Best Posts in Thread: What if you made $500,000 year?

I would relax on the vacation budget. I would have not put myself in a 1.5M mortgage. I would have done something different with the vehicles. It's great they are saving $36,000 a year in a 401k... but I would make every attempt possible to put away WAY more than "just" that.

 

We have a saying g in my profession. If you think a good accountant is expensive, wait until you get ahold of a bad one.

The crap people assume they know amazes me.

 

So there is always a "but" to the story. Or a Paul Harvey ending.

After recovering from the shock that she is basically starting her life over in her mid 50s without a single penny in her pocket... she had to come up with a plan, and fast. Obviously the home went immediately on the market. Her career 20 years ago was a teacher, and she wasnt up to that challenge. She decided to become a flight attendant. I thought these were 2 excellent decisions. Luckily she is very close to her 2 daughters and has some excellent friends, so she had support on her side.

Then her grandmother died a month later and left her 2 mil. Retired again before she even took her first flight.

 

This fact should be discussed more in this thread. They flat out suck with money.

I have a married couple client with over 300k gross income. NO savings, no interest income, no dividend income, put less than 5k a year in retirement, and always worried about how much they will owe. CC maxed out, house at beach, over paid for the one they live in, kids in college having to borrow money for student loans.

 

All true, but I got 3 daughters. I might have to work till I’m dead.

 

While I think working towards financial independence by heavily saving is very admirable, thinking you are going to work 10-15 years, then retire at 35 for the next 50-60 years is just insane. They treat 4% SWR as absolute gospel. They put together a plan to live on $40K for the rest of their lives and assume nothing in the next 60 years will disrupt that.

Much less what you are supposed to do with yourself for 60 years (on $40k)

If I'm going to retire, I'd like to have some money to spend.

 

We need more couples like that to help keep GDP aloft.

 

Say $425k federal taxable income:

Federal income tax: $125k
State income tax (approx 6.5% effective) $28K
NYC income Tax (approx 3.5% effective) $12k
Employee FICA max times 2: $16.5k
Medicare: 1.45 * 475k = $8300
ACA Medicare 0.9 * $225k = $2k

125
28
12
16.5
8.3
2

Total 192k total tax

That is actually higher than their $185k estimate.

 

That is very pie in the sky type numbers. Without getting specific, 40% tax rate is way too high. They are off about $60,000 on their tax bill.

Car payments are BS. Works out to $400 per month per vehicle. Not buying those vehicles for that.

$200 per month per person on clothes?? Is your name kardashian?

$42,000 for childcare??? You can hire your own teacher and home school for less than that!!

$60000 mortgage for a $1.5m house? You can't pay the interest on that.

These are some BS numbers.

 

I agree. I don't mess with things I don't know or understand...I pay well for professional help because I'm the type of person who likes things done right the first time. I learned early on that when you f vck something up and need someone else to fix it they usually charge extra to fix it

 

Again, people make fun of my "Kyosakisms", but I followed his advice, and my good lawyers and accountants have returned multiples, big multiples, over what I have paid them over the years.

 

MC, we both know good and well 4 to 5 years of making $500K would set us up for life! After taxes, you'd clear around $300K, meaning we (military guys) could put away close to $200K/year.....and if we could do that for 5 years on top of pension and TSP? Wow!

My goal is to work for 4 to 7 years after retirement (which is about 13 months away) and put away 100% of the pension and VA supplement (I'm assuming at least 50%, possibly up to 70%).....and live off the new job salary. I figure I'll put away $300k-400k, on top of maxing out TSP (over 50 years old).

It just blows my mind how much money some people can blow through. ($500K/year = about $25K+ per month net).

 

Not meaning to sound callous, but shame on him. And to some extent on her too. I've drilled into my daughter that she needs to be equal partners with whomever she marries and have an equal say and knowledge of ALL the family finances.

But this scenario has played out millions of times.

 

They are obviously not good with money.

 

Agreed. In addition, several of their expenses are tax deductible, which would lower that tax payment quite a bit. Also approx $450/week on food seems pretty high; I know it's New York, but jeez. However, let's assume for a sec, that these numbers are all precise and accurate. If these two are halfway competent attorneys they are fairly marketable and should move. I guarantee you that if Mrs. G and I were pulling in 500K/year, we would be saving a lot more than they are and having more luxuries than this family (despite the fact we have two kids starting college this fall). My house cost less than half of what theirs' did and yet I suspect, given our location in the south, it's probably as nice or even nicer. People who continue live in the NE, but have the skills and means to move south, but don't, are idiots. If for nothing else do it for the weather.