If you lose your job and could not collect un-employment how long could you last?

[nwslopoke]

I am reluctant to pull any cash from my IRAs/401K due to taxes. The Roth is my backup emergency reserve.

It doesn't make sense to me to pay 10%+ taxes on a IRA/401K distribution in order to pay off the mortgage that I am paying 4% interest on. But I may need some $ to build on the land I buy - not sure how willing lenders are to give me a mortgage if I only have SS income - even though it is clearly enough to pay my current mortgage.

I would not want to either. Just thinking, before I lost everything because I lost my job, but no job available without taking a shot. 401k would be a life line before becoming homeless. I am far from any financial advisor. It probably doesn't show.

 

[coop44]

2008 was a wake-up call, I had a big house payment, 3 car payments, utilities, insurance etc. My monthly "nut" was about 7k. My income flow dropped to almost zero, thankfully I had some savings. It gave me time to liquidate. Moved up here in 2010, bought a less showy home in 2012. Made the trip in two used vehicles, no more new cars for me. Things leveled out for a bit. In 2015 my wife uttered those words every man wants to hear, "I hate you, I hate you, I wish you were dead". So I packed up my stuff, rented storage, and wound up one of the working homeless for almost a year. Fast forward to today, the good- no payments, low rent, still working and I just got my first social security check (full retirement age). The bad, mom died May 8, I was hospitalized July 12 with a heart attack, and again in august with a dangerous intestinal bleed, lost 4 pints (gotta love those blood thinners), soooo it hasn't been a good year.

I find my priorities are changing without even thinking about them, not sure what they are going to be. But probably not just surviving. There are places I want to see. At this point I am on the cusp of being able and not. So I am planning to get on a plane shortly, and likely every few months after that, screw saving for my old age, I may not make it.

To answer the OP, throw it at me mudda fuggas, I have seen worse.

 

[Alexx1401]

Credit is a nasty temptation but it's also a great investment tool for those without capital to begin making investments.

Example: I bought my first pro camera set-up on, mostly, credit. There's no other way I could have done it and trust me, I tried. 18 year old with no credit history, small savings, minimum wage income, and only a beat up old truck KBB value of $2500 to my name. Banks weren't exactly lining up to give me a small biz loan. So credit it was! New cards often have 0% for 12month deals - which is all I needed.

Living within your means is one way to play the game. Another is to use credit to make riskier plays with your skills and the market. With risk comes greater reward, and greater failure.

To the OP - got about 3mths of coverage now, though that's going up if the daycare bills cease. And it goes to zero if the student loan people come a-callin'.

Believe me I am NOT against credit. Like so many things that some "can't handle" its a tool. Many use it wisely. Many of course do not but, I have LONG been big on person responsibility. Adults get to make choices. This is one BIG reason we keep losing rights. Law makers are glad to pass laws to protect people from poor choices in trade for taking rights.
Years ago when Wife and I were moving my commute was going from a few miles to across the damn county. My work vehicle was nice and paid for but, it got low 30's MPG HYWY and had almost 250K. I thought no way. So went to look at something a few years old that got good MPG. Found Dealers had a handful of little cars like I was looking for they could not sell. Gas was super cheap and they were 6 speed standards. I had not paid attention to how few still knew how to drive a standard or wanted one. They were selling them new for a few K less than something comparable a few years old. So having good credit they sold me one at an interest rate that was low single digits. Damn thing was great for those long commute's. No frills but mid 40's MPG. Hell the way the used car market is and thanks to voter's deciding they wanted to see gas at close to $5 a gallon again I could probably sell the 3 year old vehicle for damn near what I paid for it now

 

[AshWilliams]

VERY wise way to live but, VERY few are willing to do this. Most who do made mistakes early on and learned the hard way. All this easy credit is always a nasty temptation for people.

Agreed.

As for me I purchase everything on credit, but I treat it as cash and never buy anything I cannot afford. I just set up an automatic monthly transfer from checking to pay my credit card off and my paycheck gets deposited directly to checking. After a couple of decades of doing this I have an impeccable credit rating.

This is just what works well for me.

 

[Alexx1401]

Agreed.

As for me I purchase everything on credit, but I treat it as cash and never buy anything I cannot afford. I just set up an automatic monthly transfer from checking to pay my credit card off and my paycheck gets deposited directly to checking. After a couple of decades of doing this I have an impeccable credit rating.

This is just what works well for me.

YEP! I use a couple CC's like I used to use a check book. They have points. I pay them off on line and enjoy the points. They seem to like me enough to compete with each other on the points. Sending out offers all year for extra points for different things. I take advantage of them. Of course the banks do this to entice a LOT of people to buy and pay later at rates the banks can not get any other way. Fine with me.

 

[The Heretic]

Agreed.

As for me I purchase everything on credit, but I treat it as cash and never buy anything I cannot afford. I just set up an automatic monthly transfer from checking to pay my credit card off and my paycheck gets deposited directly to checking. After a couple of decades of doing this I have an impeccable credit rating.

This is just what works well for me.

My credit card is the only thing I pay manually. If I paid the balance automatically then if someone got my card and maxed it out, that would put a hurt on my cash reserves. Also, I want to review the statement periodically, and this forces me to keep in mind how much I spent on things.

Just yesterday I moved some low cost monthly expenses that automatically charge my credit card (Amazon prime, etc.) to my debit card. I need to have 12 ATM POS's each month to get the 1%+ interest on $25K of my checking account balance. It only amounts to $25 per month payable to me, but that in itself pays for one or two of those expenses - which amount to about $100 per month.

The big stuff - like buying a set of tires, or a car repair bill, etc., goes on the credit card as I get 1-5% back in Amazon points that I can use to buy stuff I want.

