1%'ers check in here.

[CrazyAznDriver]

Damn dude, thats alot of debt. I dont have any sympathy for your financial choices but i know where you are coming from. I have a relative who is finishing med school and will start with $160k salary, but with so muh loan debt he wont be able to afford a house down payment for several years.

I cant wait for him to statt living it up, hes all depressed and im like, just wait a few years, youll have 5x an increase in standard of living overnight

Yeah we don't live extravagantly, though we don't live like monks either. Most of the debt came from 2 kids on a resident salary which isn't much, and some health care costs. Some of the docs my wife works with are way worse and older... one guy carries 4 mortgages, 5 sports cars and lives paycheck to paycheck lol.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

I'm in the 1% with very little debt. I have no real CC debt other than what we charge monthly and pay off, home payment, car payments (they have low interest rates, not worth paying cash for them.)

It is comfortable to be sure, but it isn't a life of luxury beyond imagination. I don't worry about money (other than keeping my income up as I am not independently wealthy.) but I don't buy a new Bentley every year; I don't have a full-time maid; I don't eat caviar every night.

Being in the 1% is great, but I'm willing to bet my lifestyle has more in common with a welfare family than a billionaire's family.

 

[Icepick]

top 1% pay 40% of all fed income tax.

LOL!

 

[OlafSicky]

Bulldozer will destroy i7 - watch. :whiste:

LOL

 

[Delita]

Stop whining. If you make more then you should pay more. There's no free ride.

Wait...what?

 

[mizzou]

Apple Of Sodom

Being in the 1% is great, but I'm willing to bet my lifestyle has more in common with a welfare family than a billionaire's family.

I suppose those are two extremes you have nothing in common of, you are probably more closely related to middle class, but me as someone who makes basically in a year what you make in a month, where is the money really burning throug your wallet?
My only debt is my home, but with my wife who makes the same amount we can pay for her extra college out of pocket no problems.
I cant even begin to imagine how much $ i could throw around if my household had like five times more income each year.

I could easily afford multiple properties, big boat, and heck maybe even a cessna.

But in the end, yeah its just more stuff. Im very comfortarbe right now, but i also build my own furniture, fix my own cars, and do my own house repairs ( for the most part)

My father in law was a near 1% er and if you didnt know it, the guy looked like he was a welfare recipient.

His problem? He and wife had totally unnecessary hobbies that cost about $5k per month. And they also had live in adult children costing around $2k per month. There goes your lifestyle...

 

[alkemyst]

Sounds like your family's income is way higher than it needs to be. No sympathy. Try donating something to a charitable cause to ease the suffering of others who are not so well off. You'll be much happier.

way higher than it needs to be? wtf

 

[alkemyst]

I suppose those are two extremes you have nothing in common of, you are probably more closely related to middle class, but me as someone who makes basically in a year what you make in a month, where is the money really burning throug your wallet?
My only debt is my home, but with my wife who makes the same amount we can pay for her extra college out of pocket no problems.
I cant even begin to imagine how much $ i could throw around if my household had like five times more income each year.

I could easily afford multiple properties, big boat, and heck maybe even a cessna.

But in the end, yeah its just more stuff. Im very comfortarbe right now, but i also build my own furniture, fix my own cars, and do my own house repairs ( for the most part)

My father in law was a near 1% er and if you didnt know it, the guy looked like he was a welfare recipient.

His problem? He and wife had totally unnecessary hobbies that cost about $5k per month. And they also had live in adult children costing around $2k per month. There goes your lifestyle...

you make about $300-400K a month?

 

[mizzou]

you make about $300-400K a month?

No, i make like $35 and my wife the same. Together oir houshold is one fifth a 1%er

I said it confusingly in my post, my yearly income equals the monthly income of a 1%er

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

where is the money really burning throug your wallet?

It's not that anything is burning through my wallet, but generally speaking, people's needs expand to meet their income.

Let's say on a typical month I gross $40k.
$10K goes to taxes.
$8K to retirement.
$3K to home.
$1.5K to vehicles.
$1K to college savings for kids.
$1k to utilities + cable/internet/etc

That is $24,500 to expenditures right there, not even counting a traditional savings account, insurance, groceries, clothes, tuition for private school, investment accounts, business expansion, etc...

I'm not bitching or moaning. I have it really good. I have more in checking than most Americans will make in a decade and I completely understand that... but it isn't as if I am taking $40K each month and shoving it under my mattress.

 

[mizzou]

It's not that anything is burning through my wallet, but generally speaking, people's needs expand to meet their income.

Let's say on a typical month I gross $40k.
$10K goes to taxes.
$8K to retirement.
$3K to home.
$1.5K to vehicles.
$1K to college savings for kids.
$1k to utilities + cable/internet/etc

That is $24,500 to expenditures right there, not even counting a traditional savings account, insurance, groceries, clothes, tuition for private school, investment accounts, business expansion, etc...

I'm not bitching or moaning. I have it really good. I have more in checking than most Americans will make in a decade and I completely understand that... but it isn't as if I am taking $40K each month and shoving it under my mattress.

You seem to at least live below your means though, tons of savings each month.

How often do you do a balanced budget analysis with a yearly or even longer like 5-10 year projection? Likehere is situation now, here is where we will be in five years

 

[alkemyst]

No, i make like $35 and my wife the same. Together oir houshold is one fifth a 1%er

I said it confusingly in my post, my yearly income equals the monthly income of a 1%er

On $70k you aren't going to be affording a big boat nor a cessna unless both are extremely old and you'd be willing to let them sit somewhere if you lost the engine or another major mechanical item.

