4 ms·

I’ve lived the last year off of $120k post-tax dollars, and I’m only down to $65k. Saying that $800k is not hard to spend is unfathomable to me. The exception

I’ve lived the last year off of $120k post-tax dollars, and I’m only down to $65k. Saying that $800k is not hard to spend is unfathomable to me. The exception is if you’re buying a house. That was a big kick in the teeth to the tune of $45k or so, after closing, due to house repairs and miscellaneous life stuff. But as far as starting a family goes, it’s worth it.

selcuka 3y ago
I don't get it. Did you buy a house for $45K, or was that the down payment and repairs?
- sillysaurusx 3y ago
  The latter. The house was $260k. I doubt we’ll pay it off any time soon, and it always felt silly saying you "own a house" when the bank owns it. I once asked what happens if you miss a payment after paying off 98%, and the closing lady said that the bank will repossess it.
  - cgio 3y ago
    Don't know how it works with local laws, but as far as I know, they could ,(doubt they would) repossess. Nevertheless, they would auction, take the 2% remaining, plus their admittedly ridiculous fees, and pay you back the rest. Not that it would end up a good deal, but it's not as disastrous as one would infer.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      It would be a very bad deal because houses at auction don't fetch anywhere near their normal market value. They fetch their real value which is much lower than the value that the banks will happily allow you to borrow against (and the realtors charge their commission on). Those very same banks who quite often happen to be close buddies with the parties that happen to have the winning bid at the auction. It's a very crooked game, make sure you know the rules and who the other players are.
  - NavinF 3y ago
    > I once asked what happens if you miss a payment after paying off 98%, and the closing lady said that the bank will repossess it In what country? In the US it's almost impossible for the bank to take your primary residence regardless of whether you stop paying when you owe 2% or 98%. Anyway ownership is not the same as 100% equity. You still get market_value-loan after a shortsale.
ben_w 3y ago
I have chronic difficulty spending money, to the extent that I'm surprised if in any month my total outgoings including rent and utility bills exceeds €1k, but I also noticed a long time ago that my attitudes to money are unusual, and that most people want to spend slightly more than they earn regardless of income. $800k/year, even if that were after tax, can be burned fast by sufficiently expensive hobbies like maintaining your own sufficiently large private plane or yacht. And if you want to go to orbit…
- sillysaurusx 3y ago
  You’re lucky. My burn rate is $6k, and it makes me wince. Keep it up! (Or down, in this case.) It’s not impossible to imagine burning $800k a year, but saying it’s "not hard" is so very Silicon Valley.
  - literalAardvark 3y ago
    It's really not though. At least not the first couple of years. Get any combination of a house, nice cars for you and spouse, a nice adventure vehicle, pay college debt and kids education and you're already in the red if you want top shelf stuff.

selcuka 3y ago

I don't get it. Did you buy a house for $45K, or was that the down payment and repairs?

sillysaurusx 3y ago
The latter. The house was $260k. I doubt we’ll pay it off any time soon, and it always felt silly saying you "own a house" when the bank owns it. I once asked what happens if you miss a payment after paying off 98%, and the closing lady said that the bank will repossess it.
- cgio 3y ago
  Don't know how it works with local laws, but as far as I know, they could ,(doubt they would) repossess. Nevertheless, they would auction, take the 2% remaining, plus their admittedly ridiculous fees, and pay you back the rest. Not that it would end up a good deal, but it's not as disastrous as one would infer.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    It would be a very bad deal because houses at auction don't fetch anywhere near their normal market value. They fetch their real value which is much lower than the value that the banks will happily allow you to borrow against (and the realtors charge their commission on). Those very same banks who quite often happen to be close buddies with the parties that happen to have the winning bid at the auction. It's a very crooked game, make sure you know the rules and who the other players are.
- NavinF 3y ago
  > I once asked what happens if you miss a payment after paying off 98%, and the closing lady said that the bank will repossess it In what country? In the US it's almost impossible for the bank to take your primary residence regardless of whether you stop paying when you owe 2% or 98%. Anyway ownership is not the same as 100% equity. You still get market_value-loan after a shortsale.

ben_w 3y ago

I have chronic difficulty spending money, to the extent that I'm surprised if in any month my total outgoings including rent and utility bills exceeds €1k, but I also noticed a long time ago that my attitudes to money are unusual, and that most people want to spend slightly more than they earn regardless of income. $800k/year, even if that were after tax, can be burned fast by sufficiently expensive hobbies like maintaining your own sufficiently large private plane or yacht. And if you want to go to orbit…

sillysaurusx 3y ago
You’re lucky. My burn rate is $6k, and it makes me wince. Keep it up! (Or down, in this case.) It’s not impossible to imagine burning $800k a year, but saying it’s "not hard" is so very Silicon Valley.
- literalAardvark 3y ago
  It's really not though. At least not the first couple of years. Get any combination of a house, nice cars for you and spouse, a nice adventure vehicle, pay college debt and kids education and you're already in the red if you want top shelf stuff.