WC Household Income Poll

[Aloha Hoosier]

You mean that you can't? I would like (and could afford) to buy a home down in TN (Spring Hill...just south ofNashville) close to our daughter but they cost so darn much and I don't look at a house as an investment like most people do. All the homes around where she lives start at over $300,000 and that is for a 1200-1500 sq ft home and I just don't want to have that much money tied up in a second home.

You don't want to know what I spent to buy a home of about that size in Flagstaff, Arizona this summer. That's where our daughter lives now while doing grad school at NAU. She has a roommate, and she pays rent and I'm not paying rent for my daughter's apartment any longer, so I don't come out a lot worse financially. It's a potential retirement home for us. Lot of snow in the winter, but it's bright and sunny. The weather in the summer is awesome. I can golf all year round - I'll just have to drive about an hour to do it in the winter. That's not too bad.

I suggested doing this three years ago and the house would have been a lot cheaper. Hope I didn't buy at the peak!

 

[JamieDimonsBalls]

View embedded media

Uncle marks policies are killing our labor force

 

[UncleMark]

Uncle marks policies are killing our labor force

Due to the generosity from people like you and @mcmurtry66 .

 

[Baller23Boogie]

I’m weak. DANC

Just remember, the only thing stopping you from greatness is air and opportunity. Go out and seize it, champ! (God damn, I should be a life coach.)

😄

 

[mcmurtry66]

Just remember, the only thing stopping you from greatness is air and opportunity. Go out and seize it, champ! (God damn, I should be a life coach.)

😄

Mhmm. Has to be better than financial advisor

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Mhmm. Has to be better than financial advisor

Musk once touted dogecoin and people still think he is a genius.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

Musk once touted dogecoin and people still think he is a genius.

Did I just get compared to Elon Musk?

 

[NPT]

I wish that I could come back here after Christmas vacation and report that I had won the lottery but I can't. 🤣 🤣

 

[NPT]

We just bought a house in Flagstaff, Arizona where Northern Arizona University is. It's a great town and we'll be there for Christmas. The idea is that our daughter will live there now, with her roommate(s) and we'll just visit once in a while. We may end up living there after I retire-retire. The weather is great in the summer because it's at 7,000 feet and it only takes about 45 minutes in the winter to get to a golf course to play. Not a terrible location.

Have you seen this? Is that any concern to you?

Skipped Showers, Paper Plates: An Arizona Suburb's Water Is Cut Off

RIO VERDE, Ariz. — Joe McCue thought he had found a desert paradise when he bought one of the new stucco houses sprouting in the granite foothills of Rio Verde, Arizona. There were good schools, mountain views and cactus-spangled hiking trails out the back door. Then the water got cut off...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Aloha Hoosier]

Have you seen this? Is that any concern to you?

Skipped Showers, Paper Plates: An Arizona Suburb's Water Is Cut Off

RIO VERDE, Ariz. — Joe McCue thought he had found a desert paradise when he bought one of the new stucco houses sprouting in the granite foothills of Rio Verde, Arizona. There were good schools, mountain views and cactus-spangled hiking trails out the back door. Then the water got cut off...

www.yahoo.com

Flagstaff has about 2 feet of snow on the ground with more coming.

 

[Joe_Hoopsier]

Flag sucks. Tucson is where it’s at. You can go from 2000’ to 11,000’ in 45 minutes!

 

[NPT]

Flag sucks. Tucson is where it’s at. You can go from 2000’ to 11,000’ in 45 minutes!

That's all according to what you like. I love the mountains and there are some near Flagstaff .... maybe not quite as near but still pretty darn close.

 

[NPT]

I was surprised to see two people in the under 25K group. All this inflation has to be really hard on them. While I don't like it, it has not affected what we do. I wonder how many people on here has changed things because of inflation.

 

[Spartans9312]

I was surprised to see two people in the under 25K group. All this inflation has to be really hard on them. While I don't like it, it has not affected what we do. I wonder how many people on here has changed things because of inflation.

Walk into a store and look around….80% of the folks under 60 are living with maxed out credit cards.

 

[NPT]

Walk into a store and look around….80% of the folks under 60 are living with maxed out credit cards.

There are lots of people that just don't know how to manage money and some don't look at charging on a credit card as spending money. We charge just about everything but pay it off at the end of the month.

 

[Standard Issue]

There are lots of people that just don't know how to manage money and some don't look at charging on a credit card as spending money. We charge just about everything but pay it off at the end of the month.

We do the same. Over and above the everyday expenditures we also have our health insurance, Internet, water, sewer,...; basically anything we can that doesn't charge a fee. I think we got a cash back check for eleven or twelve hundred dollars for last year. Makes for an easy way to see where the cash is going.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

There are lots of people that just don't know how to manage money and some don't look at charging on a credit card as spending money. We charge just about everything but pay it off at the end of the month.

