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joec
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]my dad was always happy to pay taxes. he said it meant he was making money.[/quote]
Your dad is a smart man. Since I’m dead broke, make no money and am very poor, my effective tax rate will be negative this year (according to Turbotax) I’d think…Course, I can’t find a way to avoid paying FICA so it’s actually higher.
For comparison, Warren Buffet had a 11% effective tax rate in 2010.
Mitt Romney, whose AGI in 2011 was $20.9 million and whose effective federal tax rate was 15.4%.
http://money.msn.com/tax-planning/whats-your-real-tax-rate
You probably have too much “wage” income flu taxed at extremely high rates.
One reason that it’s smart tax planning to find ways to minimize “earned income” vs. other types of income.
ParticipantThanks for sharing the info rshanbhag. At least it’s more clear to me now how the lottery was done.
From the numbers, there are probably less people in CFD 15 so that’s probably why everyone in that district got in. I’m guessing that as 4S is fully built out now (with about 4k? in homes and no more new construction) there were probably more people in the lottery like you say vs. none in Del Sur due to allocation of spots.
It’s hard to say what will it be like 5 years from now. I do believe 5 years ago, no school around PUSD had a lottery so they even allowed NON-MR residents in all the neighborhood schools.
That has obviously changed now.
I don’t know, but wonder if Del Sur Elementary is pretty full already since I’ve heard that people would rather go to that then Design39 since Del Sur Elementary is regularly (constantly) advertised as the “BEST” school in the PUSD (from test scores I believe). I doubt it makes that much difference for the kids, but I see the ads all the time in the newspaper.
I guess another option is to wait for the next housing development without the power lines…I see something called Descanso is coming this Summer 2014 so you might want to look into that as well.
http://northcountynewhomes.com/north-san-diego-county-new-home-communities/inland/del-sur-new-homes/
ParticipantYeah, I’m sorta sad about the realities of life.
Maybe it’s with my parents being Asian and not really making those business connections or working to help each other (my dad sorta expects just doing hard work will get recognized) and you’ll just “get” the promotions, jobs, etc…even if you don’t toot your own horn. Very far from the truth I think, especially with the Asian glass ceiling. Maybe some of the other posters can share how far they have advanced in their career, but like you say, it really makes all the difference with who you know to get jobs, promotions, schools, etc…
As I’ve posted before, I watch Bloomberg daily and if you look at everyone who sits as an anchor on some of the shows, I think on 1 day, of the 5 people there, they commented that 4 were from Harvard and 1 was from Yale I think. As great as UC schools are, I honestly think they hold much lower respect outside CA with the business exec community.
Yes, a Harvard or Stanford education doesn’t guarantee a thing in life and it’s still the connections, but I think they will get you much further if you’re looking or hoping for a corner office position eventually.
Personally, I hope my son just gets a sports scholarship somewhere, but that’s probably even more competitive. 🙂
Participant[quote=flyer]I completely understand the stress many of you who are parents of young children are going through with the school situation in the areas you’ve mentioned, especially since we have friends who are in the same boat, but I can tell you, it’s not going to get any easier as time goes on.
In our kid’s age group (early to late 20’s) many parents are stressing over why, after after sending their kids to elite private schools, and incredible universities, many are still have difficulty finding their “dream jobs,”–especially if they want to stay in San Diego–and buying their own homes (unless the parents purchase it for them, as we have) is pretty much out of the question.
In the final analysis, our kids ended up finding their “dream jobs” through family connections, even though they all had great educational backgrounds, so, IMO, education is wonderful, but, to keep it in perspective, there are truly many variables that lead one to success.[/quote]
I agree with you completely…ALL my jobs except for 1 was through referrals. The 1 job I got on my own, I got fired from eventually. 🙂
That said, it’s always been who you know, not what since if you want to get promoted, you better know how to play the office politics game and not piss off someone who could get you fired.
From my experience as well and similar to what I posted in the other thread about 30-40 years ago vs. now, it’s just not possible for most people to stay and live in CA and buy a home in San Diego/Bay Area/Los Angeles especially for people coming out now. Certainly not in the areas which people would compare with 30-40 years ago or half desirable areas. Everyone I knew who bought a home in the bay area had family help and these homes are mostly 1 mil+. Unless you hit it rich through stock options, it’ll be tough for most folks just getting a “regular job” to buy. One reason for the delayed household formation/marriage as well.
Knowing what I know now vs then, I’d recommend more kids try to start companies if they can…Doesn’t have to be tech, but good experience to be entrepreneurial.
ParticipantIt’d be nice if they listed out what the specific percentages were for each CFD. I don’t live in Del Sur so I can’t say how hard it was to get in. 1 person I do know now has gotten in from Del Sur.
Maybe the Del Sur allocation was higher, but I think it’d be nicer for everyone involved to know what the actual number breakouts are so at least you won’t be surprised.
That said, I think any thing called a “sales pitch” should be suspect. If there are simply too many young kids for a particular school in that area, there’s probably no safe way they can let you into the school due to availability of teachers/rooms/etc.
