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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2011 13:34:02 GMT -5
It's possible for sure, my mom is only making about that now. Of course she lives in a small town in AZ, not the bay area in CA. That part usually isn't mentioned in articles like this. Which is the other thing. 30K in NY or bay area in CA is totally different from 30K in AZ or Missippi, etc.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on May 11, 2011 13:37:43 GMT -5
He called that getting the watches for free, seeming to miss the point that he could have spent that $500 on something else. Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought he bought 3 for $500 total & then sold one of them for $600. I'd call that getting them for free, he still has the $500 to spend on something else after it was all said & done.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on May 11, 2011 13:38:56 GMT -5
I guess if you want that "stuff", that's the way to get it. We tend to spend our money on "living" rather than on stuff. We spent a lot on our home cuz that's where we live. We also like to buy concert and sporting event tickets, go to museums, travel (when we have time), spend money on good food and booze when we have people over, etc. We drive very nice, but older model cars purchased used with low mileage. Both are over (8) years old and have many, many good years left. Just curious. How many of you YMers would know a Movado if you saw one? How do you know? I have NO CLUE. I must be out of touch because I had never even heard of a Movado watch before I saw this post. I've never heard of them either. But, then I am not into fashion or name brands at all.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 11, 2011 13:39:38 GMT -5
It's possible for sure, my mom is only making about that now. Of course she lives in a small town in AZ, not the bay area in CA. That part usually isn't mentioned in articles like this. Which is the other thing. 30K in NY or bay area in CA is totally different from 30K in AZ or Missippi, etc. You got that right. I live in the southern bay area CA and it is EXTREMELY expensive, but I am finally back here after having been away for over 25 years and we LOVE IT so I can't whine too much.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2011 14:44:47 GMT -5
He called that getting the watches for free, seeming to miss the point that he could have spent that $500 on something else. Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought he bought 3 for $500 total & then sold one of them for $600. I'd call that getting them for free, he still has the $500 to spend on something else after it was all said & done. That is not free. He had $600 and he spent $500. He cut his profit down to $100. To me the good life includes travelling, eating well, saving for retirement...all this guy did was get a couple of good deals.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on May 11, 2011 14:55:51 GMT -5
To me the good life includes travelling, eating well, saving for retirement...all this guy did was get a couple of good deals. Keep in mind that the less money you make the higher percentage of your wages that SS will replace. It's not a foolproof retirement strategy obviously, but it's something.
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on May 11, 2011 15:47:32 GMT -5
I read that article this morning and didn't find a lot of value in it. In particular I didn't care for his definition of the "good life". Real "millionaire next door" types don't care about status symbols like the ones mentioned in the article, and they probably put more focus on generating income than trying to find ways to reduce spending on stuff like that anyway.
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pepper112765
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Post by pepper112765 on May 11, 2011 16:33:48 GMT -5
I have on a Movado, good watches, mine was a Christmas gift, however.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on May 11, 2011 16:49:37 GMT -5
Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought he bought 3 for $500 total & then sold one of them for $600. I'd call that getting them for free, he still has the $500 to spend on something else after it was all said & done. That is not free. He had $600 and he spent $500. He cut his profit down to $100. I'm so confused. He had $500 & spent it on 3 watches. He then sells 1 watch for $600. Now he has $600 & 2 watches - he comes out $100 & 2 watches ahead of where he started. How is that not free watches?
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on May 11, 2011 17:11:24 GMT -5
I'm so confused. He had $500 & spent it on 3 watches. He then sells 1 watch for $600. Now he has $600 & 2 watches - he comes out $100 & 2 watches ahead of where he started. How is that not free watches?
Now if he could do that all day then he'd be set! But I wonder how much time he spend finding those deals, and if perhaps his time would have been better spent working at a job that would have paid a higher rate of pay.
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RoadToRiches
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Post by RoadToRiches on May 11, 2011 18:31:18 GMT -5
If someone wants brand name watch, then why not? If they can afford it. Nothing wrong with someone liking to have nice expensive watch. It's a personal thing. Some people are happy with $10 watch. I have two watches. One is $30 bucks watch and other one is $5000 watch. I wear it on special occasions. Could I wear the cheapo watch instead? Of course I could! Nobody probably would notice any difference...besides, I don't wear it to show it off to everyone :"Heyyyy ylook at my expensive watch!!!!! LOOK AT ME!!!!" It's more for me than for someone else.
