Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawkdog
Not sure man..the d-baggery is strong with this one. What’s the point of this, to prove to each other that BMW’s are expensive and that we make more money than people that don’t drive one?
While yes, I’m new here, I’ve been on many car forums over the years and threads like this are why the German car owner/porcupine joke continues to thrive.
I’m a firm believer that no respectable conversation involves money, politics, or religion and that this world was a much better place when more of us stuck to that rule. Guess I’m just old-fashioned.
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I am going to disagree with you here. There is a difference between bragging about how much money you make and helping younger people understand sound financial planning, income bands, etc. An example;
I remember when I thought $100K was a lot of money
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If someone were making $100K, although it may sounds like a lot, it does not give them the freedom to spend whatever they want. No matter how much you make you should always pay yourself first (savings) and consider overall debt to income.
Personally I believe staying below 35% DTI makes for a secure and comfortable life. There were some very painful lessons that brought me to that knowledge. The most important thing to understand is that how you decide to mix that debt to income is up to you. You can swap a more modest house for nicer cars if that is your passion. Everyone spends what other consider a stupid amount of money on something, it just can't be a lot of things.
I really wish people had been more open about all things financial when I was younger. When I graduated from college I remember thinking that if I could just make $30K I would be set! After living on minimum wage for so long I couldn't imagine that I would be able to spend $2500 per month. I also hadn't considered how much housing, eating better and general life would consume. Shows what I knew then and how financially ignorant I really was.
I would have significantly more wealth now if I had learned these things earlier in life. I talk to my kids all the time about income, spending and savings. The idea that we shouldn't talk about income, lifestyle and other financial things is a significant disservice to the next generation.