Who is able and going to put the SS increase into savings

B

Blessed

Well-known Member
I have been going back and reviewing my costs to see if I can put this increase into savings. I know we have all seen increases in gas, electricity, housing and food, just the basics. I have found I can roll the increase into savings by keeping things tight. Is that a possibility for you and your budget?
 

Meh , it is merely only switching pockets …sure I can save the increase but then we end up just spending more of our other money to cover increases and unexpected expenses anyway .

it isn’t savings until years end when you see if anything is left and if there is it simply goes towards next years spending.

at the end of the day it really isn’t much to think about
 
For me, it is not switching pockets, I have been cutting back already, keeping cost down in every way. After review of my budget, staying under what I already received in the past I have been able to stay ahead of my costs. I am happy to be able to put something back into my accounts. I don't have to but I am not going to say that I don't worry about how much worse things could get.
 

You won’t know until years end what is going to be left…one unexpected bill or major housing expense can wipe it all away ..so it isn’t savings until the end when you know if anything is even left.

savings is your income Less expenses and you can’t know that until after the fact ,not before.

pretty much we just throw it in the account and see where the account stands at the end of this year …when we refill for 2024 maybe we need to add a bit less because of the increase or maybe it’s gone , no one knows in advance
 
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1955 said:
I'm retired, I thought the idea was to spend down your savings preferably to $0 when you finally pass?
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Except it is impossible since we have no idea how our outcome will go .

We have had 122 rolling 30 year retirements since 1871 .

the proverbial 4% safe withdrawal rate has left you with zero left at the end of 30 years 5% of the time and more then you started with 90% of the time With a 60/40 portfolio .

5% of the time one ended with 6x what they started with .

67% of the time one ended with 2x what they started with

50% of the time one ended with 3x what they started with


so you can be anywhere between broke and 6x what you started with as your outcome. ..

same exact portfolio, has an incredible range of outcomes just based on sequences of gains ,and losses , markets , rates and inflation .

just the order those parameters come in , can see a difference of 15 years in how long the money will last between the best and worst outcome even if averages are the same
 
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Famed writer and researcher Michael kitces , recommends a system of raises taken along the way to avoid dying with to much unspent .

at a 4% inflation adjusted draw he recommends looking at your balance 3 years in ..if you are ahead of where you started by 50% then take an extra 10% on top of normal inflation adjusting .

repeat every 3 years .

on the other hand there are other methods of withdrawal .

I use bob clyatts 95/5 .

each January we set a side 4% of that years balance …if it is a down year then we take the higher of 4% or just 5% less then what we took last year .

it’s simple to do , reflects real time and needs no extra inflation adjusting or raises
 
Well if one lives in lowest cost regions without debts, saving a bit just from SS is of course possible. But generally, the notion of seniors putting Social Security monthly benefits into savings is misplaced because even the highest benefit levels are rather trivial compared to average possible income during one's working years one more readily can save during. Thus one ought be saving well before retiring in order to accumulate enough savings that over one's retired remaining life will supplement SS benefits. That noted, the many unwise that never bothered to save during working years because they bought into the dominant attitude of always being in debt, have missed the boat. Not too late to start if one still has enough working years.
 
Chet said:
Savings are for future use....what future? We are running out of future. Spend like there is no tomorrow cuz there may not be.
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I am saving for tomorrow, I have a good life only because of saving. I often worry what would happen if I ran out of money. I don't want to think about having to sell the house, not have the ability to to feed myself and the dogs. I don't want to have to depend on my son to help me. It is just not my future, it is the son, his family and pets.
 
