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How much $$$ would you need to significantly change your lifestyle?

Evil_Jester

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To put things in perspective:

Tier 1

-Expensive dinners 4 times per week: + $800/month (50*4 = 200 -> 200x4=800)
-Badass apartment & location in your city: + $1,000/month (additional to your current rent)
-Weekend travel, twice a month: + $4000/month ($2000/trip, 2-3 nights)
-Exotic cars: + $3-4k/month?

Tier 2
-Quit job > $100,000/year passive income
-3 million dollar property

Tier 3
-Private jet: $10,000,000?
 
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minivanman

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You didn't give us your answer.

1. We already spend atleast that much eating out.
2. Although I LOVE apartment life, we bought an old house. The house is great but I miss that badass view.
3. For several years (over 20) we've traveled every weekend (March-November) with a race car. $4000 was a good weekend if nothing went wrong. More like, sometimes, $10,000 a weekend. This year we've taken a break and we are not involved with a race car but next year we will probably travel to out of state races quite a bit. Not with a race car, just traveling around to tracks.
4. Exotic cars..... been there, done that. I'd like to have an old Bentley but I'd never drive it.

5. I did but now I created a job to keep myself busy. But.... you know what happens if I wake up in the morning and don't feel like getting out of bed all day? I don't get out of bed all day. I did that week before last for 4 days in a row :zzz:
6. I guess if we wanted a $3 million property we would get one but we don't want one. Personally, I HATE big exotic houses. If I put $3 million in to anything it would be a multivenue, indoor race track. A couple of us looked in to this a few years ago but it's too much up-keep and risk. Plus, it was much more than $3 million for what we wanted.

7. We have no use for our own jet but one of the guys that was going to go in on the multivenue facility, bought a $5 million jet instead.

I did all of this the slow way. Being brought up with old fashioned thinking of just working for 'the man' I thought I was way ahead of the game, but looking back, I could have done things a lot faster. On the other hand..... better late than never ;)
 
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My hobbies would still be the same even with more money. I enjoy my hobbies greatly and money wouldn't really affect how I change my life. I live as a rock and will die as a rock.
 

MJ DeMarco

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FYI: I'm beyond Tier 3 and I'm no where near being able to afford a private jet. A charter here or there doesn't count, so your tiers are a bit off. As Jason mentioned, ownership is probably more suitable for around the $100M range.

Now a Cessna, that's a different story...
 
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minivanman

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FYI: I'm beyond Tier 3 and I'm no where near being able to afford a private jet. A charter here or there doesn't count, so your tiers are a bit off. As Jason mentioned, ownership is probably more suitable for around the $100M range.

Now a Cessna, that's a different story...

Yes, correction, Shawn bought a plane ^^ not a jet.

But just for fun, how about trips and those sorts of things MJ? Are you one that likes to travel or stay near home? Do you eat out a lot or no? I can tell you this, even if I made $8 an hour, I'm not a person that likes to cook so I'd spend all my money eating out. lol But my sister in law & brother in law are the type to cook every night of the week.
 

biophase

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These are my current wants... $1.5m home in Scottsdale, $1.5m home in Colorado. $1m home in Sedona. Always fly business class on long flights overseas.

I’m at the point where I actually look at business class ticket prices before I end up buying economy plus. Lol. So maybe another year or two and I’ll actually buy them without mulling it over.

I am pretty close to getting one dream home. But I need to Airbnb out the homes because I can’t justify leaving 2 of the $1m homes empty as I can only stay at one at a time.
 

YoungPadawan

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I would be between tier 1 and 2. I am a man with simple needs, the thing that I want mostly is to get out of the bitterly cold Northern U.S. winters. Perhaps getting a second home in Arizona.
 
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MitchC

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These are my current wants... $1.5m home in Scottsdale, $1.5m home in Colorado. $1m home in Sedona. Always fly business class on long flights overseas.

I’m at the point where I actually look at business class ticket prices before I end up buying economy plus. Lol. So maybe another year or two and I’ll actually buy them without mulling it over.

I am pretty close to getting one dream home. But I need to Airbnb out the homes because I can’t justify leaving 2 of the $1m homes empty as I can only stay at one at a time.

