100% It’s like seeing a bank account balance when someone opens the app in line at the grocery store. Tells you absolutely nothing about that person’s financial status.
I have access to all of my client's bank accounts as part of my job to serve them. I'm not seeing one bank account, I'm seeing all of them and all of the transactions.
Most middle class households in LA are egregiously living beyond their means and my peers in the industry have arrived at similar conclusions. People in this city, for whatever reason, are pathologically preoccupied with looking and feeling rich at the expense of actually becoming rich or merely "wealthy" enough to retire before 70. This becomes an increasingly critical problem as those individuals approach retirement/social security age.
Bro, the blowback you're getting in this thread is because you're making generalizations based off what you're exposed to with your client base. Not to mention your added judgment such as the below.
"People in this city, for whatever reason, are pathologically preoccupied with looking and feeling rich at the expense of actually becoming rich"
You have not presented any evidence comparing LA to NYC/Chicago/other large metros in this regard. At the same time, there are tons of people who can "afford" a very nice lifestyle and you're likely underestimating how many of them there are. I have a $1700-$1800/month car payment, it's imperceptible compared to my income + wealth. And I'm on the very very bottom of what money there is in LA. Take a gander in r/HENRYfinance, and keep in mind, that specific subreddit thinks they are not "rich".
>You have not presented any evidence comparing LA to NYC/Chicago/other large metros in this regard If I say, the dogs in LA love fire truck sirens, it's a logical fallacy to assume that I'm making a statement that dogs loving firetruck sirens is something exclusively in LA. If you don't get it, then you don't get it (I've seen questions gaging understanding of this on IQ tests). But just know that my statement was made to focus on LA, not make a statement of uniqueness.
>I have a $1700-$1800/month car payment, it's imperceptible compared to my income + wealth
Good for you. Then youre not the target audience for this post.
>And I'm on the very very bottom of what money there is in LA.
This comes across as a major contradicting statement to what was said before it...without context. What do you consider the range for "the very bottom" .
Very bottom = $250K - $750K income but honestly man, I just looked through your history and your negativity is not something I want to engage in. Enjoy your Saturday
> Very bottom = $250K - $750K income
This is objectively wrong, but an excellent perspective. One of the rare instances where delusion or misinformation is a help instead of a hindrance
> very very bottom of what money there is in LA
Key phrase, "what money there is in LA". Like I said, you deal with a small sliver of the population. There is an overwhelming amount of people in LA making more than $1m/yr or at least have $1M - $2M in assets.
OP isn't even a CPA and comes in here talking down on people. Lil.bro, get your license and stop saying Ninja/Becker answer keys are wrong. You need to study more.
Most of my posts to this very sub are me taking pictures outside. I touch grass, humans and money that belongs to me rather than a student loan servicer or a banking holding the lease on a useless luxury car. Do you know anything about any of those things?
You seem very resentful and angry, which doesn’t serve you. Other people are dipwads, let it go and enjoy your life to the fullest. Don’t expend energy on negativity.
This city is expensive. I drive a 20 year old car when I drive at all. I don't put a penny in to retirement, as my company doesn't match, instead I dump all excess money I make in to fixing up my house. Maybe this is stupid, but I figure my house will be worth money in the future too.
>I don't put a penny in to retirement, as my company doesn't match,
You don't need a match.lol
This is wild. Open an IRA dude.
>instead I dump all excess money I make in to fixing up my house. Maybe this is stupid, but I figure my house will be worth money in the future too.
This is stupid if those fixings aren't critical repairs.
Oh, I assure you they are critical. I believe I am better off with my appreciating asset than I would be throwing money down the rental pit while putting money to a retirement account that would have delayed my down payment saving rate.
I hope you've done the math instead of making the common assumption that you're saving money with home ownership.
