$90,000 bonus at work. where and how to spend?

[quote]Flagpole wrote:

Mortgage - $1100

Car 1 - $265

Car2 - $113

Car 3 - $275

if your cars are all less than a $300 a month car payment, you drive crappy cars.

and if your mortgage was less than $1100 you either live in a very cheap part of the country or live in a crappy house.

why save and save and save if you can't enjoy it.

also, i'm tired of this same advice that is all predicated on the theory that people won't save the extra money each month. its the core of your argument and its not true for everyone. sure, some but not all so don't declare it as fact that your approach to pay down ~3% debt in place of 8% in the market is the best way to go.

* wrote:

under a bridge wrote:

This guy has started several weak troll threads about wealth. No originality.

Says the guy posting on page 2 of this thread.

Doesn't refute anything I said.

Is this not enough to hire JS for your full-time personal coach?

TrackCoach wrote:

Putting the financial reasons aside for a moment, a house is not just an investment, it is a home. Starting tonight, my house will be occupied by my children, grandchildren and several friends will stop by over the next couple of days. My home is where my kids where raised and holiday traditions exist. Financially, my house will be paid off in a couple of years, I will go into retirement with no mortgage (-or rent) and it will be my largest asset by far.

A home is what you make it, Coach. Wife and I don't have children (I know, I know, so much for being a "Real Man"...lol), so we don't have to worry about grandchildren. Friends all own, so I can just go over there if I really want to see them. Traditions? It involves going out to eat for Thanksgiving and Christmas. LOL.

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Thanks Flagpole. Seriously. You are the first person (including a few financial advisors) that has mentioned that sometimes renting is better than owning...and none of them mentioned putting aside money for housing for retirement .

Just to be clear here...I am allowing renting just because of the WANT to rent. Owning a home is not the dream of many Americans anymore, and their dreams should be considered.

Financially it isn't necessarily better, but it COULD be...you just have to make sure you aren't renting a better place than you should be, and you need to make sure you have enough money invested so that when you no longer are working, that you can afford rent for the rest of your lives. Know that your wife may live 5 years longer than you when considering average life span. Just need to plan for how long you think you may both live after retiring.

So, rent the right place, and you COULD be paying the same or less than buying. Just need to prepare for those increases in rent past the time that you would have owned a home outright.

People that talk about their money usually don't really have much...

crappy cars wrote:

[quote]Flagpole wrote:

Mortgage - $1100

Car 1 - $265

Car2 - $113

Car 3 - $275

if your cars are all less than a $300 a month car payment, you drive crappy cars.

and if your mortgage was less than $1100 you either live in a very cheap part of the country or live in a crappy house.

why save and save and save if you can't enjoy it.

also, i'm tired of this same advice that is all predicated on the theory that people won't save the extra money each month. its the core of your argument and its not true for everyone. sure, some but not all so don't declare it as fact that your approach to pay down ~3% debt in place of 8% in the market is the best way to go.

Ha!

Car 1 is a Kia Soul. Super fun car to drive and 5 star safety rating. Always makes Best Value lists...awesome car.

Car 2 is a Scion xA. Actually a great little car made by Toyota and great for driving around town.

Car 3 is a Honda CRV. One of the best cars on the road.

As far as the mortgage goes, we put just 3% down at the time when we bought it in 1999. We are in one of the best school districts in Ohio, and the house is very nice. Yes, it is cheaper to live in Ohio than California. The house has more than doubled in value since I bought it, so it could not be had for $1100 a month today...that was just our mortgage payment for a long time until we threw more money at it and paid it off early.

Also, who says I save and save and save and can't enjoy my income? That is what people with debt say. I go on more vacations than anyone I know, and we have a lot of disposable income today because we have no debt, so we have a ton of fun with that.

OP, I was in a similar spot to you 3 years ago. The company I work for was sold to private equity and the owners distributed the proceeds, so I ended up with $250k.

I kept $30k in my checking and stuck the other ~$100k in a taxable vanguard account (vfiax) for a rainy day fund. It's still there. If I ever end up in a situation where I can't work for a while it'll be there. If I ever have kids and want to pay for their college it'll be there. Otherwise it's going to allow me to retire a few years earlier than I would have otherwise. I'm still driving my 2013 Mazda and my wife is driving a 2014 Ford.

Obviously the normal caveats apply with pay off all non-mortgage debt first. My mortgage is low enough that I chose not to pay it down, the utility of cash is so much higher.

crappy cars wrote:

[quote]Flagpole wrote:

Mortgage - $1100

Car 1 - $265

Car2 - $113

Car 3 - $275

if your cars are all less than a $300 a month car payment, you drive crappy cars.

and if your mortgage was less than $1100 you either live in a very cheap part of the country or live in a crappy house.

why save and save and save if you can't enjoy it.

also, i'm tired of this same advice that is all predicated on the theory that people won't save the extra money each month. its the core of your argument and its not true for everyone. sure, some but not all so don't declare it as fact that your approach to pay down ~3% debt in place of 8% in the market is the best way to go.

The OP makes $150K but has 70K in debt and does not list any savings. What do you think he is going to do with the $55K if he doesn't retire his debt? He is not a "saver" or an investor. You might be able to do it, and over the long term your investments will definitely outpace the interest paid on debts, but that is you.

Flagpole is just stating the obvious and practical advice for THIS PERSON.

He has three nice cars, not an Acura, but nice cars. How do you know what his house is like? You realize he is 51 and could have refinanced? Also, not every nice house is $800K. I don't know why people are such miserable pricks to each other, well I guess it ISN'T TO EACH OTHER, he didn't do anything to you.

Personal Savior wrote:

Is this not enough to hire JS for your full-time personal coach?

Awesome

3 mil in the bank wrote:

100% to Vanguard Index funds. I've done this with every bonus since college (max $350K). I'm in my mid 30s. See username for results.

I can’t seem to find that Vanguard fund that has returned an average of 25% per year over the last 15 years. Can you please share?

I guess there is nothing wrong with your lifestyle, I was just expressing what a house means to me. My home is my sanctuary as well a being an incredible asset if I ever decide to cash out. - You do need to get to work on making kids...all of the organs in the human body serve a purpose including the reproductive system.

Why not pay off the car right now?

Buying is nearly always better than renting. Bought my apartment 17 years ago. Mortgage 500 rent then was about 700. Mortgage now us the same to rent it's 1300 & wages have barely gone in London.