Really enjoyed the 1st CSP. Regular person with a regular salary and not making 6 figures plus. Very relatable. Would love to see someone in their early forties that has like a salary of student loan debt and also trying to save for student loans at the same time while also trying to balance living today and saving for the future.
same!!!! 42yo here with student loan debt, trying to pay those off and save for retirement (and did not know enough about personal finance in my 20s to invest back then)
$300 month for groceries for one is doable if you cook most meals, buy less packaged food and shop at Aldi. I do it and eat well. I’m also in a VHCOL area in California.
I spend about $300 a month on groceries as a single person. It's not that hard with thoughtful meal planning as long as you're not picking expensive cuts of meat and are relying more on bulk frozen vegetables instead of fresh. I actually spend less than $300 on the meal necessities, but I include some wiggle room for wants, as long as they're within budget.
Before my brother moved with me. My grocery bill was at a $150 every other month. Because I also meal prep now that I have him with me. I still spent about 300 a month or less on groceries as well.
As a loyal cult member of this channel, 😂 I have been waiting for Ramit to review single people's CSPs for so long that I had to leave work early to focus and take notes. 😅😅 Its getting weird... I might need a new job... Are you hiring in the UK yet @ramit?
$300/ month in food is completely doable for one person. If they eat in for EVERY meal, that's $3.33/meal which covers most meals including those with beef (one of the more expensive meats).
Two comments on the first CSP: 1) I would ensure that there is an exact agreement in place for how much is owed to the parents; and 2) I would pay that amount off as soon as possible from the $300 emergency fund reallocation. There's just something to the freedom of being independent from your parents in your late 20s.
Yeah it's a nice gesture that she's willing to help them with it, but if they had wanted her to pay it back they could have done a co-sign. Since that didn't happen it would be smart to write up an agreement.
To me she's overly cautious. Should just pay out her own loan and give the parents $10k towards that one. Leaves an emergency fund of $17,000 and lots of options to cut spending if she gets to a point of needing to dip into that money. I'd be sticking with the roommate for a while though, rather than committing an extra 15% of take home to housing. (Assuming a smaller unit that is $2400). The other thing I would look at is the investments. If the parents loan is 7%, the investments are 7% or possibly more with a lot of risk. Also, the investments should be good for you in the distant future. The loan is sucking money right now. What about a 2 year pause on the investments that knocks another $14k off the loan?
Watching these makes me feel much more secure about my situation. If anything I've been over-saving and can probably afford to enjoy some more guilt free spending. Me and my wife have been just about maxing all of our tax advantaged accounts as well. My wife insists on an enormous 1 year emergency fund due to some invisible scripts from her childhood but I respect that, It's how she designed her rich life. We are about to reach that threshold soon and should be able to start spending more. Thanks for the perspective! Edit: some context, the large emergency fund is so our future kids will never have to experience money problems in their childhood.
Suze recommends a one year after the 2008 downturn was leaving people with the inability to find work….for over a year. Ramit talks young like he wasn’t here for the previous financial downturns in America…be safe. I agree with your wife.
I live in a VHCOL area and genuinely spend $200 a month on groceries and have consistently for the last 2 years. I’m vegan, so don’t buy meat, but also focus on building all of my meals out of basics like produce, grains, beans, tofu, and very few processed foods. I keep this budget even doing the majority of my shopping at Whole Foods! No free lunches here 😂
That is great and I second that. Since I eat preliminary plant based (I am vegetarian but try to eat mostly vegan) my grocery bills are way lower. I still buy meat for my cats, though, but I see it as saving on future vet bills.
@@JagodaiMalina Cats are “obligate carnivores.” That’s vet language to say their bodies are incapable of extracting nutrients from plants. Feeding them plants, or mixing plants into their food will make them sick, and damage their digestive systems. They will die much sooner. So, good to hear you are buying meat for your kitties. As a human, you can survive fine without meat, but do take your B vitamins!
I have been saving for my wedding since I started working at 22 and was very single. I met my fiancé at 25, and I’m now almost 29, got engaged a month ago, my wedding fund has been fully funded since I turned 28. Just putting money away regularly, making sure it kept growing year on year and topped it up when I got an unexpected amount (eg bonuses). I can’t believe that people who know they want to get married in the future don’t save for this stuff (if they have the means!). I adopt the same view for retirement. You know you’re gonna want to retire, why are you not planning for it? I will acknowledge there’s probably some advantageous psychology at play here - I’ve always enjoyed putting money away for a larger, experience-related, expense and have always felt very comfortable delaying gratification. Unlike seemingly a lot of people my age, I actually am really quite adverse to impulse spending and a strong sense of what I need/want.
I didn’t save before getting engaged and I wish I had. The reason I didn’t and I think a lot of people don’t, is because I had very little to no experience saving money, growing up in a house with parents who never saved or taught me anything positive about money. If I had the knowledge about saving and investing at 22, I most definitely would have.
