Comments on: Why Frugal is About Living

By: Steven

Steven — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:22:42 +0000

My Wife, Son and I cancel our TV cable service one year ago. We now are able to save $800.00 more per year, and we don’t miss the ads to sell us more junk.
Nor do we miss the shows… we get better news quality using the internet.
We watch TV dvds that we buy online at cheaper prices.
Also, our son viewpoint of life has improve greatly.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:10:39 +0000

Oh I forgot that Americans have to pay taxes on overseas earnings even if you don’t live there. I’m not sure if the guy is an American though, but either way, $27k on rent is WAY TOO MUCH even if he earns $2 million a year. It’s not even a question of affordability anymore.

Anyway, have a happy new year.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:03:24 +0000

He probably had some company stipend if he’s not a local Japanese. The first 80K you earn as an American citizen abroad is basically tax free.

You can see where I’m getting at though regarding his post income and rent though. It would be irrational to spend 27K on rent, so he either is making much more than he alludes too, or the rent is much less. Everything is rational.

You’re right that HK employs a flat tax system, the best system in the world.

By: Cd Phi

Cd Phi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Wow. He does indeed live a high lifestyle. It surely is important to have an emergency fund because if he hadn’t found a job or taken a longer period of time to find a job, I’m sure that cushion would’ve helped.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:01:13 +0000

That’s what I’m told, and I feel uneasy to poke deeper.

However, he worked in Tokyo, and perhaps the tax structure is a little more lenient there. My sister works in Hong Kong and I think the top tax rate is like 15% or so there. Not to mention that there’s none of the social securities, medicare and other taxes either.

America is a great country, but if you can work elsewhere for a similar salary, you can most likely take home more pay.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:01:53 +0000

David, I can understand 600K/yr, but I can’t understand 27k/month in rent. You sure about that?

B/c 600k/yr after tax is about 30K/month. You’re telling me he spend 90% of of his after tax income on a rental property, and left the remaining 3K/month for food, clothing etc?

Doesn’t sound right to me. There must be a missing link here. Do you mind shooting Mr. Hiroshi an e-mail and asking him? He’s probably making much much more than 600K/yr to afford 27k/month in rent, and private school etc.

Nobody really knows someone’s finances, but I would venture to guess he has at least million bucks in liquid assets as well.

At any rate, life style creep is dangerous, and moderation is key.

Best, Sam

By: George

George — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:15:07 +0000

Yes, it’s true. It doesn’t matter how much money we make. It is more important how we think about money, and how we use the money that we do make.

This sounds similar to the story I heard about an executive at Sony that made $900K/year. Guess what? His net worth was $0. He spent most of his money on stuff that he didn’t need, and the remainder he invested in a long series of terrible investments. He knew how to make an huge salary. But he had not idea how to manage his money, or how to invest it.

Financial freedom comes from passive income, and nobody learns how to generate passive income by working at a job. That’s why I think everyone should have their own businesses or other source of income (such as a blog.).

By: KateMTP

KateMTP — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:28:54 +0000

Luckily I have not been affected salary wise or bonus wise in the recession. However, when I moved home and took a new job – I took a huge hit in pay. That really stung at first, but I have gotten some raises and I am slowly working my way back. The best part? I LOVE my job. So having to adjust my spending habits is fine with me and I am going to keep trying to live frugally. Taking lunches, eating at home and not going out as frequently is fine – time to start saving.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:10:07 +0000

I completely agree, my most enjoyable memories are of the kids in nature. I’m so against materiality because it’s such a dead end. Family, friends, and nature is where happiness truly is. Good post.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:06:28 +0000

This is a true story btw. It wonder how common something like this is…

To his credit though, I’m sure he needs to pay taxes on that $600k so it’s not a full $50,000 every month that he gets to spend on.

Of course, even half of that is still A LOT of money.