The bullshit thread

[Barellielo]

Earthquake 4.7 in South Pasadena, CA. It felt hard throughout LA metro area. Good thing it lasted 5-6 seconds.

When an earthquake lasts 6 seconds its good, but when i do it..

 

[crzdcolombian]

Going to meet the man the myth the legend Keanu Reeves on Friday at a comic con super pumped going to get him to sign some books

 

[crzdcolombian]

Not sure where to post it and sounds like a scam but my wife and I made 3k in bank bonuses and credit card bonus’s haha. A friend of mine told me about it

So pretty much all banks in the usa are fighting for you to switch to them.

All offered us $300-600 each. One offered me 5k but had to move over 300k in stock which I didn’t want to do but I guess its a normal thing(you don’t sell your shares just move them to a new bank)

Credit cards are mostly $200-750. I do have a business so some of my offers might be higher

All real banks too not random ass ones

Key is to not leave too much in there since their interest rates are hot garbage

We pretty much open one that just deposits what we need to pay for one of our car leases. And it only pays for that so end of month balance is like $20

 

[Dave54]

Not sure where to post it and sounds like a scam but my wife and I made 3k in bank bonuses and credit card bonus’s haha. A friend of mine told me about it

So pretty much all banks in the usa are fighting for you to switch to them.

All offered us $300-600 each. One offered me 5k but had to move over 300k in stock which I didn’t want to do but I guess its a normal thing(you don’t sell your shares just move them to a new bank)

Credit cards are mostly $200-750. I do have a business so some of my offers might be higher

All real banks too not random ass ones

Key is to not leave too much in there since their interest rates are hot garbage

We pretty much open one that just deposits what we need to pay for one of our car leases. And it only pays for that so end of month balance is like $20

What return are you averaging on on your 300 k stock? It would be really crazy for 5 k to move your investment to a bank from a trading house)

 

[crzdcolombian]

What return are you averaging on on your 300 k stock? It would be really crazy for 5 k to move your investment to a bank from a trading house)

The thing is if you move 300k or even 1m+ nothing really changes for you. You move the current stocks to a new account. Same as if you move 100k from one bank to another. Just triple check you are doing that and not selling your positions to move it to bank because you will get no Lubed by the government for the gains.

I tend to open up online banks all the time to which ever giving the best interest at the time.

My broker usually better than the market some times way better than the market. Just use Edward Jones I think (I use to use empower and Bank of America before that). I have them buy stuff I wouldn't know about. Like I dont want them going hey let me buy apple and Microsoft for me as I have a personal brokerage one I manage. Since I own a bunch and not paying someone to tell me to buy blue chips. If something in that account that I like and want to hold for a long time I just move it to my non broker account as a Don't sell this. Or place it into an account for my kids and 2 nephews I have for their college fund.


Guy hates my wife tho since she's puts all her money in a mutual fund or a high yield bond so he doesnt get any %.

I do have a bunch of stock options I am given annually at work and some stocks I will never sell from 2008 that are up 500% I was thinking of moving but yea moving that amount of money doesnt make sense. I prefer it stays at 1 place and feel moving stock is kind of a pain since it takes a while and if the old vendor or new vendor sells your shares its way too big of a risk for any amount of money.

 

[Dave54]

I don’ use banks. I have Fidelity 529 for my kid. I buy index funds online and hold it.

 

[Ethor]

Just got my new " proposed tax bill". The value of my home just increased by 54K. What a sham, like anyone is going to pay that, hell I don't even have a pool!

 

[crzdcolombian]

Just got my new " proposed tax bill". The value of my home just increased by 54K. What a sham, like anyone is going to pay that, hell I don't even have a pool!

well houses on my street were 180-250 precovid now they go for 450-500k. Still need 50-100k in upgrades haha.

Think it was a hidden treasure kind of thing. We have are on a dead end street with 1 way in/out. Its next to another town that isnt that nice but the following street the homes are 800-1.5m haha(half that price prior to covid) and near a university so you can rent out your house for 3-5k.

My taxes are already 10k (I bought the house for 180k) .... really worried they are going to go actually it's 16k now since the house is worth 400 not 200/250

 

[brehme1989]

Americans casually talking about 300k being tossed around while most Europeans barely save 300 euros a year

 

[brehme1989]

Greece be like:

 

[crzdcolombian]

Americans casually talking about 300k being tossed around while most Europeans barely save 300 euros a year

how much can 300 euros get you? Doesn't get us much here. Maybe 25 meals at McDonald's? Any place else would require 20% tip

 

[brehme1989]

how much can 300 euros get you? Doesn't get us much here. Maybe 25 meals at McDonald's? Any place else would require 20% tip

Depends where.

