Why are people working so long?

[worthless]

If you’re willing to share how you achieved that net worth, for example how much you were able to invest a month, that would be very helpful. I thought I was doing well but am nowhere close to the level of your success. Helps me to keep on track with my savings goals. Congrats on the early success

I don’t think the answer to your question is that difficult. Childcare can tack on a few thousand dollars a month. Most doctors will have bigger mortgages, with bigger down payments. If you have children, doctors will save for college which does not count for retirement savings. But I think the main cause is higher fixed expenses. There are many doctors who spend $15,000-$18,000 monthly. You have less expenses (no children) but also possess basic financial common sense, which a lot of people lack. I’ve spoken with colleagues who don’t even realize they’re supposed to be saving for retirement. They have a general sense that they should, but no idea of when they should start or how much they should save. Don’t underestimate how much money a doctor or spouse can blow through, I know residents leasing luxury cars and young attendings taking first class international trips. People who end up on forums like this are self-selected.

But yes I agree that on that kind of salary, which very few doctors will achieve, to still not be financially independent is absurd.

Happy to share. I actually started out making only about 300k my first year. I focused on paying off student loans.

Once those were gone, I focused on real estate and just kept buying houses and renting them out. I got a couple of them at steep discounts and I honestly probably overpaid for some of them.

I did do the 401(k) match and put probably 100k into the market over the last several years which has a ballooned to about 275k.

That’s about it. The real estate has been the biggest growth in my portfolio. If I had more cash lying around, I would probably buy more properties. Even now - during this “bubble”

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[Splenda88]

Happy to share. I actually started out making only about 300k my first year. I focused on paying off student loans.

Once those were gone, I focused on real estate and just kept buying houses and renting them out. I got a couple of them at steep discounts and I honestly probably overpaid for some of them.

I did do the 401(k) match and put probably 100k into the market over the last several years which has a ballooned to about 275k.

That’s about it. The real estate has been the biggest growth in my portfolio. If I had more cash lying around, I would probably buy more properties. Even now - during this “bubble”

I thought you started out with ZERO student loan.


750k/yr probably put you in the 99% percentile for heme/onc doc...

 

[worthless]

I thought you started out with ZERO student loan.


750k/yr probably put you in the 99% percentile for heme/onc doc...

Nope. ZERO NET-WORTH

 

[Splenda88]

honestly, the question should be why isn’t the OPs net worth even higher.

What he did should be doable by most physicians - just keep your spending the same as resident level, start saving and investing in low cost index funds as soon as possible.

Actually, non-physicians who could make ~100K in their early 20s could be at a similar net worth because they’ve got all those extra years in the market for their money to compound.

The most important thing is time in the market — paying off high interest debts and getting money in investments as soon as possible and holding the course.

play around with a compound interest calculator and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

What OP has done is actually impressive because most people would increase their spending to 'matchup' the high income. OP's home worth half of what he makes per year. One might say that it not that hard to do given that his salary is high but most would be tempted to live in a place that is over 1 mil if they make >500k/yr. We all know stories about physicians making less than that who live in McMansion.

 

[Dusn]

What OP has done is actually impressive because most people would increase their spending to 'matchup' the high income. OP's home worth half of what he makes per year. One might say that it not that hard to do given that his salary is high but most would be tempted to live in a place that is over 1 mil if they make >500k/yr. We all know stories about physicians making less than that who live in McMansion.

Absolutely. I'm agreeing with the OP. And because people are going to assume that this is only possibly with a 750K income, I also wanted to point out that you can accomplish this with a lower income.

The S&P 500 has a 10% average return. Over the past 10 years it's been higher than 10% (at 13.6%). Someone would have had to invest 260K/year over the past 6-7 years to be at 3 mil now.

 

[OraclePL]

honestly, the question should be why isn’t the OPs net worth even higher.

What he did should be doable by most physicians - just keep your spending the same as resident level, start saving and investing in low cost index funds as soon as possible.

