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I was standing in a tire shop once in a little town in the Missouri Ozarks, waiting to get my tires mounted, while they put a $1500 set of tires on a customer's vehicle. I overheard another customer, as he watched big SUVs and long-cab pickups and 4x4s going by in the street, say words to the effect of: "I make pretty good money, for this part of the country, and I can't figure out where so many people are getting enough money to be buying cars like those out there".
It's a very good question. However, I was quite surprised recently when I read that the average age of all the private cars in America is 8.5 years. So, cars are really not as new as they look, I guess.
I am seeing ton of 30 year old men with boat loads of money to spend. 4/5 vacations a year, nice car, condos in high priced areas, TONS of "toys" (motorcycles, jet ski, snowboards)
HOW ARE THEY MAKING ALL THIS MONEY?
family support?
what jobs do they have?
Can someone explain to me how a 29 year old guy can spend like he makes $150k+ a year.
Am I in the wrong field?
I don't know if you're in the wrong field. What field are you in? I made 5 grand so far this week.
Let's not forget about people who make money in various parts of the "underground economy," and end up with lots of cash-on-hand, but not much contact with the traditional banking system. So it all goes into consumer goods.
I am seeing ton of 30 year old men with boat loads of money to spend. 4/5 vacations a year, nice car, condos in high priced areas, TONS of "toys" (motorcycles, jet ski, snowboards)
HOW ARE THEY MAKING ALL THIS MONEY?
family support?
what jobs do they have?
Can someone explain to me how a 29 year old guy can spend like he makes $150k+ a year.
Am I in the wrong field?
You should probably read Stop Acting Rich to remind yourself that a good chunk of these people are probably borrowing too much and not putting much away for retirement, etc. The authors of the book found that the people with the most money usually don't buy all the toys and the most expensive houses. They found only a tiny fraction of the population can afford to both live rich as well as be rich. So, probably most of these people with the expensive houses & toys have high incomes but are still overspending.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 12-09-2010 at 10:56 PM..
Knight Kiplinger once wrote: "The biggest impediment to becoming rich is living like you're rich before you really are." So we really don't know, as we observe one of these big spenders, whether he can afford the spending or if he is seriously over-extended.
I think it might also be a matter of perception. Some of those high priced condos could be sellign at 1/2 or even less than they were 4 years ago. So someone might have a sweetheart lease or great purchase price due entirely to timing. And if you buy your motorcycles/jetskis/etc used there is more saving there. I found that I could travel more cheaply when I was younger because I had a lot fewer expectations/requirements and could bunk with a room full of guys or house full of couple without caring.
But there are many people still doing very well in this economy. I am in architecture & we are getting killed with the rest of the construction/real estate industries. But friends in finance, medical fields and programming are all doing great. And there salary goes a lot farther with so many others tanking.
And never underestimate the bank of mom and dad or savings power of having roomates.
The majority of people I come across in my local area, town, neighborhood, fall into one of two categories:
1 - Poor; started out with nothing; barely getting by on food stamps, fuel assistance, housing assistance, subsidized health care, marginally or not employed, desiring but unable to attend/finish college or get skills training, desiring better employment opportunities but they're not available.
2 - Have inherited money, trust funds, houses paid cash in full/no purchase mortgage, sufficient family money to have attended private schools/colleges, family are large landowners, work in family businesses, have the family connections to get scarce jobs, have the family connections to attain local political offices and patronage jobs, gifted money and/or family land when ready for a house purchase.
I know a few self made people who are doing very well, and a lot of self made people who are hanging on and who were doing much better before the worldwide crash in real estate, construction, luxury goods, etc.
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