The whole thing started when I asked my neighbor at work what is the maximum I can put into the 401k plan, since I am not qualified to be in it for a few more months. She looked at me like I asked a dirty question, snapping back that she struggled to get 6% into it, just to get the 3% match. Now this woman has a pretty good job, must make at least close to what I make and I know because she bought her house almost 3 years ago her mortgage payments must be half what I pay. I told her it was a serious question, that since I would be ineligible for a few months I would have a hard time maxing out to the 14k allowed unless they let me set aside a huge percentage. Another guy chimed in since he had a kid he had to drop making contributions all together. Next thing you know people are looking at me like I insulted them telling them I used to put in 22% at my last job. "Wait until you have kids" was the common refrain, but I think to myself maybe they are the most vulnerable of all to this lack of savings. I am in better shape to a degree because I do write for the Rx and I have come close to my goal of making sure my expenses aren't much over what modest amount I do make from the Rx. Call me cheap, I call it living below my means.
For myself I figure if I lost both my regular job and my writing gig, I have enough saved for about 15 months. Further I have an equity line of credit lined up that could cover me about a year if it got that far. Maybe its a bit more than I really would need, but I would never go without having 6 months covered, just my personal taste. Then again everything I wager on has probably an outsized bankroll as well.
I truly believe life is best lived with plenty of peace of mind and it is best avoided living on a financial edge.
