Comments on: links for 2006-12-20 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/20/links-for-2006-12-20/ personal finance that makes cents Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:00:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Wesley http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/20/links-for-2006-12-20/#comment-32377 Wesley Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:39:18 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/20/links-for-2006-12-20/#comment-32377 I agree with Cheng-Jih Chen...these people aren't dumb, but their decisions lack timeliness. They definitely need to dump the rental properties...more thought, less infomercials! I agree with Cheng-Jih Chen…these people aren’t dumb, but their decisions lack timeliness. They definitely need to dump the rental properties…more thought, less infomercials!

]]> By: Cheng-Jih Chen http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/20/links-for-2006-12-20/#comment-32155 Cheng-Jih Chen Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:08:43 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/20/links-for-2006-12-20/#comment-32155 The CNN article on the Schuetts is less a story of profligate lifestyle, but more one of the husband's buying into the housing bubble with investment property purchases that are not panning out. If you look about 2/3s down the article, you'll see that: "A closer look at the Schuetts' finances reveals, for example, that a big chunk of their income is eaten up by two rental properties. Brian purchased them thinking they'd generate extra income, but he has yet to find tenants." Cut that out -- sell and accept the capital losses on sinking properties -- and I'm sure they will no longer be living paycheck to paycheck. The article is misleading: it's not that their high income isn't keeping up with what appears to be an upper middle class lifestyle, it's that they've made bad investment choices and haven't faced up to that fact. That's a different personal finance story, but it doesn't fit in with the author's premise of a struggling high income couple just trying to live life. The CNN article on the Schuetts is less a story of profligate lifestyle, but more one of the husband’s buying into the housing bubble with investment property purchases that are not panning out. If you look about 2/3s down the article, you’ll see that:

“A closer look at the Schuetts’ finances reveals, for example, that a big chunk of their income is eaten up by two rental properties. Brian purchased them thinking they’d generate extra income, but he has yet to find tenants.”

Cut that out — sell and accept the capital losses on sinking properties — and I’m sure they will no longer be living paycheck to paycheck.

The article is misleading: it’s not that their high income isn’t keeping up with what appears to be an upper middle class lifestyle, it’s that they’ve made bad investment choices and haven’t faced up to that fact. That’s a different personal finance story, but it doesn’t fit in with the author’s premise of a struggling high income couple just trying to live life.

]]>