[an]

[quote=UCGal]The Early retirement board I mentioned earlier – this is a big discussion point… people retiring before medicare age – need to account for health insurance… and if there are pre-existing conditions it can be a reason to stay with an employer well after you have the means to leave the work force… One guy who posts there has a wife who was dx’d with cancer. They are getting quotes on the order of $3k/month for insurance for her. He’s staying at work because of the health insurance.[/quote]
To me, early retirement does not mean I’ll be quitting my job. For me, retirement is the day I have enough FU money. It just doesn’t mean I have to use that FU money. I’ll probably find an easy job that have health insurance and work part time. My wife right now works 4 days a month and her company is still paying for her health insurance.

[an]

BG, I had HMO before and I went to both Sharps and Scripps. So, you don’t have to get Kaiser’s HMO. I’m not self employed, so I don’t have to worry about self-employing. However, my point is, freelancers tend to get paid about 80-100% higher than their W-2 counter part. That 80-100% extra pay is supposed to be for paying for these insurance and such. If you don’t want to deal with that, you can try and get a job at a corporation then. They’ll take care of your health insurance for you.

You’re right, I’m an anomaly. If I followed the heard, I would have bought my 1st home in 2005 and today, I’ll be in a financial disaster. But I’m not alone either. You just have to think beyond your next pay check. I’ve been maxing your my 401k since the 1st day of my 1st full time job. I’ve been living well under my mean since day one. If everyone have been doing that, even $8k/year to pay for health insurance when you’re older wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

[an]

[quote=SK in CV][quote=AN]budget schmudget… we’ll just print a few trillion dollar coin… then voila budget problem fixed.[/quote]

That’s quite the straw man. Nobody has proposed that a trillion dollar coin will fix anything. It’s a short term solution to a purely political obstacle.[/quote]
I guess jests doesn’t go over well over the internet. It wasn’t mean to be a real argument.

[an]

I agree, divorce is the one thing you can’t really plan for. So, I’ll concede on that point. However, death can easily be planned by with a large enough life insurance plan.

WRT health problem, of course if you’re self-employed, you’d have to pay for your own medical insurance. Which is why freelancers make more than W-2er. Why do you have to get HDHP? Why can’t you get a HMO? WRT to $8k/year. I save more than $8k/year ever since I start working.

[an]

budget schmudget… we’ll just print a few trillion dollar coin… then voila budget problem fixed.

[an]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Yea well OK but it did work for things like work trucks, and buying more home than you could afford generally worked very well for you.( the Stock market really sucked back then, it cost more for a taxi license than a seat on the exchange).[/quote]
I wasn’t talking about buying stuff that appreciate. I’m talking about buying TV, coffee, eating out, etc. If you live below your mean, even your primary house, then you can use that money to buy a few investment properties. Stock is not always great all the time.

[an]

[quote=Ren]There’s a point where cheapness becomes a mental illness – living on expired food, buying store brand mac & cheese – which tastes like crap compared to Kraft.

Those things don’t add up to much, anyway – a few bucks a month. The real savings are in your housing and car. Sacrifice one bedroom, and drive it 6 or 8 years instead of 4.[/quote]
I wouldn’t buy expired food or store brand (or Kraft) mac & cheese (home made with real cheese is better and cheaper than both). However, I wouldn’t say it don’t add up to much. You can easily save $10-20/person/day by buying grocery that’s on sale and cook your own food. For a family of 4, you’re talking about $1200-2400/month. That’s about how much most people pay for their mortgage. This cost is also every recurring while you can be mortgage free after 30 years and same with a car. Those who live cheaply probably will opt for the smaller house and drive their cars till they die as well. It’s a state of mind. My car is 8 years old and 100k miles and it’s still going strong. I’ll probably keep it for at least another 3-5 years.

[an]

[quote=flu][quote=SD Realtor]Well then lets raise taxes so we can bake a bigger pie![/quote]

Absolutely! And for every 1 cent we raise in taxes from…. (well, doesn’t matter who(m)), we can buy a $100 worth of extra pie!!![/quote]
As long as it’s not me, then lets raise taxes on everyone else 😀

[an]

[quote=The-Shoveler]I have to add a few things guys,
1)Unless you work for a sizable company, your insurance will cancel you in a heartbeat If you get really sick.
2) in the 70’s none of this spend less than you earn stuff would have worked very well for you.
(buy now you will be able to afford it later worked much better in most cases back then)

The last 25 years of mostly low inflation are really the exception,

Was anyone here earning a living back in the 70’s,

Just curious, back then you always tried to buy more of anything than you could afford (because that is what worked),[/quote]
That’s not true, even in the 70s with high inflation, if you live below your means, then you’d have more money to invest. Buying more junk to pay off later won’t get you any closer to retirement or expanding your nest egg.