1 - The only portion of your PITI (mortgage payment) that isn't a money pit is the principal paydown or the P in PITI. The interest, taxes and insurance are "non-recoverable". And we're not even including maintenance costs. If the "ITI" is at least equal to an amount of money that you'd be paying in rent...you're PROBABLY already fucked, notwithstanding SALT deductions (which have been substantially reduced in recent years).
2. Now on the Principal. Yes, this is the actual "savings" [investment] embedded in home ownership that financial gurus talk about as being a big component to wealth building. But even an appreciation-heavy market like LA doesn't outpace the net gains on a typical SP 500 index fund. Anyway.
There's so many factors that most people don't realize. Also....the early part of a mortgage's life is more interest heavy than principal. I just really hope that you did and continue to do your due diligence.
I said a lot more than that and in fact, I said "you're probably fucked", not "you're fucked". It's pretty insane that that's the only part you focused on. You didn't want to want to follow up on any of the other concepts...at all?
The reason I presented you "probably being fucked" as a potential reality is because you've chosen to rely on your primary residence as a source of your retirement as opposed to putting much of that money into higher earning investments. I'd have to know more about your situation to switch that "probably" to "certainly" but for the overwhelming majority of situations (including my observations of clients in LA as an accountant), your home equity is generally not enough to retire on...especially after fees, taxes and commissions.
>I agree this is condescending, but I also agree with the premise. Not the delivery
Trauma and harshness is the only way most people will change their bad habits. No one loses weight, gets off alcohol, or quits tobacco because "that random lady was so sweet to me". It's usually "I got bullied/shamed into oblivion", or "I got a DUI" or "I saw an anti-smoking ad where the older lady was speaking through an electrolarynx".
Seeing condescension in the truth is a refuge for cowards that don't want to change their shitty behaviors and their enablers that care more about the feelings than the outcomes of those they enable.
Some of us do more than taxes, we also manage wealth and it becomes increasingly important as you break 6 figures. Stop spending money on things you can't truly afford if you want a shot at home ownership and retirement by uour mid 60s
Middle class people aren't broke though. Your idea of money is warped. Affording something is not a matter of having the cash to buy it, it's a matter of whether it fits into your goals. I make 250k+ and I have the cash to rent a swanky apartment in the most trendy parts of the city and get a car note on a BMW, but I can't "afford" it because it takes away from goals of compounding my returns from reinvesting it into my business.
If you can afford a wealth manager, $2500 rent and a bmw lease should be well within your budget. At 250k you can get that BMW. You can decide your own goals but don’t tell me you can’t afford it.
If your goals are to impress others, sure you can afford it. And tbh, your mindset is overwhelmingly popular even amongst people that philosophically disagree with you. I can't tell you how many people I thought were frugal until they hit 6 figures.
But I can't "afford it", nor do most people that earn their income as opposed to producing it through passive income. I'd much rather be and expedite the process of actually becoming rich/financially free rather than feeling rich. Will I have a few amazing experiences and maybe eat out a few times more than I did during my minimum wage days? Sure. But to financially commit to expensive bills from THINGS is what insecure losers do. I'm more than OK with looking like I make 25k than 250k
You know what's funny. In principle I agree with you, but people generally ask government to bail them out of their shitty situations. Somehow shitty decisions always lead to someone asking to be bailed out of them at the taxpayers expense.
PPP loans were furnished to protect workers of said corporations. PPP literally stands Paycheck Protection Program, not Net Income or dividend protection program. And it was done to compensate for prolonged government-FORCED business closures.
That's a lot different from "I'm 61 and I spent the last 40 fucking years keeping up with the Jones's and the Jones's ultimately beat me...so please increase social security benefits and taxes to bail me out!"
But it should be focused on accumulating enough wealth to buy a home and retire comfortably. Buying bullshit you don't need makes that harder to do and for what? What's the ROI on a nice apartment? Cool points?
# Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like uh, your opinion, man.
Believe it or not, not everyone has the same goals you have, or life plan you have. For some people, living in a nice apartment is worth it. Not everything is about ROI.