But if I have 5k watch..why not wear it and feel "rich" once in a while? lol
I sometimes don't understand some people's stand on luxury items. Everyone is different I guess. Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with someone liking nice expensive item to enjoy it.
You can do only so much of "That $50 bucks will be 10 million in 30 years at 11%". Gotta enjoy sometimes! of course, as long as it can be afforded.
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RoadToRiches
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Post by RoadToRiches on May 11, 2011 18:38:46 GMT -5
$600 and it doesn't even have numbers!! What a rip. It's the cheap version of the Rolex, and you can get a rolex at the Swapmeet for $10. yeah but instead of Rolex..it says Bolex on it.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2011 19:10:05 GMT -5
I know Movados because I used to sell 'fine" jewelry at Macy's. I think they are attractive, but I like watches because they are my only jewelry. You really can buy name-brand stuff used at a fraction of the price. I bought my Bose wave stereo system for $250 with the deluxe remote on CraigsList. She gave me the paperwork . . . it was 7 months old and she was still making payments. So it's possible, I guess. I just wouldn't want to have to try it for the rest of my life.
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ihearyou2
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Post by ihearyou2 on May 11, 2011 19:13:40 GMT -5
Living off 30K is the shit life, end of lecture and I have a real Movado.
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Post by debtheaven on May 11, 2011 20:02:41 GMT -5
Like Dark and Cawiau called it, this person must be living in a low COLA. Where I live 80K won't even get you a studio anymore, unless you're basically willing to live underground.
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LlamaLlamaDuck
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Post by LlamaLlamaDuck on May 11, 2011 21:30:50 GMT -5
The title of the article seems misleading, as the author basically just lists the high-end things he wants and indicates how he procures them for less than going price.
So now that he's bought a number of objects.... does he skimp on his groceries or gas for his commute? Does he pay his utility bills?
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2011 22:18:42 GMT -5
That is not free. He had $600 and he spent $500. He cut his profit down to $100. I'm so confused. He had $500 & spent it on 3 watches. He then sells 1 watch for $600. Now he has $600 & 2 watches - he comes out $100 & 2 watches ahead of where he started. How is that not free watches? He earned $600. The fact that he earned it selling a watch is irrelevant. It is no different than if he earned it doing his day job. He paid $500 for the watches he now owns.
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Post by mtshastawriter on May 11, 2011 22:58:53 GMT -5
We were a family of 4, living in CA, and our AGI for last year was only $14K. (We also had some SSDI income.) We do not qualify for food stamps, etc... but do qualify for MediCal. We feed two teenage boys...
We previously made over 80K a year, but when my DH became disabled, we decided to move to a more rural area where we could buy a piece of land, with a home on it, for less than 100K. We used all of our previous equity from a home in the SF Bay Area and bought this house on 5 acres.
My current situation is the boys and I live on SS of about $1100 a month plus what I earn freelancing. Since I no longer have a mortgage, and living here can be fairly inexpensive for everything but food and gas, it is very doable. All of my fixed expenses are taken care of with the $1100 and part of our food expense as well. I can earn less than 600 a month and be fine.
The up-side to this situation is that I no longer will ever have a mortgage and since I work from home, commuting to a far away town isn't an issue. I am only 42, so I have plenty of time now to sock away all of my extra income into retirement savings, etc...