Actually, non-physicians who could make ~100K in their early 20s could be at a similar net worth because they’ve got all those extra years in the market for their money to compound.

The most important thing is time in the market — paying off high interest debts and getting money in investments as soon as possible and holding the course.

play around with a compound interest calculator and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Maybe we are using different calculators. To hit retirement savings of $3M six years out of training would require monthly investments of $30,000 at 10% returns. I know the market has been much higher over the few last years, but that’s an obscene amount of net pay for anyone to put away (and that’s assuming no loans). Most physicians don’t have that kind of take home pay. Compound interest plays a big role after many years, not in the first few years of someone’s career when it’s typically brute force savings.

There’s of course a big difference between net worth and pure retirement savings, which is the reason for my confusion and discrepancy. I had read the initial post as 3m in retirement accounts.

OP: thanks for sharing. I have not invested in real estate. Definitely something I’m going to look into. Congrats again on the success. Very impressive

 

[Dusn]

Maybe we are using different calculators. To hit retirement savings of $3M six years out of training would require monthly investments of $30,000 at 10% returns. I know the market has been much higher over the few last years, but that’s an obscene amount of net pay for anyone to put away (and that’s assuming no loans). Most physicians don’t have that kind of take home pay. Compound interest plays a big role after many years, not in the first few years of someone’s career when it’s typically brute force savings.

There’s of course a big difference between net worth and pure retirement savings, which is the reason for my confusion and discrepancy. I had read the initial post as 3m in retirement accounts.

OP: thanks for sharing. I have not invested in real estate. Definitely something I’m going to look into. Congrats again on the success. Very impressive

I was using 13.6% returns. But yes, at 10% returns, it would take a year longer (7-8 years), investing 260k/year.

 

[Mman]

honestly for estimating equity returns in the near future, I would suggest using something like 5-6% as a relatively optimistic target (nominal) and maybe 3-4% real. Seems unlikely that the next 5 or 10 years have anything approaching 10-13% per year.

 

[OraclePL]

honestly for estimating equity returns in the near future, I would suggest using something like 5-6% as a relatively optimistic target (nominal) and maybe 3-4% real. Seems unlikely that the next 5 or 10 years have anything approaching 10-13% per year.

Completely agree. I was using 10% more to mirror the run up that we’ve had in the last six years since the OP finished training.

 

[doctalaughs]

I was using 13.6% returns. But yes, at 10% returns, it would take a year longer (7-8 years), investing 260k/year.

Most physicians cannot invest between 260k and 350k a year. Don’t forget when you make 400k plus, a large chunk will go to taxes, even using all available shelters.

Sure it can be done with 500k plus salary (and living like a resident, which most people don’t want to do or can’t with kids). And less hard on 750k - but certainly not “easy” even with a healthy higher end physician 500-600k income.

We’ve also had a unprecedented increase in real estate value in the last 10 years. The same strategy in certain areas of the country from 2000-2010 would leave you bankrupt.

 

[Dusn]

honestly for estimating equity returns in the near future, I would suggest using something like 5-6% as a relatively optimistic target (nominal) and maybe 3-4% real. Seems unlikely that the next 5 or 10 years have anything approaching 10-13% per year.

I agree. CAPE ratios seem to indicate that US stocks are overvalued (although they’ve been saying this for several years now). If you believe this then diversify into international stocks.

Also for anyone just finishing training and starting to put money into the market, a few bad years early on in the accumulation phase may actually lead to better long term gains for you

 

[Dusn]

Most physicians cannot invest between 260k and 350k a year. Don’t forget when you make 400k plus, a large chunk will go to taxes, even using all available shelters.

Sure it can be done with 500k plus salary (and living like a resident, which most people don’t want to do or can’t with kids). And less hard on 750k - but certainly not “easy” even with a healthy higher end physician 500-600k income.

We’ve also had a unprecedented increase in real estate value in the last 10 years. The same strategy in certain areas of the country from 2000-2010 would leave you bankrupt.

