The American Dream: Tales of a High-Income Earner Who Has No Money

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HerrBerlin
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By popular request, my dad is getting his own thread that should serve you as a good warning on how not to manage your money.

Context: My dad is a relatively high-income earner. His salary is public data, and the most recent report as of 2019 had him at $230k/year. It's safe to assume that's gone up by $10-15k in the past two years, so let's call it $240k/year. The man makes 20 grand per month and would not be able to make it to the end of the month without using credit cards and other various means of credit. You know those news articles that say most people can't afford a $500 emergency in cash? That's my dad.

I don't know how much content I'll have for this (certainly nothing like we saw with Ray Ray), but I'll add to it as a remember past stories and hear of current happenings. So with that said, here's a soft opening.

In the before COVID times, I would drive to visit my family at least once a year and spend a few weeks with them. Last time I was down there (2019), I was hanging out with my dad doing nothing other than lounging around and watching TV. While doing nothing, his phone started ringing and he picked it up to find one of his (many) credit card providers on the phone. He quickly went to his office and closed the door. A few minutes pass, and I hear him starting to get upset and raise his voice so I knew it couldn't be a pleasant call.

A few more minutes pass, and he barges out of his office to find his wallet, grabs his debit card, reads off the number and then hangs up. Dude was fuming and came to sit back down with me, so I asked him if everything was okay (obviously curious to know what the phone call was about).

Turns out his CC company called him because he recently sent them a check for his most recent bill, only the check was short of his minimum payment by <$0.50 and they wanted the balance between his payment and their minimum required payment. He looked at me and said something along the lines of "Can you believe how stupid they are?? My payment was only $0.xx short!" I didn't have the heart to say anything further so I kept a poker face on and we just went back to watching TV after that.
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D Griff
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Making minimum payments on credit cards is :mindblown: in general, particularly at that income level.

:popcorn:
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:05 pm By popular request, my dad is getting his own thread that should serve you as a good warning on how not to manage your money.

Context: My dad is a relatively high-income earner. His salary is public data, and the most recent report as of 2019 had him at $230k/year. It's safe to assume that's gone up by $10-15k in the past two years, so let's call it $240k/year. The man makes 20 grand per month and would not be able to make it to the end of the month without using credit cards and other various means of credit. You know those news articles that say most people can't afford a $500 emergency in cash? That's my dad.

I don't know how much content I'll have for this (certainly nothing like we saw with Ray Ray), but I'll add to it as a remember past stories and hear of current happenings. So with that said, here's a soft opening.

In the before COVID times, I would drive to visit my family at least once a year and spend a few weeks with them. Last time I was down there (2019), I was hanging out with my dad doing nothing other than lounging around and watching TV. While doing nothing, his phone started ringing and he picked it up to find one of his (many) credit card providers on the phone. He quickly went to his office and closed the door. A few minutes pass, and I hear him starting to get upset and raise his voice so I knew it couldn't be a pleasant call.

A few more minutes pass, and he barges out of his office to find his wallet, grabs his debit card, reads off the number and then hangs up. Dude was fuming and came to sit back down with me, so I asked him if everything was okay (obviously curious to know what the phone call was about).

Turns out his CC company called him because he recently sent them a check for his most recent bill, only the check was short of his minimum payment by <$0.50 and they wanted the balance between his payment and their minimum required payment. He looked at me and said something along the lines of "Can you believe how stupid they are?? My payment was only $0.xx short!" I didn't have the heart to say anything further so I kept a poker face on and we just went back to watching TV after that.
:amazing: :like:
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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D Griff wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:07 pm Making minimum payments on credit cards is :mindblown: in general, particularly at that income level.

:popcorn:
To people like him, the only kind of payment that exists is a minimum payment.
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Here's where I get lost. Ok, the net monthly check is say, $11.5K. Minus housing, insurance, car payment, utilities, etc. What happens to the rest every month?
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Desertbreh wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:12 pm Here's where I get lost. Ok, the net monthly check is say, $11.5K. Minus housing, insurance, car payment, utilities, etc. What happens to the rest every month?
:tits: and blow.
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Apex wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:16 pm
Desertbreh wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:12 pm Here's where I get lost. Ok, the net monthly check is say, $11.5K. Minus housing, insurance, car payment, utilities, etc. What happens to the rest every month?
:tits: and blow.
Either that, or he's like my mom who complains of monthly bills when she's leasing an Audi with a note of $700/mo. I'm like, seriously woman, why is so much of your monthly income going towards a status symbol? Shit, I got 3 cars that all run and I spend less than $350 a month on notes and insurance for all of them.
Ole dude prolly has everything new and only cares about the monthly payment and not the total cost.
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Acid666 wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:21 pm
Apex wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:16 pm