I was half joking, but Europe isn't one cohesive thing anyway. Germany and France salaries even with a higher cost of living give you a significantly more disposable income than Greece or Poland.
Same job can net you [annually] 120k in Paris and 25k in Athens and cost of living isn't far off aside from rental prices. Heck, Athens could be more expensive on some things.


But it's true that the majority of people cannot really put out 300 euros a month on some savings account and forget about it and invest. Maybe it's a cultural thing as well, and they'd all be better off if they put 100-200-300 euros on some fund each month, but many people cannot really afford to consider that, especially when you consider rent/mortgage costs plus everything else skyrocketing in the last few years.

 

[crzdcolombian]

best thing to do is get use to a 401k as soon as you start working to get at least the company matches then with raises put some of that money for additional 401k contributions

here its all about tax savings. We have Heath Savings account (health care in the US is really bad) you can put down $3,500 a month or 7k if married(might be 8k...) that lowers your taxable money you do. I've worked 12 years and put down 3,500 in HSA and company think gives me 800 towards its so its 4,300x12 = 52k give or take + you can invest it in the market so I'm at like 80k from that.

401k same thing company would match 6% if you put 6%. so even at 50-60k which hopefully you make with a college degree is 3k you put + 3k your employer. After 12 years = 72k (if you didnt add more money or get a raise... tho at that point you should have gone to a different company) + your investments typically grow. That can put you easily at over 100k

also your tax rate is way less. by doing that. One of my first jobs I was at 85k - 3,500 HSA, - 22k 401k - standard deduction in your taxes think it was like 12-15k. It would take me down to a way lower tax bracket or 2. Tho my 1st job was like 45k at a small CPA firm that made it way way harder to invest or save. Tho I didnt fall to income creep. Like when I went from 45 to 85 I didnt go cool let me spend 40k more on random shit or go from a Jetta to an Audi or a BMW. I think most people fall into that trap.

Income creep does sadly happen with kids/wife haha but that is another story marry someone who makes their own money and doesnt have crazy debt. That probably the best financial advice. Chipotle for me is $11 for me and my wife $30. Me + wife + kids = $50/60. So we just make that shit at home.

 

[brehme1989]

best thing to do is get use to a 401k as soon as you start working to get at least the company matches then with raises put some of that money for additional 401k contributions

that number is gibberish anywhere outside the USA

here its all about tax savings. We have Heath Savings account (health care in the US is really bad) you can put down $3,500 a month

That number is actually 50% higher than the EU average salary...

or 7k if married(might be 8k...) that lowers your taxable money you do. I've worked 12 years and put down 3,500 in HSA and company think gives me 800 towards its so its 4,300x12 = 52k give or take + you can invest it in the market so I'm at like 80k from that.

In Greece it'd takes a little over 4 years for an average salary worker to reach 50,000 in net earnings and that's without spending any of it. Majority of course makes way less than average since there are a few that inflate the number upwards, so that'd be more like 6 years.

401k same thing company would match 6% if you put 6%. so even at 50-60k which hopefully you make with a college degree is 3k you put + 3k your employer. After 12 years = 72k (if you didnt add more money or get a raise... tho at that point you should have gone to a different company) + your investments typically grow. That can put you easily at over 100k

That's how it goes when there's money moving around in your country. Almost half the entire continent has forgotten what that's like for 10-15 years. There was a brief memory splash during the covid years as people stopped spending and inflation was still low.

also your tax rate is way less. by doing that.

How do I laugh in European?
Even in places where taxes aren't high, they just charge the heck of out of you in other additional costs.

One of my first jobs I was at 85k

First jobs over here is like 8,500 euros, a year.... gross...

- 3,500 HSA, - 22k 401k - standard deduction in your taxes think it was like 12-15k. It would take me down to a way lower tax bracket or 2. Tho my 1st job was like 45k at a small CPA firm that made it way way harder to invest or save. Tho I didnt fall to income creep. Like when I went from 45 to 85 I didnt go cool let me spend 40k more on random shit or go from a Jetta to an Audi or a BMW. I think most people fall into that trap.

There are people with MBA degrees in relatively wealthy European countries that barely make over 45k euros and that's your shitty first job salary. I'm pretty sure 95% of the European members on FIF would consider it a massive increase to reach 45k annually from whatever they make now.

