re: How Many of You Make Enough to "Live Comfortably "?

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- 1500-2k mortgage - 750 car payment

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I’m probably in the minority, but those numbers are outrageous to me. Again, it really depends on where you live. Our first home in 2005 the mortgage was $360, but of course it wasn’t $200,000 and the days of buying an ok house for $50 grand all long gone in most parts. The first and only new vehicle I ever bought and still have is a 2006 Nissan Frontier, the note was around $350 for 60 months.

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The first and only new vehicle I ever bought and still have is a 2006 Nissan Frontier, the note was around $350 for 60 months.

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That same car would be around $700/mo now if you bought the cheapest model.

I was. I should be, but inflation is squeezing me, along with high homeowner insurance. My mortgage has almost doubled. I hope it adjusts next year and insurance comes down. But I tell myself I’m blessed bc I do have a home almost paid for, my car is paid for, and I put money into my 401k still. Just nothing left for fun or extra after taxes and other payroll deductions take half of my gross.

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I’m probably in the minority, but those numbers are outrageous to me. Again, it really depends on where you live. Our first home in 2005 the mortgage was $360, but of course it wasn’t $200,000 and the days of buying an ok house for $50 grand all long gone in most parts. The first and only new vehicle I ever bought and still have is a 2006 Nissan Frontier, the note was around $350 for 60

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I bought my first house in 2006 at 25 years old and had a $1500 mortgage on a $200,000 house. What kinda house could you buy for 50k?

Anyone can live comfortably within their means if they move to a low cost of living area.
Family lives in a high cost of living area? Tell them they will need to visit you where you can live within your means.

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I am 56 years old and I really don’t want to live alone. I thought about suicide . It would break my family’s world if I died though.

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There is a huge difference between being alone and being lonely.

When the loneliness strikes, it can be overwhelming and all encompassing.

I'm so sorry you are experiencing this. You are correct on the impact it would have on your family though. Please reach out to someone when you are lonely. Loneliness is only temporary. Suicide is not.

I'd say so. I make enough to pay the bills, contribute to retirement, take a few small trips or 1-2 big trips a year and still sprinkle some in other investment accounts

Comfortable per the article:

“ "Comfortable" is defined as the monthly income needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget, which allocates 50% of your earnings for necessities like housing and utility costs, 30% for discretionary spending and 20% for savings or investments.”

Orange, TX you could buy a 50k house if you are looking south of I-10. When I was buying houses there before moving to Tennessee they were appraising around $55 a sq ft after rehab. It’s hit or miss if your neighbor will be a junkie or not but it can be done! You might have to put some work into it yourself, but just to give you an idea, I bought a 2k sq ft house on Ruby Dr for 37k and a couple years later the lady that sold it to me sold me her house across the street for $45k which was liveable.

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To buy my current home in BR with 20% down my mortgage would be double what mine is now.

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It's crazy.

My wife and I dont love our current house but it helped us accomplish some goals (school for kids) so we thought it'd be a fairly short term house for us. We got a 3% interest mortgage. With interest rates being what they are and not looking to come down substantially anytime soon, we are now realizing that this is most likely going to be a long term house and starting to think about what to improve to make us enjoy being here more.

Unfortunately some of what I dislike about this house is not fixable (location, noise) but it's what made the house be in our price range when we were looking while meeting our requirements.