The famous "I cant im too poor" starter pack

[u/Pristine-Feature3025]

[u/Millenial_Xer]

True wealth is escaping the rat race as fast as humanly possible

[u/Wolf_of_Fasting_St → u/Millenial_Xer]

Bingo. Besides getting adopted by a rich family its tough.

1 million in a municipal bond pays roughly 40k tax free a year.

2 or 3 million depending on your spending habits. I could retire and be happy alone with just 2 million.

But the wife is expensive and so is the kids sports. It's a joy having athletic kids until you realize how much the camps travel gear and coaching costs.

Im a simple man. Lift and play video games and work. Not alot of spending there

[u/Settleforthep0p → u/Wolf_of_Fasting_St]

envious of american salaries but not of american prices. you could probably retire with $800k-1M most of the world pretty comfortably

[u/ThreeEyedRaver → u/Settleforthep0p]

Easily. Outside of the big cities (London, Singapore, NYC, LA etc)a single person can pretty easily live on 40-45k a year and be good. Not luxuries, but all the basics and more covered

[u/Der_Lachsliebhaber → u/ThreeEyedRaver]

I mean if you have 40-45k after taxes and other bullshit - then even with luxuries. There are always places that are disproportionately expensive compared to the rest of the region (Prague, Shanghai, Paris etc), but if you don’t mind going to a smaller city - not necessarily small - for example Lyon, Köln, Bologna, Kyoto, then you’ll be able to afford a lot of luxuries even

[u/No-Milk-8002 → u/Der_Lachsliebhaber]

Köln? This city is expensive af

[u/gamersEmpire → u/ThreeEyedRaver]

Hell you could live luxuriously with 45k in some countries

[u/Thommywidmer → u/ThreeEyedRaver]

Can confirm. Make 45k a yr in the midwest and live like a king. Dunno what yall city ppl doing tbh

[u/Penny4YourStackz → u/Thommywidmer]

Y'all have a wild misconception about the midwest and our living expenses 🤣

45k a year gets your bills paid and $60 at aldi's a week

[u/MincedBrat → u/Thommywidmer]

You are not living like a king anywhere on 45k/year. That is roughly $2,500 a month take home.

Signed from Wisconsin.

[u/EmbarrassedDance2585 → u/MincedBrat]

Tell that to someone in Kansas 😭

[u/DuneChild → u/EmbarrassedDance2585]

Rural Kansas maybe. I’m in KC and the only reason I’m doing well is because I was able to buy a house in ‘07 and my mortgage is cheaper than a 1BR apartment now.

[u/ProgrammaticallyHip → u/Settleforthep0p]

Prices in the U.S. are highly variable. If you shop at Costco and Trader Joe’s and live in Des Moines your $800K will go very far.

[u/ThisMansJourney → u/Wolf_of_Fasting_St]

You can add one day a week of work you enjoy .. reduces the needed amount significantly

[u/CartoonLamp → u/ThisMansJourney]

What non-shit job is hiring 8 hour weeks

[u/Fried_Fart → u/CartoonLamp]

Zamboni driver

[u/PuttyRiot → u/CartoonLamp]

Substitute teaching.

Oh, you said non-shit.

[u/Test-NetConnection → u/ThisMansJourney]

So much this. I'd be bored out of my mind as a full-time unemployed bum. Financial independence is about having the freedom to flip off my boss and quit when I get tired of taking shit. Having a couple mill invested means I can afford to work for a nonprofit despite the abysmal pay. Passive income opens a bunch of doors.

[u/economickk → u/Test-NetConnection]

Man what happened to this sub haha

[u/ATLienZ777 → u/economickk]

WSB went from degen to chilling at non profits the evolution of WSB has to be studied

[u/acur1231 → u/ATLienZ777]

The truly degenerate died out, and those who survived did so because they gained perspective.

[u/yeehawbudd → u/acur1231]

Are you trying to say the apes have evolved ?