Off topic somewhat, my current book is on dishonesty. Basically just about everyone will be dishonest, and ease of being caught plays little in if people are dishonest or by how much.

The experiments on cheating where done by having people take a test, grade it themselves, shred the test, then report their score. No way could they be caught. Theses are harder problems, the average correct in a proper grading scenario is 4 out of 20. In the scenario above where someone hands them cash, the average is 6. No one claims closet to the 20. Pretty much everyone adds a couple.

The tie in to what you said. If they go to a table and are handed tokens to be taken to another room to be traded for cash, the average goes to 8. In that, and other experiments, a step between the cheating and the cash increases cheating. He wonders what this means for a cashless society.

I think it explains credit cards. It is a step removed, spending is just a little easier. I have a good buddy who is a barber in town, he does not take credit. I wonder if his tips would go up more than the surcharge for this reason.

 

[UncleMark]

I think it explains credit cards. It is a step removed, spending is just a little easier. I have a good buddy who is a barber in town, he does not take credit. I wonder if his tips would go up more than the surcharge for this reason.

For those that have difficulty controlling their spending, Dave Ramsey has them go to an all cash economy, with the budgeted amounts in designated envelopes.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

For those that have difficulty controlling their spending, Dave Ramsey has them go to an all cash economy, with the budgeted amounts in designated envelopes.

I wonder what this means for Bitcoin? It isn't tangible, do people overspend with Bitcoin since it isn't real?

 

[TMFT]

I wonder what this means for Bitcoin? It isn't tangible, do people overspend with Bitcoin since it isn't real?

People don't overspend with Bitcoin because people don't spend with Bitcoin. It's not a currency, it's a speculative investment. You know that by asking any Bitcoin enthusiast what they bought with their Bitcoin in the last year.

 

[BCCHoosier]

For those that have difficulty controlling their spending, Dave Ramsey has them go to an all cash economy, with the budgeted amounts in designated envelopes.

For budgeting that works but for so many things you have to have a credit card. Went to a spring training game yesterday. No cash anywhere. Every souvenir and concession stand were card only.

 

[UncleMark]

For budgeting that works but for so many things you have to have a credit card. Went to a spring training game yesterday. No cash anywhere. Every souvenir and concession stand were card only.

Of course.

He's lightened up over the years. Now instead of cash he suggests a debit card and use of a budgeting app they offer to track every nickel. The idea is to add friction to the spending process.

 

[larsIU]

For budgeting that works but for so many things you have to have a credit card. Went to a spring training game yesterday. No cash anywhere. Every souvenir and concession stand were card only.

I believe Ramsey just uses a debit card for nearly everything. At least at the beginning. Once you've built a bit of a buffer you can play around with credit cards for the cashback, miles, etc. type perks.

 

[UncleMark]

I believe Ramsey just uses a debit card for nearly everything. At least at the beginning. Once you've built a bit of a buffer you can play around with credit cards for the cashback, miles, etc. type perks.

Not according to Dave. No credit cards ever.

 

[larsIU]

Not according to Dave. No credit cards ever.

Well that's just, like, his opinion man. I tend to bend other's philosophies to my needs.

 

[UncleMark]

Well that's just, like, his opinion man. I tend to bend other's philosophies to my needs.

He's not as much fun as he used to be. Doesn't yell at people and call them stupid like he used to. That damn daughter of his has ruined him. Just the other day I heard him say he was okay with just 10% down and a 20 year fixed.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

People don't overspend with Bitcoin because people don't spend with Bitcoin. It's not a currency, it's a speculative investment. You know that by asking any Bitcoin enthusiast what they bought with their Bitcoin in the last year.

There are apps that allow one to pay with Bitcoin. There are Crypto debit cards.

I don't want any way to take money directly from my retirement savings (or even my regular savings) to buy a car, or even a hotdog at the game.

 

[TDHoosier]

Found out this weekend that a guy I regularly play cards with (not close to him but an acquaintance) liquidated everything to purchase Bitcoin or some version of it prior to its explosion. When I say everything I mean everything (house included) he made somewhere in the range of 8-10 million. He is I would say 40-42 and works when he wants, has zero debt and plays cards (low limit) when he wants.

Also, kid (probably 25 years old) walked into one of my branch offices when I happened to be there. He was looking to put money into our MM account (currently paying 4.1%) said his sources of income is crypto currency and said he paid almost 7 figures in taxes last year alone. I was listening to my one of my Managers speak to him and could tell she seemed skeptical until he showed her on his phone (he paid 857,000).

