[quote=deadzone][quote=flyer]dz, I think you might underestimate the many sources of wealth some have, other than the obvious, and who have been living the lives they want to live for many years mostly independent of market conditions.
Per this discussion, whether this, or other demographics are large enough to sustain the continued acceleration of pricing in the real estate market remains to be seen, and should be interesting to watch.[/quote]
There is no doubt the primary source of wealth in the U.S. comes from RE and Stock appreciation. If those markets take a 30 or 40% haircut, the reverse wealth effect will be staggering.[/quote]
What is staggering and devastating is how big of a failure it was not to buy a home 20 or even 10 years ago. All you had to do was be responsible and make payments. As your salary increased add a little to the payment each month. As rates dropped, refi to lower your rate but keep paying the same monthly payment. Thats really all you had to do. Paid off home at retirement with low RE tax bill, no rent or monthly mortgage payment.
Other simple things. When electric bills spiked, add solar and get rid of electric bill. When drought came, get rid of lawn, put in xeriscape, cut water bill to next to nothing and fire landscaper. When gas got expensive get a hybrid or EV. The road map was simple and obvious to anyone paying attention. Then retire whenever you want with fixed monthly expenses well under $2K and social security almost double that. Pensions, 401K, IRA’s, passive income, dividends, driving Uber, working at In n Out? Whatever floats your boat but mostly gravy. FU$ was that easy!
