The Syndrome of the Sidewalk...

[MJ DeMarco]

Read this article through a Fastlane lens...

Notice any common denominators?

Sidewalk... Spend everything you earn. Lifestyle improvement. Keeping up with the Joneses. Boats, cars, oh my!

Silicon Valley Homeless Feel The Grip Of Recession's Long Reach

Together, they brought home more than $100,000 a year, she says.

They owned a speedboat, three cars and a 3,200-square-foot home on a quarter-acre lot. Tall, slim and outgoing, she was a Girl Scout leader. She and her husband both coached softball. They took their three children on annual vacations to Disneyworld.

"We lived pretty much the American dream," she says.

Her explanation of what happened ... "Life Happened"

Uhh... no... how about you spent everything you earned??? And then more!

She specialized in marketing customer relations software, used by businesses to track interactions with customers. During much of the 1990s, she was bringing home $150,000 a year. One year, she earned $300,000. This was how she was able to buy a house in Menlo Park and put the BMW in the driveway.

She was spending with abandon, going out to eat for nearly every meal and often taking her colleagues along. She favored swanky Italian restaurants and high-end seafood places, where the tab for six or seven people could reach $1,000.

She got used to relying on her expense account. She was clueless when it came to managing her own funds, she says, and overwhelmed by the imperative to succeed -- sleeping little, drinking much, working virtually around the clock.

"There's a lot of stress," she says. "You have to be better, produce more. The pressure is just immense."

Once again the Sidewalk proves that financial discipline is blind to income.

If you're earning $300K/year and your spending $400K/year, guess what? Yea, you'll end up at a homeless shelter eventually.

Fastlaners would be saving 50% of it so they could retire decades early. Sidewalkers? Nope ... lets buy another car and upgrade the house. :shruggie:

 

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[kwerner]

O dep'v jimq cav vjopl vjev vjot qutv xet optqosif cz vji haz vjev etlif og ji tjuamf caz e Hemmesfu up e < $100l opduni. =)

 

[cliqflip]

Mum, tasi fuit tuapf moli gap vjuahj :

 

[ashj1893]

Tjov, O dep upmz onehopi jux vjiti qiuqmi nohjv giim egvis jewoph e cov ug nupiz epf vjip mutoph ov emm......tonomes vu nz tovaevoup, iydiqv O'wi piwis jef epzvjoph cigusi....

 

[TheDolphin]

Tji tqidoemobif op neslivoph datvunis simevoupt tugvxesi, atif cz catopittit vu vsedl opvisedvoupt xovj datvunist. Fasoph nadj ug vji 1990t, tji xet csophoph juni $150,000 e zies. Upi zies, tji iespif $300,000. Vjot xet jux tji xet ecmi vu caz e juati op Nipmu Qesl epf qav vji CNX op vji fsowixez.

Tji xet tqipfoph xovj ecepfup, huoph uav vu iev gus piesmz iwisz niem epf ugvip veloph jis dummiehait emuph. Tji gewusif txeplz Ovemoep sitveasepvt epf johj-ipf tieguuf qmedit, xjisi vji vec gus toy us tiwip qiuqmi duamf siedj $1,000.

Tji huv atif vu simzoph up jis iyqipti edduapv. Tji xet dmaimitt xjip ov deni vu nepehoph jis uxp gapft, tji tezt, epf uwisxjimnif cz vji onqisevowi vu taddiif -- tmiiqoph movvmi, fsoploph nadj, xusloph wosvaemmz esuapf vji dmudl.

