Comments by "P M" (@pm2886) on "Michael Bordenaro" channel.

  1. Eating once a day is absolutely NOT healthy.
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  2. ​ @broncobra Insurance is mostly a scam. A very expensive one. Get rid of it for everything except personal liability (third-party). We no longer insure our houses. Their value is 90% in the land, so it's a waste of money.
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  3. To be fair, apartments (what Americans call "condo's"), were always a bad idea. ANYTHING which attracts ongoing fees, and doesn't give you freehold land, is some type of scam. That should be obvious. It's always been obvious.
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  4. Not possibly, definitely.
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  5. Why is someone who's been working for 39 years, worried about jobs? That makes no sense. It's time to step back and let a younger person have that job. You shouldn't need it, anyway. You should be financially secure after 40 years in full time work.
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  6. ​ @mssophietomko  Exactly. So those of us who don't, make extra sure we can leave our kids property.
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  7. ​ @kimberlymartin459  Just to be clear, the market value of a house is rarely predicted on size. A giant McMansion in the suburbs is going to be a lot cheaper than a tiny 2 bedder close to the city, for example.
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  8. So don't be their patsy. Make sure you own a house.
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  9. ​ @TG-pr4ve The listing agent represents the seller ONLY. Jeez America, you don't need a freaking "representative" to buy a house. The rest of the world manages without one.
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  10.  @tyronejackson6593  Still cheap. In my country, we have close to the most expensive real estate in the world - some stats say the most expensive. It doesn't matter what you earn here, the cheapest house in any kind of useful town, is going to be over $350k. And that's the really cheap places. For example I can drive three solid hours from the city, and find regular family houses in rural towns selling for $1m. That's in a town with low average incomes. When I say you don't know how good you have, I'm using understatement. You really REALLY have no idea how lucky you are to have so much cheap property. You guys can still buy houses for less than $50k. That hasn't been possible in my country for a generation.
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  11.  @tyronejackson6593  We have more land than we know what to do with. A HUGE country. The issue is we don't have a lot of towns, so most residential housing is confined to state capitals (which are all coastal). Our capitals house millions, but our scattered towns house barely any.
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  12.  @SpinSatx  There's some truth to that, even in our market (rated most expensive or second most expensive in the world .. just like yours, ironically). We CAN still buy places at $350k or less. The problem we have isn't so much that there are no cheap properties .. it's that the people whining about property prices expect to live in our very expensive capitals. They refuse to consider moving to cheaper areas, and they pay the price for that. The same appears to be true in America (mainland). Everyone wants to live in the city.
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  13.  @SpinSatx  And that's exactly the kinds of things people tell themselves to justify trying to live somewhere they can't afford. That comes from a perverse and unjustified expectation of easy access to the most and best jobs. It's an expectation which is wholly out of step with those who aren't likely to earn enough to live comfortably in a big city. As for smaller towns not having all the jobs and facilities of a big city .. obviously. But people have been finding a way to carve good lives out of such places, for generations. That's likely to remain the case for a few generations yet. It's a matter of will and determination. Besides, in a rural town you would have so much less money invested in housing, that you could afford to start a business, or produce food, or whatever. You actually have more options than you do in the city, in some ways.
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  14. People aren't boycotting fast food joints because the food is unhealthy, or because they work from home. They're boycotting purely because of price. It's delusional to imagine it's some reason unrelated to price. People will walk through fire, and eat any garbage, if it's cheap. All these corporations who think they can keep selling garbage at high quality prices, are going to fail. Guaranteed.
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  15. In all seriousness, who are these people buying cars on credit? I don't know anyone who's ever done that - and I'm 60 years old. Everyone I know pays cash, whether it's a $2k car or a $100k car. You buy only what you can pay cash for. You never EVER borrow money for a depreciating asset. I thought everyone knew that 😮
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  16. In that case they're living beyond their means.
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  17. ​ @kellylowery3089 Nonsense. That's exactly how we do it in my country, and how much of the world does. Buyers agents are totally unnecessary.
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  18. I thought everyone knew that a mobile home is only cheap if you own the land. If you're silly enough to buy a depreciating asset AND pay rent, you really don't deserve a lot of sympathy.
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  19.  @blackworldtraveler3711  Sure .. because they're villas. But if they don't come with freehold land, and no ongoing fees .. it's still a scam. The point is that what Americans call 'condos' are called apartments in most countries.
