fibbi

回復 159# Look4chrisng


    To be honest, do you think my break down is truly a "miserable" life style? Internet, cable tv, cell phone, all in place. Also with a bit spare cash. It's far from luxury but it's comfortable I think.

Look4chrisng

Only if life is that simple.

You have to live in a perfect world when TV/washer/mircowave/car/glasses/tires/20 co-pay on dental and drugs, retirement never exist.

Also, take parents to McDonld's for their Birthdays. And buy moon cake on the 16th. etc.

AA when dating girls. And have them ride for buses/skytrain.

That is very portion of the fixed costs in life.

Look4chrisng

Everyone (unless you are the one and only in your family)should buy life insurance.  That is part of being a responsible adult.

fibbi

回復 163# Look4chrisng


    I don't believe in life insurance. Plus, I'd rather leave my saving to my family.

BiscottiGelato

17 pages in less than 48 hours, and I missed this whole exchange? LOL. Lucky me LOL XDD

fibbi

回復 162# Look4chrisng


    I guess the discussion is $500K property with $60K annual salary is affordable or not. My discussion shows it's affordable. It doesn't make a great life, but it's not miserable either. If you prefer more spare cash to live on, either get a cheaper property, or get a better job. Or just go renting instead so no property tax and utility to worry about. If I want to treat parents a nicer meal I just don't spend anything on entertainment for a month, save up that $, that's all. If you want to get something, save up! I think that's the way.

If the discussion is "Van house is affordable or not", I still think it's affordable. There are lots of condo $300K range for 500 sq ft, which IMO is more than enough space for single person.

Of course, buying property with duo income is better, and that's usually the case.

And I do buy moon cake on 16th...

MSN04

回復 166# fibbi

hmm... even with your definition of affordable, I think one should consider life insurance.

I mean, if I have a mortgage with my partner, i wouldn't want to leave her hanging if I die... it is difficult sometimes to find a replacement to contribute my share in a short period of time

Look4chrisng

回復 166# fibbi

Where is the money come for when your friends get married ($100/ea wedding dinner), If red bomb come 3x a year, you are not going out of your home of anther 3 mo?   Christmas gift, Boyfriend birthday? New mattress? computer repair. Special assessment for condo repairs.  The list go on and on.

At least, in my life these extraordinary event happens every month.  But this is just me.  


So, iIt is barely affordable for people with strong will and that is when interest is at the lowest.  Cost of money can't stay the low forever.  In fact there is 3x .25 interest in less 6mo.  

And do you believe in savings for retirement, or just to plan on living in CPP?

It is only affordable if we live in a very special perfert world

BiscottiGelato

60k isn't even average income for a single person....

If someone with 60k have to live that miserably to afford a mortgage (barely on a beater car, no emergency cash, can't save more than 10%, can't contribute a penny to RRSP by that calculation, etc), then the average person definately cannot afford anything within Vancouver - hence Unaffordable for the average Vancouverite. Even Big C Sister admitted that someone with 60k (above average already rmbr) probably wants to buy in suburbs, not in Vancouver. The average pay cheque earning single simply can't buy a place in Vancouver unless they got extended a stupid mortgage.

Any further discussion on this point is a waste of bandwidth. 人地都話 Vancouver 係最 unaffordable in the English speaking world, 仲有必要 discuss whether it's unaffordable 咩? The question should be, WHY is Vancouver so unaffordable? Foreign investment? Bubbled fueled by speculation? Bubble fueled by credit? If the average Canadian can't even touch Vancouver property, who is touching them? Is this sustainable? Those are the real questions to tackle.

BiscottiGelato

回復  Look4chrisng


    I guess the discussion is $500K property with $60K annual salary is afford ...
fibbi 發表於 2010-9-28 17:21

Good for you if you live frugal. Such spending pattern is simply not the norm. Obviously someone can 'afford' a Ferrari making 60k a year by being very frugal on all other aspects of his/her life. That is simply not the norm, and thus a Ferrari is usually deemd 'unaffordable' by the average person.

Same thing for Vancovuer real estate. Remeber we are not talking about individual cases. Economies and markets are not formed by a few examples, they are formed by the majority. Hence why MSN04 have always been stressing 'statistics' that reflects the majority, not the few fringe cases that you heard about, nor the hypothetical cases that you are putting together. Those are meaningless when it comes to the grand scheme of things.