Look at the bright side

[RonC]

houses are down in value, stocks are down.

but you gotta think positive.

you want a vacation home? and can afford it? there are bargains to be had.

were your kids struggling to get a home, or were prices so high that they didnt even think about it? well, now houses are on sale, and if you can prove you have a decent income, you can get a mortgage.

between me and the mrs, we are saving over $100 a week on gas compared to when gas was at over $4 per gallon.

since our move, i have been doing most of the grocery shopping, and i can see the food stores really getting aggressive with their pricing, which means more $ saved for families.

how bout the forced change of lifestyle. I am older than most of you guys. people have definetely become spoiled. I started with an 1800 sq ft house. my parents started with a 1200 sq ft home. These days, the kids want to start with a 4000 sq ft mini mansion. well, looks like those days are over. what the hell is wrong with living in a small house. i just bought a 2400 sq ft home, and its more than enough room.

another deal that makes me laugh is the TV's. I had an old friend come to my home. soon as he sees my "small" tv, he asks where my bigscreen is. I told him mine was big enough. meanwhile, he is struggling money wise, but has to have the biggest and latest tv. truthfully, i buy a new tv when my old one breaks.

I hate people bitching about how tough things are. this shit happens once in a while, and we will survive. in fact, we will do more than survive. another boom is around the corner.

 

[Kurtdesign1]

Ron, will you educate my wife about how our 1,400 sq ft home is not too small to have a child in.
Or perhaps you could talk to my friends who are just about to get married, live on one (teachers) salary and are in the process of buying a brand new, semi-custom 3,500 sq ft house?
...Or that more than one kid is able to sleep in the same room
...or that closets don't need to be walk-ins
...or that a the strongest cigars aren't necessarily the best
...or that the most expensive cigars aren't necessarily the best

What happened to learning how to properly consume based on what we need, not what we want?

 

[Jfire]

"These days, the kids want to start with a 4000 sq ft mini mansion."
Easy Ron. Grouping everyone together isn't really fair. Im young <30 and have worked my Ass of to get my 2400 Sq Ft home. I have also set aside children so that the wife and I could afford certain things now. Also I guess your saying Older generations 40 50 yr old don't have money troubles.

 

[RonC]

Ron, will you educate my wife about how our 1,400 sq ft home is not too small to have a child in.
Or perhaps you could talk to my friends who are just about to get married, live on one (teachers) salary and are in the process of buying a brand new, semi-custom 3,500 sq ft house?
...Or that more than one kid is able to sleep in the same room
...or that closets don't need to be walk-ins
...or that a the strongest cigars aren't necessarily the best
...or that the most expensive cigars aren't necessarily the best

What happened to learning how to properly consume based on what we need, not what we want?

you hit it right on the head.

people in the US are f#ckin spoiled.

my grandparents lived during the great depression. THAT was hard times.

Hard times is not being upset because you are falling behind in payments on your 4500 sq ft home, along with the payments on your BMW, and your maxed out credit card because you just had to have all the new toys.

 

[Soundwave13]

Right on Ron. I like the positive attitude - Another boom IS around the corner. This is just what we need to tighten our belts & appreciate what we do have instead of constantly chasing the next thing.

I'm as guilty as any - taking for granted things, over-consumption & living in a spoiled culture. Those new cheap TV's do look great!

When I reflect on things with a nice stick, I remember that no matter how 'low' I've been, my needs have always been met.

Cigars fall into the 'want' catagory, no matter how I rationalize. So smoke em' if yeh got em' and be gratefull that with humble perspective, a whole lot of wants are fullfilled too.

(Now stepping down from soap box.. Haha!)

 

[RonC]

"These days, the kids want to start with a 4000 sq ft mini mansion."
Easy Ron. Grouping everyone together isn't really fair. Im young <30 and have worked my Ass of to get my 2400 Sq Ft home. I have also set aside children so that the wife and I could afford certain things now. Also I guess your saying Older generations 40 50 yr old don't have money troubles.

the 40-50 are having trouble because of greed. a lot of the older folks did 1 too many tradeups, and now its biting them in the ass.

sounds like you are doing the wise thing. congrats on your wisdom.

 

[RonC]

in the next 10 - 15 years, we will see another housing boom. we just have to survive the next few years.

 

[njstone]

Moral of the story: Live within your means, be generous and not greedy.

 

[Electric Sheep]

My house is currently worth (according to tax records) about $25K less than I paid for it 5 years ago...but that's okay with me because I'm not selling it anytime soon,but I am still paying taxes on it every year, so "less is more" for me in this case.

My house is 2000 sqft, but to be honest we only use about 1/2 of that space. I'd love to downsize to about 1200sqft, but the price per sqft goes up radically at that size (in this city, anyways) so it doesn't make much financial sense to do so.

My mortgage+taxes is only about 18% of our gross income, which is better than average (28% to 33% is typical).

My wife and I carpool, and we recently bought a cheaper and more fuel efficient vehicle for daily driving. We're saving $200mo on the payment and another $400 in fuel compared to this past summer's high fuel price point.

I have a 46" DLP HDTV that I bought 2 years ago on clearance for $899. It's been worth every penny. LOL

We have about $7k in credit card dept (at 0% BTW), mostly incurred from startup small business costs. Of course, the business has netted us about $15k and we still have $5k worth of hard assets, and the debt getting paid down now at a quick clip. Should be debt free soon (assuming we stay employed through this recession).