My wife and I have a dual physician combined income of ~400k. We have 1 kid and live in the suburbs near a VHCOL area (about 30 min outside of the city in a great school district). We rented until we could find a reasonably priced house. We rented for a few years after training and spent ~50k/year. After having a kid we now spend ~70k/year (including 20k on daycare). We saved and invested the rest. 7 years out of training we have 2.3M in retirement and taxable accounts. We also have 150k in our house and 90k in a 529. Sure 2.3M is not 3M but its definitely enough that we can be less focused on saving and can cut back on work and spend more time with our kid and, within 10 years or so, retire completely if we want.

We are lucky in that we only had 100k in student loans and are a dual physician household. We also took plenty of vacations before the kid came and Covid but we like to live like the locals and enjoy less expensive countries like Spain, Portugal, South Asia etc.

All I’m saying is to keep expenses low and save and invest early. Then let time and compound growth do the rest.

 

[FlowRate]

Happy to share. I actually started out making only about 300k my first year. I focused on paying off student loans.

Once those were gone, I focused on real estate and just kept buying houses and renting them out. I got a couple of them at steep discounts and I honestly probably overpaid for some of them.

I did do the 401(k) match and put probably 100k into the market over the last several years which has a ballooned to about 275k.

That’s about it. The real estate has been the biggest growth in my portfolio. If I had more cash lying around, I would probably buy more properties. Even now - during this “bubble”

If you were relying on the rent from those properties to make this work you would be over-invested in real estate but sounds like you own some of the properties outright and also make a gigantic salary so should be able to afford monthly payments on even like $5M of mortgaged capital given your fixed expenses are low relative to income. The past 5 years turned out to be a great time to be in RE.

I'm curious about your curiosity regarding your partners tho. Are you not close with them? What kind of cars do they drive to work? Do the cars change frequently? Married? Kids? Divorces? Where do they go on vacation? Have you considered simply asking them about finances?

 

[worthless]

If you were relying on the rent from those properties to make this work you would be over-invested in real estate but sounds like you own some of the properties outright and also make a gigantic salary so should be able to afford monthly payments on even like $5M of mortgaged capital given your fixed expenses are low relative to income. The past 5 years turned out to be a great time to be in RE.

I'm curious about your curiosity regarding your partners tho. Are you not close with them? What kind of cars do they drive to work? Do the cars change frequently? Married? Kids? Divorces? Where do they go on vacation? Have you considered simply asking them about finances?

I’ve tried to do a mix of cash properties and also some 10 year, some 15 year, and some 30 year loans. Truthfully I am somewhat reliant on the rent now. If all my renters stopped paying, I’d be in trouble pretty quick. If only half stopped, I’d be ok.

Most 10 year stretches have been good for real estate - especially rentals. 2008 was an exception. However, I agree this has been a ridiculous boom.

We are not super close. They drive cheaper cars - nothing crazy. No they don’t change that often. Married with 2 kids each. No divorces. Don’t know about their vacations. Might be worth an ask but I don’t want to come across as a dick.

 

[Splenda88]

I’ve tried to do a mix of cash properties and also some 10 year, some 15 year, and some 30 year loans. Truthfully I am somewhat reliant on the rent now. If all my renters stopped paying, I’d be in trouble pretty quick. If only half stopped, I’d be ok.

Most 10 year stretches have been good for real estate - especially rentals. 2008 was an exception. However, I agree this has been a ridiculous boom.

We are not super close. They drive cheaper cars - nothing crazy. No they don’t change that often. Married with 2 kids each. No divorces. Don’t know about their vacations. Might be worth an ask but I don’t want to come across as a dick.

Do you have all your properties close to where you live?

 

[worthless]

Do you have all your properties close to where you live?

Yes

 

[Splenda88]

Yes

Properties are too expensive where I live now. Looking at the midwest market to see what I can get.

 

[Mman]

Properties are too expensive where I live now. Looking at the midwest market to see what I can get.

the problem with trying to buy properties to get rental income is that it is not passive income. You have to answer phone calls, have maintenance on all sorts of things, replace broken stuff, etc. I mean you could just pay a 3rd party to manage it for you, but that significantly cuts into your margins.