@@amanda.c.ice. Interesting - sorry to hear you have regrets on that front! With genuinely no criticism intended, I just cannot fathom that state of mind. I just can’t wrap my head around how the basics are a “knowledge” that needs to be acquired, as opposed to common sense and following through: I’m going to want a wedding + weddings cost money = I need to have money “ready to go” if I want a wedding = I need to save. I’m honest and strict with myself (because I’m not a child): if I don’t have the money, it doesn’t happen. There’s no discussion, tantrum or ignoring it and there’s no going into debt over anything that was foreseeable and that I simply cannot afford or chose not to save for. I chose not to save, or I wasn’t able to save enough, so the result is that I don’t get to do it - it’s my own fault or it’s just how the cookie crumbles - end of. [I see mortgages (but not down payments) or student debt in a different way - as it is unrealistic to have saved the amount needed for those things by the time they are needed]. I have applied the same reasoning with everything: holidays, big purchases, cars, down payment on a home… Not saving, to my mind, comes from one of two reasons: (i) you can’t / don’t want to face reality or the fact that you are going to have to change your lifestyle or behaviour, so you bury your head in the sand (eg. generally deciding, consciously or not, to ignore your finances and walk around in the dark, acting on random impulses, rather than taking control of your finances and life more broadly) and/or having an unfounded and overly-optimistic view that everything is going to be “fine”, when you’re actually sabotaging yourself by doing nothing to make sure it is, in fact, going to be “fine” - I genuinely think this is really quite childlike OR (ii) having so little income, in a high cost of “survival” situation (ie housing, food, basic transport to work (eg public transport where possible, cheap safe car where not), student debt), that it is quite literally impossible for you to cash-flow your life and/or save. I only learnt about interest rates (of savings accounts) and investing later on (ie 26) ! I’m entirely self-taught on that front, with no family help. I just always saw having money as freedom and therefore always concluded that more money set aside = more freedom. It’s probably just because I’m a stubborn person who can’t stand being forced into things, and wasn’t about to let (if I could possibly help it) lack of money result in me being trapped in a situation I didn’t want to be in. Investing came about when I started researching how I could be more tax efficient (I live in a country with high tax rates so the amount I was paying, and still am paying, in tax every month was/is phenomenal). My parents were fundamentally “short-sighted” with money, neither of them investing nor did they have funds for retirement - so it definitely didn’t come from there. I will however say that we otherwise just lived in our means and credit (cards) was what I didn’t understand and, maybe, this is the real privilege I have had ! I just didn’t even know what credit was and that you could borrow money for things that weren’t a house or a car. I thought (for an embarrassingly long amount of time) that all cards were debit cards. When I did find out about credit - I was very scared of it for a long time ! I use credit cards now for everything (and have had the privilege of doing things I never thought possible I’d be able to do, because of points) - but I’ve never not paid off in full each month and I never spend more than I could easily pay off four or five times over. I still find the concept of having a mortgage quite unnerving as I don’t like the idea of such a large amount of debt and therefore being beholden to anyone (including banks, apparently!). I will say though that being with my partner, who has a very similar “money mindset” to myself, is genuinely the most helpful thing. We’re very alike in the way we think about money and have made similar decisions in the past about each of our monies - he came from a poor background and yet has saved a tremendous amount also. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for two partners to have very different approaches to money!
I wish we saved for our wedding much earlier, but this kind of advice is why i already started saving for kids even though we don’t have them yet. Love your advice I’m in fitness and the cross over for advice is spot on
Living your best life really isn’t about number, it’s about the ability to make choices. What a blessing group of people, still can learn a lot from them all! Thanks Ramit ❤
yes! new video! I've binged days straight all your podcasts. You the man Ramit! I've made changes to our finances based on your CSP and I must say, it's quite freeing and exciting! Much success to you my friend!
I love these videos, especially CSPs of parents with young kids. I had my first child about three months ago. He'll be starting daycare soon and the price is absolutely eye-watering. I enjoy seeing how other parents make it work, if they can make it work at all.
I loved hearing about Claire’s CSP - her situation is so similar to mine. I’m also 27, working in higher education, single, and living in a HCOL area (Ft Lauderdale/Miami). It motivates me more to apply what was taught into my own situation 👩🏻🏫💰
Single if cooking most meals, monthly spending on food is about $300. I live in NYC too and that's roughly what I spend on food shopping. But I am sure the two girls are like me, I don't eat snacks much. That can save a lot 😁
I pay maybe about $200 in groceries every month, ~$250 for those 5 week months because I do a lot of meal prep (lots of chicken😵💫) and that's to cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner every week. Also I shop at Aldi.
I've sort of been binge watching Ramit's stuff over the last few weeks since I discovered him. I offer this piece of constructive feedback fwiw. This is the first video that I've seen where he explains the difference between nominal returns and real returns and why he uses 7% as an expected return in his calculations. I'm sure this is in fact explained in his book and probably in some videos that I haven't seen. BUT if he were to toss in the word real return sometimes when he is doing his growth calculation, or perhaps use the phrase "inflation adjusted" or "after inflation" in passing as he speaks the audience would connect by context and learn about his methods by osmosis. Meanwhile he would reduce the quantity of snarky commenters who accuse him of not taking inflation into account. I have heard him defend vs snarky commenters before with a "did you think I didn't think of this" sort of rebuttal, so I never made snarky comments myself. I did however reasonably wonder where the 7% came from and how much it represented a conservatism due to asset mix or a built in margin due to 10% not being a sure thing in stock investing. With this video, I now understand the 7% as historical stock returns of 10% - 3% expected inflation. Mentioning this in passing early and often with a simple word or phrase would continually make this clear to the audience without sidetracking the conversation. Costs almost nothing to do and minimizes confusion for newer viewers.
I appreciate the evaluation of a single person's income and expenses. You're always focused on couples, but there's a whole market segment you should delve into, especially when so many people in their 20s need advice to set themselves up for success. Also, so many people, especially women, are expecting to remain single in the next 10-20 years,
I love how Ramit mentioned to try and enjoy your rich life NOW and also factor in that life may not turn out the way we plan. Layoffs happen, especially in this current economic climate so it’s a great idea to be ready when that happens. It will. Need to buy your book! 📚
This is a nice format in addition to the others. I appreciate the age and income range. Fortunately these were people with good existing habit. If you can't do anything else, save 10% for long term retirement and 10% for Emergency and major purchases and you will likely live a fulfilling life with a good retirement. The hard part is keeping car and housing expenses in reasonable limits.