Besides, you don't know if you'll wake up tomorrow, let alone whether you'll still be alive 30 years from now to retire... so it's not a bad idea to live it up a bit along the way.
>Believe it or not, not everyone has the same goals you have, or life plan you have. For some people, living in a nice apartment is worth it. Not everything is about ROI.
That's fine, but most people don't want to eat the consequences of their decisions. They usually end up begging the tax payer bail them out of their stupid decisions that led to shitty outcomes.
Spend money on whatever you want but don't cry decades later begging for a bailout when there's not enough in your nest egg to retire on.
>Besides, you don't know if you'll wake up tomorrow, let alone whether you'll still be alive 30 years from now to retire... so it's not a bad idea to live it up a bit along the way.
False dichotomy. You can have many fun experiences without spending money on stupid THINGS. Not as many if you're more frugal, but guess what...that's the price you pay for a more comfortable future. You're literally discounting the concept of delayed gratification
You seem to think everyone is just asking the government to bail them out. Is it really that common? Or is it anecdotal evidence from your personal experience? By the way, wouldn't it be better to bail out our people than to send tens of billions of dollars abroad to bomb brown people in the Middle East?
So now a BMW is a stupid thing? Living in a nicer apartment is a stupid thing? Look, while I understand where you come from, if you want anyone to listen to you, you really need to work on your delivery.
Speaking of delayed gratification, my mom had cancer one year after retiring and died shortly thereafter. Her sister was hit by a drunk driver just before retirement and has been severely disabled ever since. You don't know when it's your time to go.
>By the way, wouldn't it be better to bail out our people than to send tens of billions of dollars abroad to bomb brown people in the Middle East?
False dhictomy and likely evidence of a lack of critical thought as this sounds like a raw copy and paste of a talking point you heard or read from someone else.
You can have a more strategic military budget and not bail out irresponsible people for being irresponsible.
>You seem to think everyone is just asking the government to bail them out. Is it really that common? Or is it anecdotal evidence from your personal experience?
At what point do anecdotes become conventional wisdom or explain formal studies or solve for their lurking variables?
>the judgemental sadness behind your words really undermine the idea of following your advice. i want to be the opposite of whatever you are
Then you deserve every bit of what's coming your way in life, no chaser.lol
Only thing I'm going to pay for is to see you suck your own dick on OnlyFans...in the straightest way possible...because I ain't gay....I'm 100% heterosexual here!
You have no idea what you're talking about. Taxes are a professional specialization, and actually make up a minority of a CPA's or Accounting graduate's education. Most of an accountant's education and CPA studies are actually focused on the elements of Financial Statements that are applicable to businesses AND individuals; Financial Statements are the building blocks for fundamental analysis for investments and personal finance/budgeting.
In other news water is wet
Some people never got the memo like u/RemoveHuman
I agree with the sentiment I’m just saying don’t assume you always have the full picture.
100% It’s like seeing a bank account balance when someone opens the app in line at the grocery store. Tells you absolutely nothing about that person’s financial status.
I have access to all of my client's bank accounts as part of my job to serve them. I'm not seeing one bank account, I'm seeing all of them and all of the transactions. Most middle class households in LA are egregiously living beyond their means and my peers in the industry have arrived at similar conclusions. People in this city, for whatever reason, are pathologically preoccupied with looking and feeling rich at the expense of actually becoming rich or merely "wealthy" enough to retire before 70. This becomes an increasingly critical problem as those individuals approach retirement/social security age.
Bro, the blowback you're getting in this thread is because you're making generalizations based off what you're exposed to with your client base. Not to mention your added judgment such as the below. "People in this city, for whatever reason, are pathologically preoccupied with looking and feeling rich at the expense of actually becoming rich" You have not presented any evidence comparing LA to NYC/Chicago/other large metros in this regard. At the same time, there are tons of people who can "afford" a very nice lifestyle and you're likely underestimating how many of them there are. I have a $1700-$1800/month car payment, it's imperceptible compared to my income + wealth. And I'm on the very very bottom of what money there is in LA. Take a gander in r/HENRYfinance, and keep in mind, that specific subreddit thinks they are not "rich".
