400k and still be broke?

[ponyo]

House maintenance probably includes someone cleaning and lawn/garden. In a big place I can see that much being spent. 24k property taxes is pretty cheap. A 300-350K house can hit that in my county.

Yikes! I complain about my property tax and homeowners insurance. I can't imagine having paid off house and still paying $24k a year on property taxes. I would move before paying that. That's just crazy.

 

[JoeyM]

Those numbers aren't really that far off reality. My property maintenance (4 acres) is over $15k/yr. My maid gets paid $100/wk. I have a heated pool and along with AC my electric bill was over $500 last month and my yearly oil bill for heat is over $5k/yr. I have 4 kids and took them to Universal for 1 week last winter, we stayed at a Universal property and ate out every night. Along with air fare, it definitely cost more than $10k. I won't even get into how much my summer house cost to maintain. Although I live well, I'm not rich the way most of you think of as rich.
Joe M.

 

[brianmanahan]

24k property taxes is pretty cheap. A 300-350K house can hit that in my county.

holy crapppp

350k houses here get taxed at maybe 4-5$k

i am looking at a 100$k house with less than 1.5$k property tax

 

[brianmanahan]

12/17/2011 26521 BMW 2011 Navigation Maps 209.95
12/17/2011 26723 Ernie Bello Motorsport Alignment 169.00
01/06/2012 27869 Vista BMW Oil Change and Inspection for warranty 217.08
05/09/2012 34212 eBay ZCP Steering Trim (NIB) 187.00
05/09/2012 34212 ECSTuning misc fasteners, ashtray 175.77
07/18/2012 38071 Foreign Affairs Motorsport
Inspection I plus plugs, sunroof felt, CDV remove, seal rearend, PS expansion hose 2690.43
07/18/2012 38071 Enterprise Rental Rental Car for Inspection I, five days 225.99
07/25/2012 38119 ECSTuning M3 Driver Door Sill, Inner Sill Covers, Driver's Seat Track Trim, B Pillars, Dead Pedal 304.26
08/02/2012 38660 Foreign Affairs Motorsport Front Brake Rotors, Front and Rear Pads (Textar ePAD), Front and Rear Sensors 1057.46


I drove a lot, 2006 M3 ZCP purchased with about 26400 on the clock and saw BMW every 2-4k of it's life prior to me buying it for simple inspections and the like.

thank you alky for providing some numbers for the study

dang, that's an expensive car

 

[xaeniac]

400k income most on Anandtech understand how this would not be enough. As most of ATOT pay over 400k in taxes.

 

[alkemyst]

thank you alky for providing some numbers for the study

dang, that's an expensive car

People like to clown on me about my M3. I drove A LOT when I sold it 4/2013 I put on 25000 miles in a 18 months plus drove it like it was supposed to be driven.

600 miles in 6 hours to have dinner with my fiancee with two stops for gas

 

[alkemyst]

holy crapppp

350k houses here get taxed at maybe 4-5$k

i am looking at a 100$k house with less than 1.5$k property tax

About $150k here, is $4k in tax inland. If it was on the coast (a $200k house wouldn't even be built there) would be $12k.

 

[SketchMaster]

I feel bad if I spend more than $250/mo on groceries, and I shop at sprouts/WFM.

This list is insane, is this really how we American's have conditioned ourselves to spend money?! How about buy a 500K house just outside the city (more than enough for a four head household), buy a good used minivan, and stop buying caviar every week. Then take all that other money and find some good ways to save/invest it for your future.

Jesus.

 

[alkemyst]

I feel bad if I spend more than $250/mo on groceries, and I shop at sprouts/WFM.

This list is insane, is this really how we American's have conditioned ourselves to spend money?! How about buy a 500K house just outside the city (more than enough for a four head household), buy a good used minivan, and stop buying caviar every week. Then take all that other money and find some good ways to save/invest it for your future.

Jesus.

I think the assumption is 2 parents and 2 kids for that grocery bill...maybe 3 kids.

If you make a ton of cash and are social you have to keep up or be excluded.

If you choose to live private, then you can save a lot of money.

 

[rpanic]

A pet tiger costs about 10k in groceries a year, that and a lot of parties could easily explain the grocery bill.

 

[jlee]

24k in property taxes are cheap. Our taxes are 16k and home value about 600k (and we are only in a typical colonial).

home maintenance at $25k/yr? If you're lazy and outsource EVERYTHING maybe.

utilities at $15k/yr? Way overestimated considering that's $1250/mo.

If you make $400k/yr and don't care where the money goes, then yeah you could spend that much... because you couldn't care less. And that's on you.

LOL.

My property taxes are $670/yr. $160k house.

Then again, they're estimating more in mortgage payments than my annual gross income.