I don't think I'm "f#ckin spoiled" at all. :awholelot

 

[CWS]

There are always exceptions to the rule Sheep. My son is the same. Careful with their funds. Keep the budget. Save money. But when I look at the kids that work for me in their early thirties and late 20's it is all 50K cars, $3000 house payments and trips to Hawaii. I dont know.:dunno: My son says some people in his age bracket just dont know how to be poor and when times get tough like they are now...they are going down hard and blaming it on the banks.

Good to see people with their heads on straight. You and your wife should be proud of yourselves. Hopefully, you will set the example for the next round.

 

[unfairtoast]

I'm just going to be bitching when I graduate and nobody is hiring.
Looks like I'll be back at the warehouse.

 

[uncelnino]

I am under 30, rent a house, have one dog, no debt, and spend a shitload of money on cigars. Wise or not, I am happy with the situation as it is.

 

[Moro]

I cannot say I am not spoiled, for I have the extra bread to buy cigars always (hard times would mean REALLY cut back on those things); yet I completely agree on people who don't know how to save a tad of bread, invest, and cut back expenses when needed.

 

[smokinghole]

Ron it's refreshing to see that I'm not the only one that thinks Americans in general are spoiled and have a unfounded feeling of entitlement. It's not like anyone MADE these people get their $400,000 mortgage. They may have been talked into it but that's that they were still the ones who signed on the line.

Ooh and if you can pick some stocks out and buy a few now. Buy low sell high! As soon as I can do it again I'll throw some more at my mutual fund now that it's 1/3 of what it used to be.

 

[MichiganM]

I hear ya Ron. I'm 26 and saving up for a 20 percent down payment on my first condo...which will be in the 1000 sq foot range for under 80 grand. You won't see me buying a house that costs 5 times my annual income!

 

[Electric Sheep]

You and your wife should be proud of yourselves.

Well truth be told, it's mostly due to my wife.

If it was up to me, I'd have a house full of empty CC boxes. :hysterica

 

[Daviso27]

My student loans are killing me....

 

[Gummi Bear]

We're a single income household, while the Mrs is in college. I bought this house when I was young and single, for cheap, but it's the size of a small apartment. I can afford the mortgage even if things go to pot, and I'm flipping burgers. We owe nothing on putting the Mrs through school (she graduates in May, yipee!), we do have some leftover credit card debt from when we were younger, but only a couple of grand now, and we owe on both vehicles (about 2 years each, IIRC). That's it.

I'll go months without buying cigars, and we don't always have steaks in the freezer (yes, I'll still take a bologna sandwich to work for lunch)

It sucks, I hate my lifestyle, and sometimes a $20 item is too much, but I know that in a year or two we'll be in good shape, with no debt, and no paycheck-to-paycheck living, no car payment, and only a mortgage.

 

[Jetexas]

Well said Ron! Filling my tank for $30 is a lot nicer than $85. F the Jones's they are broke. Keep up with yourself by not being fiscally foolish...

houses are down in value, stocks are down.

but you gotta think positive.

you want a vacation home? and can afford it? there are bargains to be had.

were your kids struggling to get a home, or were prices so high that they didnt even think about it? well, now houses are on sale, and if you can prove you have a decent income, you can get a mortgage.

between me and the mrs, we are saving over $100 a week on gas compared to when gas was at over $4 per gallon.

since our move, i have been doing most of the grocery shopping, and i can see the food stores really getting aggressive with their pricing, which means more $ saved for families.

how bout the forced change of lifestyle. I am older than most of you guys. people have definetely become spoiled. I started with an 1800 sq ft house. my parents started with a 1200 sq ft home. These days, the kids want to start with a 4000 sq ft mini mansion. well, looks like those days are over. what the hell is wrong with living in a small house. i just bought a 2400 sq ft home, and its more than enough room.

another deal that makes me laugh is the TV's. I had an old friend come to my home. soon as he sees my "small" tv, he asks where my bigscreen is. I told him mine was big enough. meanwhile, he is struggling money wise, but has to have the biggest and latest tv. truthfully, i buy a new tv when my old one breaks.

I hate people bitching about how tough things are. this shit happens once in a while, and we will survive. in fact, we will do more than survive. another boom is around the corner.

 

[Saully]

Ron, will you educate my wife about how our 1,400 sq ft home is not too small to have a child in.
Or perhaps you could talk to my friends who are just about to get married, live on one (teachers) salary and are in the process of buying a brand new, semi-custom 3,500 sq ft house?
...Or that more than one kid is able to sleep in the same room
...or that closets don't need to be walk-ins
...or that a the strongest cigars aren't necessarily the best
...or that the most expensive cigars aren't necessarily the best

What happened to learning how to properly consume based on what we need, not what we want?

Kurt,

It sounds like "The Thinker" thinks some pretty decent thoughts. Our first house was about 1500 square feet and worked fine for the two of us, our son, and our 65 pound dog. After 11 years, we decided it was time for something that would give us a little more privacy and a little more space.

I'm with you. If you've got the money for a bigger mortgage, put it in the kid's college account. (And after the recent economic problems, are your friends still getting the house? My wife is a teacher, and on her salary alone could hardly afford a small 1 bedroom condominium.