Awkward Wealth

[AnIntentionalRoad]

When I read about someone like Garth Brooks or Facebook dude, having hundreds of millions of dollars to billions of dollars, I can't even conceive of spending that much money in my lifetime.

There is a certain level of wealth where when you rise above it, you are no longer thinking about how you might be able to spend it all before you die. It just becomes a way of keeping score.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Link? I am sorry, but when you throw quality lines out like that, you should be able to point to a credible third party source.

That's bull. Here's a link: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#Education_and_gender

Per latest US census figures a college grad with a BS earns an average of 67% more annually at age 25 than a 25 year old with only a high degree. Those are median salary figures.

And here's the LATEST figures regarding percentile of college grads who were still unemployed after a year of graduation.

"Four of every five participants in the National Center for Education Statistics survey graduated in fields outside science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- the so-called STEM fields. No major reported double-digit unemployment numbers. Graduates who majored in engineering had a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, while health care majors had a rate of 2.2 percent. The highest unemployment rate was 9.6 percent, for those with social science degrees."

IE: That statement that was reported last year by an April 2012 AP report and got a lot of "spin" had no basis. In fact the statistics show over 90% get good jobs in less than a year that pay almost double what they could hope to have made without that bachelor's degree.

The link to that is here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/recent-college-graduates-employment_n_5564881.html


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Al in Ohio]

Just google it. Plenty of info from many sources out there. Do you watch the news? It's been discussed frequently with the minimum wage issue being debated.



A recent study just released that something like 47 percent of college grads now don't earn more than high school grads.



Ric Edelman and Ray Lucia both mentioned the studies results on their talk shows.



All I am saying is that our economy and job market has changed drastically in the past 20 years.

20 years ago everybody felt sorry for school teachers making low pay while the private sector was getting rich.

So now those same teachers are considered overpaid and don't deserve a pension.



Obviously degrees in nursing or engineering or medicine or computer science ,etc will land a grad a job but not everyone can get these type degrees.

Link? I am sorry, but when you throw quality lines out like that, you should be able to point to a credible third party source.

That's bull. Here's a link: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#Education_and_gender

Per latest US census figures a college grad with a BS earns an average of 67% more annually at age 25 than a 25 year old with only a high degree. Those are median salary figures.

And here's the LATEST figures regarding percentile of college grads who were still unemployed after a year of graduation.

"Four of every five participants in the National Center for Education Statistics survey graduated in fields outside science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- the so-called STEM fields. No major reported double-digit unemployment numbers. Graduates who majored in engineering had a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, while health care majors had a rate of 2.2 percent. The highest unemployment rate was 9.6 percent, for those with social science degrees."

IE: That statement that was reported last year by an April 2012 AP report and got a lot of "spin" had no basis. In fact the statistics show over 90% get good jobs in less than a year that pay almost double what they could hope to have made without that bachelor's degree.

The link to that is here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/recent-college-graduates-employment_n_5564881.html


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[pb4uski]

It is not smug attitude. If you are lucky to do very well in your life....then you probably know that showing it off will lead to absolutely nothing good.

Now I know that so I would avoid anything to drive expensive car or wear Patek Watch.......

Doing that will not demonstrate anything positive to most of people and I am practical man and not a show off snob.

Did it ever cross your mind that perhaps LARS just enjoys nice cars and watches or whatever and isn't "showing off" as you put it. Maybe he is doing well in life not because he is "lucky" as you wrote, but because the harder he works the luckier he gets.

I drive modest cars even though I could afford better but that is a choice I make but I certainly would not resent those who drive nicer cars because they can afford to and chose to. I have several friends who chose to drive Audi, BMW and Porsche and if that is how they chose to spend their money that is fine with me.

You may think you're not a snob, and perhaps you are not, but you definitely have a good sized chip on your shoulder.

 

[Cheesehead]

Sad BMW owners with a deep seated need for status:

Why Unhappy Retirees Are Driving BMWs - Business Insider

Be happy, go Lexus!

 

[Milton]

We own two BMWs, a Porsche and a Lotus; and by own I mean own, not leased, not financed, but bought and paid for without compromising our lifestyle one iota.

Helmet on, back in bunker, waiting for incoming.

No need to be ashamed (or proud) of such possessions. Ultimately we are all alive for a short time, and 'you can't take it with you'. If owning and using fine quality goods gives you pleasure and you can afford the expense, why not?

Some might argue that you are a victim of marketing, and insufficiently aware of the 'hedonic adaptation' phenomenon; but even if that is true, it is not apparent that your tastes/choices hurt anyone else (the 'comments' on this blog entry debate at some length the 'morality' of luxury purchases. The arguments of "Derek" - who suggests that treating oneself to a $109 notebook is entirely indefensible in a world where so many have so little - seem to me to be specious and superficial, but we all have our opinions …).

