Tax Rebate

[GBRulz]

Yeah I really have no desire to have kids until about 30. I want to have a house paid off and make 6 figures before I start. Then I want to have about 4-5 kids.

if you have a house like this, it might be possible. Otherwise, you might as well just go get snipped now

[GrnBay007]

Maybe, Partial, but you will be working so it will be easier for you. Remember that. As hard as it can be to work and raise kids, especially for single parents, there's a good chunk of your day when you go off and talk to real grownups, about things other than diapers, feeding or that Junior rolled over yesterday. For the stay-at-home, the child rearing is relentless and isolating as most of the people you know are working so it's you and your kids and maybe the dog.

If you're working, you can get a break for several hours a day, but those little, wonderful people require everything from you 'round the clock. (I lost all my baby weight by the 6-week checkup only because my kid would cry EVERY time I got a plate of food in front of me and I physically couldn't eat until he was taken care of and settled. Sorry, no lunch break).

I agree 100% it's great if one parent can be home with the kids when they are small....whatever method you choose. I have a problem with the above in that stating that even a single parent gets to "go off and talk to real grownups" Unless you have experienced it, you don't know what it's like to re-arrange your entire work schedule due to a school delay or early out when you are the only one available to be there for the kids that day....or when they call you from school frantic stating they forgot something important at home so you also attempt to re-arrange your schedule to make a run home to pick it up...or when the school calls you at work and they are puking at school and you need to pick them up and cancel all kinds of appointments for the day and then have to worry how you can possibly cram them into the rest of the week....or for some reason your ex doesn't show up on the one day he's supposed to pick them up from school.....and you need to leave work...and then make arrangements before going back to work to play catch up. I'm sorry, but the stress alone from those situations doesn't make up for the experiences I have with "grown up talk" at work....if there's even time.

I know parenting 24/7 can be exhausting.....but when the children are no longer infants I can't see where there is really a reason to feel isolated. There are tons of programs/groups/classes out there to promote stay at home parents to interact....which is wonderful for both the parent and the children. Sometimes a person that feels isolated needs to ask themselves why they are isolating themselves.

[retailguy]

30 years old........house paid off.

Believe it or not, this is not a pipe dream. We've discussed this ad-nauseum in the finance thread, but with no other debt, a 20% down payment, and focus on getting the thing paid off, it is not that unreasonable.

I have a client, age 31, who has worked for the same company since he was 22, just moved to houston last May, and paid cash ($157,000) for his house. Rare? Perhaps. But not impossible. Not at all.

[MJZiggy]

My post was not intended to say that single parenting was easy--by no means. I'm saying that the challenges are different and unless you've done it, you can't truly understand it. And that goes both ways.

And if you reread my post, I didn't say that you are completely isolated--it's not about isolating yourself, I does naturally happen. Used to be that all the moms on the block stayed home and you'd all gather, but now most of them work and a nice meeting every two weeks and a couple playdates in between isn't the same thing. I said that at work you talk to grownups about things other than diapers and baby rearing. Yes there are wonderful programs for mothers and their kids, MOMSClub is a great one, but what grown up topics do you think they discuss at these gatherings? Diapers, breastfeeding, formula, toilet training...there were days I'd have killed to have a boring meeting or training seminar.

And it's easy to have grownup interactions with a toddler? That's a great idea, but whatever you wanna do has to be done by 11:00 so you can have them home for lunch and a nap because you do remember what happens when you're late for lunch and nap, right?

[GBRulz]

30 years old........house paid off.

Believe it or not, this is not a pipe dream. We've discussed this ad-nauseum in the finance thread, but with no other debt, a 20% down payment, and focus on getting the thing paid off, it is not that unreasonable.

I have a client, age 31, who has worked for the same company since he was 22, just moved to houston last May, and paid cash ($157,000) for his house. Rare? Perhaps. But not impossible. Not at all.

Moved to Houston? Can afford to pay cash for his home? You must be an agent for one of the Packers.

[SkinBasket]

Something tells me Partial's delusions of grandeur will command that he have a home worth more than 150k. You can't make six figures and raise 5 kids in a home worth 150k. Well, I guess if he chooses to live on Center and 27th it is, but he would be shot dead before his firstborn saw the light of day.

[packinpatland]

Houston is one of the more affordable areas in this country.
My daughter and her new husband had to pay $350K for a modest 2 bedroom Cape, on a postage size lot, and that was cheap......is considered a 'starter neighborhood'.

[MadtownPacker]

Partial is going to be fine. The boys gots drive and that will get you places intelligence and charm sometimes wont. Dont get me wrong, he has different amounts of both but he also wants to take on the world. You cant fake that, you cant buy that at WalMart, and you cant borrow it from a friend. You just gotta have hustle in your blood. I believe Blast P has that and plenty of it.

[retailguy]

30 years old........house paid off.

Believe it or not, this is not a pipe dream. We've discussed this ad-nauseum in the finance thread, but with no other debt, a 20% down payment, and focus on getting the thing paid off, it is not that unreasonable.

