, much better than a deduction. BUT, in the Boston area, childcare for 2 children is typically >$30,000/yr. We pay $36,000/yr for our two, and this is no uber-chic "spa for babies" sort of place, this is the cheapest I could find where I felt my children would be safe and happy. Even after the tax credit, we're looking at $30,000 after tax dollars just for childcare. In the ~6 yrs we'll pay for daycare, we could have paid off most of our mortage (we too bought within our means and put down >20%). And then there's college. Trust me, the tax benefits of having children are WAAAAAAAAY over-rated.
this may be the best advice i have EVER read on Cafe Pharma…so very true…I quit Merck at 50, (the job and industry were driving me completely nuts) and now I am struggling like crazy with crappy sales jobs, and trying to just stay afloat…Make about one third to one quarter of what pharma paid me… I totally regret contributing as much money to the various 401k plans I had throughout my career, because I need that money to survive now…If you spent your life in pharma, (and I was even a manager at one point) your work life does pretty much end at 50… be prepared people…it is some rough sledding once you are out of pharma...
Before my retirement from Merck, as a rep, I put away $500 a month. Of course Mother matched it with more $$. I put away more than they would match. It was not easy. I know several of my Merck colleagues that did the same. We are the older reps. My ego was bruised when Merck pushed us out. But financially we are just fine with the pension and 401K.
