How are people able to get 6-figure incomes & file Ch. 7?

[happy_ira]

There is a difference between income and wealth. Most people have income, but very few are wealthy.

Brilliant and true.

[Overmylimit]

Debtmonster

You have to remember the old saying "location, location, location" you are right someone could make less and keep more of their $$ at the end of the month. However some people like the view of the beach from their home or living in the mountains. Sometimes these areas come with a hefty price tag, and some feel its worth the extra $$

[Overmylimit]

There is a difference between income and wealth. Most people have income, but very few are wealthy.

This is true however I learned a long time ago there are 3 types of wealth;


Income, Rich and Wealthy


Income is making a lot of money and living well.


Rich is what it sounds like; very well off and for the most part more $$ than you will ever need.


Wealthy are the people who were rich when they were born, they live on a level that most of us can't comprehend. They grew up going to Ivy league schools, private planes, private yachts and a net worth that is more than most could make in many lifetimes.

[Cali]

Or they work in the area so it wouldn't make sense to live a state over and only go home on the weekend.

Debtmonster

You have to remember the old saying "location, location, location" you are right someone could make less and keep more of their $$ at the end of the month. However some people like the view of the beach from their home or living in the mountains. Sometimes these areas come with a hefty price tag, and some feel its worth the extra $$

[debtmonster]

Or they work in the area so it wouldn't make sense to live a state over and only go home on the weekend.

Why not just move to a state that offers similar with lower pay and higher net after living expenses? Life is too short to give it all to the gov't.

[Cali]

You must have a simple life, because most people can't just up and move because they don't like how expensive their area is.

Why not just move to a state that offers similar with lower pay and higher net after living expenses? Life is too short to give it all to the gov't.

[debtmonster]

You must have a simple life, because most people can't just up and move because they don't like how expensive their area is.

We own a home, 2 cars, and have 2 dogs. I don't know how to say if my life is simple or not. I have moved many times in my life, so it's gotten to be no big deal. You rent a large U-Haul, pack up your stuff and go. End of story. It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. I didn't say it was going to be easy. And of course, it's never fun. I just get tired of people living in overpriced stuff. That just feeds the people sucking the funds out of people. I believe in using the power of "supply and demand". If less people stop throwing their money away on those expensive places, the prices will go back to normal. People give in too easy.

[Overmylimit]

For some of us it's not just that easy to pack up and go. I have kids in College here, my wifes family is all here...deep roots you don't just pick up and go

[debtmonster]

For some of us it's not just that easy to pack up and go. I have kids in College here, my wifes family is all here...deep roots you don't just pick up and go

If you want to piss and moan about it, then no you don't. You can still live in the same area. Just pick a place that is no more than 25% of your household income to live in.

All of our roots are hundreds of miles per way. I look at it this way... none of my family pays our bills in order for us to afford to live near them.

All of my friends who went to college were born and raised in Miami and went to University of Gainesville, University of Florida or some other far away school.

If we can do it, you can do it. Just don't be so negative about it. Just do it. It's always fun to live within your means.

I am finding that out now after not paying a ton of bills and finally have cash left over to buy groceries on a debit card for once.

[WorkingItOut]

If you want to piss and moan about it, then no you don't. You can still live in the same area. Just pick a place that is no more than 25% of your household income to live in.

All of our roots are hundreds of miles per way. I look at it this way... none of my family pays our bills in order for us to afford to live near them.

All of my friends who went to college were born and raised in Miami and went to University of Gainesville, University of Florida or some other far away school.

If we can do it, you can do it. Just don't be so negative about it. Just do it. It's always fun to live within your means.

I am finding that out now after not paying a ton of bills and finally have cash left over to buy groceries on a debit card for once.

Not everyone who lives in an expensive area is living beyond their means. And not everyone that lives in an inexpensive area is living within their means. You are WAY oversimplifying things.

Think about the job market - some people are in careers where they have to live in a certain area in order to find work. That $150k salary in NYC wouldn't be $80k in Florida, it might be ZERO because there might not be any jobs there that they qualify for.

I live in a very cheap area, but I work 50 miles away because there are NO jobs in my field in my town. The city I work in has a MUCH higher cost of living than where I live. Granted, 50 miles is not THAT much, but if my field (which is nothing obscure or weird) is that hard to find jobs in, then I imagine many other fields are the same.

Then there is quality of life. Not all areas of the country offer good medical care, good schools, interesting things to do for fun, etc. Life is about more than just money. I'm not advocating that people live beyond their means, but if they can work it out and want to live in an expensive area, then more power to them. And then there's family. Some people would be miserable being 500 miles away from their family and friends. Sometimes relationships and general happiness have to be given more weight than having extra money. Again, I'm not saying it should be financed, but people have other motivations that go beyond money when they choose to live somewhere. It's not always as simple as packing up and moving.