Ive recently looked into credit card points. From what I’ve read you should buy business and first class flights with airpoints. Earn airpoints from credit cards business spending.

Business class costs about 7x the price of economy but only 2x the points of economy. First is about 3x the points.

I’m not doing this yet but am scaling my ads a bit harder than usual to see if I could justify the yearly card fee for the one I want.
 

Ernman

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Here in lies one of my problems - and I honestly mean one of MY problems. I've always had ambition to earn/do more, but I've never had that "thing" or life style motivation out there. I'd be happy being able to live off the passive income from around $5mm. But I'm not into sports cars, planes, boats, etc. I think they're all cool, they just don't motivate me the way they do others. Ever since reading Think and Grow Rich, I've been trying to identify my definite purpose or aim. I have long identified as an entrepreneur, but unlike MJ and many of you, I don't have a Lambo spurring me on. Please don't misunderstand me. I wish I did have that motivating factor. It would bring more reason to this crazy life I've had.
 
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GrandRub

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I dont need exotic cars or private jets and dont strive for them. i would like to have control and lots of time and freedom to do things i want do to (luckily i realy like free or cheap things ;) so ~1 Million $ would change my life significantly. even 500.000 would be great. and i think that is something very possible.
 

SquatchMan

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I can't think of anything that I really want. I'd probably get a luxury apartment ($1500/month furnished with a daily maid) and first class plane tickets, but that's about it.

A Lamborghini, Chevelle, and guns would be fun. I love cars and guns. Being an expat makes that practically impossible though. When I move home...

I have long identified as an entrepreneur, but unlike MJ and many of you, I don't have a Lambo spurring me on. Please don't misunderstand me. I wish I did have that motivating factor. It would bring more reason to this crazy life I've had.

I have the same feeling. We really just have to enjoy the process more than anything else.
 

rjrobbins2

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Right now, it wouldnt take much. I am down to $1400 a month in expenses including rent, utilities, child support, groceries, and gas. I only eat out about once a month with my kids and we maybe go to the movies once so that is another $100.

I just started a new venture so if I could even double that, it would be a significant increase. But, I think $5k a month would truly make an impact. I made that when I was doing mortgages before 2008 but havent been able to get back there since.
 
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Xeon

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Probably tier 3 or more to get the dream life I want.

A supercar of the Pagani Zonda range would likely cost me US$5 - $8 million or more here, due to the insane prices of cars. To put things in perspective, a Lambo Huracan costs only ~$200K in the US, and for that $$$, that's approx the same cost as a Mercedes E Class here (a Lambo Huracan would cost the equivalent of 3x - 4x here what it costs in the US).

And I want a private house too, so.....

Screw the expensive dinners or travel though. Not interested in those.

#end_masturbation #getthetissues #afterjerkproteinpowder
 

biophase

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Ive recently looked into credit card points. From what I’ve read you should buy business and first class flights with airpoints. Earn airpoints from credit cards business spending.

Business class costs about 7x the price of economy but only 2x the points of economy. First is about 3x the points.

I’m not doing this yet but am scaling my ads a bit harder than usual to see if I could justify the yearly card fee for the one I want.

When you use miles you can’t write off the ticket as an expense.
 

AfterWind

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My wants are very much related to work. I don't care if I live in a beat-up apartment, I don't need a mansion... but a whole office building full of people that work for my goal in life. Now that would be life changing.
 

minivanman

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I'd say 2.5 tier, those tier 1 weekend trips sound like a nightmare, rushing back for Monday morning...

WAY back in the day we used to go racing 5-6 nights a week. It was a relief when I pulled in on Sunday night because we rarely raced on Monday. We thought it was fun at the time but looking back.... it was a night are. lol This is exactly the opposite from what you are talking about but it reminded me.
 
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J.Sark

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My number is 1M Euro. I live in my family's flat, old, cozy and full of good memories.

I have a squat rack where I can do all the workouts I need and a rowing machine.
I meditate often and have beautiful conversations with my wife, I cook most days, and when I go out for dinner it's nothing fancy, 20€ per person is plenty. Lots of reading and learning.