Of course, if a person goes around gratuitously flaunting their expensive stuff, or rubbishing other people's cheaper possessions, that would be deplorable; but there is no evidence of any such conduct on LARS' part.

I agree with pb4uski: merely because someone prefers nice things doesn't necessarily imply that they are 'showing off'. Sometimes what is presumed to be conspicuous consumption is no more than private enjoyment.

It's also noteworthy that a pricey car/boat/house/watch/whatever may be less expensive for a UHNWI than a cheap alternative is for a middle class person: it's all relative.

 

[purplesky]

No link, then. Thanks for the confirmation that you are just slinging CP-USA BS against the wall to see what sticks.

If you think that most college grads are now landing jobs that pay a living wage than good for you. I say they are not.



You stated that changing jobs frequently is going to increase your earnings by 1 million over your career. Good for you. clap clap.

Somebody in a post said they are glad they don't make 40k to 50k and I just pointed out that those 50k wage earners could accumulate wealth by LBYM and investing with no long breaks in employment. Starting in their 20s.

So for the millions of middle-class wage earners who lose their jobs and are not able to quickly find another job with comparable pay they will not build real wealth. Especially with kids.

You sound like a real go-getter. Not everyone will win like you.

 

[purplesky]

That's bull. Here's a link: Household income in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Per latest US census figures a college grad with a BS earns an average of 67% more annually at age 25 than a 25 year old with only a high degree. Those are median salary figures.

And here's the LATEST figures regarding percentile of college grads who were still unemployed after a year of graduation.

"Four of every five participants in the National Center for Education Statistics survey graduated in fields outside science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- the so-called STEM fields. No major reported double-digit unemployment numbers. Graduates who majored in engineering had a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, while health care majors had a rate of 2.2 percent. The highest unemployment rate was 9.6 percent, for those with social science degrees."

IE: That statement that was reported last year by an April 2012 AP report and got a lot of "spin" had no basis. In fact the statistics show over 90% get good jobs in less than a year that pay almost double what they could hope to have made without that bachelor's degree.

The link to that is here:

Many Recent College Graduates Have Found Employment


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

What I said is that 20 years ago most college grads were finding good paying jobs. In the 90s. You could pay down a student loan type wages.

But Now a large number of college grads are only landing a job at Starbucks or Target. These are low income jobs that high school grads can also get.

Most of the new jobs being created are lower income type service jobs so I don't see why this is such a surprise.

So if the avg. wage is around $20hr for college grads. That would seem to put millions of college grads in a pretty low wage demographic.

 

[Ronnieboy]

But there's another (more likely IMO) explanation. Since BMW's are seen as status symbols, some status seeking jerks will buy them if they can scrape up the money for a lease. These same people would be jerks if they didn't have the BMW.

And to be clear, I'm saying jerks may be attracted to BMWs, not that people who drive BMWs are jerks in general.

-ERD50

What I don't get is why all these BMWs don't come with working blinkers

 

[LoneAspen]

There is a certain level of wealth where when you rise above it, you are no longer thinking about how you might be able to spend it all before you die. It just becomes a way of keeping score.

It might not be possible for me to spend that level of wealth before I died, but I'd damn sure give it my best shot.

Yes, Mr. Lamborghini salesman, I'll take TWO of those gold plated Aventadors, and throw in one for yourself, too!

 

[Amethyst]

Now Ha, that's just not fair. I haven't hit you yet. Then again, I'm on the other side of the country, so you're probably safe.

That said, my car is by far the oldest, cheapest one in the gym parking lot, yet someone managed to hit-and-run my taillight while I was working out. It almost had to be a luxury SUV, since that's all that was parked around me.

A.

Who do I fear? Somebody driving an older American piece of junk with various dents all over the metal.

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

What I said is that 20 years ago most college grads were finding good paying jobs. In the 90s. You could pay down a student loan type wages.

But Now a large number of college grads are only landing a job at Starbucks or Target. These are low income jobs that high school grads can also get.

Most of the new jobs being created are lower income type service jobs so I don't see why this is such a surprise.

So if the avg. wage is around $20hr for college grads. That would seem to put millions of college grads in a pretty low wage demographic.

Can we administer the Turing test? This might be a Soviet bot.

 

[Andre1969]

That said, my car is by far the oldest, cheapest one in the gym parking lot, yet someone managed to hit-and-run my taillight while I was working out. It almost had to be a luxury SUV, since that's all that was parked around me.

I used to have a '68 Dodge Dart that was originally an antique white, but by the time I bought it, 24 model years old and with 253,000 miles on it, it was a menacing looking, dull primer black. People tended to give me a wide berth, although somebody did pull a hit and run on it one night that did some minor damage to the driver's side fender.

I did some body work on that car, including replacing the fender (in those days, you could still find a fender for something like that for about 60 bucks at the local junkyard. My neighbor, who restored old cars, helped me repaint it back to its original antique white, and it looked pretty sharp. Well, suddenly it seemed like people were coming out of the woodwork to hit the damn thing!