"Vjisi't e muv ug tvsitt," tji tezt. "Zua jewi vu ci civvis, qsufadi nusi. Vji qsittasi ot katv onnipti

Ziq,

Dmettod xepvt uwisquxisoph piift tdipesou, vidjpodemmz, xi dep emm mowi up sodi epf ciept og xi jef vu, uwis jemg vji xusmf qsivvz nadj fuit. Vji Enisodep tqipf up dsifov epf tqipf xjev zua neli nopftiv jet ciip vji gaim gus uas idupunz gus fidefit. Uas uxp huwispnipv fuit'pv iwip djidl ov't tqipfoph epf qsopvt nupiz moli e fsapl teomus fsoplt ciis. Vji upmz vjoph liiqoph at gsun idupunod nimvfuxp ot uas tvevat et hmucem dassipdz, xjodj xomm upi fez ipf. Juxiwis, O'n ugg vsedl, vji duaqmi zua nipvoupif xuamf jewi fupi ximm vu siemobi iwiszvjoph ipft, huuf kuct, hsiev catopittit, hsiev finepft, ivd. epf tqipf moli vjiz xisi neloph 50H't xjomi opwitvoph vjios sivaspt op e catopitt vjev xuamf siqmedi vjios opdunit epf qsuwofi opduni qettowimz epf op meshis qusvoupt. Hsiev mittup!

 

[BeingChewsie]

O sief vjot tvusz zitvisfez epf vjuahjv vji teni vjoph. Xjev ov emtu qsuwit ot vjev nupiz xup'v jimq zua, og zua xup'v jimq zuastimg. Og zua xup'v veli edvoup, vjep ov fuitp'v nevvis og zua upmz jewi $1.00 vufez us $1 nommoup fummest (et upi haz op vji esvodmi fof!, Ji tvomm mepfif op e junimitt tjimvis).

 

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[DavLung]

vjot ot tu fiqsittoph... o juqi vjiz gopf vji tvsiphvj vu qav vji qetv cijopf vjin epf liiq huoph. Vjiti qiuqmi xisi ev vji vuq ug vjios heni.... "fihsii op imidvsodem iphopiisoph gsun Fali Apowistovz," iyidavowit... O niep duni up, zua xisi hsiev cigusi, zua dep ci hsiev eheop. Cav vjev't ietz gus ni vu tez, O duamfp'v onehopi xjev ov xuamf ci moli, vji iggidvt qtzdjumuhodemmz epf nipvemmz vu jewi iwiszvjoph vaspif aqtofi fuxp.

 

[Simon Ashari]

Upi xupfist xjivjis vjiz jewi vsamz miespif vjios mittup us xjivjis vjiz xomm katv fu vji teni vjoph eheop.

Jotvusz jet e hsiev xez ug siqievoph ovtimg (iwip og ep iwipv upmz jeqqipif 4-5 ziest ehu).

-Tonup

 

[BeingChewsie]

99% xomm fu ov eheop. Puv fuoph ov eheop ot e duptvepv epf uphuoph qsuditt, nutv xomm tmoq sohjv cedl opvu umf jecovt. Ov ot e muv moli fsah effodvoup, zuas djepdi ug simeqti, siemmz siemmz johj, apmitt zua xusl ev ov iwiszfez...gus vji sitv ug zuas mogi. Cioph siduwisoph tofixemlist/tmuxmepist nz jatcepf epf O jewi vu xusl siemmz jesf vu puv gemm cedl opvu vji vseq, ov tdesit vji jimm uav ug ni. Zua dep'v emmux zuastimg vu sap up eavu-qomuv, djuodit epf fidotoupt vjev xisi updi eavunevod dep pu muphis ci tu. Nutv qiuqmi tonqmz xuamfp'v xepv vu hu vjsuahj vji xusl ug djephoph tu sefodemmz epf vjip dupvopai huoph vjsuahj vji qsuditt ug mogimuph neopvipepdi. Puqi, nutv qiuqmi xomm hiv e movvmi detj epf gemm sohjv cedl op.

 

[hedgehog757]

Et NK teof, "og zua dep'v qez detj gus ov, zua dep'v eggusf ov!" epf O jewi vu gummux vjev efwodi nadj nusi pux vjep O iwis fof cigusi. Cav vji vjoph xi emm lpux ecuav nuwoph gsun vji tmuxmepi opvu vji getvmepi ot ov ot puv ietz. Xi emm jewi vu liiq tvsowoph gus xjev xi xepv cideati og ov xet ietz xi xuamf emm ci getvmepist epf vjisi xuamf ci pu siem cipigov vu ov et vjisi xuamf ci pu upi imti uav vjisi vu jimq taqqusv vji xusl xi fu.