 

[Splenda88]

the problem with trying to buy properties to get rental income is that it is not passive income. You have to answer phone calls, have maintenance on all sorts of things, replace broken stuff, etc. I mean you could just pay a 3rd party to manage it for you, but that significantly cuts into your margins.

I will definitely pay a property management company (PMC). I have 2 properties now that are being managed by a PMC and I am happy to pay the 8% of the total rent. My time is more valuable than dealing with tenants.

 

[dpmd]

the problem with trying to buy properties to get rental income is that it is not passive income. You have to answer phone calls, have maintenance on all sorts of things, replace broken stuff, etc. I mean you could just pay a 3rd party to manage it for you, but that significantly cuts into your margins.

I have been lucky to select tenants who are willing and able to take care of a lot of stuff on their own and/or calling appropriate repair folks and have them bill me or pay and deduct from rent. But only have the condo we lived in for med school and the house we lived in for residency so I knew they weren't money pits before converting to rentals.

 

[FlowRate]

Might be worth an ask but I don’t want to come across as a dick.

Depending on how well you can "fake" this sort of thing you could always just ask them for "advice" about finances (although if you already talk about your situation that might not fly).

 

[worthless]

I will definitely pay a property management company (PMC). I have 2 properties now that are being managed by a PMC and I am happy to pay the 8% of the total rent. My time is more valuable than dealing with tenants.

If that’s all they’re taking, that’s good. The problem is when they start “fixing” things that aren’t really broken and paying their own guys to fix them and charging you top dollar. It can become a huge scam where they take half your money.

 

[Splenda88]

If that’s all they’re taking, that’s good. The problem is when they start “fixing” things that aren’t really broken and paying their own guys to fix them and charging you top dollar. It can become a huge scam where they take half your money.

I agree. I usually got my own contractor to fix things. I guess that's why I got 2-3 calls from them every year

 

[wamcp]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

 

[sloh]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

This physician seems like he’s on the road away from FIRE

 

[Neopolymath]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

He could use some adjustments but maybe he made an educated and personal decision? Whose to say he didn't or that he even wants to retire early?

It is *personal* finance after all. The cult of FIRE is weird. Maybe that guy is getting exactly what he wants out of those things *you* deem wasteful? I say that as someone who is very into personal finance.

 

[doctalaughs]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

Who knows — maybe he has family money or a big inheritance coming. No one knows.

In general, having 5 kids is a recipe to work hard into your 60s, even on a healthy income. But each situation is different.

 

[Splenda88]

He could use some adjustments but maybe he made an educated and personal decision? Whose to say he didn't or that he even wants to retire early?

It is *personal* finance after all. The cult of FIRE is weird. Maybe that guy is getting exactly what he wants out of those things *you* deem wasteful? I say that as someone who is very into personal finance.

I agree it's personal, but we should not encourage people (especially physicians) to be financially irresponsible.

However if that individual is making 300k/yr (net 150k after tax, 401k, and other deductions), he/she should be able to save 30k/yr which is a good amount along his 401k, Roth etc... to have a good nest egg after 20 yrs.

 

[Neopolymath]

I agree it's personal, but we should not encourage people (especially physicians) to be financially irresponsible.

However if that individual is making 300k/yr (net 150k after tax, 401k, and other deductions), he/she should be able to save 30k/yr which is a good amount along his 401k, Roth etc... to have a good nest egg after 20 yrs.

What is financially irresponsible? There are some objective actions but many of what the FIRE cult deems financially irresponsible isn't objective.

I wouldn't buy a house with a pool but if someone uses that thing all the time and all the kids use it then who am I to say he is stupid and that he is throwing money away so he can retire 5 years early and sit around doing nothing like a miser? He likely sees value in that decision. It's not all dollars and cents in a race toward retirement lol.

