Where does the money come from?

[oldman45]

Most of my adult life has been spent wanting either a 1957 Chevy BelAire convertible or any year Corvette convertible. or both at once. At no time in my life have I been able to afford either, much less both. While in the short future, there may be a black '57 Chevy convertible headed to my garage but even that is not assured since we are still talking price.

BUT there are about 10 Corvettes in my subdivision (78 houses). The owners have other nice cars as well, in addition to living in homes that start at $200,000 and go to just under a million.

Where does the money to own this stuff come from?

One of my neighbors owns two Corvette convertibles, has three other nice cars, just put an inground pool in his back yard, has a 28 foot boat, a new full dress Harley and three very young kids.

I spent as long in school as anyone and have made what many would consider to be a lot of money in my life but I cannot afford all these type pricey toys.

As I drive over the state, I see more Corvettes on the road than I do Lexus vehicles. These are driven by people that could not be out of college.

How do they do it? How can people afford all the goodies they have?

 

[BarbC]

They are mortgaged and financed up the ying-yang and it's you and I who are subsidizing their goodies.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

The biggest secrets of this generation are inherited money and the unshakable belief that he who dies with the most toys, wins.


Bullseye

 

[Texas Star]

I dunno where they get the money. Some of my neighbors drive Range Rovers, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, etc. cars.

I like it. It classes up the neighborhood. And I admire the cars.

 

[oldman45]

They are mortgaged and financed up the ying-yang and it's you and I who are subsidizing their goodies.

I would almost agree with that. My next door neighbor moved in with both he and wife working. They have four lazy kids that only want to play basketball in the drive or video games in the house. They had two new cars when they moved in and now a house note of $1,800 a month. Within a couple months they were both unemployed. She remains out of work and he has changed jobs seven times in two years. Both their cars have been repossessed and they now drive junkers.

It was recently learned that the government is paying all but $300 of their house notes due to them having children. The gov also gives them free cell phones (one each to mom and pop), they get $770 monthly in food stamps and all either of them do is complain about how bad President Bush got the economy.

But I do not know of any programs that allow the purchase of Corvettes, pools, boats or such.

 

[Jst1mr]

I manage a small plant, and thereby know what each and every employee makes. I never cease to wonder at the number of new boats, ATV's, snowmobiles, etc. that these folks have, not to mention the $45K pickups to haul them around with. At least a whole generation cares little what anything costs, but rather what the monthly payment will be....and it continues despite recent lessons. If a blizzard or such holds up payroll by a day, they are pounding on the door with a look of panic - not the lifestyle for me.

 

[BarbC]

of any programs that allow the purchase of Corvettes, pools, boats or such.

It's easy. You finance all of it. Or you pull the bankruptcy trump card.

I used to work in creditors' rights in bankruptcy. It was classic for the Chapter 13 debtor to have recently purchased high-end vehicles, etc. Then we had to file and retrieve the purchases or foreclose on their house.

 

[The Big D]

Interesting topic.

I wholly believe that one makes personal choices regarding their job(s) and subsequent financial circumstances. The primary decisions occur fairly early in one's working career, and they affect the financial circumstances for a long, long time. Some make good decisions; some make bad ones.

I was a LEO for 30.5 years. Bought my first house at 39; first Corvette at 40. Now retired, I am on my third (and last!) house and 5th Corvette. Have never made a dime on a real estate transaction...nor a car. (Always bought/sold real estate at the wrong time but had no choice given moves and such.)

Second vehicle is a Range Rover. Suspect folks like me are the ones the OP is referencing but can assure all there is nothing binding me financially. I worked for an organization that paid me extremely well, was fortunate to be promoted 4 times, and worked hard for what I now have. Moreover, I thank the taxpaying citizens each and every day for the fully vested and fully funded retirement system/benefits I now enjoy.

I do consider myself very fortunate and do give back (via charitable contributions) at a substantial rate.

