Financial Friends
July 25, 2006
I don’t have many of those, just a coupla gals I used to work with who are in varying degrees of debt and basically need to learn and do as much financial waltzing as I feel I do. But I had a conversation with my close friend from college who has made the statement more than once that he’s not ready to marry his girlfriend until he’s in a more financially stable position. His plan and my plan (hear that? God’s laughing at us right now) are relatively similar: save enough in the emergency fund first and be in a stable sustainable job that doesn’t pay chips and dip like his current teaching position. Mine is a little more complicated with the parental thing (a negative) whilst his is more a positive parental thing: their college graduation gift is locating and paying for a move to new dwellings when they’re ready for it and purchasing the new abode’s furnishings and pretties.
So we recently talked numbers and I realized that our numbers are … vastly different. I mean, VASTLY. My numbers have certainly shifted a bit, but I’m still insisting on something like a 10k personal e-fund with a 5k personal uh-oh/oops fund. And another 5-10k e-fund for my parents, while building some Roth IRAs for both of us. Somewhere in there I’ll also be saving for a wedding and down payment for a house. Er, also maybe I’ll figure out what I want to go to grad school for too. That also costs money.
His is 5k. That’s it. Yes, of course he started laughing at me because … “you’re never getting married!”
*sigh* Yeah, ok, but it could happen!!
So what are your numbers? When will you feel ready to take that next step?
My target for my e-fund keeps moving upwards, mostly because it is not very high right now.. I’d like to have at least $5k if I’m living with Boyfriend, and $10k if I’m living alone. I pretty much think that if I want to buy a house before I’m 30, it’s going to have to be like 5% downpayment – so I’d like to have $10k or $15k saved up for the miniscule downpayment and closing costs. I don’t plan on paying more than $5k for my wedding (you’ll be EATING chips and dip at it š so that’s not a big savings goal for me.
Maybe chips and dip isn’t so bad after all … his job ACTUALLY pays him Otter Pops.