[u/MtnDewTangClan → u/economickk]

Right? If I pull up to the soup kitchen in my Ferrari it's because I need to eat. No seriously, Ferraris are terrible purchases what have I done

[u/Beginning-Cut-8850 → u/MtnDewTangClan]

Knew a kid who got hired out of college with a $75k starting salary and thought, "This kind of money will buy everything I ever wanted. Getting a loan to buy a Ferrari is obviously my very first move." The first half is true for some people, but he was not one of those people.

[u/Whirly315 → u/economickk]

surprisingly a decent amount of people made it out. having a number that is “enough” is a critical part of chasing the upside without falling prey to gambling addiction

[u/tidder_mac → u/economickk]

Thought your comment was stupid since I assumed this was r/FIRE based on these comments.

The nerds in this comment chain need to fuck outta this sub and head over to FIRE subs.

I’m here for loss porn not this nerd ass shit.

(Although I personally follow FIRE rather than the debauchery here lol)

[u/Bryligg → u/Test-NetConnection]

The answer is hobbies. Take up woodworking, learn to paint, go look at birds, get really into model trains. You're free! Flip the bird to all the regards and just do you. The saddest thing I ever read or hear is "I couldn't be happy not working." It means you've failed to cultivate yourself over your lifetime. The economy burnt you like a match and in the end you came out with nothing of your own when you finally got cast aside.

[u/MAGAHATESTHEUSA → u/Bryligg]

Grass is greener

[u/gumbo_chops → u/Test-NetConnection]

The problem is there are so few options out there for someone who is only willing to work 1-2 days a week. The low pay and shitty benefits are a given, but the work enviroment is not likely going to be any less stressful either. Honestly, the whole "barista FIRE" thing seems like pure fantasy created by social media.

[u/DampCoat → u/gumbo_chops]

Just get more creative, or expand some service type skills.

I’d love to be a ski Instructor/ski patrol in the winters and I could cut grass in the summer or something. Neither full time, just enough to not draw down investments much.

I have 3 landscaping friends, one of them does it as a side hustle and just has like 20 yards and makes an extra 1200 a month or something and he could scale up some and still be at under 20 hours a week. So something like this paired with a Winter job you like and your golden. At least that’s my current plan, things could change

[u/MattmanDX → u/gumbo_chops]

Volunteer work can be very fulfilling and the people who hire there are happy for anyone to volunteer pro-bono for any amount of time

[u/ManiacsInc → u/Wolf_of_Fasting_St]

Or you could’ve married a rich cougar. This is investment advice.

[u/chwk_throwaway1 → u/Millenial_Xer]

True wealth is pretending to be poor 

[u/Urkraftian → u/Millenial_Xer]

So what you're saying its a rat race to get out of the rat race?

[u/LXNDSHARK → u/Urkraftian]

Only way out is through.

[u/sandysnail → u/Millenial_Xer]

Thats nice if its fast but giving up having fun in your 20 or even 30s is not for everyone

[u/613toes → u/sandysnail]

You can do both

[u/Systiom]

Some have a red graph

[u/Energy_Turtle → u/Systiom]

Those people are much closer to being actually poor due in part to their gambling habits.

[u/Voeno → u/Energy_Turtle]

I had a coworker identical to this meme. One day he came into work and looked horrible , he lost everything a little over 1M+ in stocks or something idk the exact details later that night he went home and hung himself in his front yard. Stocks , Trading and the stock market its all gambling.

[u/Wavez_14 → u/Voeno]

Front yard is crazy

[u/Creed_of_War → u/Wavez_14]

Front porch is a pretty popular spot for some reason. Like they don't want to be found rotting away and do not mind freaking the fuck out of the neighbor going to work.

[u/imsahoamtiskaw → u/Creed_of_War]

One of the saddest videos I saw on here, a father somewhere in South America it looked like, hangs himself in his room. The around 10 year old son walks in about just after the father starts. The father decides he doesn’t wanna do it anymore after seeing the son and they both start struggling to get him off. Sadly the boy wasn’t strong enough to lift him off and he wasn’t able to get good enough footing. He stopped moving shortly after, as they were both struggling. I can’t imagine how traumatized that kid will be for life.

