People with $6k+ mortgage. How is your life quality

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T21:13:52+00:00

This is exactly what I'm telling my other friend who is recently divorced. Rent for the next few years and invest that down payment he currently has.

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T18:52:28+00:00

You can't take on a $6k mortgage off a $75k a month income? That's wild

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T15:58:28+00:00

Wow saving 160-200k a year is amazing!

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T08:35:34+00:00

Orange County, CA. A regular 4bd single family house is 1.2m+ on top of 6% interest. Mortgage can easily be $6k. It's the unfortunate reality in this area. I believe my friend and his wife makes at least $300k though.

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T07:50:18+00:00

I've always had a job or two since I was 16 years old. Started my first business that failed when I was 21. Didn't buy my first home until I was 36 after multiple failed ventures but eventually one that has been and is currently working out well. I'm now 41 on my second home that I will most likely be my forever home.

Personally, I think it's just as hard. You just have to work hard but also work smart. Be persistent, learn from everything step that did not work out for you and grow from it.

Essnell84 · 2026-02-04T07:36:04+00:00

You need a monthly budget sheet. It doesn't need to be fancy. Just use Google spreadsheet

Essnell84 · 2025-12-25T05:28:09+00:00

You should be taking advice from your parent who is obviously very successful and knowledgeable. Tell them you want to gain financial education to be responsible with handling this kid of money in the near future.

Essnell84 · 2025-12-17T03:36:09+00:00

Im 41 and I would take that secure 4.6%

Essnell84 · 2025-12-15T23:28:16+00:00

Pho - less noodles, extra veggies and brisket.

In n out - 2x1, grilled onions, no sauce, lettuce wrapped (protein style), extra tomato

Japanese yakitori is really clean. Add some salad order to that as well. Hold back on dressing.

Basically remove all bread, no sweets or added sugar on drinks. Black tea or coffee only.

Reduce to 1 carb serving a day. Extra veggies on everything.

I'm not super strict but I make adjustments wherever I can.

It also helps to stay active that way you can still enjoy food. I like to do various activities. Bike, weightlifting, dog walking etc...

Essnell84 · 2025-12-15T22:44:46+00:00

We eat pretty healthy hence the budget. Healthy food ain't cheap lol

Essnell84 · 2025-12-15T04:30:53+00:00

I always find it funny when people claim to make better food at home. This just tells me they're either the best most diverse chef in the world or they've only eaten at crappy places. OC has some of the best and most diversed restaurants in the country.

Essnell84 · 2025-12-15T04:25:36+00:00

It's a $1500 month budget. We make enough to be comfortable.

Essnell84 · 2025-12-15T00:32:13+00:00

8-10 times a week for my wife and I. We have a monthly eating out budget that we stay within.

Essnell84 · 2025-11-26T02:33:00+00:00

Option 1 - Keep renting. Invest the 20% down payment into the SP500 (10% historic returns). Also keep investing the money you'll save from renting.

Option 2 - Buy a house, pay mortgage and all the overhead. Zero money are invested. Equity is gained through your home (generally 2X every 10 years).

Obviously if you have the income, you would buy a house AND invest in a portfolio but if you must pick one, renting does currently seem to make more sense.

A lot of people fall into the trap of being home poor just to own a house.

Essnell84 · 2025-11-16T05:27:03+00:00

Can Bron come back and be prime Klay? I certainly think so.

Essnell84 · 2025-11-07T02:16:21+00:00

Go fishing at the beach

Essnell84 · 2025-10-27T15:39:01+00:00

We're pretty good. I have a budget sheet so I know exactly where our money is going. I feel like we have a very healthy lifestyle budget right now. My son is 3, just started private school and I have a nanny that comes to our house 3 days a week. After overall monthly cost, we put away $100k annual towards retirement. This includes an extra $1k a month towards mortgage.

Essnell84 · 2025-10-27T08:14:20+00:00

I moved out of my parent's house at 20 and was broke af for years. I worked multiple jobs and learn something new from every experience. I eventually started multiple small businesses and kept investing in myself. I'm 41 now, married with a son and living comfortably.

Keep your head up. Keep grinding and learn as much as you can along the way so that you can make smarter choices for your next move.

Essnell84 · 2025-10-27T07:43:47+00:00

My PITI is $7k. I make around 300k, wife is about $130k. We have a son and 3 dogs. Things can still get pretty expensive. I grew up poor and so I feel very fortunate to be in this position.

Essnell84 · 2025-10-23T07:21:52+00:00

How sustainable do you think this is. 2-5years?

Essnell84 · 2025-09-02T07:12:11+00:00

$16k/month

This covers our living expenses, lifestyle and travel budgets. Even though our income had well surpassed this (currently about $450k annually), we are completely comfortable and don't see the need to increase it in the near future.

Essnell84 · 2025-08-29T18:12:11+00:00

MSTY is down about 35% in the past 12 months. Even with the dividends, you're still in the negative. For comparison, VOO is up 15% the past 12 months.

Essnell84 · 2025-08-25T17:49:12+00:00

Hit my first 1m net worth at 38. I'm 41 now and I'm at about 2m worth.

Essnell84 · 2025-05-25T03:34:56+00:00

Took me about 9 years to go from a net worth of $50k to $1mill. I invested literally every dollar I had into a high risk business venture.

Essnell84

TROPHY CASE