In the U.S. 49.7 Million Are Now Poor, and 80% of the Total Population Is Near Poverty

[hfojvt]

73. sure the numbers add up

I think

After all, I am a math major, and everybody knows we can't add.

I own my own house, and it's paid for. My expenses seem to be about $1,000 per month. There's plenty I could cut. My phone for one. I hate those damned things anyway, but work requires that I keep one. You may note that I have a star here on DU. A minor expense, to be sure, but one that could be cut (sorry Skinner + EE).

I have perhaps $102,000 in the bank. Something like that (I am not going to stop and add it up for the purposes of this post it was $105,000 the last time I added it). Even with NO interest income, that covers my living expenses for 8.5 years. In three months I will be 53. Two years after that, even if I lost my job today, I could start collecting a pension (well, Brownback and the legislature may take that option away before they get done wrecking Kansas). Something like a mere $350 a month, but it would help the nest egg to stretch. By then I would have $80,000. And need less than $9,000 a year.

So I am good for another 8.88 years after age 55. In a mere 7 years, I start collecting social security, something like $900 a month. So I think my safety net is pretty good. I have worked to make it so. And have been near poor for most of my adult life (admittedly sometimes by choice) http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002625762 Well 16 out of 25 years in 2010. I got that full time job in September 2011 until September 2014 which allowed me to really put some money away. I had perhaps $65,000 in savings before that.

I understand that things can happen, and that kids are expensive, but generally I think that people both CAN and should put some money away for a little bit of security.