Stealth Wealth Moment

pb4uski said:
Similar here, but I suspect I will regret the day DW figures it out. She hasn't asked and I haven't told. :D
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Would that be the day that you go from being a multi-millionaire to a mere millionaire? Ignore this question if you have more than $4M. :D
 
Jay_Gatsby said:
Agreed, which is why I drive an 8-year old Honda Accord (22k OTD new). However, if you enjoy driving luxury cars, you probably want to maintain them properly.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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The problem with today's luxury cars is that regardless of maintenance, the bells and whistle electronic options can break the budget. Ten years ago when we bought our last car the Lexus salesman told us not to worry about extended warranty unless we purchased the advanced GPS /stereo sound system. We followed his advice and have had - zero, yes zero repairs with the only dealer maintenance being a timing belt scheduled replacement. Which only cost $400 due to the fact they combined it with a recall. Other than that I do the oil changes myself and keep an eye on everything.
 
A few years ago I bought a 2000 Ford Mustang convertible V6 with 15k miles. It still had the new car smell. I paid $6400, it had been in an accident (still clean title) but I had it inspected and got the green light from the body shop. About a year later I was in an accident. The car was totaled because of its age. I got a check for $6k, kept the car and paid $1700 in repairs ($500 for a junk yard door and the rest was paint). I made $4k on the deal. By far my best car purchase.
 
Big hat no cattle.

My favorite one is to make a large purchase with cash instead of credit card.

Nothing gets people flustered like whipping out a big @55 pile of crispy new Benjamin's Especially those that think they sized me up as being on the poor side if the tracks.

Cash is king !
 
biker4life said:
Big hat no cattle.

My favorite one is to make a large purchase with cash instead of credit card.

Nothing gets people flustered like whipping out a big @55 pile of crispy new Benjamin's Especially those that think they sized me up as being on the poor side if the tracks.

Cash is king !
Click to expand...


Not so fast. A true local story on news a few years ago - A criminal couple went shopping in a mall and paid for a ring with bunch of Benjamins. Store owner reports it to police b/c it's rather unusual event. The police did a quick check and the couple was arrested for past crime. So, if you have warrants or running from the law, think twice before paying with large amount of cash. ;)
 
biker4life said:
Big hat no cattle.

My favorite one is to make a large purchase with cash instead of credit card.

Nothing gets people flustered like whipping out a big @55 pile of crispy new Benjamin's Especially those that think they sized me up as being on the poor side if the tracks.

Cash is king !
Click to expand...


Yah. My first thought was "seller is suspicious of pile-o-cash, calls police. Civil asset forfeiture ensues."

Not fun.
 
robnplunder said:
Not so fast. A true local story on news a few years ago - A criminal couple went shopping in a mall and paid for a ring with bunch of Benjamins. Store owner reports it to police b/c it's rather unusual event. The police did a quick check and the couple was arrested for past crime. So, if you have warrants or running from the law, think twice before paying with large amount of cash. ;)
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Or be careful about where you go as in at least some jurisdictions you can be stopped and the cash confiscated as the proceeds of drug deals (Typically combined with a speed trap in a small town on a major route) That is why a check is about as good a deal it still means paying directly (or indeed a debit card).
 
Fair comments. I am not talking tens of thousands of dollars. You get the same reaction paying a 400 grocery bill in cash - maybe they are used to seeing EBT cards or something. ...

To me the fun factor far outweighs the risk. But I respect your perspectives and fears ...
 
Sarah in SC said:
meierlde, did you see this article about that? Fascinating reading, and terrifying to think!
Taken - The New Yorker
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On "The Daily Show" a week or so ago, Jon Stewart had a segment about this hideous practice. I hope more light gets shown on it and the police departments get sued so they can cut the abuse out.
 
biker4life said:
Fair comments. I am not talking tens of thousands of dollars. You get the same reaction paying a 400 grocery bill in cash - maybe they are used to seeing EBT cards or something. ...

