Real Wealth vs Phony Wealth in North County

[Fearful]

[quote=cjdairym]lol, day isn’t complete without another “friendly” discussion between sdr and BG.[/quote]
LOL … pompous meets pushy … seriously, I love both you guys. Keep it up.

[sdsurfer]

I would say the further you go north of La Jolla the more people will fit the profile your looking for.

I live in the Avocado Acres area of Encinitas I think a lot of my neighbors fit the bill. I think the older communities more so than newer ones, but a lot of that probably depends on the wifey’s aversion or acceptance of an older home/community. I met my neighbors 2 doors down Bill and Dottie the other day and I guess they bought their home in 1960 for 13k. They have a car, but I dont think they use it much. I met them because they typically go for walks around the block everyday. I think they used to golf a lot because they both have walking sticks make from a stick they found and a couple nails and a golf ball on the top.

Does that sound materialistic? I’m pretty sure they have some equity in the home for the wealth part.

North County is pretty much the best place in the world as far as I’m concerned. One of my old neighbors confirmed it the other day. He said that he has homes around the world(including one in Bali) for work in the oil industry because he travels a lot. He said that if he could retire and sell all the places the one he’d keep in the one on Neptune. He said he’d just go for a walk down neptune everday with his dog and wife and that would be all he needs.

I know lots of people like him.

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]Again BG you dont know WTF you are talking about. They have tons of money and there is no reason to sell the house. The husband said she could have it and would have no problem keeping it. He wants her to have it and his daughter to grow up here, he just doesnt want to be married anymore. The mortage is only $1500/month and she will be getting 10 times that in spousal/child support. She isnt very fianncially savy and just asked me to check out a few things to see if what he told her was true. I did and he was being honest. She will be here for a long time…[/quote]

So, “he” is willing to have the $300K debt on his credit report while “she” (ostensibly) makes $1500 payments for the next 20 years….assuming she is ALWAYS able to collect $15K a month in support payments…without interruption…lol. Isn’t spousal support typically ordered for half the length of the marriage in CA unless the payee is legally disabled, over the age of 65 or both??

I wonder how long this “situation” will last…or if it will even come about at all?[/quote]

She only wants to stay about 7 years so her duaghter can finish HS. She can collect both child and spousal support that long. He makes mid 6 figures, has for years and works in booming industry. She will also get enough cash to pay the house off if she wants. Bring up all the problems you want. I know these people personally for over 10 years. Both will be fine.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=sdsurfer]
North County is pretty much the best place in the world as far as I’m concerned. One of my old neighbors confirmed it the other day. He said that he has homes around the world(including one in Bali) for work in the oil industry because he travels a lot. He said that if he could retire and sell all the places the one he’d keep in the one on Neptune. He said he’d just go for a walk down neptune everday with his dog and wife and that would be all he needs.

I know lots of people like him.[/quote]

sdsurfer,

I’d have to absolutely 100% agree with you. SD North Country to me is one of the best places in the world when you look at all the quality of life factors in play.

I’ve been all over the world (550+ cities and counting) and I also own a few homes and properties in other countries and while some have certain factors that are great… none can match the overall quality of life, safety, year-round weather, and convenience of San Diego.

When we were deciding to settle down with our kids to raise them, we could have moved to any city in the world and San Diego was a no brainer. This is one of the best places on Earth to live.

[sdrealtor]

More examples. I just checked the 9 houses closest to me. All houses were built in 1999. 3 owned free and clear. 3 have loan balances of 300K or less. No one is underwater. Most drive modest US built car several years old. The one nice car (BMW 5 series) was bought for cash. I dont know of anyone who has been unemployed in the last 5 years. I would estimate avg HH income of he ones that are still working at over $200K.

Back to original point. There are plenty of high wage earning familes living well within their means in NCC.

[sdsurfer]

[quote=earlyretirement][quote=sdsurfer]
North County is pretty much the best place in the world as far as I’m concerned. One of my old neighbors confirmed it the other day. He said that he has homes around the world(including one in Bali) for work in the oil industry because he travels a lot. He said that if he could retire and sell all the places the one he’d keep in the one on Neptune. He said he’d just go for a walk down neptune everday with his dog and wife and that would be all he needs.

I know lots of people like him.[/quote]

sdsurfer,

I’d have to absolutely 100% agree with you. SD North Country to me is one of the best places in the world when you look at all the quality of life factors in play.

I’ve been all over the world (550+ cities and counting) and I also own a few homes and properties in other countries and while some have certain factors that are great… none can match the overall quality of life, safety, year-round weather, and convenience of San Diego.

When we were deciding to settle down with our kids to raise them, we could have moved to any city in the world and San Diego was a no brainer. This is one of the best places on Earth to live.[/quote]
Glad I’m not the only one that feels so fortunate to have found this amazing place to live. My same friend mentioned the safety aspect as well.

Cheers!!

[UCGal]

Back to the video in the OP…
The concept of not expanding your spending when your income increases is a tough thing to accomplish. It goes against our consumer culture.

But it’s a good message.

As I hinted at in the retire early thread, I have a hard time factoring in the home equity into “wealth” calculations. You can’t spend a house and if you want to live in it, you can’t sell it. Home equity is only wealth when your ready to sell. If the bulk of your wealth is in an illiquid asset that you’re unwilling to sell, are you really wealthy?

[an]

[quote=UCGal]Back to the video in the OP…
The concept of not expanding your spending when your income increases is a tough thing to accomplish. It goes against our consumer culture.

But it’s a good message.[/quote]
I totally agree. It’s very tough to spend like you’re making $20k/year when you’re making $200k/year. But when you learn how to do it, you’ll be accumulating wealth very quickly.

