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We found it can be a good thing not to feel affluent. It kept us grounded.
I think this is a good way to look at it. I don’t take the blog or original article as whoa is me, everything is so terrible but rather said person doesn’t feel rich. My wife and I are over 300k in income in a moderate COL area and don’t feel rich.
I mean it’s true. I never heard the term Henry, but my wife and I would qualify as that. We make 150k, but we’re not rich. We don’t go on big vacations. Once you hit 401k matches, pay student loans, and pay bills (cough taxes, insurance), there’s not money to be frivolous with.
For us, we found it sad that on the one hand, there wasn't much money left as you point out, but on the other hand, politicians lumped us in with the truly wealthy.
"Spread the wealth around," they said.
"Billionaires need to pay their fair share" at some point morphed into "Billionaires and Millionaires need to pay their fare share" -- but magically taxes were raised on six-figure earners, as if a couple making 150K to 500K has anything in common with Bill Gates or Warren Buffett.
The good news is financial discipline eventually pays off.
We found it can be a good thing not to feel affluent. It kept us grounded.
It's interesting to see how differently people feel about money. My elderly parents live in what many here have always considered to be an affluent neighborhood (it is one of the more desirable neighborhoods in their city for sure). They built their house 20 years ago and paid cash, and now live on a very meager fixed income. People assume they have money because of where they live. They don't.
Their neighbors have come and gone, but one younger couple has lived there about the same 20 years and they are good friends. I was talking with them yesterday and we were looking at the house across the street - those people had just recently moved in, and had professional holiday lighting put up on their house. They paid several hundred to have this done. Now, this couple I was talking to - they surely could have afforded to do that - if they had wanted to. But they were talking about the other people - they just could not believe that anyone would pay that kind of money to have lights put up. They thought it was INSANE. They said that they guess it was because they "grew up poor" - they just could never spend money like a lot of other folks do. This couple is very DIY - which is kind of cool in a neighborhood like that. They are good folks - and I suspect they will be well prepared for retirement when that day comes.
We’re DIY too. It’s crazy to pay people to put up Christmas lights. We never done that. We just do what we can within our capability. At our age, no more lights at higher places, just above our low hedge and the palm trees.
Buying a house early in your career can really hamstring you and your equity can may very well be timing/luck. I’m not entirely against it but it’s not a magic money maker
That may be true for some careers or most, but there are tons of job openings in my career field in major metros. I could have moved jobs easily when I was younger within my metro. I make decisions based on my situation not what could happen. Now that I’ve progressed and specialized, I’d likely always get relocation bonuses and they would pay for my move. My company relocated me. And both job offers that I’ve received since being here have offered full relocation as well.
When the water heater goes out, the car needs a $1,500 repair and you got a $2,000 bill from a trip to the ER ALL IN THE SAME MONTH...you will be glad you had that $30K 'sitting there rotting'...but as they say, life is the best teacher...you will learn. But in the meantime carry on.
You don’t think I’ve ever had unexpected bills pop up? I keep a credit card with 15 to 18 months no interest revolving at all times with say a balance of 10 to 15k. I charge all normal expenses and emergency expenses to it. As it gets 2 to 3 months close to being due, I get the next no interest offer. Charge expenses to that one..free up cash flow...and pay the old one down just in time for dinner.
I don’t pay cash for unexpected expenses. I float them for free for a year and a half. Free credit provides cash flow options.
Last edited by Thatsright19; 11-28-2019 at 03:35 AM..
It's interesting to see how differently people feel about money. My elderly parents live in what many here have always considered to be an affluent neighborhood (it is one of the more desirable neighborhoods in their city for sure). They built their house 20 years ago and paid cash, and now live on a very meager fixed income. People assume they have money because of where they live. They don't.
Their neighbors have come and gone, but one younger couple has lived there about the same 20 years and they are good friends. I was talking with them yesterday and we were looking at the house across the street - those people had just recently moved in, and had professional holiday lighting put up on their house. They paid several hundred to have this done. Now, this couple I was talking to - they surely could have afforded to do that - if they had wanted to. But they were talking about the other people - they just could not believe that anyone would pay that kind of money to have lights put up. They thought it was INSANE. They said that they guess it was because they "grew up poor" - they just could never spend money like a lot of other folks do. This couple is very DIY - which is kind of cool in a neighborhood like that. They are good folks - and I suspect they will be well prepared for retirement when that day comes.
DIY is over rated. It goes against the basics of Specialization of labor and opportunity cost.
You make enough money at what you’re good at to buy your time back. You need time off to recharge and be good at what you do. I put up my own Xmas lights, but I wouldn’t wash my car or do an oil change. We occasionally pay to have our grocery shopping done. It makes it easier to relax on Sunday and do meal prep for the week. As soon as I’m promoted again, I’m paying for home cleaning. I’d rather have my Saturday.
If I wanted extra money, I’d take clients on the side and do what I do. I wouldn’t sit around trying to save by learning how to fix my central air unit or car. Let the professionals do what they do. I’ll focus on making money doing what I do well, and pay for them to do it. The opportunity cost is too high trying to learn 20 different professions.
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