# What are you currently saving for?



## Montrealer (Sep 13, 2010)

Like the title say's, what are you currently saving for? 

I am currently saving to invest in real estate, either an investment property to rent out for years to come (long term project) or a property that I can flip in the coming months. 

FYI: I am a Real Estate Broker 

So, WHAT ARE YOU SAVING FOR? Discuss!


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

End goal=Retirement. 

On track to pay off $9K car debt by April 1. 0% interest ends thereafter
Everything else goes in mortgage. Saving to upsizing in 1-2 years. 
If good deals come by in the Stock market, we just our HELOC.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I am currently saving - my savings! I am NOT currently saving to spend. I need to beef up my three savings tiers. The structure and buckets are in place, but they are not full enough to protect against life's emergencies. Bucket 2 had to be used this summer and is empty. My priority continues to be on filling up these buckets for at least the next 8 months. This gives me freedom and control over my own life and I am therefore not dependent upon others to keep food on my table in case of adversity.


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## atrp2biz (Sep 22, 2010)

Brk.b


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Royal mail,

Since you're always referring to your savings tiers, why not add a signature with a link to a post where you explain yourself more clearly. Just a suggestion! You say people should search for your old posts for more info, but that is not particularly easy.

Just a suggestion.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

That's a super idea! Let me try and find a suitable old post.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Is this better?


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## Shayne (Apr 3, 2009)

We are not really saving for anything.

All of our cash goes towards the mortgage.

Should be mortgage and totally debt free in less than three years.

Then we will look at what is the plan for future employment and retirement.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Shayne said:


> We are not really saving for anything.
> 
> All of our cash goes towards the mortgage.
> 
> ...


What will happen if you suffer job loss in the next three years?


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

Shayne said:


> We are not really saving for anything.
> 
> All of our cash goes towards the mortgage.
> 
> ...


same place I am... despite cheap money, I'm just focusing on the last chunk of the mortgage. 
Right or wrong, it's where my head is at...


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

We also do the three tiered savings, although I've never thought of it that way. 

We have a rainy day fund which is a few thousand.

Then we have our saving for things such as annual automobile insurance (I detest paying a fee for monthly payments to come out), a new computer, vacation, new car, etc.

Then we have savings towards retirement such as RRSP's, dividend stocks (false DRIP).

We also have savings towards our next home, because when the time comes to sell (here in Winnipeg) and buy in our next posting (could be Halifax) we will need to sock away as much cash towards the downpayment as possible to avoid paying mortgage interest. Or at least avoid paying as much interest as we would otherwise. Our current house is paid off in full. Not sure what tier this pot of savings would fall under - perhaps 2nd tier.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Well done addy - A1. 100% right. There is nothing I can say to have you improve your current situation other than to simply save more for the buckets. As for your next house, what you are doing matches exactly what I always suggest to people wanting to take on a special project (new house, baby, new car etc) - save in advance for that (as you are doing) in a separate "account" so that when you get that "item" you will be ready to pay for it. A lot of people make the mistake of immediately raiding ALL of their savings buckets and even hitting up family for money in cases such as this. Bad idea, because if you use up all your money to address that item, you'll have NO protection for yourself in the event of job loss, needing a new car etc. right after you've cleaned out your savings.

You're doing very well - truly an inspiration.


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

ER has been my primary savings goal for several years now... I hadn't even thought of it until I stumbled upon some ER/Finance blogs that flicked the switch in my mind that, yes, this is actually possible.


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## R.O.V. (May 16, 2010)

We are really concentrating on paying down our LOC very aggressively...should be completed by early spring. On top of increased mortgage payments and RESP, we have starting saving for Christmas Trying to sock away $2K from this pay period until early December to make it thru the holiday with out using any credit cards!


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

+1 for Christmas. Already started a saving. The recent stat and OT pay will be thrown in as well. 

To save more money, we'll be using $40 PC points to shop clothes at Joe for the little kids, (neice and nefew) and about $36 Shoppers points to buy more gifts. I will also be re-gifting red wine and a few other things, like a candle kit my wife never opened. We already started a budget and wrote it down, two weeks ago. I asked my wife to do it  

We start early because our shopping deadline is Dec 1. This way, we stay out of the malls and stores when they are extremely busy.


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## R.O.V. (May 16, 2010)

+1 for staying out of the malls in December!!! I've been that guy, on Chritmas Eve rushing around spending like a Rock Star....Not a pretty sight!!


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

The scariest part about malls after Thanksgiving and leading up to Christmas is the parking lot. It seems that drivers stop being cautious as soon as they enter the property, tear around blind corners going the wrong way, compete for parking spaces, have people stand and protect parking spaces etc. I'll be darned if I'm going to fight with people to spend my money.