Why didn't I get into this crypto stuff along time ago? lol

 

[DANC]

For budgeting that works but for so many things you have to have a credit card. Went to a spring training game yesterday. No cash anywhere. Every souvenir and concession stand were card only.

JetBlue Park? I was there yesterday and you even had to pay for parking with a credit card.

 

[DANC]

I was surprised to see two people in the under 25K group. All this inflation has to be really hard on them. While I don't like it, it has not affected what we do. I wonder how many people on here has changed things because of inflation.

 

[mcmurtry66]

For budgeting that works but for so many things you have to have a credit card. Went to a spring training game yesterday. No cash anywhere. Every souvenir and concession stand were card only.

Yep. Restaurants too. Festivals.

 

[TMFT]

He's not as much fun as he used to be. Doesn't yell at people and call them stupid like he used to. That damn daughter of his has ruined him. Just the other day I heard him say he was okay with just 10% down and a 20 year fixed.

He's got sound advice.

He's also talking to the lowest common denominator in the sense that he doesn't trust anyone to not be foolish with their spending. Like others have said with credit card payments and bonus rewards, it's not a big deal if you're properly budgeted, follow it, and pay it off each month. Hell, I made money on my CC last year. But I recognized I'm in a fortunate situation and I spent my entire childhood hearing how my mom was "a year away" from paying off all of her credit card debt. And I remember meeting Mrs. TMFT and spending WAY too much time after we moved in and got engaged paying off all of her damned store cards and various debts. It's a hell of a trap.

But back to Dave Ramsey, the one real problem I had with his radio show was who they would put on air as their inspirational stories. "I'm Tom. My wife and I paid of gross $85k/yr and paid off $75k in debt in 3 years by doing so and so." It's super impressive and super depressing. Save money, pay off your house, pay off your debts, save for college, don't eat out 4x/wk and avoid DoorDash like the plague. But for the love of God, go do something fun once in a while, even if it means paying off your house at 45 instead of 41. Balance, balance, balance.

 

[Univee2]

For those that have difficulty controlling their spending, Dave Ramsey has them go to an all cash economy, with the budgeted amounts in designated envelopes.

So, they can’t go to a Reds game - not that that’s a tragedy these days - as they no longer accept cash at GABP.

 

[NPT]

Basically just about everyone will be dishonest, and ease of being caught plays little in if people are dishonest or by how much.

I was reading something like that not too long ago. That is the exact reason the places like Kroger, Walmart, etc quit letting you scan stuff as you go and pay for it via the phone app. They basically said that it's too tempting for even "honest" people to cheat so they just did away with that option. However, it's still available at Sam's Club and I always use it so I don't have to go thru a checkout line.

Not according to Dave. No credit cards ever.

That is one place I disagree with him. It's a good starting point for people but I control the credit card.... it doesn't control me so I use it to my advantage. I don't use debit cards very often because if there is a dispute I want to have their money and with a debit card they already have your money.

 

[NPT]

There are apps that allow one to pay with Bitcoin. There are Crypto debit cards.

Pet rocks!!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

Jamie Dimon Writes Off Crypto As A 'Complete Sideshow,' Likens Tokens To 'Pet Rocks'

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon trashed cryptocurrencies in the wake of the FTX fallout and slammed m

www.benzinga.com

 

[UncleMark]

So, they can’t go to a Reds game - not that that’s a tragedy these days - as they no longer accept cash at GABP.

The people he's dealing with aren't allowed to go anywhere but work and church.

 

[Joe_Hoopsier]

There are apps that allow one to pay with Bitcoin. There are Crypto debit cards.

I don't want any way to take money directly from my retirement savings (or even my regular savings) to buy a car, or even a hotdog at the game.

Bringing a few months of conversations all herded into one small corral. You've went from civil war reenactments, living off the land off the grid, shooting a mortar on Union Valley road, to understanding Crypto credit cards. Do I have that right?

 

[UncleMark]

That is one place I disagree with him. It's a good starting point for people but I control the credit card.... it doesn't control me so I use it to my advantage.

That's why you don't really need to pay any attention to Ramsey. He's dealing with people that are controlled by their credit cards, rather than controlling them.

 

[Joe_Hoopsier]

There are apps that allow one to pay with Bitcoin. There are Crypto debit cards.

I don't want any way to take money directly from my retirement savings (or even my regular savings) to buy a car, or even a hotdog at the game.

Charlie Hawkins... Right? And "REB" lived on Union Valley that had that Mortar. Are you Reb?

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Bringing a few months of conversations all herded into one small corral. You've went from civil war reenactments, living off the land off the grid, shooting a mortar on Union Valley road, to understanding Crypto credit cards. Do I have that right?

Nope, don't think so. Never lived off the grid, never shot a mortar (but I have driven a car on Union Valley).