Re pp question about teaching kids. We bought the Dave Ramsey kid books for our boys. They have good lessons about saving, working, giving, avoiding debt, etc. I don’t agree with Dave on everything but I do think several of his principles are in the correct vein for most people as a starting point. My oldest (9) is a spender and with him we emphasize working to earn money, saving for big ticket items, and giving to others. He’s good at knowing his worth, negotiating, working to earn money and giving money, but the saving is a huge struggle. We also talk to him about how we save for his college fund because his future is important and we want him to have options and opportunities. When he’s older we will do a stock market project with him and let him try some investing to help understand it. I also want to get him a bank account at some point so he can start balancing a checkbook (figuratively since it’s all electronic now), seeing interest accrue, paying some bills (maybe gas or fun with friends) etc but we aren’t there yet. It think the important thing is talking to them about money and why you make the choices you do so they can see your example and start to understand and take interest in personal finance before college.
My youngest is still too young to understand any of it.
I find the Greenlight app/plan perfect for my guy. He has his own debit card (perfect for buying online, in game purchases, etc), budget categories, and can even buy and sell stock. I pay him interest on his accounts and provide a 50% match to his stocks each quarter so he begins to understand about employer match.
My dad was an immigrant and learned all he could about investing, finance, and entrepreneurship from listening to AM radio and reading. And when he would listen to the programs, I would listen too. And so I learned at a young age and watched what my parents did to save, be in business for themselves, and how to live frugally.
@@@@ So we try to model that for BB. We show her how to save whether it be in her piggy bank or actual bank account. We talk about how what we save now will help us later. She hears us talking about saving for retirement and asks questions. We also teach her how important it is to save but also that it is important to also donate and help others who are not be able to do so. I think being open about finances, showing your kids how it works, that things cost money and how to budget from a young age will go a long way.
Post by lolalolalola on Mar 10, 2021 8:38:03 GMT -5
I selected >$500K. We both work in middle management for oil and gas companies. Dh is a level higher than I am and has a much higher bonus structure (he makes close to double what I do, but his salary is only 15% higher).
We are also >$500k. My husband is an engineer and I work for myself since 2017, I’m a small business owner in the medical field. We have both been in our industries for 25 years or so. Starting my business was a game changer. MH has been in the $200-300k range for quite some time but the business income essentially doubled/more than doubled our HHI. We are in a MCOL area.
I find the Greenlight app/plan perfect for my guy. He has his own debit card (perfect for buying online, in game purchases, etc), budget categories, and can even buy and sell stock. I pay him interest on his accounts and provide a 50% match to his stocks each quarter so he begins to understand about employer match.
DH and I looked into Greenlight but I can't get past the monthly fee. I feel like we'd put money on it, it would sit for a few months because the kids aren't making frequent purchases, and a chunk of the money would get eaten up by fees. Do you find it worth it?
Maybe when they go back to school and are away from us again?
I find the Greenlight app/plan perfect for my guy. He has his own debit card (perfect for buying online, in game purchases, etc), budget categories, and can even buy and sell stock. I pay him interest on his accounts and provide a 50% match to his stocks each quarter so he begins to understand about employer match.
DH and I looked into Greenlight but I can't get past the monthly fee. I feel like we'd put money on it, it would sit for a few months because the kids aren't making frequent purchases, and a chunk of the money would get eaten up by fees. Do you find it worth it?
Maybe when they go back to school and are away from us again?
Great question! We pay an automatic allowance weekly, so there is regular money going in and out. That said, I also move money in for school clothes, etc. and he pays for all of those things. So he budgets if he wants expensive shoes or clothing, and plans how to save for it using the monthly stipend I give him for clothes, etc. The fee isn’t extraordinary for what you get, in my opinion. My parents aren’t great with money and I left the house knowing next to nothing. Thank God for MM for the last 15 years. He is learning SO much. My kid happened to buy some GameStop stock before the big blow up (because he is 10 and loves GameStop) and I loved that he knew he could sell whenever, etc. To me, it is well worth the fee for him to have the lessons I want him to learn. Also, parents can turn off the card from the app when they inevitably lose their cards
Dave Ramsey is a terrible person. I would not support and/or recommend him at all. (Not that I ever did, but his recent comings and goings further prove things.)
Dave Ramsey is a terrible person. I would not support and/or recommend him at all. (Not that I ever did, but his recent comings and goings further prove things.)
I haven’t kept up with him in over a decade and know little about him other than the baby steps so I apologize if this is a bad recommendation.
ETA. Wow. I just read some articles about the recent ongoings and Covid response. sheesh. I’m super bummed he sucks.
We are in one of the top bracket choices mainly due to family money - MH inherited a family business that spans real estate, manufacturing and automobile dealerships.
He's expanded our income with investments and real estate on his own vs. what he's inherited from his dad.
