Scraping By On $500,000 A Year

[aneftp]

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Doesn't New Jersey have the highest property taxes in the country?

Yes. New Jersey is like the equivalent of 2.2% of ur homes value. So a 1.5 million dollar home is likely well over 30k property taxes. They may or may have some homestead credits. But count on paying that much.

Illinois is real bad also. As well as Texas. My buddy pays close to 2% in Texas on his $800k home. He pays like 16k.

 

[Strider_91]

Doesn't New Jersey have the highest property taxes in the country?

Yeah the taxes are a joke, and I don't know what we are even paying for. I guess we have to pay for our police officers to make >150k/ yr. either way it is still significantly cheaper than NYC. You can get a comparable house for significantly less money. Also things just don't cost as much. Groceries, restaurants, etc etc

 

[facted]

Doesn't New Jersey have the highest property taxes in the country?

All the nyc suburbs. Westchester, Bergen, and western LI have the highest in the country. It's not cheap living in NYC or the suburbs.

 

[doctalaughs]

I suppose if you grew up in NYC and are used to an older smaller house, more congestion and insane taxes it might not make a difference. But if you move from pretty much anywhere else (even another fairly large/ desirable US city) I could see a lot of dissatisfaction. As in, "I'm making 500k but my lifestyle is equivalent to making 150k somewhere else."


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[pgg]

he's an anesthesia resident in Ontario that is originally from the UK

Odd, if the "here" he's referring to is Ontario, then I don't really buy the 52% tax on $100K attending pay. Canadian federal tax on $100K is under 20%, and Ontario adds about another 10%. And "anaesthetists" don't make $100K in Canada in the first place.

 

[BobBarker]

The chart has charity coming out of after tax money. Obviously wrong. There is quite a bit of money there alone.

And mortgage interest and property tax, same deal there.

 

[BobBarker]

And car payment is way too low. That is less than $500/luxury car/month.

 

[pgg]

And car payment is way too low. That is less than $500/luxury car/month.

It's way too high. Car payments should be zero for people making $500K/year. No reason not to pay cash up front.

 

[deleted162650]

It's way too high. Car payments should be zero for people making $500K/year. No reason not to pay cash up front.

Do you still feel that way if you can get 0% financing on a purchase?

 

[AdmiralChz]

Do you still feel that way if you can get 0% financing on a purchase?

If anyone is truly offering 0% financing you should be able to negotiate a lower all-in price.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

Do you still feel that way if you can get 0% financing on a purchase?

I would take the 0%.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

I get the idea of socking away huge amounts in a DBP to save on taxes, but pretty dumb to do this if you're still relatively young imo.

Why?

 

[aneftp]

People need to save as much as possible when young. As u get older u don't want to realize "I shouldn't have blown all that money"

It's just human nature.

The best way to prevent urself from blowing the money is forced savings via pretax accounts. Since u don't see it with ur final paycheck. It's the best way to save.

I have maxed out on various retirement accounts since 2004. I can "coast" home now with just what's in my retirement accounts and let it grow without even care contributing another dime. But I'm not. I keep adding to it.

That way when I'm age 50-55 I can have to option to just say F it. I'm retiring/quitting/part time etc.

Start saving early. I didn't buy a luxury car till 3 years out of residency. Sure. It's a balancing act to have fun and reward urself. But a 1.5 million dollar home should be a 2nd or 3rd home purchase for someone making 500k.

Meaning it should not be their first home.

 

[BLADEMDA]

It takes time to get financially healthy. Most coming out of residency/fellowship need that time to get their house in order. This means buying a much smaller home in the $500-$600K range until the student loan is paid off and a F.U> fund is created along with maxing out the 401K side.

The bottom line is the cars, houses, watches, vacations, etc need to wait until you are financially healthy.

I've owned a lot of cars in my day and the badge on the back doesn't impress as much as it once did many years ago. There are plenty of nice cars in the $35K range with lease payments under $400 per month, or even better, just buy the thing and keep it for 7-8 years.