Read this on what happened last year for the Santa Luz area…I think homes in that area are much more expensive than Del Sur…
60 (SIXTY!!!) parents couldn’t get in due to too many students. They have to now drive 30 minutes to go to Adobe Bluffs which is a much OLDER school…maybe still a “good” school, but you’re going to a NON Mello-Roos school even though you’ve been paying the MR fees.
http://www.pomeradonews.com/2013/08/20/parents-pusd-superintendent-clash-over-no-space-at-school/
My point is just to go in eyes wide open…as you can tell, I’m deathly afraid as to what school my kids will “get” to go to.
I’d live in a diff area if I could just to avoid the stress.
Participant[quote=NewBuyerConflicts]
Anonlawyer,
That is pretty much the conclusion I came up with. Hawthorne is the perfect price point for the area and the design reminds me of Marston. I do agree that right now there is no concern about kids getting into the Del Sur schools or even the new D39.
Perhaps, I am just factoring too much in but with a newborn and most likely soon to be second our kids won’t start school for another 5-6 years. Therefore the advantage of Del Sur residents having priority or a higher allocated spot may be moot. My concern is that by that time, the Del Sur area will be built out plus all the townhomes/condos that are plan means that even with the higher allocated seats the competition or the ratio of seats/kids would be just as much percentage wise as say the Lakes. But at least there even with the lower number of seats if you take that into account the few kids vying for them made me come to the conclusion that we might have the same “chances” come 5-6years when our kids enter the school system.[/quote]
Not sure what it will be like in 5 years, but having purchased in 2009 (5 years ago you could say), we didn’t get into Design 39 and of all the families we knew, only 1 person got in and the kid was starting 6th grade…A friend said no one she knew got in and that was 15+ people from her kid’s classroom.
I don’t know the breakout allocations for the different CFD areas and which had more or less, but I have doubts that it’d be that easy to get into whatever school you choose. Many of the schools in Poway Unified are still too crowded and there is a lottery for all the newer schools EVERY year.
I suppose it’s better to be prepared than disappointed, but I don’t know where you are getting the info that it’s such a slam dunk. Best bet, call the school district and ask them how likely you will get into any of the schools since I think your estimates might be off from my own personal and first hand experience.
Sorta like with the UC system now, I’d honestly prefer my kids go to a private school (or avoid PUSD if I could) if they are able to (preferably Stanford) 🙂 and go to a school in LJ, Solana Beach, RSF, etc…
March 11, 2014 at 6:39 PM in reply to: Moving money to another country for better interest rates #771755Participant[quote=kev374][quote=Jazzman]Currency risk is one the biggest investment risks you can take IMO.[/quote]
but isn’t remaining in the dollar a currency risk in and of itself?? The rupee has already fallen a huge amount in the past couple of years, but the dollar has still done somewhat ok but in the face of huge upcoming challenges facing the country (that everyone seems to summarily dismiss) how is the currency going to fare?
Our current debt is $17 trillion and rising, entitlement spending is set to rise due to an aging population, $1 trillion education bubble is set to pop, healthcare spending set to rise due to increased socialized healthcare, rising costs and a population getting sicker by the day as we focus on treatment rather than prevention… does not look good to me.[/quote]
Currency risk tends to apply more if you don’t live in the country like the OP wants to park money into Rupee…
Reason being is say if the price of bread is now $100 a loaf, you’d assume all wages are now inflated as well since the dollar is worthless.
For the Rupee, if the Rupee weakens like that, if you spend in Rupee, it’d be ok (maybe), but if you need to “cash out” the Rupee investment to dollars, you’ve now turned 100 dollars to say 1 dollar.
Very bad risk and I feel unless you really are insanely wealthy or know what you are doing from previous work experience, you’re better off not playing this game against other people who are much more well connected/educated/does it full time, have inside benefits, etc…
Participant[quote=spdrun]And there are still parts of SD like that. In the building with my rental condo of the neighbors whom I’ve met, there seems to be a couple where the husband is a shipyard welder, a medical student doing his internship, a psychologist, a retired couple, and an office employee/secretary with a young child. Still seems pretty mixed to me.[/quote]
Again, this isn’t where you live and is your rental. You still didn’t say about how old (a range is fine) you were?
Also, it’s interesting that the people you mentioned in your rental condo building are:
1) no kid 1 income shipyard welder couple
2) student
3) no idea if married or w/ kids psych
4) old crusty couple
4) single mom with no dad kid of a broken homeSeems pretty ghetto to me…Ok, mean of me to point that all out, but none of this even relevant and related to my comment of people/families 30-40 years ago and what they owned. I mentioned FAMILIES with kids OWNING their own single family home, having cars, taking trips, having retirement savings, etc…in modest jobs. You’re talking about a rental condo probably for the majority of the people you posted.
Sorry, but I think I’m just going to add you to my ignore list now since I seem to just disagree with nearly everything you write.
ParticipantWanted to add that even if you lived right next to the school in Del Sur, it doesn’t mean you will get to go with the overcrowding in that area and the large number of new homes in Del Sur.
