Sunday, January 22
NPR : Dave Barry Explains the Value of a Dollar
NPR : Dave Barry Explains the Value of a Dollar funny shit.. how this guy just doesnt answer people's serious questions... and the best advice is to not buy a house because its made of wood and insects eat wood and you spend all this money on something that is really just food for insects...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Neil Connan is even worse for letting Barry rant and rave about absolutely nothing.
The only somewhat serious thing the entire feature, wood is just food for insects is a stupid argument. Steel is food for corrosion. And concrete is going to degrade, crack, and fall apart. And masonry is going to sag and list. Give me a building material and I can find you 1000 things that can go wrong, if a retard like Barry or Connan builds if for you.
And why does everyone sing Barry's praises after he bashes them?
i have never read the guys books but i think ranting and raving is his gig judging by the show...
i didnt think that he was saying anything in particuar about wooden houses... just that homes in general are not super hot investments in and of themselves... which is something that i read all of the time from these financial types...
in rich dad poor dad he says something to the effect that "if your home is your greatest asset then you are in trouble"... and he also describes the home you live in as "your greatest liability"... its been a long time since i read that book... check it out... it will take you 30 minutes to an hour to read... depending...
at least thats what i got out of him saying that houses are food for insects... either way its true isnt it?...
maybe i am overthinking it.. the guy is a humorist.. and he says believing in the dollar bill is the same thing as believing in fairies...
Dave Barry is not normally sought out for financial advice...
Still, in my mind he has one of the greatest book titles of all time:
Shoot Low Boys, They're Riding Shetland Ponies.
I can dig that he is a humorist, but some of his fans expected at least a quick sensible explanation for their questions. Most of the time he went straight to the machetes.
And my point about saying all houses have problems was that your house most certainly does not have to be your greatest liability. If you know what to look for (structural stability/longevity with any building material) or know how to build, you should end up with a good assett. The house I grew up in was purchased for under 50,000 and 20 years later it could probably be sold for well over 120,000. That is at the very least a much better investment than a car.
the house you live in just isnt a strong asset in the larger scheme of things.. even if for most people it is their biggest asset... maybe somebody can explain that idea... i have a hard time writing it out...
bikepennst8...
So, if you take $50k and invest it. In 20 years, it is worth only $120k? Subtracting inflation at some x% (3%?) and what is the overall rate of return on that investment? Not much. Sure, a better investment than a car, but unlikely to be better than a hot dog cart or shaved ice stand. That's a pretty weak "ROI".
spankeem...
It must be nice where you live. Where you can run you hot dog cart stand to make money, and live in your Roth IRA for 20 years.
A house is more than just a pure investment. Just add in all that money spent on an apartment on to the investment. Then the $30,000+ you are ahead at the end of your inflation calculation looks a lot better. I know its not that simple, but my point is a roof over your head is necessary so why call it a bad investment when it could make you money or at least break you even. A car on the other hand is something that may not be necessary and will lose you money every time.
PS This is really good for me. Got me thinking about houses and investments even before I get out of college... from the looks of things, I probably should have been doing it before I got out of middle school.
think of this too then... after taxes and insurance and interest on the mortgage and upkeep/upgrades you have probably only broken even on your 50k house that is now worth 120k in 20 years... if its worth like 250 or 300 then you are cool... can you sell it and move into a similar house for less than what you got for it?... probably not in the same area... then you havent really made any money.. you have broken even...
now if you can move somewhere where that same house costs much less you have done a good operation... like say if you are part of the mass exodus out of socal into the south east...
when you look at your house that you got for 50 and is worth now 120 or 130 after 20 years it looks like you have 70k in equity.. some people treat that as cash (which its not) and spend it when really it doesnt exist because a lot of that is eaten up in the costs of ownership.. then they are fucked when they realize that they have just put their liability on steriods and it starts roid raging...
I am not planning on making money on buying and selling houses. I do understand everything that turns the equity gained into nothing at all. I could go back and dig out my construction management book and input all the maintenance and tax formulae, but like everyone knows: It will break even. If I can own a house and have it, in essence, pay for its own taxes and upkeep I will be happy.
if you understand how it can be done you can make quite a bit of money buying and selling houses...
you should look into doing it.. why not?... espcially if you can do the work yourself and only hire out what is neccessary for the sake of time...
when i sell my house i will break down the numbers... and put it up on the site...
Post a Comment