It has got to be kids' stats. Everyone has a 1550 SAT, 4.0+ GPA and multiple EC leadership roles. I know many kids in this area are high achievers, but everyone?

I don't think as many people are lying as you may think, but I agree with other posters that the types of people who tend to respond skew answers. For example, we have a very high HHI, but I can't really talk about it with friends or family because it's so disproportionate. DH is a hedge fund manager, so they know that we have a high income but they have no idea HOW high. We keep a fairly typical lifestyle around the level of a biglaw partner and just have very high savings. I will jump into discussions here about money because it's the only time I feel comfortable talking about it, and it can be helpful to have an outside voice willing to challenge me (to put it mildly, in DCUM's case). While some DCUM posters use the forum to be catty and snotty, I assume many of those people would be lovely in real life and just use the forum as a safe place to air out their worst tendencies. Additionally, DCUM attracts a pretty highly-educated, wealthy crowd, so naturally the incomes will skew higher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always apply the same logic as when people talk about the number of sexual partners.

I automatically subtract 30% of what they're claiming.

Regarding sexual partners: -30% for men...I would add 30% for women

Why?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only liars I sense are the ones who claim to make $2M + a year and still feel MC/don’t have enough/worry about retirement, etc.

That’s just ridiculous.

I’ll play:

After tax $1m
Mortgage/upkeep on main house: $100k
Second home: $50k
Transportation: $35k
Private for 3 kids: $160k
Clothing: $25k
Travel: $50k
Kids activities $20k
Groceries: $25k
Wine: $20k
Country Club: $20k
Eating out: $30k

It’s gone fast.

Troll

Answering OPs question: I know I'm honest, for assets I just look at the spread sheet I've got and maybe just round the numbers.
For spending, I have cc that I do different types of spending on so it's also pretty easy to give an honest estimate. We're pretty frugal for the area so I would guess some people might think we're lying.

But my guess is that there are about 30-50% of people who just throw a number out there that's meant to be roughly honest without thinking through the complexity. If I had to throw out numbers based on my gut rather than my spreadsheet/cc statements I know I'd be way off.

I would think only a few percent flat out lie, because why bother? It's not that interesting/fun of a forum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only liars I sense are the ones who claim to make $2M + a year and still feel MC/don’t have enough/worry about retirement, etc.

That’s just ridiculous.

I’ll play:

After tax $1m
Mortgage/upkeep on main house: $100k
Second home: $50k
Transportation: $35k
Private for 3 kids: $160k
Clothing: $25k
Travel: $50k
Kids activities $20k
Groceries: $25k
Wine: $20k
Country Club: $20k
Eating out: $30k

It’s gone fast.

It’s not gone based on these numbers. You are spending $540 if my math is correct. You have another $460 to save or spend.

Well, I mislead about some stuff to cover my identity. I assume lots of people I know are on this site. Maybe I suggest I live in Virginia instead of Maryland. Or that I'm a lawyer at big law or investments are in stock market, not real estate.

I keep it real about the level of wealth. If I want to compare experiences with others of similar situation, it doesn't makes sense to inflate my networth or income.

Everyone on here lies about their debt levels unless they are talking about student loans. You might think credit card debt doesn't exist in the DC area from reading this forum.

Anonymous wrote:I always apply the same logic as when people talk about the number of sexual partners.

I automatically subtract 30% of what they're claiming.

Regarding sexual partners: -30% for men...I would add 30% for women

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only liars I sense are the ones who claim to make $2M + a year and still feel MC/don’t have enough/worry about retirement, etc.

That’s just ridiculous.

I’ll play:

After tax $1m
Mortgage/upkeep on main house: $100k
Second home: $50k
Transportation: $35k
Private for 3 kids: $160k
Clothing: $25k
Travel: $50k
Kids activities $20k
Groceries: $25k
Wine: $20k
Country Club: $20k
Eating out: $30k

It’s gone fast.

That’s hysterical. It’s gone fast because you’re spending it fast, on rich people things. You’re rich. I’m usually pretty sympathetic towards people feeling MC but this is just silly.

Anonymous wrote:The only liars I sense are the ones who claim to make $2M + a year and still feel MC/don’t have enough/worry about retirement, etc.

That’s just ridiculous.

I’ll play:

After tax $1m
Mortgage/upkeep on main house: $100k
Second home: $50k
Transportation: $35k
Private for 3 kids: $160k
Clothing: $25k
Travel: $50k
Kids activities $20k
Groceries: $25k
Wine: $20k
Country Club: $20k
Eating out: $30k

It’s gone fast.

I have no idea how many people are lying. I always assume people are telling the truth but some posts make you go "Huh?"

That said, I like posting about our finances on here (HHI of $1m) because it's not like I can talk about it with my friends, most of whom make/have a lot less money than we do. For example, we've just finished rebuilding our second home. I want to gush about it but that seems obnoxious. This is an anonymous forum so I can put it all out there.

Anonymous wrote:I always apply the same logic as when people talk about the number of sexual partners.

I automatically subtract 30% of what they're claiming.

Ha, ha, ha! That is spot on.

I always apply the same logic as when people talk about the number of sexual partners.

I automatically subtract 30% of what they're claiming.

On the flip side, I find it comical when posters respond negatively or in disbelief when an OP comes to say they make a good income but they are broke. Why is it so unbelievable that (seemingly) rich people can be bad with money?!? There are a lot of high income earners that are potentially a paycheck away from financial disaster. This is not uncommon. A lot of people who make a lot of money don't monitor their spending as closely as others. I don't monitor or budget what I spend on food and clothing. DH and I have a high net worth and a healthy HHI. If that were to change, I would account for every dollar spent. I have done that in the past when first starting out and after buying my first condo. I no longer have to do that. I have friends that live by the credo 'the more my spouse makes, the more I can spend' as well as 'you can't take the money with you when you die, so I am spending it now'. To each their own.