 

[deleted162650]

If anyone is truly offering 0% financing you should be able to negotiate a lower all-in price.

That's not really true. The sale price is set by the dealer while financing is via a 3rd party (even if it's someone like Ford Credit). The dealer doesn't care how you finance the vehicle (or who you finance it with) or even if you pay cash.

In my case, I bought a vehicle through the Fleet department of the local dealer at fleet pricing which was below invoice. Since it was late in the year the were running a 0% financing promotion to make room for the new models. No brainer to take the free money IMHO.

 

[deleted697535]

Lads ye are actually on another planet!! I'm crying laughing here!

 

[doctalaughs]

Lads ye are actually on another planet!! I'm crying laughing here!

Please enlighten us, doctor.


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[BLADEMDA]

Make The Money And Escape!
For those of you who are super ambitious, it’s worth working your butt off to see how far you can go in your career. If you get to a multiple six figure income level, shoot to last for 10 years while saving 50% or more of your after tax income, not under 10% like this couple. Eventually, you’ll accumulate a large enough financial nest egg where you can do whatever your heart desires.

Not a day goes by where I’m not thankful for working brutal hours in my 20s and early 30s. Being free is absolutely priceless the older you get because you no longer are willing to put up with the world’s bull****. After I left Corporate America in 2012 at the age of 34, all my chronic pain (TMJ, lower back pain, sciatica, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, etc) went away. The time for working on a side-hustle before or after work is now. You never know what might become of it.

It’ll feel weird giving up so much money at first. Golden handcuffs are incredibly tough to break. But I bet the value of your new found freedom will far surpass any money you’ll forsake. Always remember that money is simply a tool for happiness. If you aren’t happy doing what you’re doing then you must either save more, change careers, or take some calculated risks.

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- See more at: Scraping By On 500K A Year | Financial Samurai

 

[BLADEMDA]

LOLs

That "budget" is absurd.

Blade, why did you post this? Do you actually believe the story presented there is reasonable?

I posted the budget to show how some people can't manage their finances. I totally agree the budget was absurd but it did get your attention.

Making A $500,000 A Year Couple Rich Again
Optimized budget compared to the old budget:

- See more at: A 500K Redo: How One Couple Got Their Mojo Back | Financial Samurai

 

[facted]

I posted the budget to show how some people can't manage their finances. I totally agree the budget was absurd but it did get your attention.

Making A $500,000 A Year Couple Rich Again
Optimized budget compared to the old budget:

- See more at: A 500K Redo: How One Couple Got Their Mojo Back | Financial Samurai

Just slashing some numbers doesn't make a budget. If their childcare was certain number, it's probably for a reason. If they could save 6k on it, don't you think they would have already? Or do they just negotiate the price with the daycare?

And how do you reduce their property tax in half? That would be awesome. Let me know how I go about that myself!!! And while you're at it, I guess you just call the homeowners insurance company and tell them your paying less or else...

Then you sell a car too? So two working parents with kids and jobs you have no idea how far from their house have to make do with uber? Commuting via Uber is not cost effective, and add in the kids issue and it can get real tricky if they're still in car seats.

 

[Mman]

The chart has charity coming out of after tax money. Obviously wrong. There is quite a bit of money there alone.

And mortgage interest and property tax, same deal there.

No it doesn't. It's listed in an order just to show what the various amounts are, not what is pre and post tax dollars. It's a made up guesstimate of what a family of 4 might spend in various areas with dual incomes in a high cost of living city. From later in the article, here's a response to those stating the taxes are too high...

Pushback #1: A 40% effective tax rate is too high!

It does seem a little high given the charitable givings and mortgage interest expense. But due to AMT and mortgage interest deduction phaseouts, this couple isn’t getting as big of a deduction as you might think. There’s probably room to lower the couples effective tax rat by 5% with some aggressive accounting. It all depends on how much risk you want to take. Here’s some quick math from an astute reader. Do your own!

