Palex134

Ya, there are so many BMW's in Boston. Everyone drives one.

Vijay

We have a household income well into 6 figures and we are very much affected by the economic times. Sure our day to day living isn't affected, but I have lost 1/3 of my kids college savings and $400,000 of retirement savings. Money that I would have had as extra cash now has to be saved.

Sure the super-wealthy aren't that affected, but even the "working rich" have taken a hit.

ArthurPE

you have >2 mil in retirement savings?
the average loss has been 20%...

if you have 2 mil in cash assets, you have no problems

Vijay

I never said I have "problems". I was responding to the allegation that people who can afford a $60k car don't have issues secondary to the current economic times.

Sure in an emergency I can tap my retirement money and pay a huge tax penalty, but I'm certainly not going to do that just so I can buy a nicer car.

We have four kids to put through college. With all expenses, that is about $1.2 million, which means I need to earn about $1.8 million above and beyond all our living expenses and any "play money" I may have to allow me to buy something like an RS4, M3, C63, etc.

When you earn a certain income, you build a lifestyle commensurate with that income. We don't have any debt other than a mortgage, but that doesn't mean we don't have to be more cautious with money.

ArthurPE

300k for a college degree?
wow
my tuition was $500 semester lol

PSU is ~23k year, and it's a great school
tuition, books, R & B...

I agree, all are impacted, and people buying a 60k car are not 'rich', but most are in the top 40% or so...100k$ being the top 5%

I moved everything to treasury stuff many years ago, capital preservation...I'm up maybe 6% over the last 2 years, not great, but better than most...we started puting the max in Roth's too...

it depends a lot on where you live too, CoL is very low in my area...
a top 3 percentile house is 250k

Vijay

I'm projecting costs a little into the future. Tuition, R&B, furniture, household goods, travel expenses, possibly a car or two depending on the kids needs and associated expenses. And...while my kids may not need that amount for tuition, I don't want to ever have to say to them they can't go to a certain school because I can't afford it for them.

The last set of demographics I saw in Newsweek magazine on the money in the US, the $100k point for household income was actually at the 88% mark, or top 12%. $120k was the 93rd percentile and $350,000 was the 98th percentile

ArthurPE

nothing wrong with earning a portion of it theirselves, it will increase their appreciation...to each their own...

too many people going to college, it has devalued the education...

an electrician (apprentice) makes as much as a recent grad engineer...I know ourneymen making 80k+, with excellent benefits and pensions...unheard of in the 'professional' workforce...nothing wrong with making a living using your hands, except the stigma

I guess it depends whether you are talking individual or household

individual: 90th is ~76k/year
household: ~85th is 100k, the median is 45k...
poverty level is ~22k for a family of 4...wow

again, it all depends on what you want, and where you live...

Bob W.

...i.e. male, late 30's, $250k annual income. the point is that demographic has shrunk significantly over the past 6-12 months, therefore there are fewer owners of that car, and more cars sitting at dealerships.

Bob W.

i don't think handing a kid a $300k education is necessarily helpful to them, but that's just my opinion. having said that, i won't let a lack of financing get in the way of their education, but i'm not going to hand it to them on a silver platter either.

Bob W.

I think we're reaching a point of diminishing returns, with respect to traditional college education. a bachelor's degree is basically useless today (in and of itself), and if it costs a student $300k, that means paying around $1500/mo for about 30 YEARS in student loans....unless mommy and daddy pay for it, which inherently devalues the education, from the kid's perspective.