Mostly a lurker here... we’re > $500k. I am in Corp finance, VP level role, but not C-suite. I have an MBA and CPA license and 20 yrs experience. I am at 275K base + 100K bonus ( cash + equity). DH is in IT (high level individual contributor role) with a large pharmaceutical company. No college degree, but was able to have very specialized and in demand skillset and 25 years experience. He is at 165K base + 35K bonus.
goldengirl do you mind sharing what medical business you started? I have a few ideas of my own but don't think I'll ever get around to starting one until the kids are out of the house.
We have a HHI and are the least well- off couple in our circle of friends. Our closest friends include are a Big Law partner married to a trust fund, a partner at a VC firm married to a professor, a physician with a very large trust fund married to a tech exec, and the other is a senior partner at a different VC firm with a spouse who works for fun. All of them ( minus the work for fun spouse and trust fund) work insane hours and the perks only seem to be worth it for the one who does not have children. At least now when our children are young.
I live in a city with a large healthcare and tech presence and old money families so high incomes are not all that unusual.
We are going to be **deleted** with H's new job (single income family), so not a big dog by this range, but with this salary jump I feel myself nervous about the extra income!
aspentosh congrats. Any big salary jump can feel intimidating. Maybe you can post a thread; you know this board isn't short of opinions about what people should do w/their money.
aspentosh congrats. Any big salary jump can feel intimidating. Maybe you can post a thread; you know this board isn't short of opinions about what people should do w/their money.
Maybe! I know we'll increase investment and house project savings as well as charitable giving. That will probably eat up a good chunk. H will also need a new car soonish so we may earmark for that. But I am always up to hearing opinions, lol.
For those of you where you (or your SO) get a majority of pay thru non-base wages, is that stressful? It sounds so stressful to me, but I've only ever been in government.
For those of you where you (or your SO) get a majority of pay thru non-base wages, is that stressful? It sounds so stressful to me, but I've only ever been in government.
So my partner is a musician. When we first got together he did have 1 job that paid him monthly, but it was only a small fraction of his overall salary. Otherwise it really is just all over the place. Pre-covid he would tour 4-5 times a year which would bring in a lot of money, but would never know the amount until the check showed up after the tour. Same with all the other projects he’d do. It def took awhile to get used to. I would say it’s not stressful but definitely a different mindset. He would always tell me "things will be fine" and he was always right (until Covid) since he’s been living his whole life like this (started his career with paid stuff at 16).
He essentially hasn’t worked all year with anything that pays much, but he is just about to start working on a month long project that will pay 30k. So it’s def a mind fuck to go from him not making anything to 30k at once.
Since my salary is pretty stable monthly it helps. I’m sure I’d feel more stress if I was in a similar field without guaranteed pay.
For those of you where you (or your SO) get a majority of pay thru non-base wages, is that stressful? It sounds so stressful to me, but I've only ever been in government.
YES! At least, it is to me.
PDQ, I will probably delete this.
[POOF TO DELETE NUMBERS]
I am fortunate now that I can absorb these wild swings, since I am about 4 years into being a pretty high earner. But when I initially made the jump, I was pretty stressed out trying to figure out how to budget for paying my quarterly taxes, how much I could really afford as far as lifestyle inflation, etc. I basically planned everything around what I thought the lowest income would be, and I move 50% of every draw and distribution I get into a separate account to pay taxes and cover some time of "float" if I need to in between receiving the next check. This is completely glossing over my personal stress level over whether or not the firm might make nothing and the risks there, LOL. Hence why my budget looks nothing like a typical high earner's.
For those of you where you (or your SO) get a majority of pay thru non-base wages, is that stressful? It sounds so stressful to me, but I've only ever been in government.
Our situation is a little different now, but we were both 100% commission for many years. It wasn't that stressful, but that's because we always kept a very large emergency fund. Without that, yes, it would have been stressful.
goldengirl do you mind sharing what medical business you started? I have a few ideas of my own but don't think I'll ever get around to starting one until the kids are out of the house.
I’m in clinical research. I moved from being an employee and taking a salary to contracting directly with the pharma/device companies and contracting the doctors to do the work. That’s an overly simplified version and it didn’t happen directly or overnight of course. There was a lot of luck and timing involved too. But it’s been solid since 2017 and I continue to get new contracts. I have one employee and I hope to hire another next year and let it be mostly passive income 🤞🏻
I also may not have taken the risk if MH didn’t have such a good income. We are both so happy I did tho. It’s amazing to work for yourself. I could never ever go back.
For those of you where you (or your SO) get a majority of pay thru non-base wages, is that stressful? It sounds so stressful to me, but I've only ever been in government.
