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Old 03-11-2011, 07:32 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
127 posts, read 327,412 times
Reputation: 50

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Wanted to see how many of you know people likes this, I am a 25 y/o male I live on my own (Own a condo) and do pretty well for myself, but alot of my friends around my age and some even older 28-30 Instead of saving or choosing to live on their own they stay with mom and dad and almost every bit of their salary goes towards paying for a $40,000-$50,000 car and they are just content to continue living at home rent free as long as they can spending 60% or more of their income on their car and as far as saving money their lucky if they even have $50 bucks left in their account by the end of the month. Just kind of a rant here I wanted to know the logic behind this and also see how many of you out there know people like this.
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Old 03-11-2011, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Censorshipville...
4,471 posts, read 8,169,301 times
Reputation: 5078
Yup I have friends like that and I also work with some folks with that same mindset. It's kind of depressing knowing that people aren't thinking of their future. Not depressing for me, but for them. I don't know how many times I've told them to contribute to their retirement account just enough to get the company matching, but they always come up with some weak excuse. They can't afford it for x and y reasons, yet they can afford multiple cars, motorcycles and the newest wiz bang gadget. They also complain about being broke every month, yet they go out to lunch every day.

I'm a few years older than you (30), but I was able to buy a house at 23 with my brother. Then at 29, I bought my first investment property. All my vehicles are paid off. The only loans I have are for mortgages and I have no problem paying that. I also actively save for my retirement through TSP, Roth-IRA and other mutual funds.

Some people just spend everything they make, making it a zero sum game.
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Old 03-11-2011, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
127 posts, read 327,412 times
Reputation: 50
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneasterisk View Post
Yup I have friends like that and I also work with some folks with that same mindset. It's kind of depressing knowing that people aren't thinking of their future. Not depressing for me, but for them. I don't know how many times I've told them to contribute to their retirement account just enough to get the company matching, but they always come up with some weak excuse. They can't afford it for x and y reasons, yet they can afford multiple cars, motorcycles and the newest wiz bang gadget. They also complain about being broke every month, yet they go out to lunch every day.

I'm a few years older than you (30), but I was able to buy a house at 23 with my brother. Then at 29, I bought my first investment property. All my vehicles are paid off. The only loans I have are for mortgages and I have no problem paying that. I also actively save for my retirement through TSP, Roth-IRA and other mutual funds.

Some people just spend everything they make, making it a zero sum game.

Now I wont lie I take advantage of financing and I dont have a paid off home or car, but I like to think Im pretty smart with it, like for example I got a 15 yr loan instead of 30 and didn't go out and buy the maximum amount of home I could qualify for, and also on my car I put about 32% down and financed the rest for only 36 months, basically no chance of negative equity.
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Old 03-11-2011, 09:43 AM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,378,541 times
Reputation: 13147
No, none of my friends are like that. I am early 30's. I don't know anyone who lived at home after college for more than a year. I did for 6 months after moving from NYC back to TX so I could pack away a down payment quickly. Most of my friends are either single making $80-200k or couples making $150-350/450k....lots of attorneys/ finance/ some drs/ middle to upper middle corporate management jobs, so I realize we aren't "average."
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Old 03-11-2011, 09:52 AM
 
3,398 posts, read 5,117,158 times
Reputation: 2422
I lived at home until I was 22 and looking back I think I should have been on my own sooner. My son is still at home at 20, but he is going to school and I think this is fine. I think if you work part time and are going to college it's OK to live with mom and dad, other than that maybe not.
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Old 03-11-2011, 01:16 PM
 
18 posts, read 21,569 times
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I'm in a similar situation, 30 and live with my sister. I drive a nice car but it's not 60% or more of my paycheck, more like 10%.

I can see the allure of living at home, you don't have to worry about much. Your parents take care of most things around the house and all you have to worry about is yourself. Living with my sister is similar since I'm essentially only home to sleep and go out most weekends.

I don't see an inherent problem there because I'm saving a ton and still having fun. I did have a place of my own but it didn't make sense to spend money on rent, utilities, etc when I was rarely ever home anyway. Of course, I would eventually get my own place when I get married or move in with my significant other. For now, my sister has plenty of room and I don't take up much space. Add to that the fact that I actually like living with family, it's not a big deal to me.