• NY State tax : (500K-18K-18K-15850)*0.0685= ~$30,700
• NY City tax: (500K-18K-18K-90K)*0.3648+3000= ~$16,700
• Social Security tax (FICA): 7347*2= ~$14,700
• Medicare: 500K*.0145 = $7,250
• Federal tax: Deductions: (47.4K state local), 20K real estate tax, 18K charity, 41K mortgage interest (This is the third year of the amortization as per your information). Child care tax credit: 1200 -> ~104K
• Obamacare tax: (500K-250K)*.009= $2,250

Total taxes of $175,600, which is not too far off from my $185,600 estimate. The child tax credit phases out after a married couple starts earning more than $110,000. Therefore, my ~40% effective tax rate is pretty darn close to reality. Run the numbers if you don’t believe.

 

[Mman]

Just slashing some numbers doesn't make a budget. If their childcare was certain number, it's probably for a reason. If they could save 6k on it, don't you think they would have already? Or do they just negotiate the price with the daycare?

And how do you reduce their property tax in half? That would be awesome. Let me know how I go about that myself!!! And while you're at it, I guess you just call the homeowners insurance company and tell them your paying less or else...

Then you sell a car too? So two working parents with kids and jobs you have no idea how far from their house have to make do with uber? Commuting via Uber is not cost effective, and add in the kids issue and it can get real tricky if they're still in car seats.

It was a hypothetical budget, not a real family. Then they hypothetically made some changes. It's just illustration of what choices you make in life can look like financially.

 

[F1rstGen]

That's not really true. The sale price is set by the dealer while financing is via a 3rd party (even if it's someone like Ford Credit). The dealer doesn't care how you finance the vehicle (or who you finance it with) or even if you pay cash.

In my case, I bought a vehicle through the Fleet department of the local dealer at fleet pricing which was below invoice. Since it was late in the year the were running a 0% financing promotion to make room for the new models. No brainer to take the free money IMHO.

Dealers often make additional money through financing such that many prefer you to finance over paying cash if you use one of their associate lenders. If obtaining financing at the dealer, the third party lender pays the purchase price of the car with an added payment to the dealer for acquiring a customer for the lender. This is referred to as "back end" money for the dealer (sales incentives from the manufacture also fall into this category).

Having your own third party financing or cash actually lessens your leverage on a new vehicle purchase in many situations.

 

[Wiscoblue]

And that is exactly why, when I'm shopping for a car, I ask for the price without mentioning that I'm actually paying cash. I never sell my old car through a car dealership either. That way they can't fudge the math on the price of the new car.

 

[deleted162650]

And that is exactly why, when I'm shopping for a car, I ask for the price without mentioning that I'm actually paying cash. I never sell my old car through a car dealership either. That way they can't fudge the math on the price of the new car.

You can also finish negotiating the price on the new car, and then start negotiations on the sale price of your old car.

 

[GravelRider]

I'm always a little suspicious of these blog posts because of all the affiliate links. I understand the need to make a little money off the work they put into these blogs, but it does make me wonder. Some posts are much more informative and useful than others and this is not a useful one (Who is really buying a Toyota Land Cruiser with an $83k base price in Brooklyn? Parking that thing would be a nightmare.). Are these posts really unbiased? There are links to real estate crowdfunding sites and financial advisor services. Is the information really well researched and applicable to a wide range of people or is it just a piece put together to string up a few more affiliate advertising links? There's just too many "no ****, sherlock" bits in the post to be useful. The internet has become a daunting place because you cannot escape the advertising.