[an]

The author lost her credibility with me with this statement.

[quote=flu]Moreover, people don’t rack up thousands of dollars in credit card bills because they buy too much, she says. Unexpected and costly medical emergencies, divorce or long bouts of unemployment are the main reasons Americans find themselves drowning in debt.[/quote]
These unexpected cost will only hit you hard if you didn’t save up for it to start with or have proper insurance. Although I don’t agree with everything Orman or Bach said, they have the right premise. Spend less than you earn. Especially Bach with the Latte factor. I’ve read his book and make perfect sense. It’s not that hard to save when you live well under your mean. When you do that, along with proper insurance, their unexpected costs will not affect you as much if at all. I like the “Can you afford it” portion of Suze Orman’s show. Her message those those callers and viewers is that, don’t buy junk unless you can truly afford it and already have your savings and retirement set. Her stock tips is as good/bad as anyone else.

[an]

[quote=flu][quote=SK in CV][quote=carlsbadworker][quote=flu]Seen plenty of people who make a hell of a lot of money, but have shot credit, because they have a spending problem.[/quote]

On the other hand, if people have good credit and good income, they will probably be qualified for loans. Why would they rent from you since rent is higher than PITI in many cases?[/quote]

Because it’s not so in all cases?[/quote]

A lot of reasons.

1. They might not have worked long enough to accumulated savings

2. They might be waiting on a green card before they make a commitment

3. They might not have found what they are looking for yet in terms of housing

4. They might be here on loan from a company

5. They might want their kids to go to a good school district without having to pay the premium for the home purchase

6. They might feel that buying a home is a terrible investment and a permanent-renter…

7. They might feel like they can still get 50% off real estate and decide to keep sitting it out…

lots of reasons.[/quote]
People who fit these reasons usually don’t stay too long (2-3 years max). Which mean, you’ll be constantly looking for new tenants. They also might be more demanding on the service side. These people aren’t likely to stay at your place for 10+ years.

[an]

[quote=flu]True, but I guess I’m risk adverse and for me I don’t like dealing with the headache. One time in my life was already enough for me.

But to be clear. To me there is a huge difference between someone that doesn’t make that much money but nevertheless responsible, versus someone who makes decent money but is out of control.

“Salaried Poor” doesn’t equate to irresponsiblity…. A “persistent” shot credit, however, to me does..And for all I care the person could be pulling in high six figures……
Seen plenty of people who make a hell of a lot of money, but have shot credit, because they have a spending problem.[/quote]Agree on all those points. I was just trying to say that just because it’s a low end area doesn’t mean all the tenants are bad. In some way, you might find the best tenants there because they’re you’re typical life long renter. Compare to white colar tenant who are more likely to move w/in a few years. You just have to weed through all the bad tenants that low end area attracts.

[an]

Bad areas isn’t all bad. You just have to be much more selective in who you rent to. I know someone who have many SFR rental in bad part of Fresno. Yet, their tenants always pay on time (some hand deliver the rent checks each month no less) and one of their rental have a tenant that has been in their for over 10 years.

[an]

[quote=CA renter]Personally, I prefer to live in a world where people have plenty of opportunities to achieve their dreams. Those opportunities have been shrinking dramatically over the past few decades, and you can’t blame the younger generations for being upset about it. This is not the same world that you and I experienced when we were young adults.[/quote]
One thing we all can be sure of is, it’s never the same experience between different generation. Never was, never will be. So, it’s survival of the fittest. Adapt or die. I’m party of this younger generation you’re speaking of and yet, I’m not upset, I have plenty of opportunities to achieve my dreams. I’m actually doing it right now. But I also see many in my generation who don’t have the same work ethic and/or the ability to see the world for what it currently is and adapt to it. They think they can just get a liberal arts degree from a private school, racking up big debts, and somehow, they shouldn’t be burden w/ the debt and be paid big bucks because they have a BA in underwater basket weaving. If you’re a s/w engineer today specializing in mobile, there are plenty of opportunity. I’m being pinged by head hunter at least once a week (some weeks, it’s once a day).

So, although the opportunity isn’t universally available in all areas today like it was 20 years ago, there are many advantages of the current gen X/Y as well. We can go to work in jeans and t-shirts, we get big parties every Friday (Zinga), we get to be instant millionaires (if we work for a start up that succeeded like Facebook, Google, etc), we get to telecommute, we get food and gym for free (a lot of bay area companies), etc. None of this existed 20 years ago.

[an]

[quote=carlsbadworker][quote=flu]Morale of the story…..borrow as much as you can at these ridiculous fixed term rates. Because in a few years this is gonna look cheap.[/quote]

I won’t over-borrow just because the rates are low.[/quote]
I doubt flu mean max out borrowing regardless of reason. So, even if we don’t see massive inflation, the rental income would more than suffice.

[Author]

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