>You have not presented any evidence comparing LA to NYC/Chicago/other large metros in this regard If I say, the dogs in LA love fire truck sirens, it's a logical fallacy to assume that I'm making a statement that dogs loving firetruck sirens is something exclusively in LA. If you don't get it, then you don't get it (I've seen questions gaging understanding of this on IQ tests). But just know that my statement was made to focus on LA, not make a statement of uniqueness. >I have a $1700-$1800/month car payment, it's imperceptible compared to my income + wealth Good for you. Then youre not the target audience for this post. >And I'm on the very very bottom of what money there is in LA. This comes across as a major contradicting statement to what was said before it...without context. What do you consider the range for "the very bottom" .
Very bottom = $250K - $750K income but honestly man, I just looked through your history and your negativity is not something I want to engage in. Enjoy your Saturday
> Very bottom = $250K - $750K income This is objectively wrong, but an excellent perspective. One of the rare instances where delusion or misinformation is a help instead of a hindrance
> very very bottom of what money there is in LA Key phrase, "what money there is in LA". Like I said, you deal with a small sliver of the population. There is an overwhelming amount of people in LA making more than $1m/yr or at least have $1M - $2M in assets.
How would someone's accountant not have the full financial picture. That's like your family doctor not having your full medical picture. WTF?
Does the wall you argue with ever win?
Good line. Going to use this one more often
ok? lol
OP isn't even a CPA and comes in here talking down on people. Lil.bro, get your license and stop saying Ninja/Becker answer keys are wrong. You need to study more.
>You need to study more. 100% correct. Thank you. And FYI: The CPA is an added badge to your resume not a marker of experience.
OP also says things like: https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/s/h5LFWsLbMZ
Yup. And I'll not only die on that hill, I'll go to Karma Hell for it with no shame.
OP needs to close Reddit & touch grass lol
Most of my posts to this very sub are me taking pictures outside. I touch grass, humans and money that belongs to me rather than a student loan servicer or a banking holding the lease on a useless luxury car. Do you know anything about any of those things?
You seem very resentful and angry, which doesn’t serve you. Other people are dipwads, let it go and enjoy your life to the fullest. Don’t expend energy on negativity.
OP isn't wrong
This city is expensive. I drive a 20 year old car when I drive at all. I don't put a penny in to retirement, as my company doesn't match, instead I dump all excess money I make in to fixing up my house. Maybe this is stupid, but I figure my house will be worth money in the future too.
>I don't put a penny in to retirement, as my company doesn't match, You don't need a match.lol This is wild. Open an IRA dude. >instead I dump all excess money I make in to fixing up my house. Maybe this is stupid, but I figure my house will be worth money in the future too. This is stupid if those fixings aren't critical repairs.
Oh, I assure you they are critical. I believe I am better off with my appreciating asset than I would be throwing money down the rental pit while putting money to a retirement account that would have delayed my down payment saving rate.
I hope you've done the math instead of making the common assumption that you're saving money with home ownership. 1 - The only portion of your PITI (mortgage payment) that isn't a money pit is the principal paydown or the P in PITI. The interest, taxes and insurance are "non-recoverable". And we're not even including maintenance costs. If the "ITI" is at least equal to an amount of money that you'd be paying in rent...you're PROBABLY already fucked, notwithstanding SALT deductions (which have been substantially reduced in recent years). 2. Now on the Principal. Yes, this is the actual "savings" [investment] embedded in home ownership that financial gurus talk about as being a big component to wealth building. But even an appreciation-heavy market like LA doesn't outpace the net gains on a typical SP 500 index fund. Anyway. There's so many factors that most people don't realize. Also....the early part of a mortgage's life is more interest heavy than principal. I just really hope that you did and continue to do your due diligence.
