All Forum Posts by: Ally H.

Hi @Katie Douglas, I'm another 20-something who by your perspective, is something of an 'outlier' like @Account Closed (though only 1 property so far and I'm relatively early in my military career). After paying off 6 figures of student loan debt and being a single-income family until very recently, my husband and I are currently growing our careers, maxing our retirement accounts, and saving for tangible goals like an investment property and taking care of our families. However, I don't think of ourselves as outliers. Perhaps in the 'typical population', the number of 20-somethings who are drowning in a sea of debt without the skills to save themselves is overwhelming, but you have found yourself in the BP community, where there are many people, including those in their 20s (and even younger!), that are killing it on whatever spectrum of success you care to use. 

Since you wanted more details on how people are changing their lifestyles and accomplishing their goals, we'll share some of our choices. When we moved to Oahu (high cost of living), we decided to pay a premium to live close to my work and save commuting costs/time. Since groceries are expensive here, we eat less meat and we learned how to cook with whatever's on sale or in season at the farmer's market. We enjoy inexpensive hobbies on our limited time off (beaches, gardening, home movies, BBQs with friends, etc.), so no cable, gym membership, etc. In summary, we maintain a simple, but happy and fulfilled life on this expensive island of paradise.

From my perspective, the majority of the points that you pointed out are CHOICES. The fact that we have the opportunity to make those choices in this country is an amazing opportunity that not many in the world can claim to have. You can choose to go to college. You can choose to go into debt to go to said college. You can choose to marry and who to marry. You can choose to have children. You can choose to go into consumer debt. You can choose to buy a (new) car. You can choose where you live. 

The abundant choices YOU have all have their own financial consequences, and you have awesome resources like Mr. MMM and BP as tools to help you make the choices that will set you and your family up for financial success. Instead of wasting time and energy on comparing yourself to the 'typical household', I encourage you to concentrate on making moves that will help you progress to where you want to be in X number of years. Best of luck and hope to read about your success story soon!

It would be Parnassus.

Hi @Account Closed, the closer the better. If it's within walking distance, then the costs of a rental car could be eliminated/mitigated.

Hi! Does anyone know any resources/company that specializes in short-term furnished housing (single professional) near UCSF Medical Center? The tenants would be physicians who are doing training rotations at UCSF, so the closer to the medical center, the better. This would be a long-term/permanent contract. We are in the cost analysis phase, so if anyone has any suggestions/advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

I was just at Home Depot looking for grout (yay new bathroom!) and one of the HD associates recommended Fusion Pro Single Component Grout as the grout doesn't require any mixing, is a consistent color, and doesn't require sealant. It's a little more expensive than grout (plus sealant), but in the long run, the lack of needing to seal and reseal makes it more economical, supposedly. Anyone have any experience with using it? Pros/cons? Thank you!

Aloha @Royce Talbo!

We just chain-sawed through them and will work on getting the roots out slowly....a little worried about drainage though since our lot slopes towards the house. I agree about changing out the fence. A portion of the fence (on the other side of the driveway) is old wood and needs to redone anyway, so that's also on the list. I like the solar lamps! I've seen them around the neighborhood and they seem to work very well. 

Congratulations on the marriage! How was the world trip?

The unforunate cost of living in California! Don't even get me started about Hawaii....you don't want to hear the cost of roofing here ;)!

They haven't made a final decision yet....my dad's considering being his own GC and coordinating subcontractors to minimize the cost (he has some construction experience and a bit more free time on his hands). I'll let you know what they decide and who they decide on. Good luck!

@Andrew Bosworth, absolutely correct about the mismatched shingles. Previous owner had the roof repaired instead of replaced (not sure why they didn't match the shingles though). The roof's still in good condition, but it's on our list of eventual replacements (old house has a long list!).

Open carports are more the norm in Hawaii than closed off garages, so we'll probably leave that be. We may replace the screen door though (that's the 'front door' in the photo). Thank you for the suggestions!

@Joe Kim, my parents recently got multiple quotes for an in-law suite to add to their primary residence (SF Bay Area, CA), and the quotes (for an addition without high-end finishes, ~600 sq ft) ranged $200-$400/sq ft. These quotes came from multiple GCs and 'one-stop shop' firms.