Wow - to me, this is the definition of a horror story.
$1,7M saved and $200K income p.a. and yet, she's convinced herself and her husband that
it is necessary to live on $1K a month and that they have no other alternatives, forgoing all pleasures in the here and now?
The only thing here that is apparently non-negotiable is the parent's expectations. I can't help but think how ignorant or perhaps arrogant and questionable it is that she does not seem to understand how well to do $1,7M and $200K income really is - here in the United States.
Although that isn't much $$$ compared to the crazy rich Asians I've come across in Europe, but then at least they wore Gucci and Armani and they enjoyed the life and style...
This lady is not living in the basement like the family dog anymore, (as she mentioned in the article) but mentally she is still there.
Pie in the sky expectations of multiple residences and millions in the bank - yup, we all live like that in the US, get a grip. Were she to do a case study here it would probably show that in another five to seven years - she will have reached those expectations.
Welcome to the life of the privileged.
This is an utterly insane life(style) and has very little to do with the millions of Americans who may one day be asked to help out their parents financially.
I am an immigrant and I'd die of shame if I was forced to ask my son to support me in my old age.
It means you failed - you didn't make the cut.
So much for cultural expectations.
I've helped out my mother overseas over the years here and there, just as she did me - we're family, but that isn't any different from the families that I know here in the US.
Everyone's situation is different and you do well to prepare ahead of time as much as you can, that's just common sense.
This seems a little extreme, like she has psychological scarring from her upbringing.
They have 1.7M saved ($68,000 yr @ 4%). It sounds like they make $200k+.
And her parents are living with her (makes sense) AND she has 3 AirBNB people renting rooms in their house?!
It could be argued that she could FIRE right now and let her parents live with her in retirement on $68k yr. If thats too tight of a budget at least kick out the AirBNB guests and keep working until you have $2M saved.
Agreed.
If I were to guess I'd say that $2M is not enough - she means to be crazy rich. ... besides, she wants to buy another house nearby - probably in the millions too.
This woman will never have enough millions to her name, ever.
I do not aspire to a thing that is presented in this article.
If I were young, like 30 and could save $200K for five years to add a quick million, yes I'd do that.
But there is no way I'd dedicate my life to mammon and live in one room of my own spacious home for decades.
... I call BS on her not saving hard to retire - it's just that she's saving hard to retire her parents in style first - that's all. She's already planning on buying a second residence for herself. She'll make her parents proud and enter the ranks of the privileged - mission accomplished.