Rainy Day Funds...

[sharpstick35]

I have been relatively debt free and have 12 months of basic living expenses. Both of my residences are paid off and all i have now is a land payment and my wife's car. i also have trade able goods on hand at both places in case shtf.

[miket]

I have always had a hard time saving cash. When I first got into my trade the old guys all told me to work all the OT I could and not rack up debt because oil will crash again and I WILL be laid off. We grew up pretty low income, though we did have a decent middle class house.

So I have always strived to have low debt. I always said I wanted to be able to live on McDonalds wages. ( if SHTF ) Got married and started looking at houses. The payments were so unreal, there was no way I would borrow that kind of money for 30yrs. So we started looking at fixer-uppers. All were too nasty so decided to build my own. So I work craploads of OT, saved up as much as I could. Bought 10 acres in the woods. Spent 8 months working 7 days a week, while building the house. Day after day of nothing but building house and working. Went 3 months in a row where I only took off 1 day a month. One Sunday a month.

Ran out of money and moved in without all the sheetrock on, no cabinets etc. Sold my motorcycle to do the septic. Finished and added on. A couple yrs later got divorced. Got the house and kids but had to pay her for half the house.

I have done few things right, especially in relationships, but I am sure glad I sacrificed blood sweat and tears ( yeah, even tears ) to have land paid off and never had a house payment.

My business is primarily oil related. We have taken a double hit. If I had a house payment right now I would be terrified. TERRIFIED!

This is why I cant stand to see some whine that they cant do it. Then they pay $1400mo on some apartment, new truck and atv. Go to the mall and concerts and games. Chill all weekend and drink beer instead of sacrificing to actually get somewhere. You made your choice.

[Big Lee]

I have always had a hard time saving cash. When I first got into my trade the old guys all told me to work all the OT I could and not rack up debt because oil will crash again and I WILL be laid off. We grew up pretty low income, though we did have a decent middle class house.

So I have always strived to have low debt. I always said I wanted to be able to live on McDonalds wages. ( if SHTF ) Got married and started looking at houses. The payments were so unreal, there was no way I would borrow that kind of money for 30yrs. So we started looking at fixer-uppers. All were too nasty so decided to build my own. So I work craploads of OT, saved up as much as I could. Bought 10 acres in the woods. Spent 8 months working 7 days a week, while building the house. Day after day of nothing but building house and working. Went 3 months in a row where I only took off 1 day a month. One Sunday a month.

Ran out of money and moved in without all the sheetrock on, no cabinets etc. Sold my motorcycle to do the septic. Finished and added on. A couple yrs later got divorced. Got the house and kids but had to pay her for half the house.

I have done few things right, especially in relationships, but I am sure glad I sacrificed blood sweat and tears ( yeah, even tears ) to have land paid off and never had a house payment.

My business is primarily oil related. We have taken a double hit. If I had a house payment right now I would be terrified. TERRIFIED!

This is why I cant stand to see some whine that they cant do it. Then they pay $1400mo on some apartment, new truck and atv. Go to the mall and concerts and games. Chill all weekend and drink beer instead of sacrificing to actually get somewhere. You made your choice.

Could not have said it better. I get the why don't you go buy a new truck, buy a new XYZ? My response is typically, all my "crap" is paid for. I can fix what I need and replace accordingly. Usually without a payment. When tough times strike (which they will) we can survive.

[Artos]

Here is a question if we ever have a true SHTF financial scenario, that money in the bank probably does not mean squat. Any of you actually keep actual cash on hand at home?

I almost have to as you gotta be on the spot if a gun deal comes up...in a true shtf I'll likely be using ammo for currency & if we are going down that rabbit hole what are you gonna use if the electrical grid goes south?? Barter Town time.

[lmartin5]

Very true!


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[BlackoutRam2500]

I am here. 20% to 401K, after that, it's hard to save much more, with a single income and 3 kids at home. 401K looks NICE, bit it's useless in a time like this, I can't put my hands on it. Luckily we're doing ok, but I always wish I had more money that I could get my hands on if needed in a hurry.

Don't get me wrong, I could put some up if I just sat at home, but life is too short to be bored.

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Trump actually included a provision in the bill that allows you to remove money out of your 401k penalty free. The cap is $100,000 and you have 3 years to either put it back or pay the government the taxes on it.

I'm in O&G so this is our 3rd downturn. Learned after the first one to save everything I can. Wife is a huge fan of Ramsey so other than our house and a car that came with 0% interest we have no debt. I feel bad for all the folks who lived paycheck to paycheck thinking their jobs were recession proof. They are learning a valuable yet painful lesson.

[Boyd1212]

Growing up we lived paycheck to paycheck. My mother has a gambling problem so she will drop $3-400 a weekend at the casino or bingo. So we were always struggling to make ends meet. For a while we lived with my grandma because we couldn’t afford rent. She finally started putting a little money back and we were able to buy a new house. But then she went back to her old ways and had to file for bankruptcy twice. Then my dad passed away when I was 17 so she really got into trouble because they didn’t save any money and they didn’t have life insurance on him.
After seeing that my whole life I made sure I was always putting money back but then I would just end up blowing the money on stupid stuff. I landed a job in the oilfield and was getting everything caught up and paying everything off that I could. But I wasn’t paying myself first. So when it all crashed, I was right back in the same spot as before. I finally landed a good job and was able to start putting money away and trying to pay stuff off. I sold my home and with the money from that, I was able to pay off everything I own and still have a nice little nest egg even after buying a new home. Now I only have a mortgage payment. I also have over a year of salary in the bank and my 401 has never looked better. I still don’t have all the fancy side by sides and new truck but I’m happy.

[Big Lee]

Growing up we lived paycheck to paycheck. My mother has a gambling problem so she will drop $3-400 a weekend at the casino or bingo. So we were always struggling to make ends meet. For a while we lived with my grandma because we couldn’t afford rent. She finally started putting a little money back and we were able to buy a new house. But then she went back to her old ways and had to file for bankruptcy twice. Then my dad passed away when I was 17 so she really got into trouble because they didn’t save any money and they didn’t have life insurance on him.
After seeing that my whole life I made sure I was always putting money back but then I would just end up blowing the money on stupid stuff. I landed a job in the oilfield and was getting everything caught up and paying everything off that I could. But I wasn’t paying myself first. So when it all crashed, I was right back in the same spot as before. I finally landed a good job and was able to start putting money away and trying to pay stuff off. I sold my home and with the money from that, I was able to pay off everything I own and still have a nice little nest egg even after buying a new home. Now I only have a mortgage payment. I also have over a year of salary in the bank and my 401 has never looked better. I still don’t have all the fancy side by sides and new truck but I’m happy.

Keep up the hard work. Sounds like you have it together and living life responsibly.