You can google poway unified schools full or look at some of the messages here for more info…
Best bet is to check the school in The Lakes and see which schools they attend and compare.
Participant[quote=spdrun]Is it actually less safe now? Statistics don’t seem to indicate that this is the case. I think the media is just selling bad news to sheep who will listen.
L.A. was just recovering from race riots in the 70s, BTW. Random crime existed — wasn’t Manson active in the late 60s?[/quote]
How old were you again spdrun? I suppose I’m rose-colored California glass-eyed since I’ve only lived here and not the east coast. I also lived more in the 80s vs. the 70s (40s+) so I can’t say I knew what the 70s were like. That said, I do remember inflation with all those inflation busting ads and stuff like that…
I make the point above since from personal experience, my family, which was mid/upper lived in the exact same city as my extended family (uncles/aunts) who worked as simple waiters, postal workers, bank employees (low start, higher later though), etc…we also all went to the same public schools and I’d say the kids now are all doing pretty darn well (similarly in their 40s)…
As this is a housing forum, I really don’t think people living off government or on the streets are really the people we are talking about.
I was, again, talking about people who are strictly/firmly in the middle class which I’m saying now, is near impossible to have what they had 40 years ago. Maybe all my aunts/uncles had help, but again, I went to school (public) with plenty of people who were normal blue collar folks also with homes, etc…
March 9, 2014 at 6:24 PM in reply to: Moving money to another country for better interest rates #771710Participant[quote=earlyretirement]I know this isn’t applicable to the OP as you aren’t an ex-pat but I thought this would still be interesting to post.
Thanks for the article…Good and more power to those people.
…yes, I don’t like where US laws and “politics” are and going…
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]
On the flip side, I see a lot of people working and struggling to get by. Maybe some of the stress is self-induced and a psychological adjustment is in order. For instance some people feel miserable because they can’t afford a house in the school district they want in San Diego. They could just move away to a more affordable area. But then they’d be miserable about that.
Expensive areas like San Diego require a well paid job or some help if you are to live the life of your dreams.[/quote]
Yeah, CA is not really for people making little and if you want to live in the Bay Area and “succeed (save for retirement/home…)”, you better be making > $200k. Probably more.
If I was single, young, no kids, I’d personally move out of CA.
I think the problem now with say, 30-40 years ago is that a basic existence 30-40 years with a modest house, decent schools, safe areas, 1-2 cars, good affordable healthcare, higher education, fuel, etc etc etc was attainable by the general person/job. As another message mentioned, you had communities where doctors lived in the same school district as the plumbers, factory workers, etc…Schools were also better back then.
Nowadays, with our over-supply of labor and “global” economies, there simply aren’t enough good paying jobs for enough people to make a decent living to have, what was 40 years ago, a “modest” living compared to now. Even if you got rid of all luxuries (and I mean all like cell phones, cable, internet, netflix, dining out, etc), it’d be tough for most people since healthcare is (was with ACA now) insane, education much more, gas 4x higher, food…more…
For a lot of people barely getting by, it’s really not about sacrificing or self induced stress I feel (having seen/lived it personally as well as reading everything I can about it), but there is just tougher times for many folks with more limited opportunities.
As any tech worker will tell you now and many people here can attest to as well, when you start hitting 35+ with a family, you are simply not as desirable to hire. Most companies also don’t want to bother retraining I’ve seen personally even if you “were” the hotshot years ago.
Yes, there are always top people who can always get hired, but “most” work isn’t really revolutionary I feel so you almost have to get a little lucky in the work/field you end up doing.
I know a few workers w/ families from QCOM who are constantly complaining about the hours and saying they can’t help but do it since some of the non-parents will take advantage if they were to not do it or complain to much.
At least they have a job I guess. 😉
March 7, 2014 at 7:16 PM in reply to: OT: California sure seems to care more about the rights of Orcas @ Seaworld more so than… #771671ParticipantThis is because Asians, I don’t think really are interested in helping other Asians. I don’t know if it’s because “Asian” includes many of the other sub-groups like Chinese (mainland/taiwan/hk/singapore/malay/americanized/fobs/hawaiians/etc), Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc etc etc…and they all used to hate each other to begin with, but that’s how it’s been since forever. They also compete fiercely for the same opportunities, etc.
I knew someone who was a wealthy/Asian business owner and he was complaining that the Asian people don’t seem to want to help each other Asian people like Jews or possibly other races.
I just don’t think it’s in Asian upbringing and they didn’t have it done to them neither so the cycle doesn’t repeat. Most only help their immediate and extended families.
This is probably why you don’t see as many Asians, I don’t think playing with random kids, but with their family friend’s kids too.
Just what I’ve noticed personally.
ParticipantI think SDG&E will be raising base rates for everyone so people with Solar will probably see higher bills for sure. This may make the positive return point longer, but overall, it’s nice to not be so dependent on what some energy company does.
I’d personally be interested in getting batteries as well and try to use primarily my batteries/own solar power.
I’d done some reading on more portable solutions for DR/BC, but cost (for me) is still a lot of batteries and all the equipment.
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