[debtmonster]

I believe in what you're saying. I just don't agree with using the majority of your paycheck to pay for housing. I believe in a level playing field. People should have the right to live near their work without spending 2 to 5x the cost of living in the burbs.

They need to have Fortune 500 companies in the burbs. I hate it when all of the companies are in one area and not spread around so that you can live near your job. They are all part of the fuel crisis. It's ridiculous for people to have to commute an hour or more to work. I used to commute 2 hours one way. I got tired of that crap fast and left. I was getting so burned out.

Can't you live in a $600-1100/mo. apartment near your work instead of driving 50 miles?

[Overmylimit]

If you want to piss and moan about it, then no you don't.

Look this is starting to sound like a book, you quote the #'s like it's gospel. No more than 25% of your income.....there was a time when my bills weren't even 25% of my income even with the huge mortgage I have now....so what.....


I think you are trying to WAY over simplify this to one set standard for all.


Maybe the real answer is you need to find a way to make more money than your bills. The ways are endless, and don't "piss and moan" about the cities being to far away or they need to spread the work out to the burbs.


That is the one good thing about money, it's a renewable resource you just need to go and get it...

[Doghouse]

Well said Workingitout. Debtmonster, you are generalizing and simplifying things way too much. Yeah, let's pack all 35 million of us that live in California and move to Florida. Oh, wait, maybe only the 8 million in NYC should move to Florida. Puhleeze. As if Florida does not have high cost of living areas or people dealing with debt and bankruptcy issues.

People live, work, survive, develop and stay in specific areas for a variety of reasons already mentioned in this thread. And people do move around all the time (else U-Haul would be out of business by now). Sometimes your company moves and you have to move too. In my specific IT field for example, it is almost career suicide to move to a place like Florida where the IT jobs are hard to find and pay is pitiful when you do find them.

Besides, would I trade living in the country called California to move to say, Buffalo, NY or Grand Forks, ND or Toledo, OH, Brownsville, TX or Gary, Indiana etc just because it is much cheaper to live in those places? I DON'T THINK SO.

Again, many people are in debt not necessarily for the high cost of living in the areas they choose to settle but also for the various events that happened in their lives that resulted in such debts E.g divorce, job loss, medical situations, business failures etc. No matter how high the cost there are people who manage their finances well. In SF, a city of about 770,000, there are still teachers, social workers, cops, non-profit employees, retail workers and many more that make nowhere near 6 figures but still make do with what they have.

[debtmonster]

Well said Workingitout. Debtmonster, you are generalizing and simplifying things way too much. Yeah, let's pack all 35 million of us that live in California and move to Florida. Oh, wait, maybe only the 8 million in NYC should move to Florida. Puhleeze. As if Florida does not have high cost of living areas or people dealing with debt and bankruptcy issues.

People live, work, survive, develop and stay in specific areas for a variety of reasons already mentioned in this thread. And people do move around all the time (else U-Haul would be out of business by now). Sometimes your company moves and you have to move too. In my specific IT field for example, it is almost career suicide to move to a place like Florida where the IT jobs are hard to find and pay is pitiful when you do find them.

Besides, would I trade living in the country called California to move to say, Buffalo, NY or Grand Forks, ND or Toledo, OH, Brownsville, TX or Gary, Indiana etc just because it is much cheaper to live in those places? I DON'T THINK SO.

Again, many people are in debt not necessarily for the high cost of living in the areas they choose to settle but also for the various events that happened in their lives that resulted in such debts E.g divorce, job loss, medical situations, business failures etc. No matter how high the cost there are people who manage their finances well. In SF, a city of about 770,000, there are still teachers, social workers, cops, non-profit employees, retail workers and many more that make nowhere near 6 figures but still make do with what they have.

And you wonder why you're on a bankruptcy forum. There you go.

Swallow that pride and move to Gary, IN.

[Doghouse]

And you wonder why you're on a bankruptcy forum. There you go.

Swallow that pride and move to Gary, IN.

Yeah, tell that to everybody in America filing for bankruptcy. Obviously you did not fully read or understand the context of my post or that of others. FYI, I don't live in San Francisco. In fact, I live in a place here in Northern California where a $60K salary is comparable to a $100K salary in SF (and it's less than 90 mins from SF). My bankruptcy decision stemmed from medical bills, prior job loss and a house that's over 150K upside down.


You shouldn't come into a BK forum throwning stones when you also live in the same glass house.