The general attitude is just weird and self-righteous, especially when it doesn't sound like the doc in question has told anyone anything about their life (inheritance etc as brought up above).

 

[Splenda88]

What is financially irresponsible? There are some objective actions but many of what the FIRE cult deems financially irresponsible isn't objective.

I wouldn't buy a house with a pool but if someone uses that thing all the time and all the kids use it then who am I to say he is stupid and that he is throwing money away so he can retire 5 years early and sit around doing nothing like a miser? He likely sees value in that decision. It's not all dollars and cents in a race toward retirement lol.

The general attitude is just weird and self-righteous, especially when it doesn't sound like the doc in question has told anyone anything about their life (inheritance etc as brought up above).

I did not know there was a fire cult here... Most Americans are bad with money. It's ok for people to point that out.

 

[Neopolymath]

I did not know there was a fire cult here... Most Americans are bad with money. It's ok for people to point that out.

Most Americans are bad with money but there definitely is a fire cult. Even WCI has pointed out that the point of his website isn't to save all your money and never use it (edit: it's to do what you derive value/satisfaction from)

 

[dpmd]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

What makes you think that guy is working towards FIRE rather than living off of credit and on the road to having to work till he dies or files for bankruptcy?

 

[Splenda88]

What makes you think that guy is working towards FIRE rather than living off of credit and on the road to having to work till he dies or files for bankruptcy?

Maybe he thinks that if someone can understand the heme synthesis pathway, that person should be able to do basic arithmetic.

Another thing is that spouses have big influence in the financial decisions we make.

 

[FlowRate]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

Net Income: $17000/mo

Mortgage + Home Costs: $3000/mo
Transportation costs of leasing two X7's: $3000/mo
Children: $6000/mo
3x FL Vacations: $2000/mo

Remainder: $3000/mo

So probably living paycheck to paycheck and maybe saving a little but not nearly enough to continue that lifestyle into retirement.

 

[dpmd]

Net Income: $17000/mo

Mortgage + Home Costs: $3000/mo
Transportation costs of leasing two X7's: $3000/mo
Children: $6000/mo
3x FL Vacations: $2000/mo

Remainder: $3000/mo

So probably living paycheck to paycheck and maybe saving a little but not nearly enough to continue that lifestyle into retirement.

Possibly a bit better if they buy instead of lease those cars and keep them long, but what are the odds of that

 

[FlowRate]

Possibly a bit better if they buy instead of lease those cars and keep them long, but what are the odds of that

Yeah I was just going off of what wamcp said "brand new luxury SUV's," that was probably the most overestimated cost I included, I think housing was slightly underestimated when including non-mortgage costs.

 

[Splenda88]

Net Income: $17000/mo

Mortgage + Home Costs: $3000/mo
Transportation costs of leasing two X7's: $3000/mo
Children: $6000/mo
3x FL Vacations: $2000/mo

Remainder: $3000/mo

So probably living paycheck to paycheck and maybe saving a little but not nearly enough to continue that lifestyle into retirement.

What happens with student loan?

 

[dpmd]

What happens with student loan?

Probably on whatever is the longest repayment option after having used whatever deferment and forbearance options they could.

 

[Chemist0157]

People here who are the sole income provider and have multiple kids, how do you get to FI/RE.

I was just talking to a colleague...has 5 kids..wife doesn't work...in late 30s...still has student debt...carries 600K mortgage on a home with a big pool...owns >80K priced giant luxury SUVs to fit all five kids and wife on trips to rented vacation homes in Florida couple times a year...

I mean what. How. He doesn't work extra shifts in the ER so I estimate his income is in the 300K range. After any assumed pretax deductions/retirement savings/taxes and spending, how much extra can you reasonably put into investing.

He’s not doing FIRE apparently.

I think to retire early as the sole income and multiple, a typical physician would generally need to have low debt and invest early AND be lucky with starting at the beginning of a bull market. There are several YouTube channels that talk about getting to retire very early with index funds for example, but I would warn “results may vary.” The last decade plus has been very kind to the stock market.