I very much agree with Phil (I think it was him) who advocates for saving money not through not buying Starbucks, but by looking at the big things like housing, car payments, etc... I can live very low income right now because I have no mortgage and no car payments. It makes a huge difference in your cost of living. Imagine only paying for utilities, taxes, your food, etc... and you can see where people can live on a lot less income.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 11, 2011 23:12:52 GMT -5
If someone wants brand name watch, then why not? If they can afford it. Nothing wrong with someone liking to have nice expensive watch. It's a personal thing. Some people are happy with $10 watch. I have two watches. One is $30 bucks watch and other one is $5000 watch. I wear it on special occasions. Could I wear the cheapo watch instead? Of course I could! Nobody probably would notice any difference...besides, I don't wear it to show it off to everyone :"Heyyyy ylook at my expensive watch!!!!! LOOK AT ME!!!!" It's more for me than for someone else. But if I have 5k watch..why not wear it and feel "rich" once in a while? lol I sometimes don't understand some people's stand on luxury items. Everyone is different I guess. Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with someone liking nice expensive item to enjoy it. You can do only so much of "That $50 bucks will be 10 million in 30 years at 11%". Gotta enjoy sometimes! of course, as long as it can be afforded. I say to each their own. I think buying anything for the sole purpose of keeping up with the Joneses (i.e. because a person thinks that it will impress or show status) is really dumb, IF that's why someone is doing it. But if I found something that I thought that I would REALLY enjoy that was a little bit pricey - a watch, a purse, etc. I would not hesitate to buy it for myself. So far, however, I haven't found a watch or a purse that I thought would give me $600 worth of enjoyment. We splurge on things like paying for a balcony as opposed to an inside state room when we go on a cruise. And yep, when the cruise is over we will have nothing to show for our money other than the memory of a great vacation, but that is our preference. Others would rather have the inside stateroom and spend the extra money on something else whether it be gambling or the convenience of buying drinks whenever you want to on-board ship etc.; everyone has their own priorities.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 11, 2011 23:17:00 GMT -5
We were a family of 4, living in CA, and our AGI for last year was only $14K. (We also had some SSDI income.) We do not qualify for food stamps, etc... but do qualify for MediCal. We feed two teenage boys... We previously made over 80K a year, but when my DH became disabled, we decided to move to a more rural area where we could buy a piece of land, with a home on it, for less than 100K. We used all of our previous equity from a home in the SF Bay Area and bought this house on 5 acres. My current situation is the boys and I live on SS of about $1100 a month plus what I earn freelancing. Since I no longer have a mortgage, and living here can be fairly inexpensive for everything but food and gas, it is very doable. All of my fixed expenses are taken care of with the $1100 and part of our food expense as well. I can earn less than 600 a month and be fine. The up-side to this situation is that I no longer will ever have a mortgage and since I work from home, commuting to a far away town isn't an issue. I am only 42, so I have plenty of time now to sock away all of my extra income into retirement savings, etc... I very much agree with Phil (I think it was him) who advocates for saving money not through not buying Starbucks, but by looking at the big things like housing, car payments, etc... I can live very low income right now because I have no mortgage and no car payments. It makes a huge difference in your cost of living. Imagine only paying for utilities, taxes, your food, etc... and you can see where people can live on a lot less income. I think what you have done is AWESOME!! Karma to you!! I AM shocked that you qualify for MediCal when you own a home. Is it primarily for the boys? And what will you do for medical insurance going forward?
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RoadToRiches
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Post by RoadToRiches on May 12, 2011 6:50:47 GMT -5
We were a family of 4, living in CA, and our AGI for last year was only $14K. (We also had some SSDI income.) We do not qualify for food stamps, etc... but do qualify for MediCal. We feed two teenage boys... We previously made over 80K a year, but when my DH became disabled, we decided to move to a more rural area where we could buy a piece of land, with a home on it, for less than 100K. We used all of our previous equity from a home in the SF Bay Area and bought this house on 5 acres. My current situation is the boys and I live on SS of about $1100 a month plus what I earn freelancing. Since I no longer have a mortgage, and living here can be fairly inexpensive for everything but food and gas, it is very doable. All of my fixed expenses are taken care of with the $1100 and part of our food expense as well. I can earn less than 600 a month and be fine. The up-side to this situation is that I no longer will ever have a mortgage and since I work from home, commuting to a far away town isn't an issue. I am only 42, so I have plenty of time now to sock away all of my extra income into retirement savings, etc... I very much agree with Phil (I think it was him) who advocates for saving money not through not buying Starbucks, but by looking at the big things like housing, car payments, etc... I can live very low income right now because I have no mortgage and no car payments. It makes a huge difference in your cost of living. Imagine only paying for utilities, taxes, your food, etc... and you can see where people can live on a lot less income. That is awesome that you have paid off house. This is a perfect example why I am in a camp of people who say "pay the mortgage off" instead of "ehhh don't pay it off, invest!"
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on May 12, 2011 6:57:36 GMT -5
If you read the article closely, it does NOT say that he was making $30,000. It said he was making 6 figures, had a reduction in income and that he was planning for how to live IF his income was reduced again. So, he likely was making 60K, 75K, etc....
Having said that, it can be done in a LCOL area. I bought my first house in 2001, 3 BR, 1 BA, 1100 sf. on a small city lot in a decent neighborhood for $54,000. My mortgage, including PITI, was around $570. I was only making around 30K when I bought it. If I had stayed out of credit card debt, I would have lived VERY well on my income. Most days I wish I had stayed in that house...