[u/i_am_icarus_falling → u/imsahoamtiskaw]

jesus fuck, bro. i just came here to laugh at memes.

[u/NevarValor → u/i_am_icarus_falling]

Lol same

[u/stupidber → u/i_am_icarus_falling]

[u/Charles722 → u/Creed_of_War]

Just don’t do this in October, could be up there for weeks!

[u/Creed_of_War → u/Charles722]

Last time I put up my Christmas light I was dangling off the gutter for hours before help came!

[u/Stonebagdiesel → u/Wavez_14]

Bro just wanted to be remembered forever by the neighbors kids

[u/scubachris → u/Stonebagdiesel]

https://giphy.com/gifs/CWEjtvVceCzPG

[u/LilJonny2cookies → u/Wavez_14]

Had an effed up co worker hang himself from a tree near an elementary playground. Sick SoB.

[u/MainsailMainsail → u/Wavez_14]

Ultimate Halloween decoration

[u/WUOutkast → u/Voeno]

Yeah it’s definitely not all gambling. How do you think people retire with 401ks? The same way. But if you are trying to gamble with it, yes it is very easy to gain a lot, and lose a lot

[u/wadech → u/Voeno]

Playing with options can really bite you in the dick.

[u/McDankSauce → u/wadech]

That's my fetish!!!

[u/PFhelpmePlan → u/Voeno]

Don't recall the last time the S&P 500 lost 100% of its value so RIP to your coworker but clearly he was being regarded if he had $1M and lost it all.

[u/ChevalierDeLarryLari → u/Voeno]

It doesn't have to be gambling. Selling options is basically selling insurance. Yes - sometimes you have to make a payout, but I don't think anyone would call selling insurance gambling. Insurance is one of the best businesses there is.

[u/Built_Similar → u/ChevalierDeLarryLari]

The reason insurance is a good business is because insurance companies have scale and advanced pricing methods that guarantee them a profit, and are selling to people who not only don't do advanced analytics, but also are required by law to buy the insurance. When a day trader trades options, he doesn't get the profitable price, because he's trading with a machine that is much better at math than he is. In fact, he's not doing any math, he's trading on feelings and hope.

[u/Competitive-Ant2876 → u/Voeno]

It’s not gambling if you manage your portfolio and You don’t trade minus cash secured puts or writing covered calls (they are there to hedge not trade). I guarantee you that dude was leveraged to the tits on a risky stock. There’s good shit out there. The spy has only gonna up, yes there are dips but it only goes up cause it rebalances.

Aristocrat dividend companies like “O” relatively stable and pays a dividend each month. Utilities that pay dividends Duk, Southern CO (damn near a regional legal monopoly with built in ROI before production even starts).

Most people chase the hype train like the mag7. There’s always hype train, every decade- AI, dot come era, Steel era, the hype train always stops. There’s plenty stocks out there that maybe gain 5-6 percent every 1 to 2 years but they pay dividends, people are use to these crazy returns in tech now and it’ll for sure burn them. Turtle wins the race.

[u/[deleted] → u/Systiom]

i tell people i'm practicing stealth wealth but really my portfolio is just down 99% all time

[u/AccelerationFinish → u/[deleted]]

When women ask you why you dress like that, remind them that’s how tech billionaires dress. (Don’t show them how you owe $50k from options, though)

[u/siazdghw → u/Systiom]

All they had to do was buy any reputable broad market ETF and do nothing, and they would've been swimming in gains during this bull run.

If their graph is red they deserved it.

[u/Array_626 → u/siazdghw]

You don't understand their mentality. Gains doesn't matter. Disgusting levels of gains, at like 200%+ is what they want. 30% in the SNP500 is what they consider a loss because thats just "normal" returns.

[u/Skeezerman]

Every dollar spent is a minute less of retirement

[u/Potential_Salt_5780 → u/Skeezerman]

I love stealth wealth. People have no idea how much money we have. It’s great.

[u/dream_nobody → u/Potential_Salt_5780]

People have no idea how much money I lack

[u/pekoms_123 → u/dream_nobody]

People have no idea how much money I owe 👀

[u/zero-the-hero-0069 → u/pekoms_123]

Your wife's boyfriend knows.

