Sal Collora

Comments:

• Leaving NYC for LA at 18 with 1,400 bucks and building a robust life that includes a wife and two grown children. It can be done.

  Post: What do you consider your greatest financial achievement?

  Link to comment from June 23, 2024

• Richard, It's probably a good idea to think about what you've written from the point of view of choices and values. It's important for prospective parents to think about what they value more and value most. When you bring a child into this world, you do it intentionally by your own affirmative choice. No one makes you do it. No one puts a gun to your head and says, "You must have children." The key is to understand that spending time with your child is the best way to have the most influence on who that child will be. Many expecting parents rely on family to help take care of the child That works well if your values align and the grandparents (or other family) have the time to dedicate to the most important job in the world. We decided from the very beginning that altough my wife was very successful and climbing the ladder, that she would raise our children the way it had been done for thousands of years and had a proven track record. We knew it meant that we had to make tough choices about how to spend and save our money. It meant eating at home, getting a minivan, no vacations for a while, and many such tradeoffs. We had a high degree of confidence that it would pay off in the future, and it sure has. I would say that even in the era of high housing costs, it's important to understand that you can always rent. You don't need a big house, you just need safe shelter in a safe area. When our kids were very young, we moved from Southern California to Washington State because our money went further and there was no state income tax. It's just an example. You have to be smart and make choices that make the tradeoffs more palatable. In any case, every situaiton is different, but in my experience and that of people I know, it's generally the case that people try to "have it all" and you simply can't do that in life. Something always has to give. If you take these decisions as a choice about what's the most important, everything drops away, and the choice becomes clear. If your career is deemed more important than raising your children yourself, then the results will align with that. Just be careful, as a career is relatively short, those kids are forever. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and putting yourself out there. Cheers.

  Post: Two Paychecks Needed

  Link to comment from October 16, 2023