I'm also not stressed. :awe:

 

[alkemyst]

LOL.

My property taxes are $670/yr. $160k house.

Then again, they're estimating more in mortgage payments than my annual gross income.

I'm also not stressed. :awe:

You aren't making $400k.

 

[master_shake_]

600 a week in groceries?

the fuck you bathe in evian or some shit?

 

[jlee]

You aren't making $400k.

Good to hear you agree with my post.

 

[jagec]

If you make a ton of cash and are social you have to keep up or be excluded.

Depends on who you choose to be social with, I would say. As you imply, people who are comfortable with $100 nights on the town aren't usually hanging out with people who like $10 or $1000 nights on the town. But that's spending, which isn't directly related to income, and certainly not to total assets.

 

[brianmanahan]

i see some potential in this thread

to deliver massive LOLs

 

[alkemyst]

Depends on who you choose to be social with, I would say. As you imply, people who are comfortable with $100 nights on the town aren't usually hanging out with people who like $10 or $1000 nights on the town. But that's spending, which isn't directly related to income, and certainly not to total assets.

At $1000 per night that certainly is related to income.

Unless you are assuming credit fraud.

I spend about $100 per night on average...I can't do 1000, however I am sure those that do 100 per night mix with the 1000 setters.

$10 is under the radar.

 

[Wuzup101]

People like to clown on me about my M3. I drove A LOT when I sold it 4/2013 I put on 25000 miles in a 18 months plus drove it like it was supposed to be driven.

600 miles in 6 hours to have dinner with my fiancee with two stops for gas

Thanks for the post. I knew the inspection 1/2 services weren't cheep on them but that's really not too bad. Was your diff seal leaking? Also what's with all the interior trim items? Lol I've never heard of anyone having to replace a dead pedal! Glad it was driven as it was intended.

On an on topic note... This thread gives me ideas on how to blow money! I need to increase my food consumption drastically and hire a devoted maintenance man to unclog my shitter!

 

[alkemyst]

Thanks for the post. I knew the inspection 1/2 services weren't cheep on them but that's really not too bad. Was your diff seal leaking? Also what's with all the interior trim items? Lol I've never heard of anyone having to replace a dead pedal! Glad it was driven as it was intended.

On an on topic note... This thread gives me ideas on how to blow money! I need to increase my food consumption drastically and hire a devoted maintenance man to unclog my shitter!

My diff was leaking...it was blowing a coating under the car.


The interior trim is my thing...I like my cars to look new. The dead pedal issue was due to the previous owner having something on his shoe that scratched it up.

 

[rh71]

Yes, I read The Millionaire Next Door. I don't agree with much of it. People work and build wealth but they continue to work like crazy. You said life is enjoying every day but where is that? Where is that in your example of driving your Honda (why even mention it)? If you don't like cars, that's fine but how is it applicable to everyone else?

Our kids will do just fine with whatever we give them. My brother and I are on my parents' will for over a mil and my parents didn't have to live frugally. We already make more than them. Cars bought with cash and the only debt is a moderate mortgage. Our kids will be fine. There was an article that stated people in NY will be no happier if they make more than $99k/year, household: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/map-happiness-benchmark_n_5592194.html?cps=gravity - and that's one of the higher states. We enjoy pretty much everything other than the high taxes here. Beach, food, proximity to a big city, etc. Who needs some vast amount of wealth and to build upon it from generation to generation? People who like to hoard money perhaps? Or brag about their wealth on an internet board? We don't care about money as much as we care about enjoying it.

Way too much over-generalization. You paint yourself as set for life and assume people who aren't like you must be having a terrible time of it. What a joke. What's the point in making money and not spending it? That's the line I had running through my head for the duration of reading that stupid book. And then I returned it so I could get my $5 back.

I work from home and didn't need daycare either. We put them in for the social aspects of it when they were 3/4. Now I take care of them for "aftercare" - I enjoy that too. We're in a top school district paying $16k taxes and drive a nice "care". Still living comfortably in a nice area. So many broad strokes of bullshit in your head. Believe you're better than everyone, that'll get you places. No, I'm not talking about money. You know what's "pretty sad really"? Openly judging others when you know exactly nothing about them.

Yeah, the guy in the M3 is enjoying his life so much more in stop/go traffic going to work.

Life is about enjoying every day, but it's also about making sure you can enjoy retirement and make sure you set your kids up to have a better life than you did. Wealth creation isn't done by buying expensive cars when you could invest the money. It figures though, you live in LI, that mentality is pervasive there.