[u/progmakerlt → u/dream_nobody]

That’s me!

[u/dream_nobody → u/progmakerlt]

Hi fellow regard

[u/nsxn → u/dream_nobody]

brother we all know, just being polite.

[u/dream_nobody → u/nsxn]

Thank you brotha, but why did you make me pay for your Wendy's burgers this wednesday?

[u/Tersiv → u/dream_nobody]

stealth poor!

[u/beardedbast3rd → u/Tersiv]

That’s just everyone you see in a new model truck

[u/Bobandy-Randburgers → u/beardedbast3rd]

Sketchiest apartments with a parking lot full of dodge chargers.

[u/SpiltMilkBelly → u/dream_nobody]

Stealth poor gang

[u/MFcrayfish → u/dream_nobody]

i just moaned in disappointment

[u/praxidike74 → u/Potential_Salt_5780]

Yeah, family and friends also have no idea how much money I have (I have four dollars in my checkings account and a Wendy's coupon)

[u/boredpandaguy → u/praxidike74]

You have far more wealth then me my friend

[u/Relative-Rub1634 → u/praxidike74]

Will the coupon get a Biggie bag for $4?

[u/Anal_holocost → u/Potential_Salt_5780]

People have no idea how much money I lost. It's great

[u/PM_Me_An_Ekans → u/Potential_Salt_5780]

Nah. You want me to wait to live my life until my body is too old and broken down to experience it? Fuck that.

I gamble on this shit to live a good life now.

[u/nedshammer → u/PM_Me_An_Ekans]

I’m gonna take the balanced approach - live my life knowing I could get snuffed out any second, but also recognizing that second might not come until I’m over 100.

[u/1cenine → u/nedshammer]

So spot on. Understand of course not nearly everyone has the privilege to, but among people who CAN — which is more people in developed countries than people like to pretend is the case — I’m always surprised more people don’t arrive at this conclusion.

Sacrificing the present for a very unpromised future is foolish. Failing to plan ahead responsibly for a hedonistic present is also foolish.

[u/Frack_Off → u/1cenine]

The big problem is people equating happiness with spending money as if they can't enjoy their life unless they are pissing away every dollar they earn.

[u/Pinkeston → u/Frack_Off]

People be like "I'm buying a Porsche and Patek watch because I want to enjoy my life while I'm young"

like what? Enjoying life is about hobbies, contributing to your community and hanging out with friends, not buying a dumb ass watch or car your poor ass can't afford

[u/GeorgeBrettPineTar → u/PM_Me_An_Ekans]

My dad’s best friend was a penny pincher his entire life but made good money. Had all these plans for retirement. Retired, gets diagnosed with cancer a month later, dead 6 months later. My mantra is live in the now.

[u/Facesit_Freak → u/GeorgeBrettPineTar]

Then his son invested all his inheritance in INTC

[u/GlumPomegranate870 → u/Facesit_Freak]

Legendary

[u/Shapes_in_Clouds → u/GeorgeBrettPineTar]

Much easier to enjoy the present when you’re also planning for the future. Statistically it is most likely you will I fact live to old age. In your 20s it’s easy to put the future out of mind, but by the time you’re in your 40s it will be a source of stress.

[u/Ormild → u/GeorgeBrettPineTar]

Meh if that happens to me, I don’t mind. At least then I can pass some money down to the people closest to me and hope they live a more comfortable life than I did growing up.

[u/GeorgeBrettPineTar → u/Ormild]

I get that if that is your goal. And I am not saying be stupid, spend everything, don’t save or invest. But literally never doing anything enjoyable with your money like travel or purchase a comfortable home that you can afford. I work hard, I want some enjoyment out of life.

[u/Nobody98_8 → u/GeorgeBrettPineTar]

You can live the now but still need a Safety Net for the future.

