Could You Live On Just $32,000 Per Year?

[Gratefuled]

Well I did hear about a constipated American mathematician who had couldn't budge-it either.  But he did manage to work it out with a pencil.

(laffing )

Reminds me of a situation Cheech Marin once shared. Something about him and his girl friend having a problem. They worked it out  but with some effort they worked it back in. 

Anyone ever see the movie The Corsican Brothers? 

[AlwaysRt]

7 hours ago, davewe said:

I don't know if it's a British vs. American thing. Maybe it's a retirement thing; what's the basics that I have to pay. The problem is that there are more things that we "have to pay" than just rent, utilities and food. I suspect that this is one of the reasons people struggle with their retirement budgets and debate about how little or not so little they can live on.

A-ha, maybe I have fallen into the trap (I know better and happens less often than it used to but I still do it) of treating others as if they think and are educated as I am (note to self - once again - not everyone sees from my perspective, duh!). This would then make the difference between those who have never thought about a budget and those who are adept at it. Some need to be educated/reminded/warned as to how many pieces of the pie there are (as in your Fidelity example) and some just need to know the Philippine living expense part. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

31 minutes ago, AlwaysRt said:

Some need to be educated/reminded/warned as to how many pieces of the pie there are (as in your Fidelity example) and some just need to know the Philippine living expense part. 

Questions:  

Since we, the posters in this forum, have no way of knowing whether the readers of our comments are as smart as we are, should we dumb down our statements to the lowest common denominator and just tell everyone what it costs to eat and pay rent?

Is it conceivable, that someone who went through their entire life without saving more than US$1,000 a month to retire on, is not good at handling their money.

Should the members who are living here on a budget do their best to share knowledge with those who are not good at handling their money or should we just tell them what we think they need to know and leave them to the wolves?

 

On Topic:

The following statement is generic and not aimed at the Op or any particular individual but consider this. As I reflect on the questions I have posed, it seems to me that anyone who does not realize they can live well on "just $32,000 per year" may be the object of the idiom:  A fool and his money are soon parted.  Thus the result may be that he cannot live on that amount. 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Dave Hounddriver

[AlwaysRt]

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Since we, the posters in this forum, have no way of knowing whether the readers of our comments are as smart as we are, should we dumb down our statements to the lowest common denominator and just tell everyone what it costs to eat and pay rent?

No, I am not a big fan of dumbing things down and prefer to bring others up. My posts may have been a bit confusing as I ended up talking on 3 subjects. What I thought about budgeting questions (which has sort of changed now), attempted explanation of my realizing that I was in error making the assumption everyone sees from my perspective, and a straight answer to the OP.

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Is it conceivable, that someone who went through their entire life without saving more than US$1,000 a month to retire on, is not good at handling their money.

I would put it somewhere between probable and conceivable.

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Should the members who are living here on a budget do their best to share knowledge with those who are not good at handling their money or should we just tell them what we think they need to know and leave them to the wolves?

We should all do our best sharing knowledge, it is what gives the forum value. We also need to remember everyone is an individual and we may have some things in common with one member and other things in common with another. This thread is a good example, you thought too little information was provided and I thought you were giving too much. Which of us was correct? Yes. We were both correct and incorrect, some needed your more complete answer and some only needed the short answer. Both are valid.

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

it seems to me that anyone who does not realize they can live well on "just $32,000 per year" may be the object of the idiom:  A fool and his money are soon parted.  Thus the result may be that he cannot live on that amount. 

I may agree completely (ok, I do).

[tomaw]

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 7:25 AM, JJReyes said:

Could you live on just $32,000 per year? Most retirees do
Robert Powell, Special for USA TODAY 8:16 a.m. EDT July 14, 2016

Estimated median annual household income among retirees is $32,000, and more than half of retirees (53%) live on less than $50,000, according to "The Current State of Retirement: A Compendium of Findings about American Retirees."Could you live on just $32,000 per year in retirement? Many retirees already do, according to a  survey by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

The above paragraph appeared in a USA Today article by Robert Powell. I have long suspected that Americans who retire overseas have more than the proverbial $1,000 a month budget. That includes members of this forum. $2,000 to $3,000 is more reasonable. I also suspect those who have $5,000 or higher per month won't find overseas retirement as attractive. 

(Sorry. I don't know how to add a link to the article.)

Most Filipinos live online less than $6,000 a year. Professionals like engineers, nurses and school teachers only make about $500 a month.

[pjclark1]

If I were single, $600 a month would be plenty.

But I'm supporting a household with my wife and our children, and my girlfriend, which pushes the price up to around $1,200 a month.

Can't imagine how I would spend $32,000 a year. I don't feel I'm lacking anything.

[Jack Peterson]

2 hours ago, pjclark1 said:

But I'm supporting a household with my wife and our children, and my girlfriend

 Tell us my friend, How do the Wife and Girlfriend get along? 

 or do  we have a Little foopar in writing the Post 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Jack Peterson
added line

[davewe]

9 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Tell us my friend, How do the Wife and Girlfriend get along? 

 or do  we have a Little foopar in writing the Post 

Apparently Bill Clinton has joined our little group 

Sorry - Couldn't help it!

[Dave Hounddriver]

11 hours ago, pjclark1 said:

I don't feel I'm lacking anything.

Humility?

[Domino22]

On 7/14/2016 at 9:40 AM, Sander Martin said:

Thats 2666USD a month. I could live a happy life with half that a year. With 32k usd a year I wouldn't retire in Philippines as there are much nicer places in the world where you could live a comfy life with that much money per month.

Hell Ya! With that kind of income go 1st world. Me I can only go third world and it will be the PI.