 

[Mman]

I'm always a little suspicious of these blog posts because of all the affiliate links. I understand the need to make a little money off the work they put into these blogs, but it does make me wonder. Some posts are much more informative and useful than others and this is not a useful one (Who is really buying a Toyota Land Cruiser with an $83k base price in Brooklyn? Parking that thing would be a nightmare.). Are these posts really unbiased? There are links to real estate crowdfunding sites and financial advisor services. Is the information really well researched and applicable to a wide range of people or is it just a piece put together to string up a few more affiliate advertising links? There's just too many "no ****, sherlock" bits in the post to be useful. The internet has become a daunting place because you cannot escape the advertising.

The reason is that there is so much financial incentive to do so with the advertising. White Coat Investor makes something like $320,000 a year from ads on his website and kickbacks from referral links. So while yes he is putting out good advice, he's also doing to at significant financial benefit to himself.

I find that most of the blogs in the personal finances universe are simply putting up posts that they always would, but end up putting ads and links on their website because the passive income is worth it to them. What starts as a hobby, they keep going because they make money from it.

 

[BLADEMDA]

I'm always a little suspicious of these blog posts because of all the affiliate links. I understand the need to make a little money off the work they put into these blogs, but it does make me wonder. Some posts are much more informative and useful than others and this is not a useful one (Who is really buying a Toyota Land Cruiser with an $83k base price in Brooklyn? Parking that thing would be a nightmare.). Are these posts really unbiased? There are links to real estate crowdfunding sites and financial advisor services. Is the information really well researched and applicable to a wide range of people or is it just a piece put together to string up a few more affiliate advertising links? There's just too many "no ****, sherlock" bits in the post to be useful. The internet has become a daunting place because you cannot escape the advertising.

I agree with you. That said, Personal Capital is a good web site and it's free. Why not run an analysis of your portfolio and retirement goals? You can delete the account at any point and there isn't a fee or cost.

Personal Capital should appeal to two main kinds of investors who fall on opposite ends of the spectrum: DIY investors who can use the company’s free and comprehensive tools to gain valuable insight into their portfolios, and high-net-worth investors who can deposit enough with the service to gain access to dedicated financial advisors.

Investors who fall in that $100,000 to $200,000 range, which only offers access to a team of financial advisors, can find a similar level of service for less at competitors like Betterment and Vanguard Personal Advisor Services.

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[BLADEMDA]

I love the free services provided by Personal Capital. There is nothing else on the market that offers comparable value for the low price of $0.00.

Personal Capital Review 2017 | The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

 

[GravelRider]

The reason is that there is so much financial incentive to do so with the advertising. White Coat Investor makes something like $320,000 a year from ads on his website and kickbacks from referral links. So while yes he is putting out good advice, he's also doing to at significant financial benefit to himself.

I find that most of the blogs in the personal finances universe are simply putting up posts that they always would, but end up putting ads and links on their website because the passive income is worth it to them. What starts as a hobby, they keep going because they make money from it.

I understand why they do it, but it still does give me pause. I am also not saying the advice they provide is bad or wrong in anyway. I actually use the free Personal Capital service, and I have learned a lot of information from White Coat Investor. I do not begrudge them of making money off of the information they provide. However, there are plenty of these posts that really provide no new information and just seem like a way to advertise a product. There was a link to a real estate crowdfunding website that seemed out of place and didn't really have any explanation or ties to the theme of the article. The problem with these blogs when they become the main source of income and less of a hobby or "side-hustle" is they get really watered down with the information they provide. Their goal...whether intentional or not...is to generate clicks and income.

 

[pgg]

Do you still feel that way if you can get 0% financing on a purchase?

I haven't seen genuine 0% financing for anything I wanted in many years. But sure, all else being equal, I'd happily take a 0% loan to buy anything I was going to buy anyway. I'm not really sure the "all else" is really going to be equal though, when comparing cash vs 0% finance purchase of a car. Car pricing is not transparent.

Anyway, there's a difference between financing a car at 0% because you can, and financing a car (at any rate) because you have to. The fake foolish $500K family clearly didn't have the cash flow to buy those cars outright, and they didn't choose a 3-year 0% plan on a $40K car so they could park $40K in a bank account to earn 1% on it. Their theme was "waste money stupidly and then finance more things we can't afford because the payment will probably be manageable" ...

