[RippleFire]

bump

[lelio]

Bump. I can't believe that this was in Forbes.

[Torie]

Wealth and risk management is critical. Sometimes the perfect wave appears but once, and the trick is to ride it to the beach.

[ChicagoRepublican]

I'm happy I never worked in the corporate world.

[opbuzz]

Poor babies.

[hedgetrimmer]

Very interesting post.

[goodnesswins]

Hey...welcome to LIFE.....they still live better than, probably 99% of the people on the planet.

[Arkinsaw]

I'm in the same situation. But if something happens I've still got the two kids and the wife and as long as I have that I can live in a trailer in the backwoods and be satisfied. I still know how to grow beans and sell aluminum and delivering pizzas is not too bad if you have a radio in your car.

[Dan from Michigan]

In truth, it doesn't go too far in Silicon Valley, where the cost of a modest 1,900-square-foot house with three bedrooms and one and a half baths crowded onto an 8,000-square-foot lot is--hold your breath!--$786,000. But that's the house where John, his wife, Rosa, and their two children live.

DAMN! For 786,000, I could probably get a 10 acre ranch in my county, and 40-50 acres up north.

[Slyfox]

Every person living in any of the telecon corridors can relate to this article. The only difference is that this guy still has his job. He's lucky. I know gobs of people who have been out of work for more than 6 months. Top notch managers, directors and VP's, the very last ones who would ever be laid off, are looking for work.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

"Paper wealth" is hot air. It's what you have in cash that's your true worth. My advice to anyone in his boat is to sell your house NOW while it's still worth something or you'll take a huge loss. Rent until things improve. It's almost impossible to move on if you still have that big mortgage. Lots of friends have gone penniless and bankrupt.

[FreedomCalls]

They were upper middle class, or at least close enough to feel like it. They miss that. They are frustrated. They want back in.

They were living off of hot checks that Robert Reich and Alan Greenspan were writing. Now the bills are due and they have to face reality that the life they were living was an abberation based on a falsehood. If I write hot checks I too can live the life of Reilly, but sometime later I will have to cut back and pay up. The late 90s stock market and the economy it drove was a classic bubble. The bubble has burst. It turns out the Priceline.com was not worth more than Delta, United, and USAir combined. Boo.com was never going to make money. 35% per year returns on your mutual fund were not normal. Your expectations were too high. Clinton lied to you.

There comes a time when you have to grow up, when you box up the stuffed animals for good, when you put the bong in the garbage, when you have to prioritize your spending because Daddy is no longer there, because Mommy will no longer buy the toy if you throw a big enough fit. Welcome to adulthood. The adolescent 90s were fun, but that time is over. Get a haircut. Remove the eyebrow studs. Hide the tattoos. Move into a cheaper house -- maybe even rent. Grow up and deal with it.

Plenty of people have downsized before you. More will follow in the decades to come. Ask your grandparents about life in the 30s when they were little. How did Grandpa lose his hearing? Was if from the artillary on Okinawa? Did your Grandma get her arthritis from ironing clothes for cash? What tales will you tell your grandchildren when they are bouncing on your knee 40 years from now -- how life was so tough that you could no longer afford the $95 massage therapy?

[Samwise]

He would like to go for a sauna and a massage, but the $95 that costs would blow the Smith's weekly budget.

Poor baby!

[Zeroisanumber]

Cry me a frigging river.

At $95,000 a year he's still making more then a good 80% of his fellow Americans. Can't afford those $7-dollar a glass mochas and weekly $95-dollar rubdowns at a spa? Don't feel like the master of your cubicle farm? Welcome to the real world code-jockey.

[sweetjane]

Why do so many people insist on living near the coasts?

There exists in the heartland of this country, also known as "fly-over country," a great place to earn a living, buy a home and educate your children. I say this to all business-savvy Americans, move your business here and start over. You'll be glad you did it.

[Xenalyte]

It fell so fast that John and Rosa felt paralyzed and missed the opportunity to exercise their options and sell.

Wow, so now it's Bush's fault that these goofs "felt paralyzed."

[CA_soon_gone]

I love to do the math on these stories. First, the net worth numbers. They were worth about $1M, but the house represented around $500k of that. The rest was in Sun stock options which before taxes was let's say $500k. Most options in established companies are the type you pay ordinary income rates on so they really only had about $250k there after tax. They had a mortage of over $250k which a few years ago had to cost them at least $15k a year. Property tax would be about $5k. All the other taxes from a $95k income had to be in the $30k range meaning they had about $45k left to live on with real assets not including the house of only the Sun stock, which isn't exactly money in hand. In spite of this they take a $45k vacation!!! Even flying business class $45k for six weeks is spending nearly $1000 a day! That's Four Seasons living, and an entire year's after tax and mortage income. These people will decide the next election alright, just like they always have. And they're too stupid to be allowed to vote.

[VOA]

bump

[ocean]

At times we need to clear our thinking and adjust our perspective on what truly adds value to life.

Seek opportunities instead of jobs. There is always a niche that needs to be filled. Some not so glamorous and others downright silly but still VERY profitable.