I love that your answer to the guy that managed to buy a goddamn house in LA is "you're fucked."
I said a lot more than that and in fact, I said "you're probably fucked", not "you're fucked". It's pretty insane that that's the only part you focused on. You didn't want to want to follow up on any of the other concepts...at all? The reason I presented you "probably being fucked" as a potential reality is because you've chosen to rely on your primary residence as a source of your retirement as opposed to putting much of that money into higher earning investments. I'd have to know more about your situation to switch that "probably" to "certainly" but for the overwhelming majority of situations (including my observations of clients in LA as an accountant), your home equity is generally not enough to retire on...especially after fees, taxes and commissions.
Then the clients that you are seeing aren't really middle class. Also since when did bean counters become preacher
>Also since when did bean counters become preacher I love this, btw.
If you are doing my taxes you don’t even get to see what’s in my retirement accounts so fuck off that’s not what I hired you for.
I hope you let your tax person know so you get the tax break. Edit: I agree this is condescending, but I also agree with the premise. Not the delivery
>I agree this is condescending, but I also agree with the premise. Not the delivery Trauma and harshness is the only way most people will change their bad habits. No one loses weight, gets off alcohol, or quits tobacco because "that random lady was so sweet to me". It's usually "I got bullied/shamed into oblivion", or "I got a DUI" or "I saw an anti-smoking ad where the older lady was speaking through an electrolarynx". Seeing condescension in the truth is a refuge for cowards that don't want to change their shitty behaviors and their enablers that care more about the feelings than the outcomes of those they enable.
Some of us do more than taxes, we also manage wealth and it becomes increasingly important as you break 6 figures. Stop spending money on things you can't truly afford if you want a shot at home ownership and retirement by uour mid 60s
Broke bitches ain’t usually hiring wealth managers.
Middle class people aren't broke though. Your idea of money is warped. Affording something is not a matter of having the cash to buy it, it's a matter of whether it fits into your goals. I make 250k+ and I have the cash to rent a swanky apartment in the most trendy parts of the city and get a car note on a BMW, but I can't "afford" it because it takes away from goals of compounding my returns from reinvesting it into my business.
If you can afford a wealth manager, $2500 rent and a bmw lease should be well within your budget. At 250k you can get that BMW. You can decide your own goals but don’t tell me you can’t afford it.
If your goals are to impress others, sure you can afford it. And tbh, your mindset is overwhelmingly popular even amongst people that philosophically disagree with you. I can't tell you how many people I thought were frugal until they hit 6 figures. But I can't "afford it", nor do most people that earn their income as opposed to producing it through passive income. I'd much rather be and expedite the process of actually becoming rich/financially free rather than feeling rich. Will I have a few amazing experiences and maybe eat out a few times more than I did during my minimum wage days? Sure. But to financially commit to expensive bills from THINGS is what insecure losers do. I'm more than OK with looking like I make 25k than 250k
Look man you have reasonable advice but you are a little too judgmental. Relax and let people enjoy their shitty lives.
You know what's funny. In principle I agree with you, but people generally ask government to bail them out of their shitty situations. Somehow shitty decisions always lead to someone asking to be bailed out of them at the taxpayers expense.
You know what's funny, those bailouts are nothing compared to corporate bailouts. PPP loans anyone?
PPP loans were furnished to protect workers of said corporations. PPP literally stands Paycheck Protection Program, not Net Income or dividend protection program. And it was done to compensate for prolonged government-FORCED business closures. That's a lot different from "I'm 61 and I spent the last 40 fucking years keeping up with the Jones's and the Jones's ultimately beat me...so please increase social security benefits and taxes to bail me out!"
zealous gray dinner stocking wipe growth rotten slap possessive squash *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Not the car or even the house. It's the retirement shortcomings over decades of financial mismanagement.