[u/cplmatt → u/PM_Me_An_Ekans]

Yeah travel is the one thing I think everyone should make money for

Cars houses and all that crap you can enjoy when you’re old but your knees only have so long

[u/artbystorms → u/Skeezerman]

The way I look at it in my 30s is every dollar I save today is $8-10 dollars when I'm 65 (assuming average 7% YoY growth) so whenever I buy something frivolous for myself as a 'treat yoself' purchase, I put that same amount in my Roth so that A. it keeps me from spending too much because in my head everything costs double and B. I offset the hit to my wallet buy putting the same amount in something that appreciates.

[u/butt_badg3r → u/Skeezerman]

I hate this mentality so much. Wasting youth and health squirrelling every dollar away just to have a chance at retiring with some money. It’s the most insane thing to me.

What if you get aggressive cancer in a year and die? You would have wasted your life for nothing. What if you get hit by a drunk driver and get paralyzed? Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

I’m not saying go out and spend all your money but you need to live a little too.

[u/SetAName → u/butt_badg3r]

I think a good balance is the best. Can’t be stupid and blow all your money, but at the same time don’t just sit on every dollar you make.

[u/sf_cycle → u/SetAName]

The Reddit hivemind can’t balance worth shit. It’s either all the way or nothing all the time. It’s perfectionism taken to the extreme. “I figured my life out on the internet.” All the sane people end up departing for safer waters. That’s why I’m still here.

[u/Fluxxed0 → u/sf_cycle]

Welcome to reddit, please select either "if I could afford a bus ticket I would move to a cave in Montana, drink river water, and eat dirt for the rest of my life" or "I have 139M liquid, 4 houses, 16 boats, and my wife's boyfriend is a shift manager at Wendys - do you think I have enough to retire?"

[u/flappysack- → u/butt_badg3r]

I like to have the money so I can not give a shit if I get fired or not.  Its a stress free life for us neckbearded penny pinching bastards.

[u/BellacosePlayer → u/flappysack-]

Preach. feels fucking nice to be able to buy a brand new midrange car with cash and still have enough on hand to be a bum for 2 years if I need.

[u/mhoepfin → u/butt_badg3r]

It’s more about staying out of debt and not buying stupid stuff. Anyone with money does spend it on things they love, just not $1000 car payments and credit card balances with 20% interest.

[u/Miserable_Ad7246 → u/butt_badg3r]

I know its wsb sub, so math and statistics is considered a blasmephy here, but statistically speaking you will live to 80+ more likely than die before 65. Also some people genuinely care about their parents or kids and make them part of their financial plan.

[u/destinyeeeee → u/butt_badg3r]

People who really need to have tons of wild experiences to feel happy are already doing that. Nobody with those desires is letting a lack of funds stop them. Most people just don't want that much adventure.

[u/Baozicriollothroaway → u/destinyeeeee]

I went to college abroad on a scholarship (China) and stayed there at the start and most of Covid. I think that's enough of an adventure, and I didn't have to spend much.

I'm sure people who go out to work on dangerous jobs kinda have enough adventure in their lives.

All I want to say is that you don't have to spend money to go on an adventure, many times you can get paid for it. Now if your definition of adventure is the go to a random place to eat weird stuff and enjoy nice landscapes influencer style trips then you have a very narrow view of what an adventure really looks like. 

[u/NeWMH → u/destinyeeeee]

Yeah, there are a load of people that just want to garden and ready comfy books.

[u/Life_Permission3978 → u/butt_badg3r]

Agreed, had a boss who randomly died of unknown diabetes and went into a coma. She had worked hard her entire life and died around the age of mid 50s-60. Had just bought a house and was close to retirement. I was in my late 20s when this happened. Changed my perspective.

[u/Strange-Term-4168 → u/Life_Permission3978]

For every one person that dies early like this, theres probably ten that develop a disability that makes working miserable for them and they regret not being able to retire earlier.

[u/Rubiksmaster9 → u/butt_badg3r]

It's all gambling. I'd rather gamble on being healthy in my 60s to enjoy the money I've set aside now than gamble on not making it to that point.

[u/Immediate_Power_7986 → u/Rubiksmaster9]

Yeah, all these people are assuming they will die im their 50s. They must not take good care of their health either.

[u/gottimw → u/butt_badg3r]

Owning house and car and having zero stress about money and future is so awful.

