Kacie over at Sense to Save posted some thought provoking questions yesterday.
What inspires you to be frugal? And what keeps you in that frugal mindset long term?
I've been joking around that my changed habits are so my husband will be able to pay for my medical bills when I'm old. I kid around, but there's truth to that. I have already been an expensive patient for my husband.
I do worry about my retirement. I want to make sure we have enough to live on and to care for our medical bills and prescription needs etc.
How much does it cost for you to have sound peace of mind?
I haven't nailed down a specific dollar amount yet. I just know that once upon a time I had a huge savings account {to me} and that it can be depleted very quickly!
I'd like at least a six month emergency fund-- so the dollar amount on that should be pretty easy to figure out--I just need to sit down and do it. Sitting down to figure out what amount I need/want as my retirement savings goal seems a little trickier.
If you want to try and figure out yours as well, may I recommend the following from some of the financial blogs I enjoy reading:
*Spousal IRA's for the Stay-At-Home-Mom from Mrs. Micah
*Save and Invest for Your Retirement: Are You On Track? from The Digerati Life
*How Much Does It Cost Per Month to Fully Fund Your Retirement? from No Credit Needed
*10 Ideas On How to Retire on Less from Millionaire Mommy Next Door
Once upon a time retirement seemed a far off place. It still is, but now that I'm solidly in my 30's I realize how much time I've wasted already. Retirement isn't something I can worry about later. I need to be planning for it now. And I wish I had realized that more fully during my 20's. So that is what inspires me today to be more frugal.
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4 comments:
Thanks for linking back to me!
I think you've laid out some excellent reasons for being frugal. I hope that you'll continue to be inspired to achieve your goals.
It can seem daunting to determine how much you'll need for a six-month emergency fund.
Ideally, it's less than your six month's worth of pay. To get a quick idea, simply multiply one month's worth of take-home pay by six, and hopefully your emergency fund needs will be less than that.
I've found that once I put my budget together and accounted for all the random expenses, it was easy to see how much we needed.
It's helpful to have a goal dollar amount to save for.
Best wishes!
Good luck with retirement planning! Medical bills definitely become an issue as you get older. I hope that I'll be very healthy and live well with just one prescription, like my grandmother does.
I'll give it a shot Kacie! And for your sake, Mrs Micah, I hope you are as nice and healthy as your grandma too!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the referral! Best wishes,
Jen (aka MMND)
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