I keep doing what I do, but more of it. I read and I devote myself to learning something on a bigger level, I've been dabbling with coding for some time and I feel pretty much into it (I'm going to do this money or not), maybe I get into computer science on a deeper level, as I have all the time I want and I don't need a degree or anything.

I have a reliable electric car (maybe a van), that I can take any time I want, go for long drives, alone or with my wife. I don't need to be anywhere, I can enjoy hours and hours of exploring.

I don't have to take planes very often, after a year spending more than 400 hours between planes, airports, security checks, etc, I kind of lost the crave for traveling. I do it occasionally, but only for leisure, most people I care about are within car reach. I enjoy spending quality time with my family and the people I care about.

Maybe I decide to have a kid (1M might be a bit tight already).

I find a way to give back.

That's it, humble in material possessions but ambitious on freedom, time and love.

Looks easy in comparison to most people ambitions, I might make it.
 

Merging Left

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Significantly changing my lifestyle means replacing my 9-5 MAX income with passive (time-independent) income. This is important to note for me, because I'm nowhere near my maximum earning potential. Even if I could replace my current income with passive income now, it would not be enough to afford the life I want to eventually lead.

I don't really care about net worth as much as income. I understand they're related, but I think if I had around $350k/yr in income that wasn't linked to my time, I'd be able to have the life I ultimately want. No jets, no exotic cars. Just financial stability & flexibility, and not needing to worry about how much we spent eating out last month or if we can afford a $10k vacation for the family or if we can absorb the financial hit of something catastrophic like cancer.
 

Valhalla

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WAY back in the day we used to go racing 5-6 nights a week. It was a relief when I pulled in on Sunday night because we rarely raced on Monday. We thought it was fun at the time but looking back.... it was a night are. lol This is exactly the opposite from what you are talking about but it reminded me.

Haha, that sounds so fun to me but ya it's odd what happens to something you love when you have to do it every day. I realized when I was an aspiring pro hockey player that I actually hate riding the bus and constantly nursing injuries; you really have to love the shitty parts as well.
 
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Dr. Kildare

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Keep in mind that you're likely not buying a private jet unless you have at least $50-100M.

Also, for your example of Tier 2, you can have less than $1M in property and still generate more than $100K in passive income.

Based on those two things, there's a LOT of room between Tier 2 and Tier 3.

you can have less than $1M in property and still generate more than $100K in passive income.

Could you elaborate? Apologies in advance if this has been covered in another thread.

With the 10 year Treasury at 2.5%, and a "safe" dividend stock can generate 6% at the high end, do you need to go to the flyover country for that kind of yield? I read that NYC real estate generates about 2.5%. Genuinely curious about real estate that yields more than 10%.
 
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sdbrownlie

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Ive recently looked into credit card points. From what I’ve read you should buy business and first class flights with airpoints. Earn airpoints from credit cards business spending.

When you use miles you can’t write off the ticket as an expense.

Points and miles has made a positive impact on my lifestyle without the need for an increase in income and despite only having the time to casually get into it so far over the last year.

I'm helping a friend (also business owner) get to international conferences as well as the ones we all go to in Vegas etc for the same budget he used to do the US ones only for by supplementing the money with points he can pick up within a few months (similar to how I've done over the last year).

Agreed - he can't write it off - but he had a travel budget for the year of X,XXX and wasn't spending more/getting a bigger tax write off anyway... his alternative was just not going due to investing all his cash in a new business this year constraining his budget more than normal. Points have allowed him to not only do all the travel in business class, go to extra conferences he'd have missed, but also not exceed his budget.

I prefer to do all paid travel for business and save the points for things I wouldn't normally have bought - first class flights, luxury hotels etc but everyone has their own preferences on how to use them. The one thing that's pretty common, though, is that they can enhance your lifestyle significantly if you travel a lot without having to increase your income.

For those of you in the US the opportunities are even greater than for folks like me in the UK where the selection of cards is heavily limited.

There's a lot of bullshit in the 'points and miles' space, particularly as the bloggers are all making their money through driving CC sign ups like bandits but I think most readers here would be able to see through that and pick the right things/opportunities for themselves without getting bamboozled. CC sign ups are an important part of the game but as I've shown in the UK where we can't just churn 20 cards/year like some obsessive churners and manufactured spenders do in the US, you can still get significant benefits just from your normal business travel, spend and personal spend etc.