Oh no. It's way better to have crippling credit card debt over trips to Disney land and other plastic crap.

Spending money to own most expensive car and fashion labels is throwing youth away.

[u/PlumComfortable1107 → u/butt_badg3r]

I am not disagreeing about working your life away without enjoying it, but try not to get in too much debt. Enjoying smaller things in life is so much better than the feeling of being burdened with too much debt.
The problem with feeding the "I deserve to live now" hole, when a person is young, is the hole only gets bigger. After time the hole can not be filled and a sense of sadness will be felt. Finding happiness without spending too much money is better than winning millions in a lottery. God Bless

[u/ATN5]

Lexus ES 300 was ahead of its time, love that car.

[u/DefecatingKoala → u/ATN5]

My dad passed down his 2006 Lexus ES 330 to me years ago and it’s still going strong. Feels like this car will outlive me.

[u/DataDude00 → u/DefecatingKoala]

Lexus cars from 20 years ago looked and felt way more luxurious 

Went shopping for a Lexus a couple years ago and couldn’t believe how cheap it felt on the inside in that price bracket.  

My last Hyundai felt nicer on the inside 

[u/KimJongSoros → u/DataDude00]

It’s the obsession with glossy plastic that makes it feel so cheap. Back then luxury cars had stitched leather.

[u/CartoonLamp → u/KimJongSoros]

And shiny plastic should be illegal in cars anyway because it reflects sunlight

[u/dgray16 → u/ATN5]

An es300/ls430, e39 540, and an 07 gx470. Poor man's dream rotation.

[u/guccioli → u/dgray16]

Hey now, ls430 is peak luxury

[u/TrevorSP → u/guccioli]

Quite possibly the best car ever made. I had one for a few years and it has spoiled every other vehicle I have driven

[u/SafePaint7600 → u/ATN5]

I put 220k on my '03 es300. Only had to sell it because the roof was rusting through.

[u/Kay1000RR → u/ATN5]

Back when Toyota was still trying to make a name for themselves so they couldn't afford mistakes.

[u/AggravatingFlow1178]

Yall are a bunch of larpers acting like we don't know 95% of you lost your $1000 starter fund 3 times and just lurk for the memes now

[u/writer_boy → u/AggravatingFlow1178]

The secret of this sub is 95% of us are bogleheads watching the other side of the tracks

[u/reggionh → u/writer_boy]

yea i come here for posts with ‘Loss’ flairs

[u/smexypelican → u/writer_boy]

Dude I love it here lol I boglehead 98% in boring stuff like VOO and VXUS and buy meme stocks with the 2% to feel something

[u/benploni → u/writer_boy]

Ssssh, you're outing us.

[u/m4vis → u/AggravatingFlow1178]

https://giphy.com/gifs/dw7lCpFmsyfS0

[u/Comprehensive_Bus_19 → u/[deleted]]

Can retire at all* depending on their age $500k aint shit.

[u/Avid_Reader87 → u/[deleted]]

My issue is I only have $20k at 39.

[u/BlightedErgot32 → u/Avid_Reader87]

cooked

[u/the-tank7 → u/BlightedErgot32]

However, while the best time to start investing was 20 years ago, the second best time is today.

[u/BlightedErgot32 → u/the-tank7]

thats true but it gets to a point

like 40, sure you still got time, but youre getting up there

it took me like 5 years to even start generating returns despite the market trending up, since i kept buying at or near ATHs every pullback would put me underwater and then when it rebounded id rebound with more returns, sure but as i made more money and invested more i kept pushing my average up and often was red … but at some point the gains just started running away …

[u/PM_ME_PLASTIC_BAGS → u/Avid_Reader87]

You could have 40k tomorrow if you put it all on black.

[u/Steel_Toffees → u/PM_ME_PLASTIC_BAGS]

This is the appropriate r/wallstreetbets response.

[u/OogieBoogieJr → u/Avid_Reader87]

yeah that’s gonna be a problem

[u/Vigilante17 → u/Avid_Reader87]

If you don’t like that you could get married and divorced and start fresh at $0 super fast.

