controversial opinion: money & finances edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people on here save way too much for college. If you're able to save that much, you can probably pay some as you go as well. Let your kid pay for their own grad school.

Agreed

Make hay while the sun still shines. You never know when your money might leave, through a job loss, disability, death or other bad situation.

+ 1

Save now while you can.

Eh, if the money goes we qualify for financial aid. Right now we are paying daycare (3900/mo) and a mortgage (2000 Principal and interest) that will no longer exist when my kids are in college. If our income stays the same as it is right now, which isn't likely because we are in our 30s and will probably receive promotions and increases, that's $70K of cash flow that can be reallocated to college costs each year. Plus, it's not like we are spending all of our money every year. We are actually saving quite a bit. However we're putting it into retirement funds, paying down the mortgage, and general savings rather than earmarking it for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To add to the above, I think it's crazy when UMC get on the college forum and say "My kid got into X private college but we can't afford it. Wah wah wah. Life is so unfair for us UMC."

And it turns out they make like 300k.

Why weren't they saving all along? That's what I want to know. When you have a baby, the baby's needs come first. That means college savings before a big house or fancy vacations and cars, etc.

They probably have been saving all along. They also weren't making $300K or anything close to it 20 years ago; spent 5-10 years paying thousands of dollars a month for childcare; had student loans to pay off; other (disability, elderly parents, medical disaster, other).

The real question is, why is it ok for the increase in college costs to far outpace inflation?

College costs have increased along with the availability of student loans. The money is available so colleges keep adding expensive amenities and support staff. As long as 18 year olds are able to get massive amounts of non-dischargeable debt, the costs will not be reigned in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

I would call it prosperous. House, kids, and college. That's an American Dream right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To add to the above, I think it's crazy when UMC get on the college forum and say "My kid got into X private college but we can't afford it. Wah wah wah. Life is so unfair for us UMC."

And it turns out they make like 300k.

Why weren't they saving all along? That's what I want to know. When you have a baby, the baby's needs come first. That means college savings before a big house or fancy vacations and cars, etc.

They probably have been saving all along. They also weren't making $300K or anything close to it 20 years ago; spent 5-10 years paying thousands of dollars a month for childcare; had student loans to pay off; other (disability, elderly parents, medical disaster, other).

The real question is, why is it ok for the increase in college costs to far outpace inflation?

College costs have increased along with the availability of student loans. The money is available so colleges keep adding expensive amenities and support staff. As long as 18 year olds are able to get massive amounts of non-dischargeable debt, the costs will not be reigned in.

Agree.

So stop blaming the people who "fail to save." It is not that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

I would call it prosperous. House, kids, and college. That's an American Dream right there.

+1. Sorry the gilded yacht is still out of reach but that seems prosperous to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

This poster has no idea what life is like for most people. Expensive childcare options and full college savings is the definition of wiggle room. You really have to spend more time talking to poor, working poor, and middle class people. With this mentality you should have nothing but the utmost respect for working class people. I mean you should have nothing but the most respect and regard for the working class people and their struggles. Because you feel you have no wiggle room after health insurance, college and retirement savings. You may even have a company match helping you with retirement. You will fully fund your child’s education, which will give your child a huge advantage unavailable to most. Most people work very hard at jobs that will never support this type of security that you deem the minimum with no “wiggle room.” Wiggle room for what? The things you have already accounted for are the things that most see as what they wish they had wiggle room to save for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

On what planet is that “just scraping by”? This is a totally UMC lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people on here save way too much for college. If you're able to save that much, you can probably pay some as you go as well. Let your kid pay for their own grad school.

Agreed

Make hay while the sun still shines. You never know when your money might leave, through a job loss, disability, death or other bad situation.

+ 1

Save now while you can.

Eh, if the money goes we qualify for financial aid. Right now we are paying daycare (3900/mo) and a mortgage (2000 Principal and interest) that will no longer exist when my kids are in college. If our income stays the same as it is right now, which isn't likely because we are in our 30s and will probably receive promotions and increases, that's $70K of cash flow that can be reallocated to college costs each year. Plus, it's not like we are spending all of our money every year. We are actually saving quite a bit. However we're putting it into retirement funds, paying down the mortgage, and general savings rather than earmarking it for college.

I feel the same way. We are putting money away for college, but I don’t know why there is so much pressure about it. We had nothing saved for daycare when our incomes were considerably lower, and we were still paying mortgage, car, student loans, etc.

But then you have to remember that a lot of dcum has children much later in life. So when their kids are born, they are in the place in their careers that I will be when my kids go to college. And when their kids go to college, they will be starting to look at retirement. So in that case, of course it makes sense to save a ton for college.

[Anonymous]

Health "insurance" should resemble actual insurance, i.e., you pay premiums to buy a policy that covers you in the event of a health incident or accident. If you want well care after the age of 18 or so, pay for it yourself. Your homeowner's policy doesn't cover the cost to clean out your gutters and your car insurance doesn't cover changing the oil. Health insurance should be more or less the same.

