I miss the *bucks*...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

That must be very easy
I live on a lot less than you, net income of 72 for 4 people
One day when I figure out how we can all live on half of that I will write a blog and tell the world

You have to go to law school and graduate at the top of your class. After that, you must sell your soul and time to the devil himself.

You forgot to say that I need to graduate from a private school and have legacy status and the school must have a phenomenal college counselor.
I was the top of my school, but it was a lower middle class school in the other side of town
And I did sell my soul and work like a dog to get thru college.
I wish I had more time.

I've been there, done that. Got out of law years ago and while I miss the lucks I don't miss anything else about it. I make less than half of what I made as a lawyer now but would rather be happy in my work than rich. If that makes me "different" or a "loser" than so be it. I can live with that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

That must be very easy
I live on a lot less than you, net income of 72 for 4 people
One day when I figure out how we can all live on half of that I will write a blog and tell the world

Please put me on your distribution list. I'd like to learn how to do this too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This describes a certain type of wealthy person - the self-made entrepreneur type. Not all rich are like this. Many were born into money and do nothing very extraordinary with their lives.

Also, where is it written that following one's passion correlates with wealth? My passion is being a psychologist and helping people. I love what I do, but I'm certainly not in it for money.

Um only less than 8% of wealth is inherited. Most people earn it.

Also if you don't have a passion for what you do you'll never be rich. It doesn't mean your passion will make you rich.

Oh please, the whole "passion" thing is a crock. My DH doesn't have a passion for what he does, but he likes it well enough and he's done it long enough to be good at it. He's also fallen into some great opportunities due to pure luck. His work has indeed made us rich by almost any standard. He plans to keep it up for a few more years until we have enough socked away that we can keep up our lifestyle without ever having to work again if we don't want to. THEN he will pursue his passion, which I can almost guarantee will not be particularly lucrative. We are lucky as shit and I am grateful every day. My DH is a great guy but we don't kid ourselves that he is some kind of superior human being. Oh and he reads novels! Lowbrow novels! Dude cannot get ENOUGH of Clive Cussler.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

That must be very easy
I live on a lot less than you, net income of 72 for 4 people
One day when I figure out how we can all live on half of that I will write a blog and tell the world

You have to go to law school and graduate at the top of your class. After that, you must sell your soul and time to the devil himself.

You forgot to say that I need to graduate from a private school and have legacy status and the school must have a phenomenal college counselor.
I was the top of my school, but it was a lower middle class school in the other side of town
And I did sell my soul and work like a dog to get thru college.
I wish I had more time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

That must be very easy
I live on a lot less than you, net income of 72 for 4 people
One day when I figure out how we can all live on half of that I will write a blog and tell the world

You have to go to law school and graduate at the top of your class. After that, you must sell your soul and time to the devil himself.

"Luck plays least of all. "

so explain. Explain how it does not matter if you were born to a middle class/rich family vs. a destitute one. Explain how health set-backs don't matter. Explain how timing doesn't matter.
On the last point alone, I consider myself very lucky compared to people who graduated college even a few years or so after me. I graduated at a time of very tight labor demand so it was pretty easy to find something. Kids graduating now may be phenominal but many are just stuck due to not much more than poor timing.
Similarly, I think my neighbors who bought their houses 20 years ago were not "so smart" in buying at a time when they could ride the DC real estate wave - they were largely lucky to benefit from it and those of us looking to start a family in the early 00s and wanting somewhere of our own were unlucky in timing.

Anonymous wrote:
$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

That must be very easy
I live on a lot less than you, net income of 72 for 4 people
One day when I figure out how we can all live on half of that I will write a blog and tell the world

There's a weirdo on this thread.

Luck plays least of all. So many just don't get it. "Oh s/he has this or that, they must be LUCKY...."

W-R-O-N-G.

I won the biggest lottery of all-- being born into a stable family in a country that was not war-torn at a tie when women could go to college and keep property in her own name.

Acknowledging luck isn't disregarding hard work or good ideas, but it is accurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the only one you need to know (and it's proven nearly daily on DCUM):

"Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs."

So, what you want to do is have a LOT of means. Preferably from your parents or your spouse's parents.

Count me in as another born poor now rich. Don't know why so many DCUMers love to assume we inherited or married into wealth or were just darn lucky.

What is your HHI and what do you and your spouse do to earn money?

$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.

Sorry, you're upper-middle class, not wealthy. You trade your life for money. Truly wealthy people come up with ways to earn money that don't involve selling hours of their lives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, it is surprising how many people here know nothing about wealth. Most of the people I know who are wealthy worked for themselves years ago (before it was trendy and meant nothing - as it is now). They had nothing for health coverage because that was the way it was. If they did get sick, it came out of pocket. Nd far less others were about schadenfreude.

They should call this board the Schadenfreude board. There are so many trying to find fault with others, its ridiculous. God forbid the next guy have more than you. Maybe they actually worked for it. If you believe in luck, you'll NEVER be wealthy!

Agree. I think people who see themselves as a victim or the recipient of bad luck, like 10:57 writes, are the difference. Wealthy people get around obstacles. In fact, wealthy people are the people who were sick and then invented something new that others find useful when sick. It's attitude. And, when you're looking at others, you're focus is off.

I said I WAS lucky (1057 here). So you think that if a devastating illness cripples a family, that's not bad luck? If someone's career is ruined by a false claim, that's not bad luck? Happened to a guy I know and his family's finances were decimated. I'm sure you think he should have just picked up, dusted off and founded a million-dollar company! That's what wealthy people DO, after all!

Like I said, I'm wealthy but I don't pretend it's survival of the fittest. Luck plays in.

Anonymous wrote:If your "means" is $700k a year, it is easy to live below it ans still have a nice lifestyle. If your "means" is $70k, it is not as easy.

The average person would rather complain about making only $70K a year than figure out how to earn $700K a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the only one you need to know (and it's proven nearly daily on DCUM):

"Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs."

So, what you want to do is have a LOT of means. Preferably from your parents or your spouse's parents.

Count me in as another born poor now rich. Don't know why so many DCUMers love to assume we inherited or married into wealth or were just darn lucky.

What is your HHI and what do you and your spouse do to earn money?

$400K, two lawyers We live on 50% of our net income.