 

[Wiscoblue]

I lived in a 250k house and have saved 50% of my post tax income for the past 24 years since I finished my fellowship. It can be done. You just have to live simply. You pay off your debts, go with public school for the kids and drive inexpensive used cars. Save like crazy for retirement and an FU account. At 55, you work because you enjoy what you do. You can walk away anytime.


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[DrCommonSense]

I lived in a 250k house and have saved 50% of my post tax income for the past 24 years since I finished my fellowship. It can be done. You just have to live simply. You pay off your debts, go with public school for the kids and drive inexpensive used cars. Save like crazy for retirement and an FU account. At 55, you work because you enjoy what you do. You can walk away anytime.


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How much money is walk away money?

 

[anbuitachi]

I lived in a 250k house and have saved 50% of my post tax income for the past 24 years since I finished my fellowship. It can be done. You just have to live simply. You pay off your debts, go with public school for the kids and drive inexpensive used cars. Save like crazy for retirement and an FU account. At 55, you work because you enjoy what you do. You can walk away anytime.


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but that sounds like a boring life.

 

[dhb]

I lived in a 250k house and have saved 50% of my post tax income for the past 24 years since I finished my fellowship. It can be done. You just have to live simply. You pay off your debts, go with public school for the kids and drive inexpensive used cars. Save like crazy for retirement and an FU account. At 55, you work because you enjoy what you do. You can walk away anytime.


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250k house 25 years ago is a lot different than a 250k today...

 

[Mman]

How much money is walk away money?

it all depends on your lifestyle. Realistically if you can get to a point where you have something like 33x your annual expenses saved up, you are pretty much set for life without needing to work (although you need to account for where those dollars are and what tax consequences are of using from various places).

 

[BLADEMDA]

How much money is walk away money?

Most likely $6-$10 million and in his case I'd use the higher number.

 

[GA8314]

but that sounds like a boring life.

I disagree. I don't sense Wiscoeblue is living in a trailer park. Just not lavish. And think of the piece of mind and FREEDOM of going to work because you literally WANT to. Not HAVE to. To me, that seems very precious. And, I do love my job/career.

I got a late start in medicine. So, I sort of have to save like a bandit to "catch up" a bit, but also to build the FU account. But, even in doing so, I live very comfortably IMO. It's true, cost of living is beyond reasonable where I live, but still..

 

[facted]

I lived in a 250k house and have saved 50% of my post tax income for the past 24 years since I finished my fellowship. It can be done. You just have to live simply. You pay off your debts, go with public school for the kids and drive inexpensive used cars. Save like crazy for retirement and an FU account. At 55, you work because you enjoy what you do. You can walk away anytime.


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That's awesome, and I could save that much too if I could find a 250k house in my area, taxes weren't crazy, and cost of living were cheaper. But certain areas of the country are very expensive to live in and for some reason our another some of us have to live in them.

 

[teeva]

Seriously, it's 2017 and things are different. Housing is expensive and incomes are lower. An old unrenovated house in a good school district in Los Angeles County suburb starts around $420/sqft. $250k wouldn't even buy a 600sqft condo.

My parents bought my childhood home earning under $100k per year. Today it would roughly take double the income to buy it.

 

[Fajardo04]

Off topic but I think it needs to be said... I'm not sure why on Earth anyone would live in a $250K house for 25 years but have $10 million saved up and still plan to continue working at age 55. What's the point? What are you saving for? Do you truly love work so much that your other interests in life are all secondary to it? If you die at age 55 with a 10 million estate, does it make you happy knowing that over 1.5 million of that will go to the federal government to be redistributed to those who never held a job or contributed to society in their life? Will you look back on your time in the hospital and truly believe you were in the right place when you missed your child's 6th birthday party, your first wedding anniversary date, or your grandmother's last meal before she died? Moreover, if you make it to age 100, why do you need a 10 million nest egg when you lived on less than 25% of that the rest of your life?