Just a simple alternator for that cessna which may be that exact same model in a GM car would be several hundred dollars.

People really tend to overestimate the power of their income and that's sort of what's working against many. They act as if they are several paygrades above their real mark.

Being able to afford something is very different than being able to buy it.

 

[dank69]

It's not that anything is burning through my wallet, but generally speaking, people's needs expand to meet their income.

Let's say on a typical month I gross $40k.
$10K goes to taxes.
$8K to retirement.
$3K to home.
$1.5K to vehicles.
$1K to college savings for kids.
$1k to utilities + cable/internet/etc

That is $24,500 to expenditures right there, not even counting a traditional savings account, insurance, groceries, clothes, tuition for private school, investment accounts, business expansion, etc...

I'm not bitching or moaning. I have it really good. I have more in checking than most Americans will make in a decade and I completely understand that... but it isn't as if I am taking $40K each month and shoving it under my mattress.

$1k/mo in utilities?

 

[alkemyst]

$1k/mo in utilities?

I live in a modest house 1800 sq ft and between a/c and water I hit $500-600 peak and $300-400 low.

 

[mizzou]

$1k/mo in utilities?

If you include
Gas
Electric
Cell
Water
Trash
Sewer
Internet/tv
Security maybe
Pest control maybe


It all adds up pretty quickly, especially if you have a huge house

 

[soulcougher73]

No because we keep Obama in check. Socialism is Communism.

So much fail.

 

[alkemyst]

If you include
Gas
Electric
Cell
Water
Trash
Sewer
Internet/tv
Security maybe
Pest control maybe


It all adds up pretty quickly, especially if you have a huge house

Only gas/electric/water/trash/sewer are usually considered in utilities...things that give you power/heat, water, sewer, and removing the debris.

Phone, TV, internet and security are never really utilities.

 

[mizzou]

Come to think of it, i dont think ive ever met a 1%er who ever said,, " you know what, i make stupid fuck tons of money, its fucking unbeleivable"

I have only one financial goal, to retire in the mountains near my family. Making more $ just gets me to that goal faster. And it would be undbelievable to do it five times faster then right now

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

$1k/mo in utilities?

Roughly. Electric is high here as we primarily have oil and coal. We are looking at nearly $500/mo in electric alone. Heating fuel runs around $3k per year. Internet/TV/phone is running $150/month.

 

[dank69]

10% represent!

How do you summon the willpower not to kill yourself each morning?! D:

 

[Fausto]

How do you summon the willpower not to kill yourself each morning?! D:

He can't afford a pistol, duh!

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

You seem to at least live below your means though, tons of savings each month.

How often do you do a balanced budget analysis with a yearly or even longer like 5-10 year projection? Likehere is situation now, here is where we will be in five years

We try to, but honestly, we do splurge.

Not nearly enough with the budget balance. My goal is to keep increasing. I'm opening another business right now, so it is hard to tell at this point. I'm just 30 now, so I feel I have time to correct if I get off track.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Being able to afford something is very different than being able to buy it.

That is exactly what people don't understand. You shouldn't look at your income and say "well, if I ate ramen for a few years I could purchase that..." The question is, do you have enough latitude in your income to truly afford something? I want, and can technical afford, a Rolls. It would not be a great decision right now considering expense. I am currently at high end Mercedes/BMW level in vehicles, not Rolls. If I did dumb shit like buying a $350K car then I wouldn't be able to fund other more lucrative things like the new business I am opening.

 

[AreaCode707]

I want to know, to everyone who's complaining at AppleOfSodom, how many hours a week you work? I want to know how many hours of education you put in? I want to know how many hours you worked total in your life before you were age 30? I want to know how much of your savings you risk on your own work (if you quit your job tomorrow, would you not get a paycheck? Or would you lose your house because you have $200,000 invested in your business?) I want to know how many other people's salaries you pay.

High risk, potentially high reward. You may work 60 hours or 80 hours a week, but people who own their own businesses sink way more than their time into their work. It's a huge gamble and the few times it pays off, they've usually EARNED their reward.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

High risk, potentially high reward. You may work 60 hours or 80 hours a week, but people who own their own businesses sink way more than their time into their work. It's a huge gamble and the few times it pays off, they've usually EARNED their reward.

Exactly. Right now I've probably put 1000 hours of research, travel, meetings and paperwork into my new business. That is just to get approval for an SBA loan and get the franchise rights. This is also while I'm running my other business and working my day job (to retain benefits) as well as helping my wife with her business.

I also have to inject $80K cash equity into it to get an SBA loan, plus pay the franchise fee out of pocket. The SBA loan, of course, wanted me to sign my life over... so I had to pledge pretty much everything I have in the case I default just to get the loan. Interesting side note: my loan was the hardest loan the lender ever closed because of my net worth. People with nothing get loans easier than people with something.

Odds of opening a successful business? Pretty low. I'm putting my life on the line. If I fail I don't expect a bailout. If (when) I succeed I expect to pay taxes on earnings and put more money away for myself. I also expect people to respect the risk I took. If anyone wants to bitch about my success later on I am offering them an opportunity right now: pledge $250K in cash and I will make you a silent partner and you too can reap the rewards. My benefit is lowered risk on my part, as some of the potentially lost money will be yours.

No too bad, considering 10 years ago I made $9/hr and studied my ass off in college.