Got hit twice on the passenger side when people tried to change lanes without looking. The first was a new-ish Dodge Ram truck. He changed lanes without signalling or looking, I laid into the horn, even went partially off the road, and he still managed to hit me. Put a dent in my front fender, but as he pushed into me I hit the brakes, so the front edge of my fender, plus the bumper, left a big crease down the whole side of his truck...door, back edge of the cab, and bed.

I didn't have a chance to get it fixed, but was able to get my hand inside the fender, and more or less pound it out with my fist. Well, not long after that, a Toyota Tacoma tried a quick lane change into me. This time though, I wanted to make sure I didn't get knocked off the road, so instead of trying to avoid him, I swerved at him, letting momentum do its thing. So instead of getting pushed off the road it knocked him back into his own lane. That time, all it did was push the dent back in (which I just knocked back out) but it punched in the rear of his bed pretty nicely, behind the rear wheel.

I also had a few near misses in that car, and it got hit-and-runned a few times while unattended in parking lots. The one solace I had with that car was that whatever hit it usually ended up the "loser" when it came to body damage.

Maybe I should have just left the thing primer black?

 

[travelover]

.............That said, my car is by far the oldest, cheapest one in the gym parking lot, yet someone managed to hit-and-run my taillight while I was working out. It almost had to be a luxury SUV, since that's all that was parked around me.

A.

Some one damaged my car at Costco the other day, too. They left without a note. Pretty sure it was a BMW driver with a nice watch.

 

[eta2020]

Some one damaged my car at Costco the other day, too. They left without a note. Pretty sure it was a BMW driver with a nice watch.

No it was my sister Violet - the one with Mercedes, swimming pool, sauna and the room for a pony.

 

[Andre1969]

I had a 2000 Dodge Intrepid that actually got totaled in a parking lot hit-and-run. From witnesses' description, who didn't bother to get a tag number, there was a work truck parked next to my car, and when the driver pulled out he cut it close and hit the front left corner of my car. They said he got out, looked at the damage, but then hopped back in the truck and took off, and they had to actually jump out of his way!

The damage didn't look *that* bad. It pulled the fascia off, cracked the headlight assembly, and put a dent in the fender and a small one in the hood. Unfortunately, it also pulled a wiring harness completely apart, that was routed outside of the protection of the engine bay area. Because of that, a bunch of idiot lights came on.

I wanted to fix the car back up, but the insurance company totaled it. Probably for the best, as it was 10 years old and had about 150,000 miles on it by this time. I could have fixed it back up, only to have the transmission or some other major component fail.

 

[Cassie]

No it was my sister Violet - the one with Mercedes, swimming pool, sauna and the room for a pony.

LOL, and with the Royal Dalton in the back seat!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Some one damaged my car at Costco the other day, too. They left without a note. Pretty sure it was a BMW driver with a nice watch.

It's okay, he was just distracted when he dropped the Grey's Poupon on his pants.

 

[eta2020]

It's okay, he was just distracted when he dropped the Grey's Poupon on his pants.

No actually she got distracted by calling me on my white slimline telephone with automatic redial.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Can we administer the Turing test? This might be a Soviet bot.

Easier to perform the Ignore Function Test, lol.

 

[JoeWras]

I see you Ha as a bit older, well behaved California millionaire in nice Cadillac.... if you would splurge on car .

And he'd look great wearing that fedora.

 

[Keim]

So-to be clear-you are saying an average starting wage of $45k is unacceptably low?

Riiight.

What I said is that 20 years ago most college grads were finding good paying jobs. In the 90s. You could pay down a student loan type wages.

But Now a large number of college grads are only landing a job at Starbucks or Target. These are low income jobs that high school grads can also get.

Most of the new jobs being created are lower income type service jobs so I don't see why this is such a surprise.

So if the avg. wage is around $20hr for college grads. That would seem to put millions of college grads in a pretty low wage demographic.

 

[ERD50]

Can we administer the Turing test? This might be a Soviet bot.

Yes, the replies do seem rather machine-predictable. Hmmm, but the poster/Soviet-bot did learn to drop the question mark for each sentence, though I suppose a machine could learn that.



Can I play? I'll try running this question through my 'bot, and see if I can predict the reply?

So-to be clear-you are saying an average starting wage of $45k is unacceptably low?

Riiight.

'bot response: 'When CEO's are routinely making mega-bazzillion dollars for shipping jobs overseas and cutting benefits and raiding pensions to fund lavish mansions all over the world for themselves while the American public just doesn't care? '


How'd my 'bot do?

-ERD50

 

[Keim]

You forgot one item: COMRADE.

 

[Amethyst]

You guys are cracking me up

We figured the people driving the fancy cars were just trying to send us a message about polluting their lot with our cheap ride. Next there'll be a warning scratched onto the windshield via diamond ring

LOL, and with the Royal Dalton in the back seat!