All three of these were so impressive! Great work for all three of these people/families! I laughed out loud at the response from the final video because we too have a 14-year old hand-me-down dining room table that needs replacing and we are investing huge amounts each month. Maybe need to let off the gas a bit here too! Ha!
Yes, we need to see more people in the middle class etc. It's hard for me to "connect" with millionaires. Many of us do not make those big incomes and/or one of the people has a chronic illness (and children) that makes it impossible to work full time. Also let us see some retirees income and expenses.
All three of these were awesome and super helpful! I found it refreshing that the last couple has invested so well that they can pull back. I look forward to that point! Can we see someone’s csp who runs their own business? 😊
I can very much relate to Claire. I make almost the exact same income and also live in California in a high cost of living area. I'm not 100% the same. I'm a few years older. I'm a homeowner who house-hacks my home which accounts for about 30K of my approximate 80k a year pre-tax income. I also live in an area in an area with fewer really high earners and a higher ratio of people who are retired. It's nice to see some examples of different people mostly seeming to win with their money and finances. Awesome work by all of them.
I loved this video. These are more realistic salaries for your average person. I’ll be submitting mine in the near future. Thanks for listening to your viewers! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Meal delivery kits have reduced my grocery/eating out budget. I pay $60/week for have 4 meals wit 2 servings. So I cook most days and 1-2 days have left overs. So I only order food once or twice a week. So at $240/month I have lunch and dinner with few wasted groceries and I only have to buy staples. So I definitely spend under $400 on groceries. And For families it's easy to increase the portions and not have to spend too much more.
I don't get your point. The CSP is designed to reflect where all your money goes. So if some of their money goes to their kids, then it's there. Or do you just have a problem with parents savings to pay for their kids education?
@@notNaB2024 The point is that he says they will have $9M or whatever at retirement but that's simply not the case when a portion of their investments will be going towards education expenses and not invested all the way until retirement. I also contribute $1,000 a month to my kids 529s so have no issues with them paying for their education.
I was wondering the same thing. The money for the kid's college should not be included in the retirement calculation. Not that it will make too much of a difference for them but it's just wrong. But the pension should be there or should have been mentioned as extra.
At least in Virginia, a 529 still belongs to the parent, not the child, and the beneficiary can be changed. I knew a very wealthy man who changed the beneficiary to himself and stopped paying for his son’s college, after the son partied too hard and flunked the whole year. He can use it for his own continuing education for his career, or save it for a future grandchild.
Thank you for addressing the first plan, as I am a single person and always wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Totally relatable in the update just wanting another to just have a look at the numbers.
Ramit, it would be nice if you extend your experience and pov outside US, although the core of your sayings can apply to many of us, the specific of each country for example US vs West EU vs East EU etc. are very different We all read and hear in your materials about US up and down, but that technicalities don t apply in countries like Romania for ex and for sure not in India 😊 thank you for your great channel
I'm just now learning how it's ok to spend money on things I enjoy. For example my wife this morning ordered Starbucks with door dash and I wasn't upset about it.
This is great! I live in VHCOL area. I consider some of my housing costs for the joy of living alone to come from my guilt free spending. I cut costs elsewhere - to spend big on my own space
Came here from the podcast. I love the advice given by Ramit, but I have always been curious about lower incomes as I myself do not have the incomes of the couples Ramit will talk to!!
I think the biggest improvement I would make to the CSP is breaking out the pre-tax saving from deductions from gross income. It would give us a much better idea of how much people are saving for retirement.
For two adults, we spend $425 per month on groceries. Every year or so, we have to increase by $25 and it's tight sometimes, but we would rather use extra money on eating out, travel, or investments.
I’m single and my grocery bill is always around 250-280 a month and I spend less than 30 dollars a month eating out. I’m sure it helps that I’m vegetarian.
Yes, meat is expensive. I love veggies but I'll die without my meats. I work outside. Cuts..blood and sweat with bug bites is normal for me. I make good money. I haven't gotten sick in years. Age 37 I never been to a hospital. Just normal check up. But if I don't have my protein I feel like a sleepy drunk. My food budget is 2k a month 😂. Getting organic meat is pricy
@@frederickvalencia4976 holy moly $2k is incredible 😂 I’m with OP, my budget is $250 and under. I only eat turkey and chicken but not everyday of course. I can’t believe it! 2K?!!!?
300-400 a month is a reasonable amount to spend on food. i eat a lot of high quality seafood and I still manage to stay within that range. i am only shopping for one person though so you might be blind to the cost of groceries because you have a wife and I believe you have kids so you are used to feeding multiple mouths and your bills would be much higher. And I kept within this budget in NJ (on the edge of NYC) so its definitely possible. I also did not eat out or get fed by my work.
The way I do it is I’m extremely tight on everything except things that are important to me. For example: -My food budget for 2 people is only $300 by mostly buying core foods in bulk and not getting junk food. -I spend thousands on multiple trips a year: Hawaii, Canada, NYC, Tokyo
I am trying to reach some savings goals as quickly as possible, but I’m hoping to “loosen the reigns” slowly as I reach each of my goals. I’m still having fun and socializing, I’m just doing it more cheaply right now. I still have people criticizing me in real life about how I spend my money though haha
I am also paying around $300/month for groceries and i always come in under. I think most of us are meal planning and eating out less. I cook at home twice a week, frozen veggies and make flavorful and simple meals.