Home ownership isn't always the way to go if you have the chance to live somewhere rent free. Of course if you're the type of person that needs independence then sure go ahead or if you're parents are too overbearing.

Now it's probably not the best idea to live at home and spend all your money on cars and fun while not saving. At some point you have to grow up and be on your own since your parents aren't always going to be there.

It may also be a cultural thing. I find Asian cultures tend to favor living at home or with family whenever possible. I have a friend that even after marriage and a baby lives in one house with his parents because that's how their culture is. He helps out with the mortgage and he's fine being in the same house. Also the family is seen more as a single unit as opposed to kicking the kids out the second they turn 18 or placing the parents in nursing homes when they're much older.

I'm from the Philippines and in my small town there, it's common for kids to live with their parents well into their 20s when not married. Of course there's a difference between just living at home to save money and freeloading off of your parents.
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Old 03-11-2011, 01:21 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
127 posts, read 327,412 times
Reputation: 50
Quote:
Originally Posted by tsolin01 View Post
I'm in a similar situation, 30 and live with my sister. I drive a nice car but it's not 60% or more of my paycheck, more like 10%.

I can see the allure of living at home, you don't have to worry about much. Your parents take care of most things around the house and all you have to worry about is yourself. Living with my sister is similar since I'm essentially only home to sleep and go out most weekends.

I don't see an inherent problem there because I'm saving a ton and still having fun. I did have a place of my own but it didn't make sense to spend money on rent, utilities, etc when I was rarely ever home anyway. Of course, I would eventually get my own place when I get married or move in with my significant other. For now, my sister has plenty of room and I don't take up much space. Add to that the fact that I actually like living with family, it's not a big deal to me.

Home ownership isn't always the way to go if you have the chance to live somewhere rent free. Of course if you're the type of person that needs independence then sure go ahead or if you're parents are too overbearing.

Now it's probably not the best idea to live at home and spend all your money on cars and fun while not saving. At some point you have to grow up and be on your own since your parents aren't always going to be there.

It may also be a cultural thing. I find Asian cultures tend to favor living at home or with family whenever possible. I have a friend that even after marriage and a baby lives in one house with his parents because that's how their culture is. He helps out with the mortgage and he's fine being in the same house. Also the family is seen more as a single unit as opposed to kicking the kids out the second they turn 18 or placing the parents in nursing homes when they're much older.

I'm from the Philippines and in my small town there, it's common for kids to live with their parents well into their 20s when not married. Of course there's a difference between just living at home to save money and freeloading off of your parents.

I can understand where your coming from, and I lived with my parents until I was 20 and a half and I basically was only there to sleep, I stayed out weeknights and weekends, but now that I have my own place to myself and really like the place I live I find myself using my place for much more then just sleep I've become almost too much of a homebody, I enjoy my home and also my alone time.
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Old 03-11-2011, 01:31 PM
 
18 posts, read 21,569 times
Reputation: 48
I have lived by myself for awhile before and find it was a little lonely and boring sometimes being home alone.

My sister and her husband work nights so I actually only see them when they're off a couple times a week. The rest of the time, it seems like I live by myself anyway lol The only negative for me that I could see if I wanted to invite friends or my gf over.
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Old 03-11-2011, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
127 posts, read 327,412 times
Reputation: 50
Quote:
Originally Posted by tsolin01 View Post
I have lived by myself for awhile before and find it was a little lonely and boring sometimes being home alone.

My sister and her husband work nights so I actually only see them when they're off a couple times a week. The rest of the time, it seems like I live by myself anyway lol The only negative for me that I could see if I wanted to invite friends or my gf over.
lol that reminds me of when I was 20 living at home and so was my gf, alot of nights in her or my car, and weekends spending money on hotel rooms haha
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Old 03-11-2011, 01:50 PM
 
Location: Bradenton, Florida
27,232 posts, read 46,742,532 times
Reputation: 11089
If you can get that lucky, have at it. I couldn't get my parents to pay my way BEFORE I turned 18, much less afterwards. I had to get a job, and pay them rent out of what I earned. Basically took all of it.
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