Low expenses goes without saying.

I guess one would also have to clarify what FIRE means. I see before 40 or 45 being thrown around a lot. That only gives a doc like 10-15 years of actually working. I didn’t start until 31.

 

[Chemist0157]

Maybe he thinks that if someone can understand the heme synthesis pathway, that person should be able to do basic arithmetic.

Another thing is that spouses have big influence in the financial decisions we make.

I don’t know. Physicians can be bad with money, but one has to teach oneself this stuff. We don’t learn much of it anywhere in schooling unfortunately.

 

[Splenda88]

I don’t know. Physicians can be bad with money, but one has to teach oneself this stuff. We don’t learn much of it anywhere in schooling unfortunately.

Pretty easy.

Minimize your expenses. Max out 401k, IRA, HSA and invest the rest in VOO. Pay off your mortgage in ~10 yr.

 

[FlowRate]

Pay off your mortgage in ~10 yr.

With interest rates as low as they've been lately there's not much downside to long payment periods on your debt leverage.

 

[dpmd]

With interest rates as low as they've been lately there's not much downside to long payment periods on your debt leverage.

As long as they are doing something useful with the money. But many just take as long as possible to pay while spending the money they save. Which I guess some would argue having fun is useful, but it isn't going to help you quit living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[Splenda88]

As long as they are doing something useful with the money. But many just take as long as possible to pay while spending the money they save. Which I guess some would argue having fun is useful, but it isn't going to help you quit living paycheck to paycheck.

Over 90% of people arguably don't. It's kind of human nature. FI (without the RE) is mostly about behavior and less about income.

 

[Chemist0157]

Pretty easy.

Minimize your expenses. Max out 401k, IRA, HSA and invest the rest in VOO. Pay off your mortgage in ~10 yr.

It’s not hard, but it’s also not already built in. American financial literacy is dreadfully poor, and physicians are not exempt. Learning the Kreb cycle or any other medical school minutiae has nothing to do with it!

 

[Splenda88]

It’s not hard, but it’s also not already built in. American financial literacy is dreadfully poor, and physicians are not exempt. Learning the Kreb cycle or any other medical school minutiae has nothing to do with it!

We are in agreement here. I was being tongue in cheek with my heme synthesis example.

 

[FlowRate]

As long as they are doing something useful with the money. But many just take as long as possible to pay while spending the money they save. Which I guess some would argue having fun is useful, but it isn't going to help you quit living paycheck to paycheck.

We'll see what long-term housing trends develop into but especially if your mortgage is <4% then you're basically not paying any interest (average rate of home valuation growth is about 4% over past 25 years.)

 

[Splenda88]

We'll see what long-term housing trends develop into but especially if your mortgage is <4% then you're basically not paying any interest (average rate of home valuation growth is about 4% over past 25 years.)

The housing market is really enticing right now. For instance, I have a townhome that I am cash flowing $500/month, but I could sell it now and walk away with 110-120k. Really don't know what to do.

 

[FlowRate]

The housing market is really enticing right now. For instance, I have a townhome that I am cash flowing $500/month, but I could sell it now and walk away with 110-120k. Really don't know what to do.

We were discussing this in a different thread. It's a little dependent on your local market but I don't see an actual crash happening, as much as I personally want it to (1 year post-residency and would like to buy in the next 2 years). At worst things will probably stagnate for a while. I personally wouldn't sell if I had a rental property that was working out well unless you were going to use that money for something else that you think would have a better return.

 

[Splenda88]

We were discussing this in a different thread. It's a little dependent on your local market but I don't see an actual crash happening, as much as I personally want it to (1 year post-residency and would like to buy in the next 2 years). At worst things will probably stagnate for a while. I personally wouldn't sell if I had a rental property that was working out well unless you were going to use that money for something else that you think would have a better return.

The only meaningful non mortgage debt I have right now is my student loan.. I won't use that money for anything else; I just dont think the market can keep that momentum. It 's just insane.

Can you link the other thread that you were discussing this?