How to Save for Retirement on a Low Income

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this website really helped me to see how much money i can save each month. www.saveandmanageyourmoneyusingfinancialcalculators.com

tiffany of GA 11:03AM July 10, 2011

At least you're getting there Melina. Something many do not do & I have little doubt you'll be a success.
You're right that me not having kids is a major advantage; you should use every tax deduction you can to lower your taxable income so you pay the govt less.
I know you think I have little compassion, but it's a zero sum game...somebody wins & somebody loses (Gordon Gekko). My sister is 26 & has a 6 year old, so I'm a little familiar with your situation. She managed to put herself thru Nursing school & owns a home. So it can be done. Good luck to you, but you are certainly not what I was referring to in my original post.

Mikey Jay of OH 2:02PM June 15, 2011

Banks and brokerages are offering negative real interest rates on savings. You lose money every year. Better to buy something tangible that will hold its value.

HH of CA 7:17PM June 05, 2011

I am 55 and worked most of my life. I saved all my pay raises and my savings were matched at one time by a previous employer. MY family is small and they are now grown. I saved money for them too and bought them their first cars with that money. College they are still working on, but I leave that up to them as did my parents with me. My husband and I are married 34 years today and since he is the only one employed today we save very little with the cost of living what it is now. A huge portion of my savings went to start a family business in 2006 and it went bust 15 months later in 2008..as did many businesses that year. We lost our home and now rent at a cheaper rate than the mortgage was. Our family has never been on assistance from the government and we live check to check pretty much, in fact a recent car repair put us in the hole about 1200.00. I know things are bleak for many people especially when it comes to getting ill and having to take time off from work and not have any cash flow or any savings handy for emergencies. Keep your head up and stay positive because no matter how much you might save for retirement any way you can, life can change things in a day. I lost thousands of dollars in another retirement savings plan because of the stock market and what I do have invested is not even secure. Please do not lose courage in your future but continue to work hard as we have all had to crawl before we walked. And do not blame others for your decisions but know that everything we do is a learning experience..ask questions and take good advice when you hear it. There are many people who were financially successful but lost what they had for numerous reasons..if you have children remember they will only be small for a little while, show them a great example but don't spoil them. They should mature into responsible adults who can pull their own weight.

Denise of CA 7:33PM June 04, 2011

You are full of yourself, you know that? Good for you on having a job that pays well and having a house, but not everyone is that lucky. Yeah, there's the lazy people who've never worked a day in their life BY CHOICE and drain the system, but not everyone who's poor is in that category!
I'm 25 and have three kids, which you obviously don't have any. I was a stay-at-home mom till 21, when I left my husband over his drug issues when I was 7 months pregnant with my youngest child. I left him with nothing, moved in with my brothers, and started working as soon as I was able to after having my youngest kid. I worked three solid years at two different defense plants making explosives (one for military and one for commercial use), bought a used car at a buy-here pay-here place with a payment I could afford, and still was barely able to scrape by.
Last year I tried to reconcile with my husband, but that didn't work and I was left paying a $550 rent plus all living expenses on a $10/hour paycheck. I got a second job and managed to keep my house in spite of my husband putting me in the hole with my bank and my landlord, and I moved back in with my parents in August to go back to school. I had to leave my main job to do that, but I kept my second job until January. I got my technical certificate in automotive service on May 13 and started work May 16 at the local Nissan dealership, and I'm barely scraping by. I won't get 401k until the first of next year, I still have my old 401k from my last job that I plan to rollover into the Roth IRA that I just opened, and I try to contribute what I can.
And for the record, the only help I get from the government is my kids' health insurance! The most I've ever made in a year is 22k, and that was mainly due to working 15+ hours of overtime every week for months on end. I deal with my problems and pay my bills, and I can't even get help with buying food because I'm trying to do something with my life and be an upstanding citizen!
Maybe you can get off your high horse and realize that not everyone is just a lazy leech on the government, I sure don't care what celebrities or anyone else does, but maybe you think there's a reason for government officials living in posh mansions and giving themselves raises when the rest of us are trying to figure out how in the world we're gonna feed our families and provide for them?
I think you're the one who's pathetic. Why? Because you have absolutely no compassion for your fellow human beings--the only person you give a crap about is yourself!

Melina of AR 11:11AM June 02, 2011

Mikey, you are one smart 24 year old. You hit the nail right on the head. i wish I was as smart as you when I was 24 years old. WAY TO GO !!!!!

of 5:12PM May 29, 2011

Leiani of HI....that story is true for many people.

Carolyn of TN 8:13PM May 16, 2011

One of the biggest home expenses is the cable bill.
Cut the cable and get free hdtv channels www.budurl.com/hdtvantenna.
Watch the rest on Netflix for only $8/month.

tony of NC 10:24PM May 14, 2011

Life hasn't happened to you yet.

Gerry San Diego of CA 4:57PM May 10, 2011

My mother worked hard for fifty years of her life from age 16 in about 1922 until 1971, but because she was a woman in an era when women were discriminated against in the workplace, her salaries were never high. My father abandoned us in 1960, and she became the sole support for me, earning minimum wage. When she was forced into retirement in 1971, Social Security was her only source of income, and after 50 years of working, she earned the astronomical sum of $113 a month.
Don't talk to me about the lazy poor!

leilani of HI 4:10AM May 09, 2011