Awesome video! I would love to see a video on how to tackle student loan debt. It’s a little daunting. I feel overwhelmed with it all and especially with the constant changes with federal student loans
People don't even realize their cars and kids are literally the difference between becoming a millionaire and not. And even with cars and kids you still can become a millionaire just a lot slower. If you made the average salary ($63,795) and had the average kid cost per year until 18 ($20,833.33) 20,833.33/63,795 = 32.65% of your salary a year and thats ONE AVERAGE KID. Not counting college btw.
As a single person. My company feeds us 5 meals a day (buffet style). Eat before starting work, three 30-minute breaks every two hours of work (eat, eat, eat), and eat after work. I still don't understand how my grocery is $300/ mo. Must be the two days off that I have to cook for myself.
411k in investments at age 28 is pretty impressive. Also, on track for 9M on a single income senior manager salary is pretty insane too. I wonder if either folks got assistance in their journey, or they're just that impressive with saving/investing. They seem like wild numbers to be at given their ages and situations.
"Gut-free spending : $588" > Ramit almost went SSJ there. Damn, better not telling him I've been gut-free spending half of that for the last 20 years. Half the net income of those people though, but living quite in the boonies in western europe.
Curious how CSP #2 is keeping 72% of their pay . Being single , Their take home seems incredibly high after taxes and deductions . I make substantially more, than CSP #2, and have a similar take home . After taxes and deductions (including contributing 12% to my 401k) I only keep 51% of my income . I am single as well .
If you're thinking you're to too poor for this type of thing to help you, please reconsider. Two reasons. First, he's done vids before with ppl making near minimum wage. Second, if you're struggling in the low end this kind of financial help is even more important because we don't get the same buffer rich ppl do. I mean, we can't dream on lambos and fancy vacations every two months, but we can dream and plan for better housing, a car that doesn't break down or continuing our education to earn more money. Just my thoughts.
Thank you for having an educator on your video. As an educator, we are required to pay into a pension account for retirement. When doing the CSP, would you consider that as investing or would that be separate? Thank you!
I love these videos. I actually enjoy the ones with wealthier people because it makes me want to push myself more. I feel like I am so ahead until I see someone the same age as me with double what I have lol.
These are my favorite videos he makes
I'm so glad you like these because I love making them!! Thanks for watching
Totally agree! Was so excited to get this in my feed this morning!
Literally was like “YES, another one!”
True! I watched the prior one yesterday and so surprised to see this today!
its the pod for me but i love all the iwt stuff lol. many screenshots many life changes lol
Really enjoyed the 1st CSP. Regular person with a regular salary and not making 6 figures plus. Very relatable. Would love to see someone in their early forties that has like a salary of student loan debt and also trying to save for student loans at the same time while also trying to balance living today and saving for the future.
Agreed!
same!!!! 42yo here with student loan debt, trying to pay those off and save for retirement (and did not know enough about personal finance in my 20s to invest back then)
Maybe 40 with 3 children...
If you want to see someone with your specific situation, you should submit yours
Regular salary in here is 14k per year 😂😂😂😂
$300 month for groceries for one is doable if you cook most meals, buy less packaged food and shop at Aldi. I do it and eat well. I’m also in a VHCOL area in California.
My very first thought was "maybe she's shopping at Aldi or Trader Joe's"
You are right. If you cook everything at home and don't eat out.
Good to know about Aldi! Thanks
Yup! I spend about that much if not less and live with another family member. Very doable and I meal plan and shop for sales/only what I need
Totally. Shopping at Lidl and Aldi and not buying too many processed foods/ expensive booze.
Please do more of these, I love the perspective!
Glad you enjoy them! Thanks for watching
wow, Pat is so sweet and living her best life in NYC - you go, girl!
Pat remember me when you retire in 22 years!!
Thank you for looking at single ppl. I watch your content and it’s helpful when you talk to singles.
I spend about $300 a month on groceries as a single person. It's not that hard with thoughtful meal planning as long as you're not picking expensive cuts of meat and are relying more on bulk frozen vegetables instead of fresh. I actually spend less than $300 on the meal necessities, but I include some wiggle room for wants, as long as they're within budget.
I eat very well on the same amount. Survival mode, I can do well with $100/month.
Before my brother moved with me. My grocery bill was at a $150 every other month. Because I also meal prep now that I have him with me. I still spent about 300 a month or less on groceries as well.
Groceries in Palo Alto are 43% more expensive than the national average.
Same here 😊
@@tdgdbs1dang. What do you eat in survival mode? Eggs, tortillas, beans, rice etc.? I’m grateful for any ideas.
As a loyal cult member of this channel, 😂 I have been waiting for Ramit to review single people's CSPs for so long that I had to leave work early to focus and take notes. 😅😅 Its getting weird... I might need a new job... Are you hiring in the UK yet @ramit?
I've noticed in the emailed CSPs, the debt is all on one line. I'd love to see this broken up into mortgage, credit card, and student loan debt.
I totally understand that. I strike a balance between getting info and getting too complicated in the CSP. Always something worth revisiting.
These have quickly become my favorite series!! Especially the follow-ups featured in the video, get to see their story from beginning to end 🎉
The way ramit gives advice on finances is so respectful and caring 🥹
Thankyou for posting these at 6:30 in the morning. I can watch it on my way to work hehehee
Same here!!! ❤
Fr tho!
$300/ month in food is completely doable for one person. If they eat in for EVERY meal, that's $3.33/meal which covers most meals including those with beef (one of the more expensive meats).
Two comments on the first CSP: 1) I would ensure that there is an exact agreement in place for how much is owed to the parents; and 2) I would pay that amount off as soon as possible from the $300 emergency fund reallocation. There's just something to the freedom of being independent from your parents in your late 20s.