Yes it can be stressful. Last year I left my old firm to go out on my own. I came to a point where we'd padded our savings, felt financially secure enough to be ok if I took a paycut, and I felt like I didn't want to answer to anyone anymore. Even as a partner, I was always answering to the founding partners. My kids are little (5 and 9) and I love now being able to work my own schedule to be able to drop them off, pick them up and take off whenever I please. It is literally amazing.
I had no idea what my income would be but I did have a decent idea due to the revenue I generated from my own clients (lawyer). But in my practice, revenue isn't ever a guarantee. But my referral sources have expanded and most of them are loyal to me, which is humbling. A few months into it, I've made more than I did in a year even net of expenses because I no longer have to pay 60-75% of my revenue to the "house". I wish I had done this sooner, really. I'm not in a highly comp'd field normally, but I have taken some contingency cases, 2 of which settled early on with good payouts. But yes it's stressful because I've since hired someone FT and another one PT, and of course I pay for all of our overhead. I am literally paying in overhead and salaries more than my previous base salary but it all works out. My H works but he took a large paycut to go into something he loves and I'm 100% ok with it because he's home by 12-1pm each day.
For those in my circles with HHI, most of them are in small business (not including our finance, physician or big tech friends). Some make close to or over 7 digits a year.
500+ but not every year, or even most years. I voted based on last year's income.
MH is a hedge fund analyst and manages a small portfolio on his own as well. His income at this level is primarily bonus, which is based on how the portfolio fares. No bonus if you have a bad year. He's been in the field for 11 years but just has a BA from an elite school (though this is rare - most of his colleagues have MBAs, especially younger people).
Most people don't make it very long in this field - we aren't sure how much longer he has left. We try to plan financially each year like it's his last. We bought a dated home but in a $$$ neighborhood we love (so if he remains a high earner we can update it, if not we have a fantastic place to live that should hold good value over time), drive reasonable cars (Honda CRV for me and a Honda Accord for him) and front loaded my son's 529 in case we are constrained in our contributions in the future. The goal is that he could transition to a much much lower paying job at any time and we'd still be able to cover our mortgage and monthly living expenses, so we don't want to "size up" our lives at this point to match his variable / insecure income.
I'm an SLP and made a decent salary with benefits when I worked full time in NYC - but I took a pay cut when we moved to CA and currently work very part time so my income is negligible. The plan is for me to scale back up when my husband makes his career change, so just staying current in my role is very important to us.
tacom, thanks for sharing. I'm curious about your comment that people don't last long in his field. Why is that? Is it burnout, or is more that the field doesn't like people to be in it for too long? Something else?
You said PDQ; let me know if you want me to delete this question.
tacom , thanks for sharing. I'm curious about your comment that people don't last long in his field. Why is that? Is it burnout, or is more that the field doesn't like people to be in it for too long? Something else?
You said PDQ; let me know if you want me to delete this question.
Thanks! this is a fine question
I honestly am not fully sure. I'd love other people with experience/knowledge to chime in! I didn't know much about the field until MH (then boyfriend) started working in it, so my experience is limited to just our perspective and watching what's happened to his other junior-level colleagues over the years as he's moved through different settings.
PDQ this part --
For reference, my husband has been employed with his current portfolio manager for ~4 years and is the longest tenured employee his PM has ever had (his boss has a 20ish year career, which is also rare). Turnover rates are really high - most people get let go, some quit, some have mental breakdowns and quit without notice (happened last year), some decide to move on to something less stressful, one colleague quit entirely and is now a SAHD with a physician spouse (though also w/ an inheritance). Sometimes portfolio managers themselves are fired (happened to MH's last boss) and the group is dissolved, though big firms usually try to find new placements for the junior people if they can. Sometimes the entire team is let go at once.
tacom and ohgillian I know a few people in the VC/ hedge fund field. One of my best friends also graduated from an elite school with no advanced degree. She was an analyst at a major bank before moving to VC. She is 41, been at her firm for roughly 15 years, is a top performer and partner, and earns tens of millions a year plus bonuses. She is constantly stressed about her accounts but has an amazing life thanks to her paychecks.
H's good friend in the same career was let go a few years ago from his firm because his portfolio wasn't performing well. He is with a new firm now.
I am friendly with 4 other V. caps. If you can stick it out, have good portfolio picks, are able to buy and sell well, and handle the stress, it is incredibly lucrative. But its kind of like law firms. If you don't make partner by X time frame, you might want to reevaluate your career because your chances of being let go get higher.
tacom and ohgillian I know a few people in the VC/ hedge fund field. One of my best friends also graduated from an elite school with no advanced degree. She was an analyst at a major bank before moving to VC. She is 41, been at her firm for roughly 15 years, is a top performer and partner, and earns tens of millions a year plus bonuses. She is constantly stressed about her accounts but has an amazing life thanks to her paychecks.
I guess I'm lazy, because if I was pulling in this kind of money, I'd save my millions for a year or two and then retire.