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on May 12, 2011 7:30:02 GMT -5
I also wasn't very impressed with the article. Of course you can live on $30K a year in a LCOL area when you use your previous high income to secure an uber cheap place to live. If he could do it in NJ without the previous six figure income I'd be impressed!
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Post by mtshastawriter on May 12, 2011 10:04:24 GMT -5
Dancin - The rules in CA for MediCal exempt your primary residence as well as one vehicle. Having 2 dependent children makes it so that I can still earn some income and MediCal will still cover us.
As for moving forward, I have no desire to stay living the "high life" on MediCal and a low income. (I will actually go without coverage if I have to in order to earn good money again!)
I am in the process of starting a business with a partner and an investor. Once my income reaches a decent level and I will be kicked off of MediCal, then the business will be providing us with health insurance. (As well as my other two partners.)
The friend I am starting the business with, and our angel investor, are all in the same boat with needing insurance but not being able to afford it (or even get it due to pre-existing conditions) so this business is partially being formed for this purpose. The three of us will be able to get group insurance and use the premium as part of our compensation.
I think lots of people will go this route as people start loosing the option of health insurance coverage from their employers and need a way to better access coverage. Gather up a few friends, start a good solid business online, and then buy group!
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on May 12, 2011 10:17:24 GMT -5
I'm so confused. He had $500 & spent it on 3 watches. He then sells 1 watch for $600. Now he has $600 & 2 watches - he comes out $100 & 2 watches ahead of where he started. How is that not free watches? He earned $600. The fact that he earned it selling a watch is irrelevant. It is no different than if he earned it doing his day job. He paid $500 for the watches he now owns. I'm not following your logic either. He paid $500 total for the 3 watches, sold one for $600. He came out ahead. How, exactly, is he out $500? I agree that he is ahead $100.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on May 12, 2011 12:39:43 GMT -5
I'm so confused. He had $500 & spent it on 3 watches. He then sells 1 watch for $600. Now he has $600 & 2 watches - he comes out $100 & 2 watches ahead of where he started. How is that not free watches? He earned $600. The fact that he earned it selling a watch is irrelevant. It is no different than if he earned it doing his day job. He paid $500 for the watches he now owns. Suppose he sold all 3 for $500 & now is exactly back where he started. According to you he earned $500 (irrelevent as to how) & wasted $500 on watches he no longer owns, but you don't think the 2 balance each other out. Your argument was he could have spent that $500 on something else, but from my perspective at the end of the day he still can spend the $500. I disagree with your argument, but I think we see each other's points, so we are just discussing semantics.
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Clever Username
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Post by Clever Username on May 12, 2011 12:47:02 GMT -5
Here's my own watch story. I work at a bankruptcy law firm. Our secretary was on vacation, so one of the partner's buddy's was filling in. His full time job: selling high end watches at a jewelry store. Client comes in, gigantic gaudy watch. I'm already wondering what that canoe will do to our atty's afternoon when he strolls into his trustee meeting with a wealth display like that. I casually ask the jeweler what he thinks of the watch later. Having not gotten within 20 feet of it. "it's an obvious knock off of a xyz, and a bad one at that."
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Post by ty on May 12, 2011 19:04:21 GMT -5
Well one early morning I was totally pizzed off when a lady and two kids, well dressed, all of them wearing gold jewelry, and she was sporting a Rolex, then her 3 carts full of food was around $600 and she paid in food stamps. I was getting one item that morning and when I walked out to my car, she and the two kids were loading up their brand new Mercedes Benz. I took down the license plate and reported that bytch. For me, if you are driving a Mercedes SUV, then you got money and you shouldn't be collecting food-stamps. A month later she was on the news for WELFARE FRAUD! I was happy. I felt bad for the kids, but she had multiple addresses that she was filing under. Some people might think I was wrong in reporting her, but food-stamps is meant for those in need. Not for those that live off GREED and the backs of all others.
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Post by ty on May 12, 2011 19:48:39 GMT -5
I would rather have a Movado than a Rolex. I think they look much better. That being said, I make about what that person supposedly does and I have yet to buy one, used or otherwise. Several Movado rip-offs exist and they are quite satisfactory for the purpose. My Tony the Tiger watch I got from my box of cereal works just fine.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on May 12, 2011 19:52:22 GMT -5
Eh.. my cell phone has a clock. Why do I need to wear jewelry at all?
This thread is reminding me that I need to call and check on the Rolex I found and turned in as possible stolen property. I'm pretty sure it becomes mine if nobody claims it after a certain period of time.
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