Yeah it's a nice gesture that she's willing to help them with it, but if they had wanted her to pay it back they could have done a co-sign. Since that didn't happen it would be smart to write up an agreement.
To me she's overly cautious. Should just pay out her own loan and give the parents $10k towards that one. Leaves an emergency fund of $17,000 and lots of options to cut spending if she gets to a point of needing to dip into that money. I'd be sticking with the roommate for a while though, rather than committing an extra 15% of take home to housing. (Assuming a smaller unit that is $2400).
The other thing I would look at is the investments. If the parents loan is 7%, the investments are 7% or possibly more with a lot of risk. Also, the investments should be good for you in the distant future. The loan is sucking money right now. What about a 2 year pause on the investments that knocks another $14k off the loan?
Watching these makes me feel much more secure about my situation. If anything I've been over-saving and can probably afford to enjoy some more guilt free spending. Me and my wife have been just about maxing all of our tax advantaged accounts as well. My wife insists on an enormous 1 year emergency fund due to some invisible scripts from her childhood but I respect that, It's how she designed her rich life. We are about to reach that threshold soon and should be able to start spending more. Thanks for the perspective! Edit: some context, the large emergency fund is so our future kids will never have to experience money problems in their childhood.
Suze recommends a one year after the 2008 downturn was leaving people with the inability to find work….for over a year. Ramit talks young like he wasn’t here for the previous financial downturns in America…be safe. I agree with your wife.
I live in a VHCOL area and genuinely spend $200 a month on groceries and have consistently for the last 2 years. I’m vegan, so don’t buy meat, but also focus on building all of my meals out of basics like produce, grains, beans, tofu, and very few processed foods. I keep this budget even doing the majority of my shopping at Whole Foods! No free lunches here 😂
That is great and I second that. Since I eat preliminary plant based (I am vegetarian but try to eat mostly vegan) my grocery bills are way lower. I still buy meat for my cats, though, but I see it as saving on future vet bills.
@@JagodaiMalina
Cats are “obligate carnivores.” That’s vet language to say their bodies are incapable of extracting nutrients from plants. Feeding them plants, or mixing plants into their food will make them sick, and damage their digestive systems. They will die much sooner. So, good to hear you are buying meat for your kitties. As a human, you can survive fine without meat, but do take your B vitamins!
I have been saving for my wedding since I started working at 22 and was very single. I met my fiancé at 25, and I’m now almost 29, got engaged a month ago, my wedding fund has been fully funded since I turned 28. Just putting money away regularly, making sure it kept growing year on year and topped it up when I got an unexpected amount (eg bonuses).
I can’t believe that people who know they want to get married in the future don’t save for this stuff (if they have the means!).
I adopt the same view for retirement. You know you’re gonna want to retire, why are you not planning for it?
I will acknowledge there’s probably some advantageous psychology at play here - I’ve always enjoyed putting money away for a larger, experience-related, expense and have always felt very comfortable delaying gratification. Unlike seemingly a lot of people my age, I actually am really quite adverse to impulse spending and a strong sense of what I need/want.
I didn’t save before getting engaged and I wish I had. The reason I didn’t and I think a lot of people don’t, is because I had very little to no experience saving money, growing up in a house with parents who never saved or taught me anything positive about money. If I had the knowledge about saving and investing at 22, I most definitely would have.
@@amanda.c.ice. Interesting - sorry to hear you have regrets on that front! With genuinely no criticism intended, I just cannot fathom that state of mind.
I just can’t wrap my head around how the basics are a “knowledge” that needs to be acquired, as opposed to common sense and following through: I’m going to want a wedding + weddings cost money = I need to have money “ready to go” if I want a wedding = I need to save.
I’m honest and strict with myself (because I’m not a child): if I don’t have the money, it doesn’t happen. There’s no discussion, tantrum or ignoring it and there’s no going into debt over anything that was foreseeable and that I simply cannot afford or chose not to save for. I chose not to save, or I wasn’t able to save enough, so the result is that I don’t get to do it - it’s my own fault or it’s just how the cookie crumbles - end of. [I see mortgages (but not down payments) or student debt in a different way - as it is unrealistic to have saved the amount needed for those things by the time they are needed].
I have applied the same reasoning with everything: holidays, big purchases, cars, down payment on a home…
Not saving, to my mind, comes from one of two reasons: (i) you can’t / don’t want to face reality or the fact that you are going to have to change your lifestyle or behaviour, so you bury your head in the sand (eg. generally deciding, consciously or not, to ignore your finances and walk around in the dark, acting on random impulses, rather than taking control of your finances and life more broadly) and/or having an unfounded and overly-optimistic view that everything is going to be “fine”, when you’re actually sabotaging yourself by doing nothing to make sure it is, in fact, going to be “fine” - I genuinely think this is really quite childlike OR (ii) having so little income, in a high cost of “survival” situation (ie housing, food, basic transport to work (eg public transport where possible, cheap safe car where not), student debt), that it is quite literally impossible for you to cash-flow your life and/or save.
I only learnt about interest rates (of savings accounts) and investing later on (ie 26) ! I’m entirely self-taught on that front, with no family help. I just always saw having money as freedom and therefore always concluded that more money set aside = more freedom. It’s probably just because I’m a stubborn person who can’t stand being forced into things, and wasn’t about to let (if I could possibly help it) lack of money result in me being trapped in a situation I didn’t want to be in.
Investing came about when I started researching how I could be more tax efficient (I live in a country with high tax rates so the amount I was paying, and still am paying, in tax every month was/is phenomenal).