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  20. There will ALWAYS be people prepared to rent these places, no matter how much the land rents go up. The investors are smart to put their money into low end housing, for that reason.
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  21. It's hard to believe 80% of home buyers are that stupid. The fact that they think the cost of "maintaining" a house is dictated by the house - and not by the people living in it - is horrifyingly dumb. How are they unaware that utility usage is determined by the resident's personal preference? That insurances are optional? That maintenance isn't mandatory, nor does it have to be done by paid labour?
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  22. It's very simple. Never buy a brand new car, and never EVER borrow money to buy a depreciating asset (aka a vehicle). If you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it. I could pay cash for a Lambo, but I drive a $10k car because I refuse to buy comprehensive insurance. That's how you avoid poverty.
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  23. There's nothing wrong with a mobile home, but you MUST own the land it sits on unless you're wealthy enough to comfortably cover land rent increases for life.
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  24. ​ @Gato_305 Renting with three kids, is madness though. You should have bought something cheap before you started a family.
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  25. ​ @LewisKindrick-r5n Not if you're rentvesting. Your rental properties (in other locations) pay your rent in your preferred location.
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  26. With respect, all of these kinds of expenditures ($18k a year on maintenance, insurances etc) are predicated on unusually and exceptionally good times. Anyone still expecting to live that way is out of their mind. They always were, to be frank. It just doesn't have to be that costly. I own several properties, and don't even come close to $18k a year in maintenance - for all of them combined. Probably less than half that. I also NEVER buy insurance. Instead I buy properties where 90% of the value is in the land. It barely matters if the house is lost, so insurance is a complete waste of money. If you're not thinking strategically, of course the downturns are going to hurt you. That kind of recklessness is always very fragile. Frugality is the key. Building an approach which works no matter what the economy is doing. Never build it on the assumption of perfect conditions.
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  27. From the outset, I've personally boycotted air b and b, and uber. It was on the principal that the whole egalitarian/people power aspect was a scam. It was just a cheaper way for big business to get things done. Ultimately, there's just so much that we waste money on. Restaurants, insurances, climate control, recreational travel, etc etc, that we don't need to spend money on. Our dollars are way too powerful to spend with so little thought.
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  28. Why would family or friends charge them rent?
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  29. It's crazy to be still paying for insurance and air conditioning etc, in 2024. We've had years of notice that we all need to set up alternatives like good insulation, proper cross ventilation, and shade trees etc - not to mention off grid solar power. Meantime, insurance is a scam. Also, a roof should last at least 100 years. I have one house with a 100+ year old roof which is probably good for another century. And yes, it's in a harsh climate. Strikes me that people are largely doing this to themselves, by avoiding doing things properiand sustainably.
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  30. Apartments used to be a good downsizing option. Lots of retirees bought apartments as a result. The problem now is that yearly strata fees (what Americans call HOA fees, but specific to apartments) for newer buildings can be as much as $15k a year. At that price, you basically need to be working. It's no different to rent or mortgage payments - the last thing you want in retirement!
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  31. Not all wages. But if you're one of those whose income is stagnant, you need to adjust your lifestyle to fit. Continuing to live the same way you used to, them whining that can't afford it, is idiotic.
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  32. The problem isn't the cost of housing in any given area, it's that people just won't adapt to a changing economy. We're all priced out of the market at some point, unless we're in the top 1%. For some that's a mobile home, for others it's a house at the beach. No one has more right than anyone else to live in an area or home they can't afford. We all have to live within our means, whatever that is. EG if you can't afford a place to yourself, you need to share or go home to family until you've saved for your own place, or whatever. Adapt or perish!
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  33. ​ @tyronejackson6593 That's so cheap! I don't think you Americans realize how good you have it.
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  34.  @SpinSatx  Once again, that $350k is in the middle of nowhere and falling down. A family house in the suburbs of a capital city is over $1m. In my capital it's $2m. And that can be a half hour commute from the city. Even an hour out, a three bedder is $1m.
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  35.  @SpinSatx  I agree .. however try to convince young people in the big cities that they have all those options, and see what happens. They'll tell you they can't possibly afford to own a house, because houses are all over $1m. What they REALLY mean is "I can't afford the world's most expensive city". The deliberately limit their options to one. Big city or nothing.