 

[wjv]

3+ years easy, but it would put a big dent in our retirement plans.

 

[Hueco]

I had not paid attention to how few still knew how to drive a standard or wanted one. They were selling them new for a few K less than something comparable a few years old. So having good credit they sold me one at an interest rate that was low single digits. Damn thing was great for those long commute's. No frills but mid 40's MPG. Hell the way the used car market is and thanks to voter's deciding they wanted to see gas at close to $5 a gallon again I could probably sell the 3 year old vehicle for damn near what I paid for it now

Indeed. Steering with your knee while executing a shift and holding a burrito in you left hand is truly a dying art.

 

[Alexx1401]

Indeed. Steering with your knee while executing a shift and holding a burrito in you left hand is truly a dying art.

The first time my Wife caught me driving with knees so I could shift and hold coffee she about died. I said you do the same thing with an auto trans, when I grew up we all had standards. Even though I had not owned one for decades its like swimming and riding a bike. You just really never forget how to do it.

 

[Corollagunner]

The thing that really got me thinking about this was my last day of work was on Thursday September 30th and talking to a couple of the guys you could tell they had no plan. One person has a payment on a 2019 truck and a payment on a new 30000-dollar boat and another payment on a 32-foot camp trailer and I am not sure how he pays for gas to do anything.

He forgot to mention his $700,000 mortgage, his health insurance plans, and credit card debts..

It's not only him, it's the majority of the people in this country.. Atleast 40% of the cars i see in oregon are brand spanking new with dealer tags.. These people are most likely all unemployed and it boggles me how they can afford these car payments, along with their mortgage, or rent and other bills....

There are so many jobs out there, yet no one is working... So how are these people affording all of these luxuries? Are they crapping out cash in the toilet??? i thought COVID UI stopped??? didnt evictions start in this state too?

my buddy works at one of those ship centers (postal annex / postal connection), they have been looking for someone for 2 months, yet they still havent found one... everyone is asking for over $20/hr.....

 

[Ura-Ki]

Were both retired now, Wife was able to force an early out to avoid the Jab mandate, and got a nice severance package in the deal, though she cannot fully retire for 16 years. I'm retired now, but not old enough for SS, but that's fine, we have enough to last till the very end with out suffering any, we have almost zero debt, and are able to pay in cash for most things. Credit cards are for emergencies, and to maintain a top credit score should we need it, but other wise, we have only our health to worry about!

 

[The Heretic]

The first time my Wife caught me driving with knees so I could shift and hold coffee she about died. I said you do the same thing with an auto trans, when I grew up we all had standards. Even though I had not owned one for decades its like swimming and riding a bike. You just really never forget how to do it.

If I drive a manual for a long time, it takes me a few days to try to not use a clutch pedal when driving an automatic. Now that my daily driver is an automatic, but has optional paddles for shifting I don't have problems either way. I used to sometimes stall a manual when coming to a stop by not putting it into neutral and/or depressing the clutch.

 

[Blackwatch]

Everyone's situation will be different with many variables but I'd say the fundamentals to existing as long as possible is to be debt free, pay off the credit card balances every month and obviously live a lifestyle within a pre-determined budget.

 

[nammac]

I've got enough squirreled away that it would take me right up to retirement. Then I can tap all those free government programs for the geriatric set. That'd be in addition to 401k and private retirement investment.

Maybe move south, like South America, at least Biden isn't screwing their economies over, at least not directly…

 

[Alexx1401]

If I drive a manual for a long time, it takes me a few days to try to not use a clutch pedal when driving an automatic. Now that my daily driver is an automatic, but has optional paddles for shifting I don't have problems either way. I used to sometimes stall a manual when coming to a stop by not putting it into neutral and/or depressing the clutch.

When we first got the little one it was so quiet I threatened to get one of those "fart cans" the kids all use now. Several times when she was in the car with me yakking I killed it trying to start on a hill. Could not hear the RPM's on the damn thing. Since she LOUDLY said NO to the fart can , I had to start watching the Tac till I got the feel of it.

 

[P7M13]

I hate you, I hate you, I wish you were dead

In some cultures, that's an acceptable reason to use your revolver to plug a pie-hole.

 

[crstrode]

Anyone that has had a full time job for 10 or 15 years that cannot manage to amass several years of resources for a rainy day does not have the mental capacity to survive on their own.

 

[Stomper]

Anyone that has had a full time job for 10 or 15 years that cannot manage to amass several years of resources for a rainy day does not have the mental capacity to survive on their own.

Yeah…. No. A person can rarely go beyond what they've been taught. My dad has filed bankruptcy no less than three times, and I suspect he's wracked up a ton of CC debt AGAIN!

I had the advantage of learning "godly financial management" in my 20's during my time as a biblical research scholar, and have eschewed debt as much as possible. I'm in my mid-50's, never filed bankruptcy and have an almost 800/850 credit score… and that's even with two divorces and numerous other financial setbacks over the years.

Me an my dad (in his mid 70's) have butted heads about financial conduct for decades…. But he's lost everything, and has nothing really to show for it.

 

[nwslopoke]

For me I want to see the collateral fallout for the unjabbed not working. It's not like the majority of current unemployed have lack of opportunities. Add 20-30% of businesses that can't operate. That darn supply chain.

Most concerned government policy makers will, good idea, the economy to a halt. Then what? Just got a call from the medical center. My hospital is farming out out my appointment to another center who themselves are backed up to Thanksgiving. But, thankfully unjabbed medical workers will be let go. Heaven help a real local incident happens.

 

[Member 53328]

Forever. I'll just become a criminal.