Even those on a small personal income with no business spend to speak of could grind 2 cards, buy a few things on an airline shopping portal, stick their small spend through the cards and in year's time have a free family holiday worth $2k or so without really breaking a sweat. Albeit probably flying economy and staying at a Holiday Inn, not the Conrad, but I'd still argue it's a nice upgrade to lifestyle even at the lower end of available funds to run through the cards/spend on annual fees. Especially if the alternative is 'no family holiday because we're starting a business and have no free cash'.
 

Dr. Kildare

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If you're good at finding and negotiating deals, it's not difficult to find real estate that generates 10% returns. In fact, if you can find deals that generate 8-9%, you can still get positive leverage on many investor loans these days, and can use leverage to boost your cash-on-cash returns to 10%+.

Of course, these deals aren't *easy* to find anymore. 8 years ago, it wasn't difficult to find 15-20% returns on real estate in many areas; these days, 6-8% is more common. But, if you are good at finding off-market deals in non-primary markets, and if you're good at negotiating directly with sellers, you can get 10% deals all day.

And if you're accredited, there are plenty of real estate syndicators who are paying more than 10% -- in many cases, pro-forma IRRs are in the 14-17% range over 5 years or so. Not saying all those deals are reputable, but there are a few syndicators who I would trust my money with who are (so far) continuing to deliver these types of deals.

Just like anything else, it takes effort...but if you're willing to put in the effort, you can do it.

Excellent! Good to know. I live in NYC, and the issue here is that NYC Real Estate is considered such a safe bet that it yields about the same as the 10 year Treasury or 2.5%. Its good to hear that deals can be found if you're willing to go off the beaten path.
 

QDF

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If you're good at finding and negotiating deals, it's not difficult to find real estate that generates 10% returns. In fact, if you can find deals that generate 8-9%, you can still get positive leverage on many investor loans these days, and can use leverage to boost your cash-on-cash returns to 10%+.

Of course, these deals aren't *easy* to find anymore. 8 years ago, it wasn't difficult to find 15-20% returns on real estate in many areas; these days, 6-8% is more common. But, if you are good at finding off-market deals in non-primary markets, and if you're good at negotiating directly with sellers, you can get 10% deals all day.

And if you're accredited, there are plenty of real estate syndicators who are paying more than 10% -- in many cases, pro-forma IRRs are in the 14-17% range over 5 years or so. Not saying all those deals are reputable, but there are a few syndicators who I would trust my money with who are (so far) continuing to deliver these types of deals.

Just like anything else, it takes effort...but if you're willing to put in the effort, you can do it.

Would you sacrifice cash-on-cash returns in exchange for a greater chance of increasing rents/appreciation?

A lower return is likely the result of more investor demand in these primary markets, but a lot of these same markets also probably stand the greatest chance of population and job increases, and thus higher appreciation of the property over time. Not to mention, the liquidity of these properties is probably much higher as opposed to non-primary markets, so if/when then appreciate, you could get your money out much quicker and into new deals if necessary.

From what I've read, this seems to be the Grant Cardone approach (for what it's worth).

I'm just wondering if a high cash-on-cash return often comes at the expense of long-term capital gains, generally speaking. If so, I think I'd rather take a lower cash-on-cash and play the long game.

I don't have any experience in RE quite yet, so this may be a dumb question.
 
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ironman150

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Here in lies one of my problems - and I honestly mean one of MY problems. I've always had ambition to earn/do more, but I've never had that "thing" or life style motivation out there. I'd be happy being able to live off the passive income from around $5mm. But I'm not into sports cars, planes, boats, etc. I think they're all cool, they just don't motivate me the way they do others. Ever since reading Think and Grow Rich, I've been trying to identify my definite purpose or aim. I have long identified as an entrepreneur, but unlike MJ and many of you, I don't have a Lambo spurring me on. Please don't misunderstand me. I wish I did have that motivating factor. It would bring more reason to this crazy life I've had.
@Ernman check out this forum for creating your own FTS. It's helped me a lot.
 

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