• i know somebody like this. technically only >$200k, but in a LCOL area. if they had any brain whatsoever, their home they bought 15+ years would be paid off, but they are an idiot. they probably started accessing a HELOC as soon as they got a letter in the mail inviting them to do so. these are the people that the financial services sector was born to screw.

    they have 1 kid who is in their mid 20s and requires some assistance, but if its more than a few K a month, i would be shocked. they carry credit card debt, bafflingly. they buy new cars. they buy top of the line, state of the art, lifetime warranty equipment and gear for the hobbies they never do. a garage full of absolutely primo shit that has been used once. they buy expensive clothes. they purchase all Apple products and can barely check their email without someone telling them what to click/tap on. it’s all status purchases to affect the appearance of an metropolitan sophisticate.

    they are not my friend. they are a former boss of mine. if they got laid off with a month’s notice, they would be in bankruptcy court inside of 90 days having to be told by a judge that they need to sell things, downsize their spending, and that they need to make early withdrawals from their retirement account and accept the tax penalties before they can file for bankruptcy.

    their only hope is to make it to retirement age, because their retirement account has got to be massive at this point. and this has made them the most cowardly company man i have ever known, because they are just trying to get to the end, and accept all decrees from above like a total snake.

    also, the contradiction of them just “treading water” at >$200K while being upset that the lowest paid & most essential full time employees negotiated a concession for a salary floor of $30K [because housing here is fucked]… is infuriating.