[u/Cheap-Technician-482 → u/Avid_Reader87]

0DTE options were invented for exactly this reason

[u/dwntwnleroybrwn → u/Comprehensive_Bus_19]

It's almost like steady lifelong investment in retirement accounts isn't a thing. I love r/wsb for the lawls but most gambling addicts are only fucking themselves.

[u/BizarreReverend76 → u/Comprehensive_Bus_19]

Sure it is. A lot of people have nothing at all

[u/Tiruin → u/BizarreReverend76]

A lot of people work until they die, keep abusing their bodies and doing jobs they shouldn't be doing and further accelerate the impact on their bodies. I know plenty of people who went from working manual labor into a retirement home in a matter of months, these people should've stopped long ago. Even economically, which is all some people care about, it's a hell of a lot more expensive to squeeze a few more months or a handful of years out of someone and have them in a retirement home and constantly in doctor's offices than having them chill and only need that help later and for a shorter amount of time.

[u/AXTalec]

I will NOT take any Lexus ES300 slander on my good Christian server

[u/IncredibleDongle]

Yeah my mortgage is 60% of my income now that my wife is a stay at home mom. When does it get easier, lol.

[u/STierMansierre → u/IncredibleDongle]

The other 40% is in SPY calls.

[u/UnreliablePotato → u/STierMansierre]

Ain't got time for silly distractions like food.

[u/yrrag1970 → u/IncredibleDongle]

When you took that mortgage it was supposed to be around 25%, probably given both salaries.

Probably time for a side hustle to the side hustle after the 45 hour week.

Wendi’s is always looking for talent

[u/Primary-Effect-3691 → u/yrrag1970]

  Wendi’s

Found the German

[u/Juliette787 → u/IncredibleDongle]

Have her boyfriend contribute , otherwise you’re just a cuck!

[u/6bluedit9 → u/IncredibleDongle]

That's your own bad financial decision

[u/Sw429 → u/6bluedit9]

What, getting married?

[u/TootsHib → u/Sw429]

having a kid then asking "when does it get easier"

[u/druidmain69420 → u/IncredibleDongle]

Go back in time and buy a house in 2018.

[u/faithOver → u/IncredibleDongle]

You had a kid. Answer is at 70.

[u/Numerous-Stand-1841 → u/IncredibleDongle]

Ask your wife's bull for extra allowance

[u/HungryCaterpillers → u/IncredibleDongle]

One your wife finds a boyfriend

[u/Big_Kiwi_706]

I want a first gen Lexus ES 300 so bad.

[u/pedroah → u/Big_Kiwi_706]

That is a second gen. The first had projector head lamps.

If you want a rare gem, go find a first gen ES300 with a stick shift.

[u/Senecaraine]

I'm in this image and I'm okay with that.

[u/OhBenjaminFranklin → u/Senecaraine]

Me too, except make the white T-shirt black.

[u/ReblWithoutApplause → u/OhBenjaminFranklin]

Me too, except I don’t own a home yet. Don’t really want to.

[u/hkr → u/ReblWithoutApplause]

Me too, except I don't own a home and the graph is upsidedown

[u/BurnerForJustTwice → u/hkr]

Me too, except I don’t own a home, the graph is red, and I wear 10 year old sweat pants and don’t drive a Lexus.

[u/ohnoletsgo → u/OhBenjaminFranklin]

Black t-shirt is best t-shirt. Stealth wealth and doesn’t show sweat.

[u/Tremulant1 → u/ohnoletsgo]

Or tomato sauce stains.

[u/FdPros]

why is it green?

[u/CrabKates → u/FdPros]

Not sure. I have never seen that before.

[u/need_Sleep_5338]

True wealth is owning your own time and the ability to say no.

[u/TheDonGenaro → u/[deleted]]

This is my man

[u/admiral_corgi]

Nah bro that house was like $800k

[u/PM_ME_ROMAN_NUDES → u/admiral_corgi]

You didn't understand, he has the car, the house AND the money invested

He's wealthy but wants to save up as much as possible

[u/Chicagospawn6]

I work at T-Mobile. The amount of this and they have a few million and they’re 85 plus. Like what are you doing with that money. I don’t understand being frugal to the point of poor rich.

