Comments on My Open Wallet: How Are We Doing?

Same here, everyone is different. Each person has ...

2007-01-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Same here, everyone is different. Each person has different debt as well as different assets for different reasons

Just having a positive net worth, You already on track. Just save and invest your money on your own terms.

I think you bring up a crucial point, thank you! I...

2007-01-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

I think you bring up a crucial point, thank you! Its very easy to get discouraged if you compare yourself to others. Instead, focus one day at a time on your own objectives and be thankful for all you do have!

Comparing ourselves to others is a hard habit to b...

2007-01-17T00:05:00.000-05:00

Comparing ourselves to others is a hard habit to break. As for "What did you start out with?"......... I'm starting from scratch with little at 45 and I time is not something I can think about BUT I have created a new starting point this year. I am focused, working from this day on toward my goals for 2007.

It's not productive to look at where others ARE but consider How they got there.

Tam

re: your blogAlthough I keep track of 25-30 weblog...

2007-01-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

re: your blog

Although I keep track of 25-30 weblogs with at least a majority of PF posts, yours is one of a half-a-handful for the PF blogs that I find to be consistently engaging. Your posts always provide very good advice, are well thought out and written, and you never do extraneous posts just to have a fresh entry.

So, Madame, thanks for helping a lot of us out and writing one of the best PF blogs out there.

- Mase

It's good to know we shouldn't go so hard on ourse...

2007-01-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

It's good to know we shouldn't go so hard on ourselves regarding our networth.

I got started late in my career ... at 24, which isn't all that late. But most college grads I know start working at 21 with salaries at 40 -50K.

Even though I just contributed to my ROTH IRA and 401K, I'm saving a lot more and spending less per paycheck. So it's taken me several years to fully understand budgets and managing money but at least I've got it together somehow. My biggest fear is that I'll be making 30K for the rest of my life if I don't start saving or being more aggressive with my career.

Ha! The first thing I did when I read Emily's des...

2007-01-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Ha! The first thing I did when I read Emily's description was to compare myself to her: I am 43-year-old single woman, my salary is only 39K, and only because I got a huge raise two years ago (when it was 34K), my net worth is about 200K, but half of it is the net value of my house, and I drive a 16-year-old car.

However, I think I'm doing great anyway. I'm set to retire at age 52 (unless they change the rules again, and they very well might), and I can afford anything I want, although not everything I want.

I think comparing ourselves to others can help us see what is possible for us. But we can only go so far because we are not exactly like anyone else. For example, my job sounds terrible compared to the jobs of most of my friends, but I never work more than forty hours per week, so a lot of my pay is in time rather than money, and that's how I like it.

Sounds like Emily is doing fine. Her salary is nea...

2007-01-15T18:05:00.000-05:00

Sounds like Emily is doing fine. Her salary is near the average for all college grads and her net worth above the US median. My net worth was $37k when I was 33. No house and no car. But I don't have a house or a car now either :)

I certainly agree with you that comparing your own...

2007-01-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

I certainly agree with you that comparing your own financial situation to that of others can be misleading.

The reason personal finance is "personal" is that each person has different life situations that affect their finances. Because of this comparing financial situations is never apples to apples.

That being said, I do compare myself with everyone else. What I try to do is draw inspiration from those more well off and to help out those not as far along.