How do you afford a $350K plus home? (Dallas, Austin: to rent, condo)

[lh_newbie]

Ford GT? Now there's a REAL car! How do I sign up to be a passenger?

[MurphyPl1]

Well, we could do like we did for our friend Alyssa. She's 4 and we babysat her while her parents were out of town. DH brought her up to a car show I was coordinating. His car friends thought it was hysterical when they saw the booster seat in the GT. :-) Her dad thought it even funnier when he got home and she told him that she'd gone "really really fast." DH had to tell him he'd just gunned it and taken it up to a whopping 45 mph on Hwy 78.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Well, we could do like we did for our friend Alyssa. She's 4 and we babysat her while her parents were out of town. DH brought her up to a car show I was coordinating. His car friends thought it was hysterical when they saw the booster seat in the GT. :-) Her dad thought it even funnier when he got home and she told him that she'd gone "really really fast." DH had to tell him he'd just gunned it and taken it up to a whopping 45 mph on Hwy 78.

Which car show were you doing? We attend/particpate in several. I love picking up my girls at school in one of our babies. Talk about turning heads and getting lots of attention. LOL!! When mom is driving a 68 Camaro Convertible pulling up picking up girls, it is hysterical. My middle schooler says that the next day everytime some guys she does not even know all come up to here wanting to know if that was her in that car. Girls and cars, we do go together .

BTW, my husband likes to say that he has the "white collar" job in a blue collar industry. There is A LOT of money out there that people don't realize. One of our friends that is a Financial Planner, CPA, broker says that he has more money invested for people that own or work in "dirty businesses" than people give them credit for.

[lh_newbie]

People that bust their butt for their money appreciate it! Nothing wrong with that.

[MurphyPl1]

It was out at Firewheel - fundraiser for a domestic violence agency I was working at. We have a '66 AC Shelby Cobra that we've had since 2002. We've taken that one to a few shows around the area. I won't let DH enter the GT because it just doesn't seem fair to enter a brand new exotic car against classics and some kid's 2002 Mustang that is his daily driver.

Girls and cars. Yes they do go together. I have a friend who has (of her very own) a '65 AC Shelby Cobra, a '65 Mustang (won in a raffle!) and one of the new Mustang GT500s. Her hubby's into his cows out at their ranch, but she's got a passion for Fords. But her 2 daughters are way more into the cars than their older brothers.

The old school Camaros are the ones I like. We had an '83 when I was in HS and it was nothing at all to speak of. Not at all a muscle car.

[momof2dfw]

Oh, we missed that one. I think we were out of town on that one at the mall. I like when we go and take a car each to a show and I win I tell my husband I'm his "Trophy Wife" since I bring home the trophies. LOL!!!

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

BTW, my husband likes to say that he has the "white collar" job in a blue collar industry. There is A LOT of money out there that people don't realize. One of our friends that is a Financial Planner, CPA, broker says that he has more money invested for people that own or work in "dirty businesses" than people give them credit for.

More proof that "The Millionaire Next Door" is true.

I have a 1966 Mustang. And I also drive the official MND vehicle, a Ford F-150.

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Wow, that's quite a broad brush you paint with. My DH is an electrician by trade and drives a big pick up truck and comes home filthy about half the time. To our $400K home in a very nice neighborhood with a Ford GT in the garage. And while we love a great Eric Clapton concert we also subscribe to the DSO. And our trips include both those to the deer lease and to the Indy 500 where our group had police escorts in and out of the infield every day and enjoyed a fabulous meal at Ruth's Chris.

Fortunately our neighborhood is filled with people who aren't so quick to judge and think it's cool that DH has every tool in the book and does a lot of his own repairs rather than paying someone else. He's a fun guy with a wide variety of tastes. And through that a wide variety of friends.

And why does it bother you that I feel this way? Or a better question, why do you feel the need to 'prove' you're better than me because of the $400,000 house and trips to Ruth's Chris?

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

And why does it bother you that I feel this way? Or a better question, why do you feel the need to 'prove' you're better than me because of the $400,000 house and trips to Ruth's Chris?

I believe the point made was that they are as good or better off without all the trappings of status symbols, i.e., to each their own.

What I found when I moved here in 1980 was that the very ones that you would least expect to really have boatloads of money based on appearances and monetary "symbols" were the ones that actually were the most wealthy... that holds true to this day, i.e., the next-door neighbor millionaires.

[TheDeep]

Originally Posted by cdelena

If you make 180K a year and cannot afford a $2800 monthly maybe you need to look hard at your budget.

rephrase: If you make 180k a year and can't afford a 350k house, you need to address your heroin+h00ker habit ASAP