My parents were fundamentally “short-sighted” with money, neither of them investing nor did they have funds for retirement - so it definitely didn’t come from there. I will however say that we otherwise just lived in our means and credit (cards) was what I didn’t understand and, maybe, this is the real privilege I have had ! I just didn’t even know what credit was and that you could borrow money for things that weren’t a house or a car. I thought (for an embarrassingly long amount of time) that all cards were debit cards. When I did find out about credit - I was very scared of it for a long time ! I use credit cards now for everything (and have had the privilege of doing things I never thought possible I’d be able to do, because of points) - but I’ve never not paid off in full each month and I never spend more than I could easily pay off four or five times over. I still find the concept of having a mortgage quite unnerving as I don’t like the idea of such a large amount of debt and therefore being beholden to anyone (including banks, apparently!).
I will say though that being with my partner, who has a very similar “money mindset” to myself, is genuinely the most helpful thing. We’re very alike in the way we think about money and have made similar decisions in the past about each of our monies - he came from a poor background and yet has saved a tremendous amount also. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for two partners to have very different approaches to money!
I wish we saved for our wedding much earlier, but this kind of advice is why i already started saving for kids even though we don’t have them yet. Love your advice I’m in fitness and the cross over for advice is spot on
Great video! Also, very impressed with these young women killing it and being on top of their financial situation!
Living your best life really isn’t about number, it’s about the ability to make choices. What a blessing group of people, still can learn a lot from them all! Thanks Ramit ❤
My teacher taught us your series in the financial education class here in Brazil and I randomly found your channel lol
Please tell your teacher I said thank you! I'm honored
This is my favorite format
I live in San Francisco and I actually spend 250-350 on food, and I work at home, just cook alot and barley eat out.
yes! new video! I've binged days straight all your podcasts. You the man Ramit! I've made changes to our finances based on your CSP and I must say, it's quite freeing and exciting! Much success to you my friend!
I love these videos, especially CSPs of parents with young kids. I had my first child about three months ago. He'll be starting daycare soon and the price is absolutely eye-watering. I enjoy seeing how other parents make it work, if they can make it work at all.
Thank you for doing a CSP for a single income. Love your channel!
I saved for my wedding when I was single. Was able to pay for the entire wedding in cash :)
This! Wow!
beautiful and smart. i love it
I loved hearing about Claire’s CSP - her situation is so similar to mine. I’m also 27, working in higher education, single, and living in a HCOL area (Ft Lauderdale/Miami). It motivates me more to apply what was taught into my own situation 👩🏻🏫💰
Love this format!
Single if cooking most meals, monthly spending on food is about $300.
I live in NYC too and that's roughly what I spend on food shopping.
But I am sure the two girls are like me, I don't eat snacks much. That can save a lot 😁
Yeah snacks kick my booty as a single person 🙄
I have to submit my CSP. I’d love to see what you say about my dumpster fire of a financial situation.
Really appreciate this kind of video Ramit, especially as you’re also looking at the finances of single people 🙏😊
Agreed 👍🏾
I pay maybe about $200 in groceries every month, ~$250 for those 5 week months because I do a lot of meal prep (lots of chicken😵💫) and that's to cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner every week. Also I shop at Aldi.
Yeah, I love these vids. I hope you do more low salary and older people. These are much more relatable to the everyday person.
I've sort of been binge watching Ramit's stuff over the last few weeks since I discovered him. I offer this piece of constructive feedback fwiw. This is the first video that I've seen where he explains the difference between nominal returns and real returns and why he uses 7% as an expected return in his calculations. I'm sure this is in fact explained in his book and probably in some videos that I haven't seen. BUT if he were to toss in the word real return sometimes when he is doing his growth calculation, or perhaps use the phrase "inflation adjusted" or "after inflation" in passing as he speaks the audience would connect by context and learn about his methods by osmosis. Meanwhile he would reduce the quantity of snarky commenters who accuse him of not taking inflation into account. I have heard him defend vs snarky commenters before with a "did you think I didn't think of this" sort of rebuttal, so I never made snarky comments myself. I did however reasonably wonder where the 7% came from and how much it represented a conservatism due to asset mix or a built in margin due to 10% not being a sure thing in stock investing. With this video, I now understand the 7% as historical stock returns of 10% - 3% expected inflation. Mentioning this in passing early and often with a simple word or phrase would continually make this clear to the audience without sidetracking the conversation. Costs almost nothing to do and minimizes confusion for newer viewers.
I appreciate the evaluation of a single person's income and expenses. You're always focused on couples, but there's a whole market segment you should delve into, especially when so many people in their 20s need advice to set themselves up for success. Also, so many people, especially women, are expecting to remain single in the next 10-20 years,
I'd encourage you to read my book, newsletter, social media, and join my coaching program. I cover single people a lot!
@@ramitsethi Hi Ramit. I did read your book and mostly listen to your podcast. I enjoy your content!
I love how Ramit mentioned to try and enjoy your rich life NOW and also factor in that life may not turn out the way we plan. Layoffs happen, especially in this current economic climate so it’s a great idea to be ready when that happens. It will. Need to buy your book! 📚
I agree to some degree. You may not be at 7% by time your ready for retirement & hiccups happen in life…..it’s not a straight shot as he implies….
This is awesome! I love that you’ve added the video response.
This is a nice format in addition to the others. I appreciate the age and income range. Fortunately these were people with good existing habit. If you can't do anything else, save 10% for long term retirement and 10% for Emergency and major purchases and you will likely live a fulfilling life with a good retirement. The hard part is keeping car and housing expenses in reasonable limits.
I agree I get tired of seeing people making over $200k a year and somehow cannot figure out finances. I would like to see people with lower incomes.
