Networth Doesn't Mean Much in DC it seems

[Anonymous]

I don't understand - what are you doing with income from the rental properties if you are also making $300k? Is there some private school tuition in there somewhere that eats up $100k after taxes? Yes, with your HHI and at your ages, you should have more in 529s. IMHO.

You could also just plan to sell one of your rental properties to pay for college when the time comes. I don't know if that math works (i.e. if your rental properties are $200k or $100k), but it's certainly an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are fiscally conservative and try to save as much as possible. We are 40 years old and work hard. Our HHI is about 300K and networth is about $2 million. Yet we don't live that lifestyle. It feels in DC it doesn't go far at all. We have a cleaning service that comes in once a month. We go out to eat at mom and pop restaurants (so nothing fancy). We drive and Corolla (3 years old) and Sienna (9 years old). I still worry a lot about funding kids 529s. We have 2 kids that will be heading to college in about 9 years and so far we have only been able to fund about $67k in total (for both kids). There is no way that we will be able to pay for the kids college fully. On paper we looks good.

Bet you don't work as hard as the people who clean your house.

On paper you look good because you are very wealthy by US standards, and unimaginably wealthy by global standards.

What you need is a perspective adjustment.

You have no idea how hard she works, as if every person with some money got lucky.


As for global standards - that is the most irrelevant argument ever.

More populist bullshit - same old thing here - be ashamed OP, you have money. Don't talk about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When pensions disappeared people must save almost half of their earnings for retirement. The biggest pay cut in history.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When pensions disappeared people must save almost half of their earnings for retirement. The biggest pay cut in history.

+1,000,000

Right. but you don't have to stay at one job for 20 years anymore to collect - you have the freedom to move and get another, higher paying job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel your pain. I think u should do the following -

1) Sell Sienna and buy a Corrola OR sell sienna and use metro.

2) Sell your house and move to a small townhouse for half the price

3) Do not go for any vacations

4) Cook all your meals - DO. NOT, EAT. OUT. AT. ALL.

5) Shop only in dollar stores

6) Grow your own produce

7) Cancel the house cleaning service.

8) Cancel Cable, newspaper, subsciptions.

9) Buy all clothes from Goodwill.

You can do it OP, you can do it!

Best of lucj

Don't forget to cut your own hair!

[Anonymous]

Op I think you need a financial planner. Why do you think you cant pay for college with all that?

[Anonymous]

My net worth is 7x yours but I too feel poor compared to friends who have a net worth 10x + mine. It's all perspective. Stop comparing yourself to other people. You're doing very well.

Get laser-focused on your own priorities and run the calculations to see at your rate of savings if you'll reach your retirement goals. If so... just carry on.

[Anonymous]

I think the PP is right, please be happy with what you do have and stop worrying about the things you lack. I am well off, yes, but still an inconsequential financial speck compared to those hedge fund managers who put down $60 million for a NYC apartment on a whim, or the foreign billionaire who owns properties in each of the world's greatest cities. I am not the world's most intelligent, successful, or most beautiful either - but I do not spend a moment worrying about those things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel your pain. I think u should do the following -

1) Sell Sienna and buy a Corrola OR sell sienna and use metro.

2) Sell your house and move to a small townhouse for half the price

3) Do not go for any vacations

4) Cook all your meals - DO. NOT, EAT. OUT. AT. ALL.

5) Shop only in dollar stores

6) Grow your own produce

7) Cancel the house cleaning service.

8) Cancel Cable, newspaper, subsciptions.

9) Buy all clothes from Goodwill.

You can do it OP, you can do it!

Best of lucj

Don't forget to cut your own hair!

OP should also take in a few renters. And possibly turn tricks in the Whole Food parking lot during lunch hour.

[Anonymous]

Would somebody please give all these poor $300K people an EXTRA $300K so they can finally feel rich?

But don't you dare save it all, $300K people! Stop investing in real estate and stuffing your retirement/529 accounts. Go out and buy ostentatious jewelry, get fancy haircuts every damn day of the week, have your housecleaners start using Frette sheets just to clean your toilets, and bedazzle your entire house in diamonds so you can finally feel as though you're living the life you should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More my diamond shoes are too tight. Lol.

Gbcn?

[Anonymous]

Something is not adding up here. You make 300k, have a net worth of over 2 m, and yet still worry about taking a nice vacation or putting money aside for kids' college? What *do* you spend money on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something is not adding up here. You make 300k, have a net worth of over 2 m, and yet still worry about taking a nice vacation or putting money aside for kids' college? What *do* you spend money on?

Hookers and blow obviously.

[Anonymous]

I have a question and I am NOT being snarky but I am ready with my body armor for all of the insults I am sure I am about to receive! Why does everyone feel they must pay for ALL of their childrens' college tuition? I certainly WISH my parents had been able to pay for mine and I am sure they wished they could have footed the bill for me too, but they could not. I went to a private, relatively expensive university, had some scholarships and a tiny bit of financial aid but the rest I paid for myself with hefty student loans (which I paid off by the time I was 26 and it was the happiest day of my life)! I also worked while in college and played sports, etc. and somehow managed to graduate at the top of my class (i.e. just pointing out that my grades did not suffer, I played Division 1 sports, had a job, and still paid for most of my tuition on my own).

It seems reading these threads of people being stressed about money that most SEEM to be stressed about college tuition. What is wrong with having the kids participate? Again, no snark, just a question.

[Anonymous]

I have a question and I am NOT being snarky but I am ready with my body armor for all of the insults I am sure I am about to receive! Why does everyone feel they must pay for ALL of their childrens' college tuition? I certainly WISH my parents had been able to pay for mine and I am sure they wished they could have footed the bill for me too, but they could not. I went to a private, relatively expensive university, had some scholarships and a tiny bit of financial aid but the rest I paid for myself with hefty student loans (which I paid off by the time I was 26 and it was the happiest day of my life)! I also worked while in college and played sports, etc. and somehow managed to graduate at the top of my class (i.e. just pointing out that my grades did not suffer, I played Division 1 sports, had a job, and still paid for most of my tuition on my own).

It seems reading these threads of people being stressed about money that most SEEM to be stressed about college tuition. What is wrong with having the kids participate? Again, no snark, just a question.

There's nothing wrong with it, but of course if you have the means, it is a huge leg up in life for people to not have debt, or have enough debt so they can pay it off by the time they are 26. And college is more expensive than it was when you went to college, so footing all but, say, 20K of debt is still a lot of savings, since that probably won't even cover tuition plus room and board at a state college for a year. Also, I have met a lot of recent graduates who look for over a year for a job after graduating and cannot begin to make payments until then--or are laid off since the economy is crappy.

Also, if you have large loans, sometimes it keeps people from pursuing graduate degrees like M.D.s or J.D.s I mean, you basically need to take out 200K of loans to become a medical doctor, and if you have 50K or whatever of undergraduate debt...that is a LOT of student loan debt to deal with.