That said, I have never seen a coffin with pockets and will not be having anyone fighting over my estate once the bell is tolled. That will be far down the road...I hope.

Be safe.

 

[JTA]

I am from the generation that wants it ALL NOW, and I must be the last exception to what sadly appears to be the norm. I was raised to live within my means and buy what I can afford. The people who go out and buy those multiple cars, the boats, or other expensive toys are just really symptoms of a much bigger problem. It seems we have lost the ability to wait or at least delay our indulgences.

 

[diamonback68]

A lot of them are from the "I need it and want it now and I have it coming to me" generation and give little or no thought to how it will get paid for or why they even "need" it. When all else fails, they file bankruptcy, let someone else pay for it and do it all over again with no fear of consequences.
They should have been born during the depression like I was and they would soon learn what a dime is.

 

[feralmerril]

I have always wondered the same. I know there are many factors but I belive the biggest is this: In my observation, I started to make good money in the late 60s. The guys on my same job and wage all bought houses far over their heads----I thought. I always rented the cheapest dump I could find and thought them spoiled, dumb etc. In those days I was single. They usualy had wifes that worked. Two wages. In those days was the high carter inflation. They bought far over their heads, yet made out as our wages doubled, tripeled etc. The $20,000 $200 house payment soon was going for 60K. I was liveing in a $90 rent payment shack. Then they sold that place for 70 K, bought another for 150 K that they couldnt afford and got lucky as the senerio repeated itself. The irresponsable early people got lucky. Us realistic level headed dorks lost out. Where I lived in california friends tell me the average house is now going for about a 1/3 of when I left in 2000, IF it sells at all! It couldnt last forever!
I NEVER had a wife or live in girl friend that drew a wage. Well, one short exception, and even then I never took a penney from her and I supplied the roof, food & and everything else. I am NOT proud of it, but when I lived in sin with about 8 or 9 different women over 35 to 40 years I was dumb and worked about 65 hours a week. I think I had some kind of target on my back that only ladys in distress could see! Oh well.

 

[JcMack]

It's the old "ant and grasshopper" story. The grasshoppers are more like a locust plague these days. A younger friend of mine is typical. He gets married at 28, and has two kids within 4 years. They buy a modest house and accrues about $25,000 in equity in the next 3-5 years. So they borrow on the equity. Some money goes to home improvement and some goes to toys n junk. Both had jobs and she made more money as an RN. So he works days and she works nights and still a lot of money goes to child care. Within 2 years of the equity loan they were divorced, and the house foreclosed on. I used to work in the suburbs N.W. of Chicago until last month. You'd be surprised how many (or I was) how many very nice occupied homes have virtually no furniture in them.

 

[oldman45]

A lot of them are from the "I need it and want it now and I have it coming to me" generation and give little or no thought to how it will get paid for or why they even "need" it. When all else fails, they file bankruptcy, let someone else pay for it and do it all over again with no fear of consequences.
They should have been born during the depression like I was and they would soon learn what a dime is.

I like to call it instant gratification. I also think the government and television is responsible for the idea that the government or family members are the ones that should see they have all they want in life.

In television, the stars get into tight spots and then out of them in the span of an hour or less. Every star ends the hour or less in better shape than they started. In real life, they get supported by the govenment. We have a welfare system that keeps people poor and dependant on the government. They will get into government housing programs, government food subsidies and government welfare. Yet they will always have the money to buy a car just below the value allowed byy the government in order to stay on the programs. Of course the government does not check on the $1,200 worth of rims or the $3,000 worth of ostrich skin interior or the $2,500 paint job on the car. The government has made it where the squeaking wheel gets the most grease. The school system allows kids to fail since that keeps more funding in the system and then the kids learn all through school that the government is there for them. Once they are out of school, they want more than their parents had but they want it sooner than the parents had and they forgot to learn that someone has to work to earn what they get.