I'm very interested in all kinds of income and situations. Please apply!
There are also people living outside of the USA. Wages in Europe are waaaaay lower.
@@tomv7986they don't pay for health care tho.
I love these videos so much! These are by far my favorite type of videos you make
These videos are helpful for me to kind of see where I am compared to others! I hope you continue to do more of these videos!!!
Just FYI, it's become quite rare for tech companies to offer full meals for free. Snacks here and there, yes, but not lunch and dinner.
at least u get snacks!
I worked at a major medical center and got meeting leftovers.
All three of these were so impressive! Great work for all three of these people/families! I laughed out loud at the response from the final video because we too have a 14-year old hand-me-down dining room table that needs replacing and we are investing huge amounts each month. Maybe need to let off the gas a bit here too! Ha!
Yes, we need to see more people in the middle class etc. It's hard for me to "connect" with millionaires. Many of us do not make those big incomes and/or one of the people has a chronic illness (and children) that makes it impossible to work full time. Also let us see some retirees income and expenses.
All three of these were awesome and super helpful! I found it refreshing that the last couple has invested so well that they can pull back. I look forward to that point! Can we see someone’s csp who runs their own business? 😊
I think it would have been helpful if he had done a second calculation for the couple. Either for retirement at 60 or 55.
I can very much relate to Claire. I make almost the exact same income and also live in California in a high cost of living area. I'm not 100% the same. I'm a few years older. I'm a homeowner who house-hacks my home which accounts for about 30K of my approximate 80k a year pre-tax income. I also live in an area in an area with fewer really high earners and a higher ratio of people who are retired. It's nice to see some examples of different people mostly seeming to win with their money and finances. Awesome work by all of them.
This is my favorite style of video!
We are blessed to get any video and analysis for you Tom. Thank you so much. Smashing the like button!
I love pat!! Seeing her is so empowering to see for girls in my community because I have NEVER seen any other representation and it makes me so happy
I loved this video. These are more realistic salaries for your average person. I’ll be submitting mine in the near future.
Thanks for listening to your viewers! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Meal delivery kits have reduced my grocery/eating out budget. I pay $60/week for have 4 meals wit 2 servings. So I cook most days and 1-2 days have left overs. So I only order food once or twice a week. So at $240/month I have lunch and dinner with few wasted groceries and I only have to buy staples. So I definitely spend under $400 on groceries. And For families it's easy to increase the portions and not have to spend too much more.
For scenario 3 it was weird including the 529 money, since in theory those funds will be used by their children.
I don't get your point. The CSP is designed to reflect where all your money goes. So if some of their money goes to their kids, then it's there. Or do you just have a problem with parents savings to pay for their kids education?
@@notNaB2024 The point is that he says they will have $9M or whatever at retirement but that's simply not the case when a portion of their investments will be going towards education expenses and not invested all the way until retirement. I also contribute $1,000 a month to my kids 529s so have no issues with them paying for their education.
Also, was the pension included in his calculations? I was trying to catch how that affected how much they should put into their retirement.
I was wondering the same thing. The money for the kid's college should not be included in the retirement calculation. Not that it will make too much of a difference for them but it's just wrong. But the pension should be there or should have been mentioned as extra.
At least in Virginia, a 529 still belongs to the parent, not the child, and the beneficiary can be changed. I knew a very wealthy man who changed the beneficiary to himself and stopped paying for his son’s college, after the son partied too hard and flunked the whole year. He can use it for his own continuing education for his career, or save it for a future grandchild.
Thank you for addressing the first plan, as I am a single person and always wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Totally relatable in the update just wanting another to just have a look at the numbers.
Ramit, it would be nice if you extend your experience and pov outside US, although the core of your sayings can apply to many of us, the specific of each country for example US vs West EU vs East EU etc. are very different
We all read and hear in your materials about US up and down, but that technicalities don t apply in countries like Romania for ex and for sure not in India 😊
thank you for your great channel
I'm just now learning how it's ok to spend money on things I enjoy. For example my wife this morning ordered Starbucks with door dash and I wasn't upset about it.
It's such an undervalued skill. We struggle with it a lot in our family.
lol progress
This has been very very insightful, I wish you did the same for citizens of India , just a wishful thinking but someone like you is needed over here.
Loving the new camera setup. Drastic improvement in quality from just 4 weeks ago!
This is great!
I live in VHCOL area. I consider some of my housing costs for the joy of living alone to come from my guilt free spending. I cut costs elsewhere - to spend big on my own space
I like these videos Ramit. Interesting stuff, there's always tidbits of knowledge to take away... Keep it up!
Love the format, thank you for doing that!
Came here from the podcast. I love the advice given by Ramit, but I have always been curious about lower incomes as I myself do not have the incomes of the couples Ramit will talk to!!
also, it was nice showing a single person in palo alto! Because i also live in the bay area and its expensive here!!
I love these subscriber finance videos
These subscribers finances reviews are my favorites
I think the biggest improvement I would make to the CSP is breaking out the pre-tax saving from deductions from gross income. It would give us a much better idea of how much people are saving for retirement.
It’s honestly pretty doable to do $300 in groceries if you’re not buying lots of processed foods. That’s where it really adds up quickly.
Thanks for this Ramit
Am I miscalculating or does $5100 monthly take home on a $79k salary seems high? are there no taxes/Deductions being taken out?
Love this channel. I have work to do on debt and savings/retirement but I like the idea of enjoying life while hitting financial goals
For two adults, we spend $425 per month on groceries. Every year or so, we have to increase by $25 and it's tight sometimes, but we would rather use extra money on eating out, travel, or investments.
this series is your best one! i love hearing other perspectives and your take on them
I’m single and my grocery bill is always around 250-280 a month and I spend less than 30 dollars a month eating out. I’m sure it helps that I’m vegetarian.