I understand not everyone needs to drive a $100K vehicle or live in a $1 million home. But come on man, you made a lot of sacrifices to be able to earn what you earn. You need to enjoy that. I feel like physicians many times realize too late that there were all these things in life that were "put off until later," only to find that later never came...

 

[Strider_91]

Off topic but I think it needs to be said... I'm not sure why on Earth anyone would live in a $250K house for 25 years but have $10 million saved up and still plan to continue working at age 55. What's the point? What are you saving for? Do you truly love work so much that your other interests in life are all secondary to it? If you die at age 55 with a 10 million estate, does it make you happy knowing that over 1.5 million of that will go to the federal government to be redistributed to those who never held a job or contributed to society in their life? Will you look back on your time in the hospital and truly believe you were in the right place when you missed your child's 6th birthday party, your first wedding anniversary date, or your grandmother's last meal before she died? Moreover, if you make it to age 100, why do you need a 10 million nest egg when you lived on less than 25% of that the rest of your life?

I understand not everyone needs to drive a $100K vehicle or live in a $1 million home. But come on man, you made a lot of sacrifices to be able to earn what you earn. You need to enjoy that. I feel like physicians many times realize too late that there were all these things in life that were "put off until later," only to find that later never came...

I can see not wanting to leave your home if you are content in it. If you've lived there for 25 years you have seen you children grow up here and really made it your own. If I were him/ her though and was 55 and reached financial independence and wanted to continue to work I would start spending like a YOLO millienial...

 

[Ezekiel2517]

Why?

Uhh math, that's why. Putting away 100k like that dude is doing at that age is unnecessary. You can already put away 55k in a sep or solo 401k, plus an hsa, plus backdoor roth, etc. Then let time do its thing. Why don't you do the math on that and see what it's worth when you retire. If you get into your 50's, and you feel you need to sock away more, that's when you use the dbp and go to those huge amounts

 

[pjl]

Off topic but I think it needs to be said... I'm not sure why on Earth anyone would live in a $250K house for 25 years but have $10 million saved up and still plan to continue working at age 55. What's the point? What are you saving for? Do you truly love work so much that your other interests in life are all secondary to it? If you die at age 55 with a 10 million estate, does it make you happy knowing that over 1.5 million of that will go to the federal government to be redistributed to those who never held a job or contributed to society in their life? Will you look back on your time in the hospital and truly believe you were in the right place when you missed your child's 6th birthday party, your first wedding anniversary date, or your grandmother's last meal before she died? Moreover, if you make it to age 100, why do you need a 10 million nest egg when you lived on less than 25% of that the rest of your life?

I understand not everyone needs to drive a $100K vehicle or live in a $1 million home. But come on man, you made a lot of sacrifices to be able to earn what you earn. You need to enjoy that. I feel like physicians many times realize too late that there were all these things in life that were "put off until later," only to find that later never came...

My preference was to start working less when I was 35. I'll still easily retire by 50 if I decide I want to. I did work really hard those first 5 years though, and was paid accordingly.



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[Planktonmd]

Off topic but I think it needs to be said... I'm not sure why on Earth anyone would live in a $250K house for 25 years but have $10 million saved up and still plan to continue working at age 55. What's the point? What are you saving for? Do you truly love work so much that your other interests in life are all secondary to it? If you die at age 55 with a 10 million estate, does it make you happy knowing that over 1.5 million of that will go to the federal government to be redistributed to those who never held a job or contributed to society in their life? Will you look back on your time in the hospital and truly believe you were in the right place when you missed your child's 6th birthday party, your first wedding anniversary date, or your grandmother's last meal before she died? Moreover, if you make it to age 100, why do you need a 10 million nest egg when you lived on less than 25% of that the rest of your life?

