How many months of living do you have saved?

[dmnEPC]

100 months.

Your brokerage account does not count. It usually goes without fail when you need that money the most it's usually at the exact wrong time. Maybe your holdings got shredded over night, maybe it triggers a major tax burden, maybe it causes you to miss a once in a lifetime opportunity.

A solid financial plan is built with a brick foundation (cash money). If you lay a glass foundation (stocks & stock options), all it takes is a few tremors before the whole thing collapses.

 

[Apex01]

without counting stocks probably over 5 years

 

[jhoffy22]

I think it's tricky with our group. Strictly living expenses, about a year... But most of us would also need enough capital to restart something to bring in new income.

Yeah definitely, and that amount of capital needed always changes from month to month for me based on the project. One thing that is always consistent though is that my work expenses at least double my living expenses, so they are definitely counted towards how long I could last if shit hit the fan.

Agreed. General rule of thumb is 6 months, but that's for "normal people" who generally have stable jobs and 2 or 3 year salary contracts. For us on the other hand, I'd say 12 - 18 months is better.

Never know when shit is going to hit the fan, and never know how long it's going to take to get back on your feet.

I guess this depends on what you do. If you're good at buying traffic, you can get yourself out of a pinch temporarily pretty quickly. But for myself, I would have an anxiety meltdown if I let my liquid cash dip below an 8-12 month threshold of keeping me afloat. Had it happen before. Best to diversify your income to mitigate the likelihood of losing it all in a day.

 

[Dr_Ngo]

Something to keep in mind is if shit hits the fan, you can lower your expenses substantially by living in a cheaper country. Take a bus to Mexico and live on $400 a month while you rebuild.

 

[Unarmed Gunman]

If shit ever gets tight I can always cash this in:

 

[jstover77]

No drunken flight buying has really helped bring my spending under control.

Haha. I can relate to this. I took two trips this year where I woke up still drunk from the night before and decided I wanted to head to Vegas and Jamaica. Both those trips cost me over $12K and I don't hardly remember any of it. Fucking booze.

If shit hit the fan though, cash + assets, probably 3-4 years. I would certainly move into a smaller house, and downsize my spending if this were the case.

 

[~~@~~]

If shit ever gets tight I can always cash this in:

People getting regulated with those 1 Trillion Zimbabwes.

 

[Meatytreats]

5 years worth in liquid assets... probably 4 times that if you count everything...

 

[itchy]

14 years, a lot more when au rises again.

i got the wealth thing a long time ago, money begets money. for all noobs reading build up a one year cushion asap, it takes the pressure off and allows you to pursue longer (read higher grossing) projects. its a lot easier to take risks when rent is paid and belly is full, trust me

 

[Telva]

Be afraid to touch any reserve you have, be strict on lowering your spending on everything for a couple of years, no luxuries, no debt, no holidays, no expensive meals. Once that reserve gets to a comfortable amount it'll of course give you options and an income all by itself.

Be the tightest person you know for 3 years, it does wonders for a bank balance.

Cash 6-7 yrs. Plus liquid investments, treble that.

On the downside, I'm pretty lazy now.

 

[Hale.Pane]

14 years, a lot more when au rises again.

i got the wealth thing a long time ago, money begets money. for all noobs reading build up a one year cushion asap, it takes the pressure off and allows you to pursue longer (read higher grossing) projects. its a lot easier to take risks when rent is paid and belly is full, trust me

Living+work expenses or living only?

 

[JoseArmando]

Be afraid to touch any reserve you have, be strict on lowering your spending on everything for a couple of years, no luxuries, no debt, no holidays, no expensive meals. Once that reserve gets to a comfortable amount it'll of course give you options and an income all by itself.

Be the tightest person you know for 3 years, it does wonders for a bank balance.

Cash 6-7 yrs. Plus liquid investments, treble that.

On the downside, I'm pretty lazy now.

Dude I don't know about you but I didn't get in to this to not enjoy my money. No holidays for a couple years? No nice meals? Wat

The moment I'll start thinking like that I'll know I need to drop the shit that got me to that place and pick up something a lot more profitable.

 

[DreFromThaBay]

I need about $2,000 monthly to survive, so 20 years.

 

[Kiopa_Matt]

I need about $2,000 monthly to survive, so 20 years.

You're in San Francisco, and it's only $2000/month for living? How the hell do you manage that? I'm in Thailand, and it's about $3000/month, let alone in SF.

 

[GiJoe]

You're in San Francisco, and it's only $2000/month for living? How the hell do you manage that? I'm in Thailand, and it's about $3000/month, let alone in SF.

he lives in a van down by the river..

 

[volk8787]

No savings

 

[thehobbster]

I count my savings in the number of months of warcraft subscriptions.

 

[Veritas]

You're in San Francisco, and it's only $2000/month for living? How the hell do you manage that? I'm in Thailand, and it's about $3000/month, let alone in SF.

Depends where in the bay, I used to live there

 

[Ibanez | Jan]

You're in San Francisco, and it's only $2000/month for living? How the hell do you manage that? I'm in Thailand, and it's about $3000/month, let alone in SF.

Cut down on the ladyboys and you'll be fine with 800 a month.

 

[thehobbster]

$3,000 a month in Thailand? Hell, I dun copped me a double-wide in TN for $10,000. Damn near cut my expenses to $300 a month. Only costs that much on account of me having to eat every other day.