Why am I having a hard time accumulating money?

Question

I save around 600 dollars a month consistently. I have 5 figures saved up plus a few more thou in an IRA. I have ZERO debt (thank God). I pay 770 bucks a month in rent. EVen if I keep saving the way I am, it will take decades to accumulate big bucks. I have no kids.

If I put all of my saved money as a down payment on a house, I will have no money left in the bank.

How do people have nice houses, save for retirement, save for college educations and everything else they do?

Please advise thanks.

Answer 1

I was very lucky to have been given a stock grant when I was hired at a large company.  When the stock was high, I sold part of it for our down payment on an older house that was well within our budget.  It's taken several years to furnish it and we're still working on home improvement projects, but we're fiscally ok and not in debt.  

There are a lot of loans out there that don't require down payments and/or have ridiculous terms that allow people to buy more house than they can afford.  I have friends that have these loans on top of maxed out credit cards that they used to buy expensive furniture and are now living on the edge with no savings and teetering on financial collapse.  I worry that there are a lot of cases like that out there.  

It sounds like you have a good handle on your finances.  Talk to a financial advisor before making a large purchase, like a home, to stay in that shape.