I had been saving most of my SS until almost a year ago when I helped my son and granddaughter with unexpected expenses. My son is paying me back based upon the payment plan I created. For my granddaughter, it was toward college expenses so I consider it a gift. I had promised to pay for her meal plans each semester, but I wound up paying more than that because she did not get a full scholarship as expected like she during her first year. Since it looks like I'm still not going to be getting my floors done and kitchen remodeled, I'll go back to saving my SS starting in February.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I had been saving most of my SS until almost a year ago when I helped my son and granddaughter with unexpected expenses. My son is paying me back based upon the payment plan I created. For my granddaughter, it was toward college expenses so I consider it a gift. I had promised to pay for her meal plans each semester, but I wound up paying more than that because she did not get a full scholarship as expected like she during her first year. Since it looks like I'm still not going to be getting my floors done and kitchen remodeled, I'll go back to saving my SS starting in February.
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The best gift we can give is education!! I am more than willing to wait on other things just like you. I was grateful I was able to send my son to college and he would not have to take out student loans. Now that he is out there "adulting" he knows he is in a better position than friends that are paying for their college loans. They may not realize the gift at first but they will later!
 
Blessed said:
The best gift we can give is education!! I am more than willing to wait on other things just like you. I was grateful I was able to send my son to college and he would not have to take out student loans. Now that he is out there "adulting" he knows he is in a better position than friends that are paying for their college loans. They may not realize the gift at first but they will later!
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That;s wonderful Blessed. I'm sure your son appreciates you. My granddaughter is very appreciative, which makes me happy and proud. Some young people feel a sense of "entitlement". I started 529s for her and my son's youngest. There's still $$ in her account because the advice was actually to wait until the senior year to use it. My youngest grandson graduates this year. I had opened gift trust accounts for his three older children decades ago. I tried to do a little something for each of my grandchildren.
 
Thought this year we would be down in the market because it was so bad but we were up nicely and happily so now just hope it acts the same this year...lol. Think we'll celebrate this morning with a donut run!
 
Blessed said:
I have been going back and reviewing my costs to see if I can put this increase into savings. I know we have all seen increases in gas, electricity, housing and food, just the basics. I have found I can roll the increase into savings by keeping things tight. Is that a possibility for you and your budget?
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I have Social Security and Supplemental Social Income. If I have more than $2000, my payment is cut until I am below $2000. I get punished for being frugal and $2000 hardly covers the cost of moving or some car repairs. To me, the system we have penalizes low-income people and it is not very intelligent because it keeps me in a constant state of insecurity.
 
Vida May said:
I have Social Security and Supplemental Social Income. If I have more than $2000, my payment is cut until I am below $2000. I get punished for being frugal and $2000 hardly covers the cost of moving or some car repairs. To me, the system we have penalizes low-income people and it is not very intelligent because it keeps me in a constant state of insecurity.
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Just the reverse ..per dollar paid in the lowest earners get 6x the benefit paid out as the highest earners .
But in your case ssi is a welfare program ….it gets added to those who have not paid in enough to get full social security benefits …you are not penalized , in fact you are getting more then you qualified for from social security alone.. they just adjust it down because for what you actually paid in you are getting more then you should .

do you pay for your own Medicare ? Or do you get assistance or Medicaid ?
 
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Blessed said:
I have been going back and reviewing my costs to see if I can put this increase into savings. I know we have all seen increases in gas, electricity, housing and food, just the basics. I have found I can roll the increase into savings by keeping things tight. Is that a possibility for you and your budget?
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Any time you can increase your savings it's a good thing. It's also good that you are "keeping things tight" which I take is that you are controlling your spending.
 
mathjak107 said:
Just the reverse ..per dollar paid in the lowest earners get 6x the benefit paid out as the highest earners .
But in your case ssi is a welfare program ….it gets added to those who have not paid in enough to get full social security benefits …you are not penalized , in fact you are getting more then you qualified for from social security alone.. they just adjust it down because for what you actually paid in you are getting more then you should .

do you pay for your own Medicare ? Or do you get assistance or Medicaid ?
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Well thank you. Now I really feel like shit. I have volunteered for most of my life because it has always been very important to be the best citizen I can be. I also did everything a traditional woman is supposed to do. That is what my father wanted of me when he said the only education I should have was home economics. That is also what my husband wanted of me and the lesson of Dick and Jane readers and 1950 TV shows. I still hold those traditional values and I still volunteer. Just because I have not been paid what I worth, it does not mean I am worthless.
 

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