Rich mans game

When I said I have little debt, I mean very little. Under $5,000 - all on my motorcycle that I got with the sole purpose of building credit. (And that motorcycles are awesome)

I knew because I know ya but still kill it. :)

If you feel you must play their game for some "score", keep the full payoff amount in a savings account as "eff you" money in addition to three to six months of living expenses.

That way you know you still really own it no matter what happens.
 
When I was a kid, in the 60's/early 70's, three of us kids were in one bedroom (prob 12x12), we walked to school (1/2 mile in the suburbs), and education was covered by real estate taxes. Mom stayed home until we were in our teens, and then she worked part time to give her something to do.

Health insurance costs beyond one child (a "family") are marginal.

$233,000 / 18 years is $1,083 a month. Did you ever itemize every dollar you spent that you wouldn't if you did not have children? Is that number out of line with child support numbers you have heard people paying?

"Lies, damn lies and statistics" - Mark Twain (and others)

The devil is in the details, as often the case. This isn't the 60's or 70's. The article references costs in 2015. There are far more two income families now, which necessitates day-care and summer camps for the kids. The article also says it's cheaper in rural areas, to the tune of 27% cheaper, dropping the annual cost to under $9,500. This is an average, and there are some big dollar spenders, especially in the northeast and California, plus other urban areas.

The biggest portion is housing at 29%. Yes, you may have been crammed into a tiny bedroom with one or more other siblings, but that's less likely today. Still happens, just less likely. Heck the first floor of my house is probably bigger than that home in the 60's and there are no bedrooms on the first floor of my house. My kitchen isn't much smaller than that house (and bigger than many apartments in NYC) and my kids like to tell me about how much bigger some of their friends' homes are. o_O

You didn't have cellphones and laptops for everyone in the house back then either. I don't recall being in activities every day of the week either; we cut back on that quickly as my wife and I were getting worn out taking them to soccer/gymnastics/taekwondo/etc.

The article also references costs getting cheaper with more kids, "For families with three or more children, per child expenses averaged 24% less on each child than on a child in a two-child family."

I just wish the lower income people would get this message and reduce the number of kids they have that the rest of us have to pay for. :mad:
 
Well, you don't know what I do, how much money I make, or who I fly for so you're assuming an awful lot.
You said you don't make much, you fly 800 hrs a year so that means it is very likely you are being paid for it.
 
I have a few coworkers who are really excited for me to get my PPL, which is nice. A lot of my friends are incredibly arrogant about it though - I think they are just jealous and use the "its so risky" crap to try and **** you off.
You must be young. I used to think that was in my 20's. Now, I'm 41. Somewhere between there and here, I stopped giving a fluck what others thought of my life. I started living my life for me, not looking at what anybody else was doing, whether they knew about what I do, etc. I have a lot of friends who don't know that I fly. If it ever comes up, they will find out. If not, they won't.

I'm not saying that's what you are doing but your words reminded me of how I was thinking in my 20's. It made me happy if people approved or supported my decisions in life. In the last 15-20 years, I realized that it's my life and I will live it for me and do what makes me happy. If people wanna get on board (figuratively and literally-see what I did there), great. If not, that's cool too.
 
You said you don't make much, you fly 800 hrs a year so that means it is very likely you are being paid for it.

Where did I say I didn't make much? I mean it's not a ton but it's ample for my current needs. I do fly for a living though, that is correct.
 
"Lies, damn lies and statistics" - Mark Twain (and others)

The devil is in the details, as often the case. This isn't the 60's or 70's. The article references costs in 2015. There are far more two income families now, which necessitates day-care and summer camps for the kids. The article also says it's cheaper in rural areas, to the tune of 27% cheaper, dropping the annual cost to under $9,500. This is an average, and there are some big dollar spenders, especially in the northeast and California, plus other urban areas.

The biggest portion is housing at 29%. Yes, you may have been crammed into a tiny bedroom with one or more other siblings, but that's less likely today. Still happens, just less likely. Heck the first floor of my house is probably bigger than that home in the 60's and there are no bedrooms on the first floor of my house. My kitchen isn't much smaller than that house (and bigger than many apartments in NYC) and my kids like to tell me about how much bigger some of their friends' homes are. o_O

You didn't have cellphones and laptops for everyone in the house back then either. I don't recall being in activities every day of the week either; we cut back on that quickly as my wife and I were getting worn out taking them to soccer/gymnastics/taekwondo/etc.