Then there are all the unhappy returns in the following week. I feel sorry for the floor staff and cashiers who have to work big box retail in December.


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

I'm saving for a downpayment to buy my first house (or possibly condo). Still not even close because most of my money is being used to pay down my OSAP loan (should have that fully paid off in about 8 months then I'll be completely debt free).


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## Soils4Peace (Mar 14, 2010)

- Shares in employer's business - they have an excellent record of growth and the company is entirely employee owned.
- Paying down mortgage - FREEDOM!!!


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## dilbert789 (Apr 20, 2010)

Soils4Peace said:


> - Shares in employer's business - they have an excellent record of growth and the company is entirely employee owned.
> - Paying down mortgage - FREEDOM!!!


[buzz kill]

Be careful with this, in the event that the business does go south, you're out of both your job and your investment at the same time. This happened big time for a lot of employees of Enron. 

[/buzz kill]

I'm saving for:
- debt repayment - "Saving interest"
- mortgage pay down
- Lotus 7 replica Kit
- gas fireplace for the living room


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I agree 100% with dilbert but was afraid to spoil the party.


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## ashby corner (Jun 15, 2009)

in no particular order:
-retirement
-newtv
-house-levelling
-kitchen reno
-new les paul
-trip to medicine hat


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## Montrealer (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks for all the feedback! It's nice to see people have common goals.

I am currently saving over 10% of my income and intend to bump that up as I make more money etc.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Long term, I'm saving for retirement, because I won't have a defined benefit pension. 
Medium term, I'm saving to pay down debt on investment property. The sooner I do that, the sooner I will have a retirement income stream.
Short term, I'm saving for a new car. 
Very short term, I'm saving for my RRSP contribution.


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## BeautifulAngel (Jun 30, 2017)

I'm currently saving f9r my emergency fund as well as my rainy day fund. After that a car fund


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## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

In my case retirement is basically as saved-for as it's likely to ever be. I am now saving to:

(1) pay for a new (at least to me) truck, if I decide I need one, and
(2) build a house in Victoria -- unless we sell the land and pocket the money and do something else.


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## cashinstinct (Apr 4, 2009)

1) Retirement (max out RRSP and TFSA)
2) Children's education ($2,500 RESP contribution per year X 2 children)

Since I have a DB pension plan at work, I might not need that much retirement savings, but I want to have financial resources available to me.

I am saving around 30% of net income this year for stock purchases.


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

High end Hi-Fi speakers.


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## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

Top notch lawyer in case Myrtle ever gets too uppity.


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## WGZ (Feb 3, 2017)

-Rainy day/emerge
-Vacation, whatever is simple and easy on the wallet
-Intercooler to make the turbo and cylinder ring-lands happier (the woman in my life, and well, cars are cheaper to maintain - so there's that)


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

heyjude said:


> Long term, I'm saving for retirement, because I won't have a defined benefit pension.
> Medium term, I'm saving to pay down debt on investment property. The sooner I do that, the sooner I will have a retirement income stream.
> Short term, I'm saving for a new car.
> Very short term, I'm saving for my RRSP contribution.


This thread was dormant since my last post, until yesterday. (Was it something I said?) Here is an update:

I have retired and am no longer saving for retirement.
I paid down some of my investment debt in 2011, but bought another property in 2013. Debt is very manageable and total is less than I owed in 2010. I am snowballing mortgage payments to shorten the life of existing mortgages, one at a time. Not worried about interest rate increases.
I bought the new car in 2012 but financed the entire cost at 0.99% over 36 months. My money stayed in the markets and made me much more than the $500 or so that I paid in interest over the life of the loan.
I stopped contributing to my RRSPs in 2012 and have begun withdrawing early while I am in a low tax bracket. 

So am I saving now? Not really. My income all comes from my investments, so it's really just living within my predetermined withdrawal targets. I have made some contributions to my TFSA, but it is not fully funded. I'm not going to withdraw tax sheltered money just to fund my TFSA, but if I have funds left over at the end of the year, that's where I put them. If I have a major emergency, I will simply withdraw from my non-tax sheltered account. Alternatively, I could use my HELOC in a pinch.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

I'm saving to achieve a poorly justified number in some database somewhere.


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

heyjude said:


> I stopped contributing to my RRSPs in 2012 and have begun withdrawing early while I am in a low tax bracket.
> 
> If I have a major emergency, I will simply withdraw from my non-tax sheltered account. Alternatively, I could use my HELOC in a pinch.


Heyjude, I'm curious as to why you wouldn't, in a major emergency, withdraw from your RRSPs as opposed to the other two options you put first.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

janus10 said:


> Heyjude, I'm curious as to why you wouldn't, in a major emergency, withdraw from your RRSPs as opposed to the other two options you put first.


Because I would have tax withheld.


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