How are those of you with spouses or partners who do not have paid jobs or vocations coping with saving for retirement?

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Drive old cars and live in a humble home. The beautiful thing about consulting is that nobody knows what you drive to the airport. Nobody knows what you live in while home. I set up college plans for my kids and put $300/month in their accounts. It's pretty amazing how that grows. Max out the 401k and for the most part keep my spouse in the dark with how much I make. The key is to not take on debt for things that depreciate -- aka cars. Any extra goes into IRAs.

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Live within your means - or even better, below it. As the financial advisors say, “pay yourself” first.

My ex worked, but earned so much less than he spent that it didn’t really count. I maxed out my 401K and automatically put money in savings. He was not financially savvy (nor was he interested in money), so this isn’t as bad as it sounds, but I created artificial scarcity to keep him from spending money. If he thought we had less cash than we did, it kept the spending in check.

Our kids attended public schools and we spent very little on cars. We made good decisions regarding our houses and made a nice profit on those.

I always withheld more in taxes so I never got a big tax bill come April.

I found that the lack of income wasn’t as much as an issue as the spending habits - so that’s what I tried to reign in.

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I live well below our means. Newest car is an 05. Maintain zero debt except mortgage. Try to be smart with my income. Investments, high interest accounts. Continuous study/work to bump my salary up every few years..

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we were saving 15-20% of our income since before we had decent incomes. as our income grew we increased the percent saved. when I got a big raise, we saved all of it. we did this twice.

we only take on debt for real estate purchase and stayed within a figure that was doable in 15 years.

and we kept our car costs down by sharing one used car that we paid cash for


with all this behind us our 40's have gotten easier and easier money wise.

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@Associate General Counsel - we have a 14 year old, who attends a private school and plays sports....pretty costly....but I consider it an investment.

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I've gotten a pretty nice cup ready for begging when I retire

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Living smaller. And continually trying to get my type-A, detail oriented wife to get a job as a project manager.

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I am in the same boat as must of you. We've lived in the same condo for 20 years (we just remodeled it because we are not leaving that place), drive the same car until the wheels fall off and we are very picky on what we spend the money. She at least works part-time, so at least she contributes a bit and with our kids being in college, we save more in food and other bills. As for savings, I put 15% in retirement, although we sucked at budgeting when we were young. But hey, better late than never.

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Not saving enough, and have given up trying to beg my husband to get a job.

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D2, my wife doesn’t work outside the home for money; but she does volunteer work to make the world better. That was our deal when I entered consulting and it works for us. When we retire will we be going to Hawaii every weekend? Nope, but we will live in a better world because of her contributions.

I just turned 50 and I find this very challenging . It’s a big concern of mine and not sure what to do .

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It’s more about high expenses , college tuition etc and not being able to save as much as I would like

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Kinda praying for that asteroid. 😂

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It’s the same as anyone else - you have to make savings a priority and be disciplined about it. Also you can live a lot cheaper because the at home spouse can take care of a lot of things that otherwise you’d pay $ for because of convenience / lack of time if both of you were working outside the home. Finally, it sounds like you might be a little resentful - not good for a happy marriage.

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I didn't know there were elements of resentment in my question though. I just wanted to know how others are deal8ng with the situation. its not for lack of trying that my wife doesn't work....its just tough. I am trying to hold the fort (save for retirement, invest, support, spoil, and not burn out in the process)...but I am struggling pretty badly hence my quest for insights. it does take a toll especially when you come across as being too frugal but I am doing my best :)....not easy but pushing through.....

I’m in the same situation OP. Two kids under 10 in private school so looking at many years of tuition bills. We are saving, but not enough. The constant discussion is around moving to the burbs and switching to public school. We are in the process of switching to a new financial advisor who I think will be better able to help us make a decision than the last one.

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Gotcha- so a reset with a new fiscal planner should help you get back on track. Good luck!!

Fight “creep” at every opportunity. It sneaks in small ways, slightly more expensive clothes, restaurants, etc., turns out to be expensive over time. I try hard to live a very comfortable lifestyle without the extravagances. Income grows and you can bank more and more money every year. I’m 52, two kids in college and am able to save more every yearThank you you have to wear them so if you’re not read you. It start to significantly grow as you get older

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Retirement? I'll be working till the day I die if finances is the sole indicator.

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Why is this just specific to spouses that don’t work? My spouse works and it’s the same issue. We all feel it, the crush of costs due to kids, and all the fun that comes with it, the house, the car, etc.. as for retirement, I’m definitely not prepared for it, but thankfully my SO has a pension when she retires.

I’m in my early 40’s and there are plenty of other nuggets that will come before my retirement, Like everyone, you do your best with what you have, and then play catch-up as needed. I’m hoping one of the Dems get into office, that free college tuition sounds like a great idea to me. 👍

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Maxing out 401k match and otherwise ostrich strategy

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Don’t spend like a fool.

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