Yes, meat is expensive. I love veggies but I'll die without my meats. I work outside. Cuts..blood and sweat with bug bites is normal for me. I make good money. I haven't gotten sick in years. Age 37 I never been to a hospital. Just normal check up. But if I don't have my protein I feel like a sleepy drunk. My food budget is 2k a month 😂. Getting organic meat is pricy
@@frederickvalencia4976 holy moly $2k is incredible 😂 I’m with OP, my budget is $250 and under. I only eat turkey and chicken but not everyday of course. I can’t believe it! 2K?!!!?
Great episode!
I'm trying to change my mindset from only saving aggressively to coast a bit more, so these perspectives are very helpful.
300-400 a month is a reasonable amount to spend on food. i eat a lot of high quality seafood and I still manage to stay within that range. i am only shopping for one person though so you might be blind to the cost of groceries because you have a wife and I believe you have kids so you are used to feeding multiple mouths and your bills would be much higher. And I kept within this budget in NJ (on the edge of NYC) so its definitely possible. I also did not eat out or get fed by my work.
If I submit my expenses, I know Ramit will yell at me for having virtually no guilt free spending set aside 😂
The way I do it is I’m extremely tight on everything except things that are important to me.
For example:
-My food budget for 2 people is only $300 by mostly buying core foods in bulk and not getting junk food.
-I spend thousands on multiple trips a year: Hawaii, Canada, NYC, Tokyo
I am trying to reach some savings goals as quickly as possible, but I’m hoping to “loosen the reigns” slowly as I reach each of my goals. I’m still having fun and socializing, I’m just doing it more cheaply right now. I still have people criticizing me in real life about how I spend my money though haha
Yes, probably
@@tylersanders2388 Im the same way. Low, LOW food budget and high travel budget.
I am also paying around $300/month for groceries and i always come in under. I think most of us are meal planning and eating out less. I cook at home twice a week, frozen veggies and make flavorful and simple meals.
Awesome video! I would love to see a video on how to tackle student loan debt. It’s a little daunting. I feel overwhelmed with it all and especially with the constant changes with federal student loans
I love these styles of videos, but I also love the couples. I love the candour of them. Thanks for all the insights you share, Ramit!
Fun format - especially the videos from the “anonymous” guests at the end! ❤
No 2’s investments by 28 are INCREDIBLE! Wow. Great job, but she can let up a bit and enjoy life (and still retire by ~55-60)
But what if we want to retire way earlier like in early 40s or mid 40s ....that kind of rich life I am looking for myself ...so I can own my time
@@awesomekj5812 FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early. Google it and there's a subreddit.
Depends on what accounts the investments are in, withdrawals from retirement accounts before 59 and 1/2 will incur penalties
People don't even realize their cars and kids are literally the difference between becoming a millionaire and not. And even with cars and kids you still can become a millionaire just a lot slower.
If you made the average salary ($63,795) and had the average kid cost per year until 18 ($20,833.33) 20,833.33/63,795 = 32.65% of your salary a year and thats ONE AVERAGE KID. Not counting college btw.
As a single person. My company feeds us 5 meals a day (buffet style). Eat before starting work, three 30-minute breaks every two hours of work (eat, eat, eat), and eat after work. I still don't understand how my grocery is $300/ mo. Must be the two days off that I have to cook for myself.
Has Ramit ever shared his and his wife’s conscious spending plan? I’d be interested to watch that if it’s out there.
Last couple is doing well! Good luck to them! Agreed, they can ease off of the gas. They can enjoy life a lot more and breathe easier.
411k in investments at age 28 is pretty impressive. Also, on track for 9M on a single income senior manager salary is pretty insane too. I wonder if either folks got assistance in their journey, or they're just that impressive with saving/investing. They seem like wild numbers to be at given their ages and situations.
"Gut-free spending : $588" > Ramit almost went SSJ there.
Damn, better not telling him I've been gut-free spending half of that for the last 20 years.
Half the net income of those people though, but living quite in the boonies in western europe.
Curious how CSP #2 is keeping 72% of their pay . Being single , Their take home seems incredibly high after taxes and deductions . I make substantially more, than CSP #2, and have a similar take home . After taxes and deductions (including contributing 12% to my 401k) I only keep 51% of my income . I am single as well .
Yes, I thought the same thing myself!
Love this style of video! Keep it up!
My favorite type of videos. Thanks Ramit
If you're thinking you're to too poor for this type of thing to help you, please reconsider. Two reasons. First, he's done vids before with ppl making near minimum wage. Second, if you're struggling in the low end this kind of financial help is even more important because we don't get the same buffer rich ppl do. I mean, we can't dream on lambos and fancy vacations every two months, but we can dream and plan for better housing, a car that doesn't break down or continuing our education to earn more money. Just my thoughts.
Exactly
Best video format!!
I loveee these types of videos! I would love to see them more often
Absolutely love these types of episode ❤
Ramit, can you clarify how the 2nd CSP is "definitely doing some pre-tax as well"? It looks like they're maxing out their Roth 401k
Perfect examples Ramit. Thank you.
I love these videos!
I’m gonna apply, I think my particular situation is pretty cool and unique
Thank you for having an educator on your video. As an educator, we are required to pay into a pension account for retirement. When doing the CSP, would you consider that as investing or would that be separate? Thank you!
Helpful, thanks for the breakdown.
I love these videos. I actually enjoy the ones with wealthier people because it makes me want to push myself more. I feel like I am so ahead until I see someone the same age as me with double what I have lol.