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The issue isn't how much money or income you can save or how frugal your spending, but how much MORE you have than everyone else in your community. If the whole community followed the same strategy, they'd all be as poor or rich as each other. The price of goods and services they rely on (including houses) depends on how much everyone 'else' is willing and able to pay. So you only need more than the average person to live well. As a result, if lots of people are trying to get money you can't ever get off the treadmill. You can exploit the disparity between different communities - take your money and move somewhere cheap. Of course, global trade has made that benefit harder to obtain because goods are at similar prices in different places. Services can be cheaper in some areas, but when you are older do you want expensive or cheap doctors ?
Perhaps you can "illuminate" the audience at the next Burning Amp.
I can remember rolling coins to buy my first Tek scope from an outfit which dealt in Grumman surplus on Long Island. Never should've traded it either!
This is the beat everyone else strategy. It's a losing proposition, do what works for you ignoring everyone else.
That might be tough but not impossible, my mother might have some secretly stashed.
I bought my Cambridge 3 fam for $60K in 1983 with a college buddy, bought out his half ~ '87 when he married and they bought another local property
I'm still there, it cost more than the original price just to do windows and siding in 2009
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The "Goodwill Store" is always a good source! There was a fellow who was a tremendous benefactor to one museum of which i am particularly fond, he was almost completely blind. He and a relative of mine would shop for bargains at Goodwill. Hart Schaffner and Marx suits 95% off!
FWIW, SS Max was $29.7k in 1981.
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It wasn't a proposition or a strategy, more a comment on how I see things work, given the constraints of economics and the variety of human nature that makes up the world. Investing is, afterall, a bet on human nature and a few other variables, is it not ?
We had "Philosophy Robes", and the coordinate college for women required white gloves, white panties and skirts below the knee.
Hard to ignore everyone else when they are driving up prices, so that 'what works for you' costs twice what it needs to.
And it's not just the price in dollars - like all the wasted time stuck in traffic is just as much if not more a 'cost' of home ownership. That cost is skyrocketing here - which means GTHO and take my money somewhere 'cheaper'. Which goes back to one of the earlier posts about investing in somewhere you actually want to live. It will likely have very few jobs and rely on saving somewhere north of a million. Counting the days.
That is why I chose a company in a small community (30,000 in 1981) over a big town, with less than a 10 minute drive to work.
My exit strategy is to do just that. I'm planning on moving out into the country to lower my tax burden and get away from the traffic due to a major interstate highway running though town.
The downside of this strategy is it leaves me further away from EMS services.
I figure that like most Americans, I'll be one major medical crisis away from bankruptcy.
One other issue is state taxes and local sales taxes. Where I live there is no state income tax, but sales taxes run 9.75%. Some of that can be avoided by driving 25 miles and shopping in another state, which works if you save enough to counter the cost of gas and account for time spent running around.
My exit strategy is to do just that. I'm planning on moving out into the country to lower my tax burden and get away from the traffic due to a major interstate highway running though town.
The downside of this strategy is it leaves me further away from EMS services.
I figure that like most Americans, I'll be one major medical crisis away from bankruptcy.
One other issue is state taxes and local sales taxes. Where I live there is no state income tax, but sales taxes run 9.75%. Some of that can be avoided by driving 25 miles and shopping in another state, which works if you save enough to counter the cost of gas and account for time spent running around.
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Unfortunately it has become hard to find someone that writes the policies but long term care insurance was available for those under 60 with NO health issues at all. It was not cheap and most people pay no attention to these things until it's too late. The coverage is big $20,000 a month and all premiums stop if either me or my wife needs it.
gold
Metals are always on the climb and if history is any indication and at the rate countries like China like to buy up Canada's gold reserves (stupid) gold would be a secure investment however I would designate such a plan as more of a long term investment. Unless you were to get lucky sharing into an up and coming mine which is high risk, seen a family member do that shortly after it dropped off the map. I dunno', Vegas? I think I'd take a visit down there before doing that.
If I had 20k burning a hole in my pocket I think I would sit pretty and wait for real estate to plunge while finding a partner to match it. Risky business Mortgage would be too much to carry 20k is almost a spit in the bucket when homes are averaging half a million - 600 bucks around here. However I have seen fluctuations as high as 50k on a similarly priced house over the past two years.
Just thinking how sweet it would be to plunk some money down on one of the ideas some kid came up with down in San Francisco and hitting it big on the next giantly successful web platform.
Metals are always on the climb and if history is any indication and at the rate countries like China like to buy up Canada's gold reserves (stupid) gold would be a secure investment however I would designate such a plan as more of a long term investment. Unless you were to get lucky sharing into an up and coming mine which is high risk, seen a family member do that shortly after it dropped off the map. I dunno', Vegas? I think I'd take a visit down there before doing that.
If I had 20k burning a hole in my pocket I think I would sit pretty and wait for real estate to plunge while finding a partner to match it. Risky business Mortgage would be too much to carry 20k is almost a spit in the bucket when homes are averaging half a million - 600 bucks around here. However I have seen fluctuations as high as 50k on a similarly priced house over the past two years.
Just thinking how sweet it would be to plunk some money down on one of the ideas some kid came up with down in San Francisco and hitting it big on the next giantly successful web platform.
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I've been told silver is better. Makes sense as it is more 'spendable' than gold in the event of an actual economic collapse. I've been advised by someone very cynical to take 50 to 100k, buy actual silver coin, and bury in the the concrete foundation of the house. I haven't done it... yet. Could mean life or death if everyone's 401k is worth absolutely nothing overnight.
Yet still another reason to have the house paid for, even if it does delay your portfolio buildup. Once you're out of debt it happens surprisingly fast anyway. Pity the fool paying interest only loans if the fecal material really does hit the revolving metal cooling instrument.
Yet still another reason to have the house paid for, even if it does delay your portfolio buildup. Once you're out of debt it happens surprisingly fast anyway. Pity the fool paying interest only loans if the fecal material really does hit the revolving metal cooling instrument.
Sure you could make money short term. Its gone up since December. On $20,000 you'd be looking at about $2300 profit which isn't bad at all. Or it could always dip again.
Its steadily seen increases over 5 10 15 and 30 years, it seen 300% increase in three decades. But also hit a huge low a decade prior. Can you imagine getting in when it was $35
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