The article also references costs getting cheaper with more kids, "For families with three or more children, per child expenses averaged 24% less on each child than on a child in a two-child family."

I just wish the lower income people would get this message and reduce the number of kids they have that the rest of us have to pay for. :mad:
Right, details. Just throwing a number out there without the footnotes does more harm than good. Most of the "costs" are optional. No one has to have a 4000 sq ft house and have each kid on three traveling teams, each kid with a 5GB plan with a new phone every year.

As you point out, the number is skewed by high COL areas and by coddling parents.

Why are there more two income households? Do kids benefit from 10 hours of day care?

Think about why that "cost" number was generated in the first place.
 
$233,000 / 18 years is $1,083 a month. Did you ever itemize every dollar you spent that you wouldn't if you did not have children? Is that number out of line with child support numbers you have heard people paying?
"Child support" is a scam, don't get me started.

I don't have an accounting of child rearing expenses, any more than I have a spreadsheet with what flying cost me.
 
You make the mistake of generalizing from the incomlete data available to you about your own upbringing to the nation as a whole.

Where specifically do you disagree with the methods of the USDA study cited above ? ('its from the government and therefore a lie' doesn't count as an answer).

Without kids I would live in my 800/month condo and own one car.
I don't know where the USDA "study" data came from, and you probably don't either. And why is the USDA commissioning that study? They are farmers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not their bailiwick.

As you well know from your own profession, the outcome of a "study" is very often based on who is paying for it.
 
I don't know where the USDA "study" data came from, and you probably don't either. And why is the USDA commissioning that study? They are farmers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not their bailiwick.

As you well know from your own profession, the outcome of a "study" is very often based on who is paying for it.

Or...It could be because SNAP and WIC are part of the farm bill and managed by USDA?
 
It does amaze me how many people have significant funds. Living in Dallas you can drive past neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood full of million dollar homes. I drive by wondering how many CEOs that really are that there this many houses available at this price. Same thing at the airport.

I am just amazed at how many people there are that are in that tax bracket. I am looking for the secret door to it.
It's called hard work and being ready when the opportunity presents itself. Also, how old are the occupants compared to you?
 
It's called inheritance: money, company, position, board seat, etc. Unless daddy was in that position, it's not easy to just rise to that level.
That's called the Loser Mentality. It's a cop out. Guess how many people are first generation rich compared to the trust-funders?
 
I don't know where the USDA "study" data came from, and you probably don't either. And why is the USDA commissioning that study? They are farmers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not their bailiwick.

They actually cite where the data comes from and how the expenses have developed since the 60s (you could read the study if you were interested in it beyond boilerplate politicking but as you already have all the answers that's probably not necessary).
Agriculture is one piece of USDA, they are also the administrator of one of the largest expense based welfare programs for families.
 
They don't pay rent.

In fact, they have programs available for free housing (like they actually just give you a house) free remodels for existing houses...I bought my truck from a villager whose family has a single income as a cook at the school, and they are able to afford to own new cars, own 2 houses, have 7 kids, all on an income of about $15,000/year

If that doesn't make you weep I don't know what will.
 
In fact, they have programs available for free housing (like they actually just give you a house) free remodels for existing houses...I bought my truck from a villager whose family has a single income as a cook at the school, and they are able to afford to own new cars, own 2 houses, have 7 kids, all on an income of about $15,000/year

If that doesn't make you weep I don't know what will.
Plus they get a check every year from the state, oil money proceeds! Or at least they did a few years ago, my cousins lived in Anchorage and they also got some type of payment until he moved to Georgia.
 
If anyone knows the formula for getting rich, please post it.
In 25 years of being in the workforce, I manage to keep my home profitable but I have yet to find the key to doing it with significantly less effort.
 
If anyone knows the formula for getting rich, please post it.
In 25 years of being in the workforce, I manage to keep my home profitable but I have yet to find the key to doing it with significantly less effort.

Find a rich woman? :dunno:
 
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