I don't work with a single person who leases their cars and the average salary is probably ~350k. Top is in the several million. The most expensive car is a Panamera S Turbo. Most people who make ~500k drive Hondas, of the senior PMs, two drive Pilots, another drives an S4. That's it. One drives a 15yr old CRV. It's because they realize that wealth, and "enjoyment" isn't encapsulated in a depreciating asset that has no real utility beyond conveyance.

Part of the problem with America today is that too many people think like you. The big wealth aggregators are gone or are getting old, what remains are the short-term thinkers who would rather spend money than build it, enjoy it, and then pass it along to more aggregators who aren't spoiled but are driven to push forward.

Too many Paris Hiltons and not enough JP Morgans.

As far as child care - I've got that solved - my wife stays home. She could make more than we would pay in child care (Although with 4, who knows), but it's better than handing our kids off and letting somebody else raise them.

But too many people are too focused on their M3 than raising kids, or affording child care, or having a spouse stay home and raising kids. It's all "me me me me me". I know a number of people who would rather send their kids to a worse ranked school, pay less in property taxes, and drive a "nice" care. "me me me me me". Pretty sad really.

 

[Sonikku]

It ain't easy being a job creator.

 

[Genx87]

$25k into a house is easy. And I have ever only owned small modest houses. At my first house, I put $35k into it over five years. In my current house, it has been $26k in three years.

What are you putting into the home for "maintenance"? I'm not talking about renovation.

 

[Genx87]

The article only highlights how poorly people manage their money. "modest" contributions to the 401k? I've maxed out my 401k contribution for the last 7 years. We also put a ton of money into 529s, IRAs, and have a pretty large rainy day fund. It isn't all that hard to do for somebody making even 150k. That's even with a huge amount of student loans.

But this is how people get trapped in their imagined wealth - I see it all of the time. People think a 60k car is wealth and exemplifies "doing well" (like the idiot here that supposedly bought an M3). I laugh at them while driving my Accord. I'll retire at 55 and pay for my 4 kids entire college without taking out loans. They'll be working into their late 60s and their kids will be shackled with student loans.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

I max out my 401k + Roth and add another 5K and dont make anywhere near 150k\year. It is possible to do on a salary much lower than that. But it takes discipline to not go out and buy expensive cars, every cable package available, the highest cost cell phone plan and not hit the bars\eat out 3 times a week.

 

[Genx87]

Yeah, the guy in the M3 is enjoying his life so much more in stop/go traffic going to work.

Life is about enjoying every day, but it's also about making sure you can enjoy retirement and make sure you set your kids up to have a better life than you did. Wealth creation isn't done by buying expensive cars when you could invest the money. It figures though, you live in LI, that mentality is pervasive there.

I don't work with a single person who leases their cars and the average salary is probably ~350k. Top is in the several million. The most expensive car is a Panamera S Turbo. Most people who make ~500k drive Hondas, of the senior PMs, two drive Pilots, another drives an S4. That's it. One drives a 15yr old CRV. It's because they realize that wealth, and "enjoyment" isn't encapsulated in a depreciating asset that has no real utility beyond conveyance.

Part of the problem with America today is that too many people think like you. The big wealth aggregators are gone or are getting old, what remains are the short-term thinkers who would rather spend money than build it, enjoy it, and then pass it along to more aggregators who aren't spoiled but are driven to push forward.

Too many Paris Hiltons and not enough JP Morgans.

As far as child care - I've got that solved - my wife stays home. She could make more than we would pay in child care (Although with 4, who knows), but it's better than handing our kids off and letting somebody else raise them.

But too many people are too focused on their M3 than raising kids, or affording child care, or having a spouse stay home and raising kids. It's all "me me me me me". I know a number of people who would rather send their kids to a worse ranked school, pay less in property taxes, and drive a "nice" care. "me me me me me". Pretty sad really.

I grew up with a guy who came from serious money. Never in my life would had guessed the net worth of his family. Why? Because they had a modest house and drove a plymouth voyager. They were also the nicest people you can imagine. And their children all worked hard to build their own lives. No hand me downs.

I agree with you 110% that people spend spend spend for the short term without realizing for the future. Cars are probably the worst example of short term thinking. Go buy a 60K car that is worth 20K in 5 year. There are much better ways to spend 40K than to drive it into the ground.

 

[Genx87]

Nope you're just a fucktard who is too quick to throw out insults. I am looking at the video with 1 goal in mind: Minimize monthly expenses so that the 400K can go further. If you rent you will have more money in your pocket vs paying a mortgage, paying property tax, paying property insurance, and paying for annual housing maintenance.

I am NOT factoring in future housing price appreciation and housing-related tax itemization. If you're looking at end-game then yeah, buy the house and go that route.

Really? Renting is a terrible way to live for a longer term situation. You are paying the land owners mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, and their cash flow. For that you get what at the end of your lease? Anything you can rent you can pay less if you owned.