[scaredyclassic]

Need to teach my kids how to separate real from phony wealth so they may marry correctly

[an]

[quote=walterwhite]Need to teach my kids how to separate real from phony wealth so they may marry correctly[/quote]
The problem with that is, true real wealth are hard to identify until you’re already in a serious relationship with them.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=UCGal]

As I hinted at in the retire early thread, I have a hard time factoring in the home equity into “wealth” calculations. You can’t spend a house and if you want to live in it, you can’t sell it. Home equity is only wealth when your ready to sell. If the bulk of your wealth is in an illiquid asset that you’re unwilling to sell, are you really wealthy?[/quote]

I TOTALLY agree with you UCGal. I don’t think anyone should be factoring in any home equity or supposed home equity in their retirement assets. Even if the home is paid for and worth a million bucks. I still think you have to count any assets besides your asset in your home.

As you mentioned, home equity is only wealth when you are ready to sell but also IF you are able to sell it. I think anyone counting their equity in their home in their retirement plans isn’t being conservative enough.

Sdsurfer,

Yes, absolutely safety is a big factor. There are some gorgeous places around the world that are wonderful to visit for a vacation of a few weeks or even a few months but living there full time isn’t the best or the easiest.

Some places the cost of living can be GREAT but there can be safety issues to deal with. Then other places the real estate might not be as expensive as San Diego but the utilities can be sky high. Some places I own I was getting $500 a month water bills!

Even in some beautiful cities that aren’t dangerous you still have a hassle factor of petty crime. I owned a house a few blocks from the beach in Punta del Este, Uruguay (“St. Tropez of South America”) and while it is VERY safe there, the summer is only the real time that it’s busy. Many houses are owned by wealthy owners that only use it during the summer. So you have to deal with break ins the rest of the season.

I had my house broken into twice even having a good security system and also being a few doors down from a police station. Both times they got expensive LCD TV’s where they are 300% more expensive than in the USA. And to make it worse, thieves figured out that they can rob people even during summer so they will go in and rob their houses while they are at the beach.

So you have things like that you have to deal with in some locations.

In other countries you have to deal with corrupt police or run away inflation. In countries like Argentina, where I own properties, you have 25% to 30% ANNUAL inflation. So your expenses go up each year typically by large amounts. Or if you have employees, you’re forced to give 25% to 30% a YEAR raises mandatory by law!

In places like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I bought many years ago….yeah the place is worth a LOT more than a decade ago but with the horrible fluctuation in the exchange rate, things are much more expensive. It’s more expensive there vs. the USA with many things. Plus even in exclusive and expensive areas like Ipanema, you have luxury condos not far from the slums. And again you have to deal with crime.

So you just have a multitude of things to deal with vs. the USA. For as many problems and issues that the USA has…people don’t realize how wonderful it is to live in and the excellent quality of life.

In other places it just comes down to tons of red tape and not efficient to be full time. Like not getting mail or it constantly getting lost, waiting in line at the post office up to 2 hours to get a package, waiting in lines for up to 45 minutes at the grocery store, power outages, etc.

Like I said before… San Diego is paradise. Yeah, there are many pikers here but I agree with sdrealtor that San Diego North County is full of truly affluent as well that are living within their means. It’s all relative…

[an]

I would count home equity as retirement asset if you don’t plan to leave anything for your heir or if you don’t have any. Since you can do reverse mortgage.

[paramount]

Reading through these comments it sounds like everyone here is both greedy and materialistic.

LIving within needs/means is code for greed and hoarding.

In case your not aware, you WILL NOT be taking it ($$) with you – it’s been tried before.

[an]

[quote=paramount]Reading through these comments it sounds like everyone here is both greedy and materialistic.

LIving within needs/means is code for greed and hoarding.

In case your not aware, you WILL NOT be taking it ($$) with you – it’s been tried before.[/quote]
Materialistic? Really? Are you reading the same posts I’m reading? This must be the first time I’ve heard someone calling frugality as greed and hoarding.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=UCGal]As I hinted at in the retire early thread, I have a hard time factoring in the home equity into “wealth” calculations. You can’t spend a house and if you want to live in it, you can’t sell it. Home equity is only wealth when your ready to sell. If the bulk of your wealth is in an illiquid asset that you’re unwilling to sell, are you really wealthy?[/quote]

Optimally it shouldn’t be your entire portfolio but it can be factored in, long term. Many people downsize at some point as their lifestyle changes or as they retire. A popular plan is to dump your large house and your mortgage and buy something small for cash with the equity. Yardwork, cleaning, stairs, people get sick of these things at some point. At a certain age, you stop hosting the holidays and you go to your grown kids house for the holidays or to visit the grandkids. You don’t need to be rich to follow this plan, many regular people do it in their 60’s or 70’s, I think that’s how pheonix was created.

Maybe I’m out of step with most people here because I’ve always been a bit of a nutjob about retirement saving bordering on mental illness. I plan on changing my ways. I went to a funeral of a friend this week who was far worse than me, he lived on about a third of his income, drove crappy cars, wore cheap clothes, had no children or wife and didn’t live to spend a nickel of the more than 2 million he had saved for retirement. It’s been said before, that living within your means is not about living within someone else’s means, it’s about living within your means. The person that makes 50k and gets by on 30k, bravo, but the guy that makes 100k or 200k and lives on 30k, maybe that person needs some balance to their life. As paramount just said, it’s been tried before, but you can’t take it with you. I’ve studied almost every world religion and text, none made reference to net worth or fico score in the afterlife. Plan, make sure you have enough to be comfortable, but also find a way to enjoy your good fortune along the way, regardless how much it is.

[Author]

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