Also, people should be allowed to purchase "subprime" that provide limited coverage and/or don't cover pre-existing conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people on here save way too much for college. If you're able to save that much, you can probably pay some as you go as well. Let your kid pay for their own grad school.

Agreed

Make hay while the sun still shines. You never know when your money might leave, through a job loss, disability, death or other bad situation.

+ 1

Save now while you can.

Eh, if the money goes we qualify for financial aid. Right now we are paying daycare (3900/mo) and a mortgage (2000 Principal and interest) that will no longer exist when my kids are in college. If our income stays the same as it is right now, which isn't likely because we are in our 30s and will probably receive promotions and increases, that's $70K of cash flow that can be reallocated to college costs each year. Plus, it's not like we are spending all of our money every year. We are actually saving quite a bit. However we're putting it into retirement funds, paying down the mortgage, and general savings rather than earmarking it for college.

I feel the same way. We are putting money away for college, but I don’t know why there is so much pressure about it. We had nothing saved for daycare when our incomes were considerably lower, and we were still paying mortgage, car, student loans, etc.

But then you have to remember that a lot of dcum has children much later in life. So when their kids are born, they are in the place in their careers that I will be when my kids go to college. And when their kids go to college, they will be starting to look at retirement. So in that case, of course it makes sense to save a ton for college.

I think this is also an anxiety of the well-off. My parents saved hard for college but I was still eligible for 50% need based financial aid at a great school, and we considered ourselves comfortably middle class. I will save as much as I can and try to help my kids navigate the world of financial aid - if my income goes up so much we're not eligible, that would be extra money on top of our current budget and we would be very blessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Health "insurance" should resemble actual insurance, i.e., you pay premiums to buy a policy that covers you in the event of a health incident or accident. If you want well care after the age of 18 or so, pay for it yourself. Your homeowner's policy doesn't cover the cost to clean out your gutters and your car insurance doesn't cover changing the oil. Health insurance should be more or less the same.

Also, people should be allowed to purchase "subprime" that provide limited coverage and/or don't cover pre-existing conditions.

Agreed. And all healthcare should be tax deductible, not just health insurance premiums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people on here save way too much for college. If you're able to save that much, you can probably pay some as you go as well. Let your kid pay for their own grad school.

Agreed

Make hay while the sun still shines. You never know when your money might leave, through a job loss, disability, death or other bad situation.

+ 1

Save now while you can.

Eh, if the money goes we qualify for financial aid. Right now we are paying daycare (3900/mo) and a mortgage (2000 Principal and interest) that will no longer exist when my kids are in college. If our income stays the same as it is right now, which isn't likely because we are in our 30s and will probably receive promotions and increases, that's $70K of cash flow that can be reallocated to college costs each year. Plus, it's not like we are spending all of our money every year. We are actually saving quite a bit. However we're putting it into retirement funds, paying down the mortgage, and general savings rather than earmarking it for college.

I feel the same way. We are putting money away for college, but I don’t know why there is so much pressure about it. We had nothing saved for daycare when our incomes were considerably lower, and we were still paying mortgage, car, student loans, etc.

But then you have to remember that a lot of dcum has children much later in life. So when their kids are born, they are in the place in their careers that I will be when my kids go to college. And when their kids go to college, they will be starting to look at retirement. So in that case, of course it makes sense to save a ton for college.

I think this is also an anxiety of the well-off. My parents saved hard for college but I was still eligible for 50% need based financial aid at a great school, and we considered ourselves comfortably middle class. I will save as much as I can and try to help my kids navigate the world of financial aid - if my income goes up so much we're not eligible, that would be extra money on top of our current budget and we would be very blessed.

Well, it wouldn’t be on top of your current budget. It would be going to your child’s school. Plus you would be working additional hours and taking on additional responsibilities to increase your income without any benefit to your family. #blessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

I would. We don't have a house and aren't really able to save for college. They sound pretty prosperous to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who makes $200k plus and is "scraping by" has poor judgment.

So is having two kids poor judgment? Because the average daycare in this area is $2,100. Per child. You can probably find a cheap nanny for $3k per month. Let’s say your mortgage is at least $3k. You also need to save at least $500 per month per kid in a 529. This means you have $7k of fixed expenses and you probably bring home around $10k per month.

That being said, I waited until I was older to have kids and we make way more than 200k. But I absolutely understand why once you have kids in this area it’s hard to get by on 200k and have anything leftover unless you want to live with your family in a one bedroom apartment, not save for college etc. Having one parent quit working only helps in the short term and will screw you in retirement.

This is literally absurd. You have just desceived a prosperous UMC life with home ownership, kids, and substantial savings. Listen to yourself.

Well there’s almost no wiggle room in the budget for this prosperous UMC family. Almost all of their income is going towards college costs, childcare and their mortgage. I wouldn’t call that prosperous.

There is vast expanse btw "prosperous" and "scraping by".