:tits: and blow.
Either that, or he's like my mom who complains of monthly bills when she's leasing an Audi with a note of $700/mo. I'm like, seriously woman, why is so much of your monthly income going towards a status symbol? Shit, I got 3 cars that all run and I spend less than $350 a month on notes and insurance for all of them.
Ole dude prolly has everything new and only cares about the monthly payment and not the total cost.
:dat:

Mortgage of around $5k, normal bills probably $1k, various debt repayments are probably around $3-4k, he eats out almost every meal so that's another $1-1.5k a month, and then random things he wants get thrown right back on the cards.
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:35 pm
Acid666 wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:21 pm

Either that, or he's like my mom who complains of monthly bills when she's leasing an Audi with a note of $700/mo. I'm like, seriously woman, why is so much of your monthly income going towards a status symbol? Shit, I got 3 cars that all run and I spend less than $350 a month on notes and insurance for all of them.
Ole dude prolly has everything new and only cares about the monthly payment and not the total cost.
:dat:

Mortgage of around $5k, normal bills probably $1k, various debt repayments are probably around $3-4k, he eats out almost every meal so that's another $1-1.5k a month, and then random things he wants get thrown right back on the cards.
:lol: holy hell
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:35 pm
Acid666 wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:21 pm

Either that, or he's like my mom who complains of monthly bills when she's leasing an Audi with a note of $700/mo. I'm like, seriously woman, why is so much of your monthly income going towards a status symbol? Shit, I got 3 cars that all run and I spend less than $350 a month on notes and insurance for all of them.
Ole dude prolly has everything new and only cares about the monthly payment and not the total cost.
:dat:

Mortgage of around $5k, normal bills probably $1k, various debt repayments are probably around $3-4k, he eats out almost every meal so that's another $1-1.5k a month, and then random things he wants get thrown right back on the cards.
Gotta account for gaudy gold watches :lolol:
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D Griff wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:01 pm
HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:35 pm

:dat:

Mortgage of around $5k, normal bills probably $1k, various debt repayments are probably around $3-4k, he eats out almost every meal so that's another $1-1.5k a month, and then random things he wants get thrown right back on the cards.
Gotta account for gaudy gold watches :lolol:
God the watches are so ugly. It's a stark contrast to the nicer watches he used to buy before my parents got divorced. Now instead of buying one nice one, he'll buy many cheaper ones that are ugly 95% of the time.
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[user not found] wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:27 pm
HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:25 pm

God the watches are so ugly. It's a stark contrast to the nicer watches he used to buy before my parents got divorced. Now instead of buying one nice one, he'll buy many cheaper ones that are ugly 95% of the time.
Gross.

Man, I take pride in keeping my krebitz kardz at or near zero. I churn some rewards with them and use them periodically to keep them active but they're there for emergency use only.
How is a ridiculous gold watch not an emergency case?

:lol:
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[user not found] wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:27 pm
HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:25 pm

God the watches are so ugly. It's a stark contrast to the nicer watches he used to buy before my parents got divorced. Now instead of buying one nice one, he'll buy many cheaper ones that are ugly 95% of the time.
Gross.

Man, I take pride in keeping my krebitz kardz at or near zero. I churn some rewards with them and use them periodically to keep them active but they're there for emergency use only.
I use to churn heavily to the point that I haven't paid for an international flight in ~7 years or so. Kind of backed off the past two years.

Now all my expenses get run through cards to get the points/cashback but they get paid off every month. Credit card debt sounds like my nightmare.
Last edited by HerrBerlin on Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Aex wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:29 pm
[user not found] wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:27 pm

Gross.

Man, I take pride in keeping my krebitz kardz at or near zero. I churn some rewards with them and use them periodically to keep them active but they're there for emergency use only.
How is a ridiculous gold watch not an emergency case?

:lol:

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I am so glad this thread exists. I honestly have never heard these sorts of stories. Just :mindblown: to me.

How did he buy a house? Even at the most lenient times, you'd need 1% down at least.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Apex wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:29 pm
[user not found] wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:27 pm

Gross.

Man, I take pride in keeping my krebitz kardz at or near zero. I churn some rewards with them and use them periodically to keep them active but they're there for emergency use only.
How is a ridiculous gold watch not an emergency case?