Those in my neihgborhood is not getting government assistance to pay for the Corvettes but they might be getting other taxpayer programs. If they are, I want a Corvette also. After 50 yrs of working, I feel the government ought to let me have something other than notices from the IRS saying I owe more.

 

[feralmerril]

Its funny how God takes care of some people. I have a very close friend that is legaly blind. He met later in life a RN and got married. Had he not, he would probley be liveing under a bridge. He is a nice guy, a ex leo and military, but no retirement comeing in. Now he and her even own a nice airplane. She does the flying. They are just about our closest friends.

 

[Frank237]

I know so many younger folks that are $20K and more in debt. I'm not talkiing their mortgage but credit cards and silly cars, boats, etc. I surely had my toys over the years but always tried to buy low, then sell to another nut who wanted the same toy for whhat I paid or a small profit.

Had credit card issues ONCE...paid them all off and have not had any other problems. Have to say the commercials for reducing CC debt by paying only a part of it...through some agency...they piss me off. I paid it ALL... so can someone else.

We worked very hard to keep debt free, and pay off our home and property in our forties and early fifties so we could retire early and enjoy life while we were healthy enough to travel, etc.

Several of my friends despite being older are STILL WORKING and will be for some time to pay off their toys and CC's.

I see forty somethings wiith $200K motorhomes towing a $40-$50K car or SUV. I wonder what their monthy payments could be?

The genrations who lived by fiscal responsibility, keep debt to a minimum, etc...GONE. Now it's Instant Gratification and the G will help me pay it off.

FN in MT

 

[ladder13]

Took me many years to buy ONE Sony Bravia LCD tv, my first "wide-screen". Still only have the one, now 5 years old, the other 2 tv's we have are 15+ year old dino's.
I used to be amazed, while shopping at Costco, to see so many folks leaving with 2 or 3 of the biggest plasma or lcd tv's they could stuff into their mini-van's. I always left scratching my head, asking my wife "how do they do that"?

 

[feralmerril]

I cant understand how he did it, but I worked with a single guy who had a nice house, furniture , car etc. He went into high CC debt, went bankrupt and would do it again. I know he worked his CCs purposely high! I will say he was a OT hound.
My biggest gripe like frank just said, is these outfits that say they will "stiff" CC companys for you, and worse yet, those outfits that claim to be able to pay taxs you owe for pennies on the dollar. Are they lieing? And if it does work, how can that be fair to us dummies that paid every owed cent all of our lives? As a close friend of mine used to say that was a captain when a guard would ask a favor of a good post or something else from him, "If I do you a favor, that means I am screwing someone else!"

 

[oldman45]

Its funny how God takes care of some people. I have a very close friend that is legaly blind. He met later in life a RN and got married. Had he not, he would probley be liveing under a bridge. He is a nice guy, a ex leo and military, but no retirement comeing in. Now he and her even own a nice airplane. She does the flying. They are just about our closest friends.

It is sad but I paid less for my plane than the pickup truck I drive. Gave $12,700 for a 1977 Cessna 182 Skylane (got it from a bank that foreclosed on it from a dr) and $29,900 for my Chevy 3500. Took three yrs to pay the plane off and five years to pay the truck off.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Wealth is created a number of ways but one of the most common ingredients in wealth creation is taking risk.

Some inherit wealth, but the overwhelming majority of new multi-millionaires are self made.

 

[oldman45]

Wealth is created a number of ways but one of the most common ingredients in wealth creation is taking risk.

Some inherit wealth, but the overwhelming majority of new multi-millionaires are self made.

Those we are talking about are not wealthy. They may be in debt, they may be dealing drugs, they may be many things but wealthy is not one of them.

SIDENOTE: Many around here were line workers at GM with both the husband and wife employed there. With the shutdown of the plant, they became unemployed and they soon learned the union was wrong saying they were worth $40 per hr. Now their homes are in foreclosure and they cannot find jobs that pays half of what the union had them believe they were worth. But they were in debt