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most people are not going to go the extra distance it takes to not drift from one low end job to another …
human nature is to do the same ole same ole .
when i needed to find a career i begged my buddies from the projects to go to apex technical school with me .
but nope , they weren’t interested in working hard at anything .
now they are still living in those projects raising their families blaming everyone and everything for their poor financial situation.
to make money starting with nothing takes creativity ,drive , luck and a desire to succeed .
you need to do the things others can’t or won’t do for themselves then constantly stay ahead of the curve since money loves a vacuum and others will eventually find their way doing what you do .
i never really was a high income earner but i always made sure since my teens i had money to invest .
at times i had three different things going on . i worked days as an hvac tech , i ran my own service company at night doing side work and i was playing weekends and some nights as a drummer .
i was crazy about not going back to those projects ..
i managed to save about 1.50 million dollars between my iras and work plans by age 50 but then a divorce cut that in half . that was 20 years ago .
so i had to start over …..
luckily i had luck , the money to take advantage of opportunities and a wife with the same goals as me as well as some connections that opened up opportunities for us , so things worked out for us .
but it wasn’t easy.
one needs to be in the position of being able to take advantage of luck and opportunities when it presents its self .
luck is useless without preparation.
so it’s now 20 years since i got divorced and my wife and i can finally sit back and say , up to this stage we did pretty well
Last edited by mathjak107; 03-26-2023 at 06:17 AM..
but we are not always recognizing it or in a position to act on it.
sometimes we may even dismiss it as a bad idea .
our brains hate losing money more then making money .
when we need to make real time decisions and not hypothetical ones , jason zweigs research shows different parts of the brain come in to play .
we will be pounded with every negative reason there is for not doing something and it may not be a very rational decision you are being handed by your brain so you may avoid great opportunities
“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"
That pesky preparation part proves to be a stumbling block for many. Add to that, many people don't want to be the boss, don't want to commit to the path of financial well being. That's ok too.
“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"
That pesky preparation part proves to be a stumbling block for many. Add to that, many people don't want to be the boss, don't want to commit to the path of financial well being. That's ok too.
good saying because it is so true ….
we didn’t buy a house because we wanted something with a greater opportunity for growth .
we just didn’t know what it would end up in .
so when the luck of the right connections came up , we had the money to invest
These are 3 easy things someone with some wealth can do that gives them a leg up on those who are less fortunate.
Energy costs are rising. I purchased a $25k solar system that produces more than I consume so I heated my home primarily with electricity this past winter. My utility bill (gas + electricity) for the year was ~$300 (2000 sq ft house). Before solar, it was over $2500/yr. I had estimated payback for the solar system to take 7 years. I overestimated and with the increase in energy costs, it will payback in 5-6 years.
Bought an EV and pay nothing in gas. Converted lawn care tools to all electric. Although gas prices have come down considerably, but when they invariably go back up, I won't feel the pain that ICE car drivers will. At 15-18k miles/year, that's a $1500 annual savings.
Interest rates and treasury yields have risen so a large portion of my investments and savings have been converted to high yield accounts. If I were poor, I would not be able to take advantage of the fed raising interest rates.
So someone that can't afford solar power, an EV and have a substantial amount of savings is at a marked disadvantage to wealthier folks. To make matters worse, I took advantage of gov tax rebates on the first two bullet points.
These advantages will just compound as the cost of living rises. The gap between the rich and poor is only going to get worse.
Ok.......I'll play.
25K solar system- based on $2500 a year in previous bills = 10+ yr payback. 25000/2500 yr = 10 yrs
Bought an EV- ok but what did you spend. Lets imagine you spent $200 a month on gas for your old car and you spent 40K on an EV. 16.6 yrs before you get your first dollar back.
Same game on lawn equipment- Lets imagine you burned 2 gallons of gas a month ($8), $96 a yr assuming you mow/trim year round. But you spent $1500 on new equipement. So you get your first saved dollar back in 15.6 yrs.
You are so excited about the rise in rates, did you ever consider inflation? Shocker that inflation is higher than the rates too!
Lastly- How old are you? If you are 65, you might not live to see all these savings!
You have good intentions but there are huge holes in the theories you presented.
These are 3 easy things someone with some wealth can do that gives them a leg up on those who are less fortunate.
Energy costs are rising. I purchased a $25k solar system that produces more than I consume so I heated my home primarily with electricity this past winter. My utility bill (gas + electricity) for the year was ~$300 (2000 sq ft house). Before solar, it was over $2500/yr. I had estimated payback for the solar system to take 7 years. I overestimated and with the increase in energy costs, it will payback in 5-6 years.
Bought an EV and pay nothing in gas. Converted lawn care tools to all electric. Although gas prices have come down considerably, but when they invariably go back up, I won't feel the pain that ICE car drivers will. At 15-18k miles/year, that's a $1500 annual savings.
Interest rates and treasury yields have risen so a large portion of my investments and savings have been converted to high yield accounts. If I were poor, I would not be able to take advantage of the fed raising interest rates.
So someone that can't afford solar power, an EV and have a substantial amount of savings is at a marked disadvantage to wealthier folks. To make matters worse, I took advantage of gov tax rebates on the first two bullet points.
These advantages will just compound as the cost of living rises. The gap between the rich and poor is only going to get worse.
Guess I'm the only one who gets what the OP is saying about tax breaks for the wealthy......but the pull yourself up by the bootstraps crowd here completely missed it.
Maybe one of the resident genuises here can explain why when an individual makes 41,775/yr they only get a 12% Fed tax bite, but, when they earn 41,776/yr they can suddenly "afford" a 22% Fed tax bite?
These are 3 easy things someone with some wealth can do that gives them a leg up on those who are less fortunate.
Energy costs are rising. I purchased a $25k solar system that produces more than I consume so I heated my home primarily with electricity this past winter. My utility bill (gas + electricity) for the year was ~$300 (2000 sq ft house). Before solar, it was over $2500/yr. I had estimated payback for the solar system to take 7 years. I overestimated and with the increase in energy costs, it will payback in 5-6 years.
Bought an EV and pay nothing in gas. Converted lawn care tools to all electric. Although gas prices have come down considerably, but when they invariably go back up, I won't feel the pain that ICE car drivers will. At 15-18k miles/year, that's a $1500 annual savings.
Interest rates and treasury yields have risen so a large portion of my investments and savings have been converted to high yield accounts. If I were poor, I would not be able to take advantage of the fed raising interest rates.
So someone that can't afford solar power, an EV and have a substantial amount of savings is at a marked disadvantage to wealthier folks. To make matters worse, I took advantage of gov tax rebates on the first two bullet points.
These advantages will just compound as the cost of living rises. The gap between the rich and poor is only going to get worse.
A hit-and-run troll post by someone who primarily hangs out in P&OC with other low-information people who never passed a University level course in Economics and who lack the capacity for rigorous analytical discussion.
But in the event the OP wanders back here from P&OC to see how much dissention he has fomented, he is 100% incorrect:
These days, that's the 5 million dollar question. You have to reflect inflation!
I'd say 7 million dollar questions, reflecting Bidenflation.
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