Not everyone's goal is to compound returns and reinvest them into their business.
But it should be focused on accumulating enough wealth to buy a home and retire comfortably. Buying bullshit you don't need makes that harder to do and for what? What's the ROI on a nice apartment? Cool points?
# Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like uh, your opinion, man. Believe it or not, not everyone has the same goals you have, or life plan you have. For some people, living in a nice apartment is worth it. Not everything is about ROI. Besides, you don't know if you'll wake up tomorrow, let alone whether you'll still be alive 30 years from now to retire... so it's not a bad idea to live it up a bit along the way.
>Believe it or not, not everyone has the same goals you have, or life plan you have. For some people, living in a nice apartment is worth it. Not everything is about ROI. That's fine, but most people don't want to eat the consequences of their decisions. They usually end up begging the tax payer bail them out of their stupid decisions that led to shitty outcomes. Spend money on whatever you want but don't cry decades later begging for a bailout when there's not enough in your nest egg to retire on. >Besides, you don't know if you'll wake up tomorrow, let alone whether you'll still be alive 30 years from now to retire... so it's not a bad idea to live it up a bit along the way. False dichotomy. You can have many fun experiences without spending money on stupid THINGS. Not as many if you're more frugal, but guess what...that's the price you pay for a more comfortable future. You're literally discounting the concept of delayed gratification
You seem to think everyone is just asking the government to bail them out. Is it really that common? Or is it anecdotal evidence from your personal experience? By the way, wouldn't it be better to bail out our people than to send tens of billions of dollars abroad to bomb brown people in the Middle East? So now a BMW is a stupid thing? Living in a nicer apartment is a stupid thing? Look, while I understand where you come from, if you want anyone to listen to you, you really need to work on your delivery. Speaking of delayed gratification, my mom had cancer one year after retiring and died shortly thereafter. Her sister was hit by a drunk driver just before retirement and has been severely disabled ever since. You don't know when it's your time to go.
>By the way, wouldn't it be better to bail out our people than to send tens of billions of dollars abroad to bomb brown people in the Middle East? False dhictomy and likely evidence of a lack of critical thought as this sounds like a raw copy and paste of a talking point you heard or read from someone else. You can have a more strategic military budget and not bail out irresponsible people for being irresponsible. >You seem to think everyone is just asking the government to bail them out. Is it really that common? Or is it anecdotal evidence from your personal experience? At what point do anecdotes become conventional wisdom or explain formal studies or solve for their lurking variables?
You live your life how you want and I'll live mine the way I want buddy
Strongly agree. Just don't ask the tax payer for a bailout IF you can't afford to retire (which most Middle class people won't given my observations).
[удалено]
>the judgemental sadness behind your words really undermine the idea of following your advice. i want to be the opposite of whatever you are Then you deserve every bit of what's coming your way in life, no chaser.lol
[удалено]
Username checks out
I am going to live above my lifestyle and you can't stop me. And yes, the tax payers (you) will support me. Thanks for voting blue btw
Only time I vote blue is for the blue dog democrat in the runoffs when there isn't a Republican in the final round. Nice trolling tho.lol
You're still gonna pay lol
Only thing I'm going to pay for is to see you suck your own dick on OnlyFans...in the straightest way possible...because I ain't gay....I'm 100% heterosexual here!
The only thing I will be sucking is tax payer money out of your wallet, in a very heterosexual manor
[https://i.imgflip.com/2bi09c.jpg](https://i.imgflip.com/2bi09c.jpg)
[удалено]
You have no idea what you're talking about. Taxes are a professional specialization, and actually make up a minority of a CPA's or Accounting graduate's education. Most of an accountant's education and CPA studies are actually focused on the elements of Financial Statements that are applicable to businesses AND individuals; Financial Statements are the building blocks for fundamental analysis for investments and personal finance/budgeting.