Читать книгу Retirement Planning For Dummies - Matthew Krantz - Страница 27

You’re probably thinking, “How the heck can I track all this with any kind of precision?” After all, if you’re like most people, you typically just whip out a credit card when you pay for something, toss the receipt, and worry about the bill later. Or you might be even less actively involved because you set your bills on auto payment and forget about them.

Take any expense and divide it by 12 or even 24 and it doesn’t seem so bad. You might pause before you pony up $1,000 for a smartphone. But if it’s “only” $42 a month (for 24 months), that’s not so bad, right? Companies are onto this, and offer monthly fees and subscriptions for almost anything. And many of these fees are automatically billed to your credit card, so you might not even remember you’re paying them. These auto charges are like vampires, sucking away money from your retirement plan.

I’m not going to tell you that your monthly Netflix subscription or daily run to Starbucks is a bad idea. Again, the way you use your money is up to you. I will, however, show you how to figure out what these things are costing you. Then it’s up to you to decide whether they’re worthwhile.

When you track your expenses, know that most fit into one of four main groups:

 Overhead: You need food, clothing, and shelter. These items don't necessarily bring you joy, but they're required to survive. Rent or mortgage payments, groceries, and utilities are the biggest overhead line items.

 Taxes: Another massive line item for people is Uncle Sam’s piece. Refer to the tax brackets in Table 2-1 if you need a reminder.

 Savings: As mentioned, you might not think of savings as an expense, but that’s how it functions in your budget.

 Discretionary money: After you pay your other expenses, I hope money is left over for you to buy things or experiences you enjoy.

TABLE 2-1 2019 Tax Brackets

Rate	Single Individual, Taxable Income More Than	Married and Filing Jointly, Taxable Income More Than	Head of Household, Taxable Income More Than
10%	$0	$0	$0
12%	$9,700	$19,400	$13,850
22%	$39,475	$78,950	$52,850
24%	$84,200	$168,400	$84,200
32%	$160,725	$321,450	$160,700
35%	$204,100	$408,200	$204,100
37%	$510,300	$612,350	$510,300