Saving aggressively and living below our means, but comfortably, for about 25 years. We had no problem paying for three colleges and one medical school and we built up a big retirement fund. I retired from full time at 50 and DH at 60 and now we live very well and travel a lot overseas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these posters chiming in with how ‘smart’ they were to purchase that 200k house that’s now worth 600k are really just lucky, lucky, lucky. You happened to buy (+be in a position to buy... so born) the moment before the biggest upswing in home values in the history of... ever. Sorry but that is not a reflection on your financial savvy.

Uh, you aren't listening to the whole story. They were able to buy when they did because they lived in no frills shared rentals, drove modest cars, didn't take on massive student loan debt, saved a good portion of their income, etc.

There were plenty of people who earned the same income that I did who chose to take nice vacations, drive more expensive cars and live in better, more sought after rentals. They had a good time and have lots of stories to tell about it but they missed out on the opportunity to buy a house before the prices took off.

Going to a gas station and buying a winning lotto ticket = luck. Scrimping and saving for years to buy a good investment = smart + good timing.

Well, because no one knew the market would take off, which is the point. If everyones crystal ball told them where the market would shortly go, they would have bought immediately. And that would have been a SMART decision.

I agree with previous PP. It was all luck.

Anonymous wrote:All these posters chiming in with how ‘smart’ they were to purchase that 200k house that’s now worth 600k are really just lucky, lucky, lucky. You happened to buy (+be in a position to buy... so born) the moment before the biggest upswing in home values in the history of... ever. Sorry but that is not a reflection on your financial savvy.

Uh, you aren't listening to the whole story. They were able to buy when they did because they lived in no frills shared rentals, drove modest cars, didn't take on massive student loan debt, saved a good portion of their income, etc.

There were plenty of people who earned the same income that I did who chose to take nice vacations, drive more expensive cars and live in better, more sought after rentals. They had a good time and have lots of stories to tell about it but they missed out on the opportunity to buy a house before the prices took off.

Going to a gas station and buying a winning lotto ticket = luck. Scrimping and saving for years to buy a good investment = smart + good timing.

Going to the school that offered me a full ride instead of a more prestigious school for undergrad. Allowed me to take out $$$ loans for a T14 law school, which has paid off in spades. Other than that: marrying someone with good money habits, and taking out a mortgage for about 50% of what the bank approved us for.

Keeping my debts low and my credit RATING high.
Never being unemployed on purpose (I've never been unemployed).
Not having kids with no husband.
Saving consistently for retirement and emergencies.

Keeping my debts low and my credit high.
Never being unemployed on purpose (I've never been unemployed).
Not having kids with no husband.
Saving consistently for retirement and emergencies.

Buying a house in DC before the boom in a not hot neighborhood. My friends thought I was crazy but I figured if I had $1K for rent I had that same amount for a mortgage. It's worked out well.

Buying a house we can afford on ONE salary. The peace of mind is priceless

Employer where I can contribute (including company match) 51k per year to retirement

No longer living in Manhattan

Buying a house in Mclean during a buyers market decades ago was good. Also buying stocks during the 1990s internet boom was good.

Marrying a woman who was / is supportive of my being an entrepreneur - with the gumption to stick out the dry years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buying a house in a neighborhood most everyone considered to be too dangerous.

3 blocks from Eastern Market.

+1. Except it was on the "wrong" side of Old Town Alexandria. Two blocks from King Street.

Same. Except it was a "Hill East" street that hadn't flipped yet and now most people just consider "The Hill." $100k increase in value the 1st year.

We bought in Adams Morgan a couple years after the Mt Pleasant rioting and people told us we were crazy but we did well and the people we sold to in the early 2000s did even better-- so not sure if that's my best decision or worst (just really did not want to a landlord in Dc)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buying a house in a neighborhood most everyone considered to be too dangerous.

3 blocks from Eastern Market.

+1. Except it was on the "wrong" side of Old Town Alexandria. Two blocks from King Street.

Same. Except it was a "Hill East" street that hadn't flipped yet and now most people just consider "The Hill." $100k increase in value the 1st year.

Divorcing my husband. He's a spendthrift with no planning skills, your typical white guy who gets handed everything and brags about his home runs in life. I also have family wealth, and now the distributions are mine vs sharing them with him. Not watching his lack of foresight or organization burn up all of my money is a real gift.

All these posters chiming in with how ‘smart’ they were to purchase that 200k house that’s now worth 600k are really just lucky, lucky, lucky. You happened to buy (+be in a position to buy... so born) the moment before the biggest upswing in home values in the history of... ever. Sorry but that is not a reflection on your financial savvy.

My DH made two really good decisions before I met him -
1. He started working full time right out of HS. His parents and siblings had not gone to college so he was expected to join the workforce. His older brother told him to start investing in the company's 401K immediately, which he did. At age 48, he's been saving the max for 30 years and has 8 times his salary in the account.
2. Most of his friends from HS went to college so he decided to take classes at NOVA CC part time after work. It took him 12 years, (eventually transferring to George Mason) but he completed his Bachelor's degree and his job paid for almost 100% of it through tuition reimbursement. The couple of classes that didn't qualify for tuition reimbursement, he paid out of pocket and never had to take out student loans.

When DH and I got married in 1998, we bought our home based on only one salary. Paid $220,000 in Fairfax County and its now worth $600,000. We've thought about upgrading but don't want the higher mortgage payment.