3602
Banned at his own request
- Joined
- May 30, 2009
- Posts
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- 37
Rich: If you have more than enough money to fulfill your basic needs (food, water, shelter), you're rich.
Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif It takes $47,500 to be on the top 1% in the world. As stated by others it depends on your total net worth and where you are located. |
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wealth is not about Dollar amounts. I've seen people with mid six-figure incomes blow loads of it on cars and clothing (horrible way to spend money; you get almost nothing from them unless you buy antiques and classics), the housing bubble, and lots of meaningless crap. Wealth is not having to worry about money and contentment with what you have. I feel lucky. Thanks to the job, we're buying a house for cash in the next week or two. My car will be paid off in 2-3 months, and I have a spare car and motorcycle, also paid for. The house, cars and bike are nothing fancy, but they're all reliable and fun. I'll also pick up 3-4 rental units this year, and more as they turn up. I'm 37 now and expect to retire around 45. |
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif It won't be with a Gulfstream or a private yacht, but I will consider myself much better off than those who bust it 12 hours a day and blow big money on stuff with little value. For me, 30-40 years of sleeping in, tinkering with my hobbies and travel is worth more than 30-40 years of earning $500k a year and spending $500k a year with little return on the expense. You really don't need that much to get by once your house and vehicles are paid off and you have some unearned income. I already have a good set of kitchen gear and know how to cook. I can eat exceptionally well for $10-$15 a day. Travel is relatively cheap if you go off-season and are content (I am) with local family-run hotels. Movies, music and books are cheap and plenty entertaining. DIY projects are reasonable, too, and I have the tools already. Also, a lot of luxury goods simply aren't worth it. A lot of the fancy stuff comes with hideous repair/maintenance bills and depreciates rapidly. Buying quality used goods and DIY give you the same level of performance (if not better) while saving huge amountsof money. The worst thing to me is paying interest on a depreciating asset. Take a close look at what you buy. Consider the interest you pay and what the asset will be worth in time. You can spend $35k on a new BMW plus interest. Over ten years, you'll probably be $50k in and have a $5k asset. If you buy a 1957 Thunderbird for $35k, odds are it will be worth $35k or more in ten years. Heck, I paid $700 for my motorcycle, and I could sell it for $1k or more. If it becomes collectible (possible), then I might get $4k or $5k for it ten years out. I paid $800 for my other car about 20 years ago. It would fetch about $5k now. In other words, I get the utility from these assets and won't lose anything. Anyhow, take a hard look at what you spend and what those assets are ultimately worth. Forget marketing, forget hype and forget fashion. If your income is greater than what you spend, it is possible to retire early, own non-depreciating assets and enjoy the rest of your life. |
Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Erik, what job do you have? |
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif long quote |
Originally Posted by skyline889 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think mortgages are getting a worse rap than they should. With interest rates as low as they are right now, it almost doesn't make sense to pay in cash if you have the assets available to do so. If you have good credit, you can get financing as low as 5% APR. If you make the right investments, you can easily earn 6% after taxes. Hypothetically, say you were to buy a $600,000 home and put $150,000 down. At 6% a year, compounded over 30 years, you'd be able to take that $450,000 and turn it in to almost $2,600,000. By foregoing the 30 year mortgage, you'd only be saving yourself $420,000 (Interest payments at 5% APR). $2,600,000 vs $420,000 and don't forget the interest from the mortgage is tax deductible. Why is it so terrible for people to work hard for what they find enjoyable? Not working 60-70 hrs a week may be more important to you, but that's not to say that this is true for everyone else. I'm not saying anyone wants to work that much, but if the trade-off is being able to afford the things you've been dreaming about since you were 8, some are willing to do it. While I do agree that buying used or buying classics is technically a better investment, not everyone aspires to own a '57 Thunderbird or a '67 Corvette. If someone has always dreamed of walking into a Mercedes or a Ferrari dealership and coming out with a brand-new, shiny car, who's to begrudge them for working to achieve that? |
Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Same thing with cars - What. People always want to have a "brand new" car. Almost everyone of my young friends has sunk tens of thousands of dollars into a loan on a new car, just cause they wanted something new. |
Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not gonna begrudge you that. You can have your new $50,000 C-Class. I'll take a last-generation C63 AMG for a lot less. Or an ooooold E500 for almost nothing. We'll see who has more fun with their car |
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wealth is not about Dollar amounts. I've seen people with mid six-figure incomes blow loads of it on cars and clothing (horrible way to spend money; you get almost nothing from them unless you buy antiques and classics), the housing bubble, and lots of meaningless crap. Wealth is not having to worry about money and contentment with what you have. I feel lucky. Thanks to the job, we're buying a house for cash in the next week or two. My car will be paid off in 2-3 months, and I have a spare car and motorcycle, also paid for. The house, cars and bike are nothing fancy, but they're all reliable and fun. I'll also pick up 3-4 rental units this year, and more as they turn up. I'm 37 now and expect to retire around 45. It won't be with a Gulfstream or a private yacht, but I will consider myself much better off than those who bust it 12 hours a day and blow big money on stuff with little value. For me, 30-40 years of sleeping in, tinkering with my hobbies and travel is worth more than 30-40 years of earning $500k a year and spending $500k a year with little return on the expense. You really don't need that much to get by once your house and vehicles are paid off and you have some unearned income. I already have a good set of kitchen gear and know how to cook. I can eat exceptionally well for $10-$15 a day. Travel is relatively cheap if you go off-season and are content (I am) with local family-run hotels. Movies, music and books are cheap and plenty entertaining. DIY projects are reasonable, too, and I have the tools already. Also, a lot of luxury goods simply aren't worth it. A lot of the fancy stuff comes with hideous repair/maintenance bills and depreciates rapidly. Buying quality used goods and DIY give you the same level of performance (if not better) while saving huge amountsof money. The worst thing to me is paying interest on a depreciating asset. Take a close look at what you buy. Consider the interest you pay and what the asset will be worth in time. You can spend $35k on a new BMW plus interest. Over ten years, you'll probably be $50k in and have a $5k asset. If you buy a 1957 Thunderbird for $35k, odds are it will be worth $35k or more in ten years. Heck, I paid $700 for my motorcycle, and I could sell it for $1k or more. If it becomes collectible (possible), then I might get $4k or $5k for it ten years out. I paid $800 for my other car about 20 years ago. It would fetch about $5k now. In other words, I get the utility from these assets and won't lose anything. Anyhow, take a hard look at what you spend and what those assets are ultimately worth. Forget marketing, forget hype and forget fashion. If your income is greater than what you spend, it is possible to retire early, own non-depreciating assets and enjoy the rest of your life. |