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  36. Which they'll only do if you keep buying their crap.
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  37. Why did it take this to make them realize it, though? It's been obvious for years.
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  38. We're upper middle class, and would NEVER pay for storage. You might as well burn your money.
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  39.  @nowlaterkiss9811  Only for those who refuse to grow up.
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  40.  @user-qh7rj9wj4p  Why? That would also be unhealthy. How about sensibly sized healthy breakfast, a sensibly sized healthy lunch, and a sensibly sized healthy dinner. Snacks in between should be things like fresh fruit, carrot sticks, nuts, etc.
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  41.  @user-qh7rj9wj4p  Frequent light meals is much better than infrequent heavy meals. We're not tigers or bears .. we're omnivorous fast metabolisers. As you are moving and on your feet more hours than you are seated, you should be eating plenty of complex carbs, light proteins, some healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, avocados, eggs, fish oil, nuts etc) and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
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  42. ​​ @jorgeenchilada Not free market capitalism. Free market capitalism would actually fix this. What we're experiencing is the deliberate disempowerment of the working and middle classes .. by those who wish to control us. The want us on UBI's, and living in individual pods in 15 minute cities. Owning nothing.
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  43. You have to be out of your mind to borrow money for a depreciating asset. I have never, and would never.
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  44. You ate out most days? No wonder you're struggling! I have zero money worries, and I eat out maybe four times a year.
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  45. ​ @tinat5484  The end game is control and profit. They don't want the working and middle classes to own property. They want us life renters in urban prisons.
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  46. Please don't listen to this. Anyone suggesting that renting is better than owning, should be regarded with suspicion. Remember that insurance is a luxury and an option, and a significant amount of maintenance is over servicing. Buy in a place with low or no property taxes, forgo insurances, and do your own maintenance. That's how we fight back.
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  47. ​ @chantalle7340  Shingles contain asphalt? Not where I live. Here, they're slate, and last many decades. Over 100 years, easily.
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  48. ​ @kokeskokeskokes Same. I own an old house, built like a castle. No insurance!
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  49. Why in heck do Americans think they need a buyer's agent? The rest of the world manages perfectly well without one. They're completely unnecessary. It's extreme overservicing.
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  50.  VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM  The rest of the world manages without "buyers agents", Americans can too!
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  51.  @brianmatthews4149  Not a question that needs asking. What an individual chooses to do in response to not being able to afford something, is unknowable. It's entirely personal. Every person will have their own solution. As long as they're not on the street, the world is their oyster.
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  52.  @101519e  What more CAN they do?
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  53.  @JKDVIPER  Once again, each individual will have their own solution. Do you think it's reasonable or humane to dictate what they do or where they go? It's far more humane to allow people to solve things as they see fit. Wanting to dictate how they do it, is terrible. If I can't afford to buy meat (for example), do you think it's reasonable to demand that some arbitrary solution is forced on me? Like forcing me to eat insects or something? What if I prefer to become vegetarian, or hunt, or save my money to buy a chicken once a month?
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  54. You ate fast food every day? OMG
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  55. Agree only with non-citizens being barred from property ownership. Everything else is just symptoms of first world hubris. In a socially healthy society (where people don't allow themselves to become unlovable), there'd be no need for "retirement villages". Extended families would be the norm. Also, if you deliberately buy into a HOA, you can't complain about the tyrannical nature of such a concept. You can't have it both ways. Either you want tyranny in your neighborhood, or you want the freedom to give out free water.
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  56. Your "property tax" is an abomination. Obviously designed to get the working and middle classes out of property. So glad we don't have to pay it in my country.
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  57. ​ @georgeklimes7604 FFS ... the rest of the world does it with just the listing agent. Grow up.
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  58.  @dennistyler9852  Sure, but we're talking about the land .. not the building. Of course the buildings are cheap .. that's not in dispute. This is about the land the building sits on. You MUST own the land, if you're serious about living inexpensively. As long as you pay rent for someone else's land, you've gained nothing by owning the building. You don't become a home owner, and you certainly don't cut costs. Further, you're still at the mercy of a landlord, just like every other renter.
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  59. When will people realise that insurance is a scam? Buy a place where all the value is in the land (not the house), and you'll never need to buy insurance. I've followed that rule, and saved up to $10k a year.
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