Posted on 08/21/2010 5:22:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Well, there is still food, clothing, taxes, transportation, medical care, and a few other expenses. But it is nice not having that $900/month gorilla in the room.
I stopped my contributions, but they made it so difficult to withdraw funds I left them in (they basically wanted a foreclosure notice, and I wasn’t there yet). I only contributed up to the maximum for the employer match, but didn’t see any point to that if I was building debt on cards. There is no doubt in my mind that these accounts will be used in calculating your “needs” and will reduce future SS benefits (to keep the program solvent); people should consider alternatives before using them.
Much useful info on this thread. Thanks to all for posting.
R U joshin' me? Seriously, what is a family supposed to do after the 6 months of savings are gone, and the laid off parent still has not found anything??? Better use the retirement and 401K than come after YOUR money, no? And it beats the cardboard home under the freeway.
Don't be so insensitive. People are suffering.
...or feeling it will be confiscated soon anyway:
Bend Over America: Now The SEIU Wants Your 401k!
Class Warfare’s Next Target: 401(k) Savings
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=521423
Government Plans to Loot Your Retirement Account
With those monthly bills not coming in. I should be able to bank away quite a bit before I retire in 3 years.
“I think excerpts encourage people to click on the link, which is only just to reward the author who wrote the piece and the site that published it.”
OTH, if you (as I do) have dial-up you wait and wait and then wait some more for the damn thing to come up. I appreciate it not being excerpted.
Indeed! The economic whoas many are experiencing are simply unprecedented in our lifetime. Yes, of course you’ll tape your 401(k) because it’s that OR leave your house and move on down to the mission. When you’ve suddenly crashed from having some financial stability to simply trying to survive — saving for the future isn’t an option. Families are making decisions they never thought they would — moving to locations they wouldn’t have driven through in the past! The NY Times had a six-part series on what they called “The New Poor”, that’s us, we’re there. It’s very uncomfortable and if Obama’s regime doesn’t do something to make small business and large corporations more comfortable about spending money, things will keep getting worse. I’ve written on the topic from my family’s perspective: www.newpoorzone.com.
Sui
I’ve dipped into my savings too.
It was the only way to get my 8 year old car fixed and my AC fixed.
no vacations for two years, no eating out, no take outs here at all and then I have to see this fool and his wife spending my tax money on their 5th vacation since July and the so called press are again silent.
I asked our book keeper if I could withdraw my 401, even thought I still work there (for now) and was told no.
Any expert out there know if that’s true?
Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.
I can see your point.
This will be my parents soon. Dad’s recovery is not going that well. But they do have a lot of assets.
Absolutely. I would do the same thing.
But most people did NOT have a 6 month savings. As I noted in an earlier post, the problem is national because as a nation we did not save for two decades. For every thoughtful person who saved there were myriads of those that not only did not save but borrowed against equity they already had in their houses.
Thanks 2ndDivisionVet. No bailouts in sight for 401(k) folks.
This is sorta off subject but I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials about buying gold. I know that an ounce of gold is over $1000 right now which I can’t afford. Would buying 10K, 14K or 18K jewelry at a discount and “hiding” it be a way to go?
Incidently, I have a very small 401K (only been with company 5 years)and I take a loan out (the max), still contribute, pay it back, rinse and repeat. I’ve used the $ to pay down my debt and now want to use it to sorta “invest” in something.
My remark was not about any specific person, however, but about the nation in general. As a nation, we've been saving no more that 1-2% for twenty years. As a nation, we've been withdrawing the equity in our houses at the rate of 8% in 2000s --- to remodel kitchens and bathrooms. As a nation, we've been upgrading our LCD TVs every couple of years. That is what the statistics reflect: the averages.
I agree that there are a number of people, higher than in the past, who lived well beyond their means. They fell when the first wave hit.
What we are seeing now, I believe, is folks who did save for a rainy day, folks who were prudent and didn't live extravagently, but have been looking for a job for a long time and are tapping whatever they have set aside to make ends meet.
I know too many good people who will do anything to earn an income, but get passed over because they are overqualified. One of my neighbors is delivering pizza because they were on the verge of losing everything. From a corporate office to delivering pizza.
It's getting a little crazy out there.
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