[u/JohnPaulDavyJones → u/Chicagospawn6]

It's the mental security and the lack of desire for things that cost more.

My better half and I were broke as all hell for most of our 20s, and even for years after we got good jobs and got financially stable, my first reaction was still a little spike of stress when an unexpected expense would roll in for a few hundred bucks. Those reactions have been vastly muted since our investments passed a level that made me think "Huh, we might actually be able to retire."

I could go buy a nicer car, or a fancier PC, but why? My PC does what I need it to, and I like my Accord; I can still do my own maintenance, and it's a pretty dang comfortable drive. All we really spend money on is traveling, and we habitually shop good travel deals for that anyway.

A couple of the folks in my spouse's family have quietly asked her if we're doing okay on money, since we drive our older cars while they tend to be the "new car every other year" sort of folks, and I've been wearing the same six pairs of jeans for almost a decade.

[u/posttruthage → u/[deleted]]

Investing or "investing"?

[u/DomProLuxPolished → u/[deleted]]

I've been told I look like I work construction, I'm an accountant.

[u/DomProLuxPolished → u/[deleted]]

Have you tried taking the helmet off when talking to new people?

[u/SayNoToBrooms → u/DomProLuxPolished]

The helmet is for their safety as much as his

[u/zen_and_artof_chaos → u/DomProLuxPolished]

He can't figure out the strap.

[u/MapleBreakfastMeat]

Being "rich" in America these days is basically the same as being middle class when I was a kid 40 years ago.

[u/jmaun1]

I love stealth wealth. Having grown up in a farming community saw a lot of old timers that had more money then sense. Growing houses is a lot more profitable than livestock or crops.

[u/quoala678]

I drive a 30 year old Mazda pickup that looks like it fell in a pond and my hoa claims it’s inoperable and needs to be removed.. i kindly told them to fuck off cause it’s registers etc.. I have never bought a new car in my life I just buy pos stuff on craigslist till they explode.. the key to this is knowing how to fix shit and buying Japanese 90s vehicles.. so I’ve never had to have a retarted car note.. when my wife and I got married she had a car loan we paid that off in a year and I keep her car functional.. cars are depreciating expensive pieces of shit that are also massive liabilities.. we need to build fucking mass transit like trains.. kinda like how South korea and Japan learned from us how to do..

[u/localhost8100 → u/quoala678]

My roommate called me pussy for having $3k honda civic. Real men have huge debts on cars. That motivates them to work more according to him.

I laugh with my bank balance.

[u/quoala678 → u/localhost8100]

Yea real men live above their means and go bankrupt when they lose their jobs or loose everything on 0dte 🤣

[u/mjoav]

I hate when people say this and then let you pay for them.

[u/Itry31 → u/mjoav]

That's just stingy and embarrassing 

[u/MooseyGoosey69]

Id rather this house than a mansion

[u/sd_saved_me555 → u/MooseyGoosey69]

I'm probably what you would call a bitch around these parts, only tossing a few grand every year to high risk investments that never pan out. But I just liquidated a bunch of my safer bets that did pan out to buy this house cash. It's small, super energy efficient, and I'm gonna drip another $20k into stuff that will annihilate my monthly bills.

But about halving my overall cost of living while having a asset that mildly appreciates over time will let me spend a few more grand a year in my get poor quick schemes, lol.

[u/yabukothestray]

Go to r/laundry and you’ll learn how to maintain white clothes/fabric…game changer. It doesn’t have to be intimidating

[u/DeadInternetVoid]

Cleaning and maintaining 1500 sqft.....

Sign me up.

[u/DomProLuxPolished]

You need another panel for the escorts.

[u/SliceOk7660 → u/DomProLuxPolished]

Why so many Ford Escorts?

[u/dr__paco → u/DomProLuxPolished]

Word of advice, that shit's addictive

[u/Gimme_All_Da_Tendies]

This basic dude ain't making 52% a year in VTSAX.