To me the fun factor far outweighs the risk. But I respect your perspectives and fears ...
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On the flip side, I worked with a guy who always had at least $2,000 in cash in his wallet. Would often make a show of paying cash by whipping out a few $100's before he could 'find' a $20 dollar bill.

Sadly, it all the money he had in the world.

Then, of course there is my own brother who didn't have a checking account or a credit card until he was 58 years old! To this day, he trots down to the cell phone store each month and pays his cell phone bill in cash.
 
AnIntentionalRoad said:
Not sure exactly but I remember some statistic that most accidents happen within a few miles of one's home.
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Probably because most of your driving miles are within a few miles of one's home. I'll bet if you took statistics on accidents people have while on a 500 mile drive, very few of them will be near home.
 
pb4uski said:
Similar here, but I suspect I will regret the day DW figures it out. She hasn't asked and I haven't told. :D
Click to expand...

Ditto with my DW. She's doesn't have much interest in financial matters and I handle the investment accounts and day to day bills, etc. When she asked me casually a while back how are we doing (financially), I said we have enough to "make it to 90"....and that was good enough for her.;)

I don't want to bring up the word "millionaire" as it may give her incentive to spread that around the family, and I don't want to give the impression we are in that category. I prefer stealth mode... We have some family members that are financial train wrecks and don't want the attention brought here. DW has a millionaire sister and brother who run that front.:LOL:
 
Years ago, on my first trip to Billy Bob's, I was sitting with fellow workers (all from Texas) at a table with locals... The subject came up about what we did for a living. After the original go-round... to show my interest in what others did for a living, I asked the guy who said he was a rancher... "Yeah...Great!... How many cattle?".
A very swift and very hard kick under the table from my friend told me I had said something wrong...
The rancher was non plussed though, and replied... "I couldn't really say, because it changes... I'll just count the number of feet, and divide by four."
 
pb4uski said:
Similar here, but I suspect I will regret the day DW figures it out. She hasn't asked and I haven't told. :D
Click to expand...
Good plan. DW#1 divorced me after I announced we had hit the million dollar portfolio mark. I guess she figured she'd rather be a half-millionaire and not have to put up with me. :LOL:
 
Sarah in SC said:
meierlde, did you see this article about that? Fascinating reading, and terrifying to think!
Taken - The New Yorker
Click to expand...

The article reports that North Carolina is the only state to have banned the practice! Now, if they could just figure out how to reduce the 7.5 percent income tax, I might decide not to move after all.

Oh, and if all states went the way of Colorado, this would cure itself.
 
LoneAspen said:
The reward of doing a kind deed for somebody (even though financially, they might not have needed it) was probably worth far more to her than any payback.

Just pay it forward to somebody else you might see in need someday :)
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+1:)
 
aja8888 said:
Ditto with my DW. She's doesn't have much interest in financial matters and I handle the investment accounts and day to day bills, etc. When she asked me casually a while back how are we doing (financially), I said we have enough to "make it to 90"....and that was good enough for her.;)

I don't want to bring up the word "millionaire" as it may give her incentive to spread that around the family, and I don't want to give the impression we are in that category. I prefer stealth mode... We have some family members that are financial train wrecks and don't want the attention brought here. DW has a millionaire sister and brother who run that front.:LOL:
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Wow, I'm surprised that two folks have posted in this thread that their wives don't know the family financial status. I find that very disturbing for all kinds of reasons. :mad:

Glad we have counseled our kids to make financial compatibility a very important factor in choosing their life partners.
 
MBAustin said:
Wow, I'm surprised that two folks have posted in this thread that their wives don't know the family financial status. I find that very disturbing for all kinds of reasons. :mad:
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DW just don't care and I think that is odd. So, time to time, I force feed her our financial situation. The only time she cared was that two of our brokerage accounts were under my name only as I was too lazy to fill out spouse information when I opened them years ago. I corrected it quickly after DW gave me an evil look.
 
robnplunder said:
DW just don't care and I think that is odd. So, time to time, I force feed her our financial situation...........
Click to expand...

Ditto. All DW wants to know is if we are OK. Beyond that, glazed eyes. She has a "if I kick off suddenly" letter that explains it all.
 
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