I understand not everyone needs to drive a $100K vehicle or live in a $1 million home. But come on man, you made a lot of sacrifices to be able to earn what you earn. You need to enjoy that. I feel like physicians many times realize too late that there were all these things in life that were "put off until later," only to find that later never came...

I think it's all about what really makes you happy in life which varies widely among different people.
Although it feels good to know that after your death your children will inherit millions of dollars but I suspect that most of us have other ways to achieve happiness while we are still alive.

 

[BLADEMDA]

I can see not wanting to leave your home if you are content in it. If you've lived there for 25 years you have seen you children grow up here and really made it your own. If I were him/ her though and was 55 and reached financial independence and wanted to continue to work I would start spending like a YOLO millienial...

It's a generational thing. Some of us older guys are used to saving money and living frugally because that's how we amassed our money. Why change what's been working well our entire lives? I've had some expensive cars and they didn't make me any "happier" than the cheaper cars. In fact, some of my happiest moments have little to do with making another million; instead, my memorable moments are just hanging out with friends or family plus paying off all debts. I do admit that first million was kind of nice but I don't think dying with $8 million vs $12 million will make a whole lot of difference.

I work these days because it's part of who I am after all these years. The money in my accounts allows me to walk away at any time without any worries. The millions provide financial security and peace of mind. Happiness can't be obtained through money alone.

 

[Strider_91]

It's a generational thing. Some of us older guys are used to saving money and living frugally because that's how we amassed our money. Why change what's been working well our entire lives? I've had some expensive cars and they didn't make me any "happier" than the cheaper cars. In fact, some of my happiest moments have little to do with making another million; instead, my memorable moments are just hanging out with friends or family plus paying off all debts. I do admit that first million was kind of nice but I don't think dying with $8 million vs $12 million will make a whole lot of difference.

I work these days because it's part of who I am after all these years. The money in my accounts allows me to walk away at any time without any worries. The millions provide financial security and peace of mind. Happiness can't be obtained through money alone.

no desire to buy a vacation home in a sweet little spot to spend more time with family? Maybe go up there for holidays? thats exactly what I would do if I had multiple millions in the bank and was working for fulfillment instead of money.

 

[BLADEMDA]

There is also plenty of evidence that spending your money on life experiences, rather than material possessions, will make you happier. This is because we remember the experience much longer than the initial excitement of acquiring something. We are also less likely to compare ourselves to other people when we have experiences, compared to when we acquire possessions. Your happiness is also likely to be higher if you spend your money on other people in a way that strengthens personal relationships, or you give money to causes which are aligned with your values. Your self worth is not determined by your net worth, but by the quality of your personal relationships, your life experiences and the meaning you derive from your existence. I think that true happiness comes from having a strong sense of purpose, being clear on your ideal lifestyle, and making work and spending decisions aligned with that vision. Life is far too short to waste time doing things you don’t enjoy.

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[BLADEMDA]

no desire to buy a vacation home in a sweet little spot to spend more time with family? Maybe go up there for holidays? thats exactly what I would do if I had multiple millions in the bank and was working for fulfillment instead of money.

Sure. I didn't mean to imply I don't spend money. I view second and third homes as "neutral investments" which means they hold their value over time relative to inflation. This is in contrast to a 75 inch TV or BMW 6 series which end up being worth very little after 10 years.

Many successful physicians own second and third homes in Vail, Aspen, Key West, Maine, Montana, etc and these "investments" have actually done quite well over time.
I can't same the same thing about that AMG Mercedes S Class.

 

[GravelRider]

I think there are different degrees of being able to "walk away" and say "F-U." Having a goal of giving up nights, holidays, and weekends by the time you are 50 would result in a big increase in quality of life without completely retiring. If driving a Subaru until the wheels fall off instead of leasing a fancy German car (or overpriced Toyota...I still can't get over the Land Cruiser in Brooklyn thing) then so be it.