:lol:
:dat:
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Detroit wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:50 pm I am so glad this thread exists. I honestly have never heard these sorts of stories. Just :mindblown: to me.

How did he buy a house? Even at the most lenient times, you'd need 1% down at least.
In short: equity from a previous home sale each time he's moved. No idea how he ever got the first one though.

I'll go into more detail at some point because the numbers a pretty incredible and he just closed on refinancing a few days ago (after finally finding a lender that would take him with a DTI of over 50%) so it's fresh in my mind.
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:29 pm
Detroit wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:50 pm I am so glad this thread exists. I honestly have never heard these sorts of stories. Just :mindblown: to me.

How did he buy a house? Even at the most lenient times, you'd need 1% down at least.
In short: equity from a previous home sale each time he's moved. No idea how he ever got the first one though.

I'll go into more detail at some point because the numbers a pretty incredible and he just closed on refinancing a few days ago (after finally finding a lender that would take him with a DTI of over 50%) so it's fresh in my mind.
:amazing:
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Oh man. Thank you for making this thread.
:gonbgud:
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:33 pm
[user not found] wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:27 pm

Gross.

Man, I take pride in keeping my krebitz kardz at or near zero. I churn some rewards with them and use them periodically to keep them active but they're there for emergency use only.
I use to churn heavily to the point that I haven't paid for an international flight in ~7 years or so. Kind of backed off the past two years.

Now all my expenses get run through cards to get the points/cashback but they get paid off every month. Credit card debt sounds like my nightmare.
:dat:
I can't imagine doing it any other way, tbh.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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:popcorn: but honestly 220-250k ain’t that much depending on where you live.

That’s the peak fuck you tax bracket. Take home after retirement and taxes is about 30-35% in that income bracket. Coupled with the average mortgage note of 5k (1.2-1.6M home)+ 2k in prop taxes (on the coasts) you barely break even on a single income.
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This sounds like how my mom used to be. I remember when I was a kid, she explained to me that a credit card was a way to buy something for $200 and then only pay $20 for it at the end of the month. I remember when I was 19, I went to go buy a car and she came along because she was adamant that I couldn't get a loan without her being a cosigner. The dealer ran our credit and I had a higher score than her.

She was just fortunate enough to always find jobs that give her money faster than she can spend it. She finally came to her senses and has her finances under control, which is great for her because she revealed to me not too long ago that she didn't even start saving for retirement until her mid-forties.
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max225 wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:29 pm :popcorn: but honestly 220-250k ain’t that much depending on where you live.

That’s the peak fuck you tax bracket. Take home after retirement and taxes is about 30-35% in that income bracket. Coupled with the average mortgage note of 5k (1.2-1.6M home)+ 2k in prop taxes (on the coasts) you barely break even on a single income.
Agree on all points. It's not a ton of money for where he lives, but it's definitely enough for him to not be swimming in debt and he consistently overextends himself.
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Huckleberry wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:21 pm This sounds like how my mom used to be. I remember when I was a kid, she explained to me that a credit card was a way to buy something for $200 and then only pay $20 for it at the end of the month. I remember when I was 19, I went to go buy a car and she came along because she was adamant that I couldn't get a loan without her being a cosigner. The dealer ran our credit and I had a higher score than her.

She was just fortunate enough to always find jobs that give her money faster than she can spend it. She finally came to her senses and has her finances under control, which is great for her because she revealed to me not too long ago that she didn't even start saving for retirement until her mid-forties.
:lolol:

Did we grow up in the same family? I have vivid memories of my family going out to eat and my mom calling different CC companies to see which card had enough room on it for dinner while driving to whatever restaurant.

Unfortunately I don't see my dad ever getting it under control.
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HerrBerlin wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:29 pm
Huckleberry wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:21 pm This sounds like how my mom used to be. I remember when I was a kid, she explained to me that a credit card was a way to buy something for $200 and then only pay $20 for it at the end of the month. I remember when I was 19, I went to go buy a car and she came along because she was adamant that I couldn't get a loan without her being a cosigner. The dealer ran our credit and I had a higher score than her.

She was just fortunate enough to always find jobs that give her money faster than she can spend it. She finally came to her senses and has her finances under control, which is great for her because she revealed to me not too long ago that she didn't even start saving for retirement until her mid-forties.
:lolol:

Did we grow up in the same family? I have vivid memories of my family going out to eat and my mom calling different CC companies to see which card had enough room on it for dinner while driving to whatever restaurant.

Unfortunately I don't see my dad ever getting it under control.
HOLY SHIT
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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