Going to launch a website :) for young couples

[MickeyMomOfThree]

delete

 

[tfoley427]

.

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

how come the website isnt working for me?

 

[givehunters]

how come the website isnt working for me?

Me neither!

 

[tfoley427]

.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

delete

 

[tfoley427]

I would say try tomorrow after 11:00am.

 

[squirrel]

Maybe it seems like we have a lot and maybe we do. We live south of Boston, where the house prices are abnormally high. If we were to pick up our house and put it into a random town in middle america it wouldn't be worth what it is here. The house we have is a 3 bedroom, 1 bath 1500 square foot slab ranch with an outdated kitchen and no real bells and whistles. We have about 1/3rd of an acre of land. It's not like we are living in a 5 bedroom 3 bath colonial with tons of land. We are proud of our house though.

We are able to go to Disney every year by strict budgeting and going at offpeak times with free dining. Bermuda is not as expensive at it seems. We leave right out of Boston so there is no air fare, and the cruise is cheaper. We don't go out to bars and getting take out isn't something we do because we would rather use that money for vacations. We don't have thousands of dollars of expendable income at the end of the month. Every dollar has a name.

We are very average, and we don't go out a lot with friends. We would rather save the money and have people come to our place. If you put us in another region of the country I'm sure we would be average like everyone else. We just happen to live in an area of the country where the income is higher, but so is all of the living.

We just really want to help young kids stay out of debt. When we first moved out we made about 1/2 of what we made now. We had enough money for our rent, bills, debt repayment, and food. It was simply because we didn't prepare enough.

I just want all of you to know that we aren't rich, our budget is very normal for where we live and it isn't like we are middle upper class or even middle class. We just want to help people that's all.

I'm single and I also own (with a mortgage) a house. I also don't go out to restaurants, take out, etc much as I also prefer to spend the money on my WDW trips.

I was fortunate to have an uncle who had me invest money in mutual funds and put money away in RRSP's when I started earning money. He got me started on learning about how to save.

I think your idea is great. I would find it helpful to have a section on first time home owners with all the recommended maintenance times for things. Furnaces and all the other fun stuff you never needed to know when you lived at home with your parents.

 

[dfchelbay]

I think it would be helpful to have a section on your website on what you did to double your salaries in the past few years. Young adults, for the most part, are not in the same place you are financially right now. They are in the living pay check to paycheck, and sometimes falling short financially, as you did in the past. If I were a young adult, I'd want guidance on how to get that better education, and how you and your wife did it, while not living under your parents roof. How to gain that better paying job, if you don't have the college education, etc. What you did while in it, and what you did to get out of it, is what I would really be interested in. Imagine your website audience is you and your wife, during the times of financial struggle. How you managed, leaned on one another, broke through the tough financial times, etc. Take it back to there and then...because that is where many young married couples are now.

 

[tfoley427]

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[pearlieq]

it isn't like we are middle upper class or even middle class.

What would you need to arrive at "middle class" in your view? A private jet?

Whether you perceive it or not, you are living an upper middle class lifestyle. People who can afford homes and leisure travel are not sub-middle class.

There's nothing wrong with keeping an attitude of poverty or scarcity if it helps you make good financial decisions, but you do need to be connected to reality, both for your own benefit and to avoid alienating the very people you're trying to reach.

If you get anything out of this thread, I hope it's the need to develop a thick skin if you're going to put yourself out there, especially as any kind of "advice giver".

 

[tfoley427]

.

 

[KristinU]

So, let me get this right, OP...you want to launch a site where you give others advice because you've been there and done that...but when others here who have been there and done that give you some constructive criticism you take your bat and your ball and go home? I don't say that to give you a hard time, just to say that you're going to need to toughen up a bit if you're going to write and put it out for the world to read and respond to it.

 

[tfoley427]

No I simply deleted previous posts because our site isn't up yet, and a lot of people here are being extremely rude and ignorant in my eyes and I'm not going to contribute to it. They take it as if I'm being smug, or rubbing it in their faces that my house is worth more than theirs, or we have more money in the bank then them when that isn't the case. It's simply to show young couples out there that no matter what kind of situation you are you anything is possible. You don't have to sit there on the couch and cry like we did because you think you will be stuck for life. I am sorry if that comes off rude but hey you know what I have tried to be as polite as I can be. So I deleted these posts simply so everyone calms down and goes back to being themselves.

 

[tfoley427]

So simply, instead of sitting here and arguing with people, we are going to spend our time working on our website and getting it up and running so people can see exactly what we are trying to do. That's all. Again if people feel hurt or upset or maybe even a little jealous we are sorry that's not what we have been looking to do. Thanks.

 

[RitaE]

Thanks to pyrxtc for following "The Rule!"

 

[crjack]

I haven't followed the posts too closely but I just wanted to throw out that for Greater Boston $250,000 is very low for a home....many towns only have condos in that price range.

Salaries tend to be higher here, especially because it is a city filled with colleges, so for anyone living in this area we might look at the numbers differently.

Buying a home at such a young age, particularly in a high cost of living area, is quite an accomplishment and the OP should be proud. I'm not trying to diminish that but it seems like their may be a perception of their lifestyle that may not be accurate...again just throwing it out there.

 

[tfoley427]

That's what I've been trying to say crjack. Thank you so much.

 

[RitaE]

Tfoley427 - I really don't get the impression that anybody thinks your blog is a bad idea.

Personally I feel that the best blogs are those that provide for interaction and communication rather than just textbook style instruction. I am certain that you are quite proud of where you are in life, but hopefully you can open your eyes and realize there are many out there in equal if not better positions, or maybe just speaking from the position of experience. Maybe they also have something valuable to contribute to your goal.

But that is the thing about blogs - they are you own little slice of the internet to arrange however it suits you.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[disneyofcourse]

Some folks will be bitter about everything and anything. I say go ahead with your plan and just work out kinks once its up and running.