Income creep does sadly happen with kids/wife haha but that is another story marry someone who makes their own money and doesnt have crazy debt. That probably the best financial advice. Chipotle for me is $11 for me and my wife $30. Me + wife + kids = $50/60. So we just make that shit at home.

Families eating outside isn't worth it in this economy. Traveling with family is even worse.

 

[ADRossi]

So this is why I feel like a wealthy boss every time i visit Europe

 

[crzdcolombian]

but how much does stuff cost?

Rent in US is $2-3k/month(at least in the east/west coast), car is 500-600/month, insurance is $200-300/month

how much is that in Greece? So 50 or 80k might sound like a lot but after tax(fed, state, city..... when I was in NYC I got taxed by the City( . that is 20%-40% less then you have insane expenses

 

[crzdcolombian]

So this is why I feel like a wealthy boss every time i visit Europe

Go to South America or China. You feel like a god

China top restaurants were like $20 bucks was staying at 4 to 4.5 star hotels for $50 taxi was $2. I was like wow man I can just retire haha

 

[brehme1989]

but how much does stuff cost?

Depends. What and where.

Rent in US is $2-3k/month(at least in the east/west coast),

Again, this depends.
In wealthy quarters of Athens, including north and south suburbs, rent can go higher than 2k for a 2-3 bedroom flat (something like 120 squared meters, you do the conversions to those funny numbers you use)
For normal Athenian prices, I guess 400-800 euros depending on size and neighborhood for small places, but it can go 800-1200 as well if you want something closer to downtown or if it's a new building or a good neighborhood.

Thessaloniki, that's probably 800 euros for a good sized apartment in a good neighborhood (there are higher prices of course).
In other cities it's relatively cheaper, but salaries tend to be much lower.

Islands aside of course, there are some islands where it's like 3k a month, there are others where it's 150 a month. Depends on which island and what season you're talking about.

car is 500-600/month,

Well, another US thing, we don't really rent cars that much. You may rent a car on vacation on some island if you don't take the ferry to get there, but we buy our cars. Ok, lots of people buy motorcycles. But you tend to buy a car (or use your company's car if you're lucky to be provided one)

Another thing is that cost of filling it up. It's like x5 more than what you're paying because 50% of what we pay is taxes... heck, we export it to other places and it's cheaper over there because they don't hike up the tax rate....

insurance is $200-300/month

This depends, as coverage is typically universal, but you can also opt to get private health insurance. Could be 30-250 euros a month, depending on age, health condition, provider and country. If you go for the more luxury global ones like Bupa, I guess it depends, but it can go north of 250 a month there if you get the full deal.

how much is that in Greece? So 50 or 80k might sound like a lot but after tax(fed, state, city..... when I was in NYC I got taxed by the City( . that is 20%-40% less then you have insane expenses

Average salary is like 15k gross. Annually...
That means it's less than 900 net.
Imagine that 2/3 of that goes to rent if you're on your own, 1/3 if it's shared. Then rest of it goes to circulate in the city, eat and drink.

How do people manage with such terrible conditions?



It's tough, but I don't know. I'm lucky enough not to be in such a situation myself, but I have a couple of friends who text me with a week or so left in the month asking me for 50 or 100 euros and they pay it back at the end of the month. So you can imagine how tight things are.

 

[brehme1989]

Go to South America or China. You feel like a god

China top restaurants were like $20 bucks was staying at 4 to 4.5 star hotels for $50 taxi was $2. I was like wow man I can just retire haha

I hear Southeast Asia is also incredibly inexpensive. Countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar etc.
Thailand not so much.


And South America, that also depends. Argentina for example, Colombia, these places are very cheap for some things like meat or going out for drinks and accommodation. Many parts of Brazil also, Peru I guess should be cheap. But then you have Chile and some places in Uruguay which can be quite pricey, even for European standards.

In Europe there are still places where it's significantly cheaper, but even that's changing.
The Baltic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, the Balkans, Romania etc have always been considered very cheap, but the different is not that huge these days for visitors. It's cheaper to live there still, but the expensive places can still be as expensive as elsewhere. Or higher.

 

[crzdcolombian]

When I said insurance I meant car insurance. In the US unless you live in a super major city then public transportation isn't an option. Even then it's not cheap it's like $3+ each way and takes a while.

health insurance even if you work for a company and they pay 50% or more of it its pretty expensive 50-250 per check.

again the 2-3k is normal rent. I am not talking about renting in Manhattan. Even a crappy town now that houses use to cost 150k in a shithole area. Like 3-5 houses got torn down then they make a 80 + apartment building that is "luxury" because its new and is 2-3k+