I have a client, age 31, who has worked for the same company since he was 22, just moved to houston last May, and paid cash ($157,000) for his house. Rare? Perhaps. But not impossible. Not at all.

Moved to Houston? Can afford to pay cash for his home? You must be an agent for one of the Packers.

That's a good one! Nope. He just worked hard. Damn hard. Lived in an apartment for almost 10 years. Watched every penny he spent.

It is, by my admission, an extreme example, but I assure you it is 100% true.

[retailguy]

Houston is one of the more affordable areas in this country.
My daughter and her new husband had to pay $350K for a modest 2 bedroom Cape, on a postage size lot, and that was cheap......is considered a 'starter neighborhood'.

Yes it is affordable. But, in Milwaukee, $150k will get you a condo. Maybe a bit more depending on where you go.

Partial has ideas of grandeur, heck he's 22, HE SHOULD. He'll find out that only 7% of the population EVER makes more than $100k a year. But, why not him? Why not? I understand some of you think he's naive, so what? Weren't you when you got out of college?

I was in college with the "Reagan 84, War 85" crowd. That didn't exactly pan out either.

Point is, if Partial applies himself, he can pay for a modest home in about 7 years. so can each of you, almost NO MATTER where you live.

Yeah, you can give me exceptions, but overall, if there is a will to achieve and a good plan, it can happen.

Night all. Take care.

[Bretsky]

Houston is one of the more affordable areas in this country.
My daughter and her new husband had to pay $350K for a modest 2 bedroom Cape, on a postage size lot, and that was cheap......is considered a 'starter neighborhood'.

Yes it is affordable. But, in Milwaukee, $150k will get you a condo. Maybe a bit more depending on where you go.

Partial has ideas of grandeur, heck he's 22, HE SHOULD. He'll find out that only 7% of the population EVER makes more than $100k a year. But, why not him? Why not? I understand some of you think he's naive, so what? Weren't you when you got out of college?

I was in college with the "Reagan 84, War 85" crowd. That didn't exactly pan out either.

Point is, if Partial applies himself, he can pay for a modest home in about 7 years. so can each of you, almost NO MATTER where you live.

Yeah, you can give me exceptions, but overall, if there is a will to achieve and a good plan, it can happen.

Night all. Take care.

Good Points; if you don't have faith in yourself to make the big bucks then you probably never will.

I'd hope my little kids have very high expectations for themselves and achieve 10x what I do in this life.

[Partial]

You can chuckle all you want but I know what I am capable of and I have a goal in my mind that nothing is going to stop me from. 100k is really not that uncommon for most people that have a masters degree in computer science.. My boss is 35 and said to his mortgage person the other day (he is moving to Milwaukee from Chicago) that he makes 167k after bonus. That is a hell of a lot of money.

My sister has her house about 65% paid off by my estimation and she is 24. By the time we graduate school, I'll hopefully have as much as she did in savings.

[Partial]

Something tells me Partial's delusions of grandeur will command that he have a home worth more than 150k. You can't make six figures and raise 5 kids in a home worth 150k. Well, I guess if he chooses to live on Center and 27th it is, but he would be shot dead before his firstborn saw the light of day.

Ideally we'll be getting the hell out of Milwaukee and heading down to somewhere with more reasonable prices and taxes, and higher paying jobs. And somewhere warmer.

Let's not forget I wouldn't be raising these kids alone. My GF is starting her grad program to be a surgical assistant in May. She'll be making plenty of money herself.

[Jimx29]

Pray to gawd you maintain good health, Partial.

[SkinBasket]

Partial, it's fine you have goals. You just might want to consider speaking to a financial planner before making them. A few points you might want to consider:

1) Salaries vary depending on the cost of living in a given area. You want to move somewhere cheaper. You won't get paid as much.

2) You'll be paying taxes - a lot of them. You and your life partner will have student loans. You'll need cars to get to work. You'll need clothes, food, and maybe even some furniture. Don't forget health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance. Oh, and your retirement funds. You want 5 kids? They aren't free. In fact, they're pretty expensive. Then you get to start their college savings plans.

3) Again, you want 4-5 kids? You'll be looking for a 4 BR min house. Those aren't cheap. 5 BR+ are even more expensive because they're typically built as luxury homes. A guess you could make a compound out of a few double wides somewhere outside Jacksonville to make it work, but you don't strike me as the mullet donning type.

4) Paying your mortgage is typically a poor investment. Your money invested even half assedly should earn more than the interest rate on your mortgage, unless you have absolutely terrible credit.

Considering your goals, 100k is not as much money as you seem to think it is. Even if your gal pal doubles that, it's only going to be until you start having kids. Then you'll either lose one income, or have to pay almost as much in child care costs anyway - with the added benefit of both parents rarely seeing your own children, which would raise the question of why you want them in the first place.

Unless you have an inheritance tucked away somewhere, I'm just not seeing where your goals make much sense.