Love Story (Part 2)

My last post left off with the task of developing a Lifestyle Calculator in order to begin the DONE DOT COM planning process. Lifestyle is the operative word of the calculator so there are some various quality of life aspects to consider before we begin. For simplicity, I’ve narrowed down lifestyles into three TV families. I will begin developing a profile for each of these families to include or exclude various quality of life aspects. These profiles will be a work in progress and I welcome feedback on what aspects I may have missed.

The Waltons:
FAMILY
You are from a lower middle class family, possibly the child of an immigrant. You may be the first or second generation to have attended college. You have no inheritance and you will likely be financially responsible for at least one or both your parents into their retirement.

JOB/HABITS
You make a decent salary, close to six figures alone or combined with a spouse (if you’re married). You have some debt; you have some sort of retirement account though not much contributed. You live fairly frugally though splurge on occasion (more often than you should). A vacation impacts your finances significantly. You already are financially assisting your parent(s).

ASPIRE
You would like to own a home. Changing your demographic would be through a job change with significant jump in salary or marriage. You are not label conscious but would be willing to prioritize your spending to maintain one or two ‘small luxuries’ as part of your quality of life. You appreciate stability.

The Keatons
FAMILY
You are from a middle class family. One or both your parents went to college and possible have graduate degrees. You stand to inherit a sum that will add a small amount to your current modest nest egg; or your inheritance will significantly increase your financial security so you are very worried about the future. You currently own a home or have enough in savings to pursue investing in real estate but have waited for better timing.

JOB/HABITS
You make over six figures alone or combined with a spouse though you may be in graduate school, so you may have little or no income at the moment. You have little or no debt, you have some sort of retirement account though still below average for your age but you have some savings. You like nice things but buy them on sale; you find the best value so you can enjoy little luxuries more frequently (massages, dining out, electronics). If you are a student, you watch spending but splurge every so often and will make larger purchases when necessary (a new car). A vacation impacts how much you are able to save for a month or two.

ASPIRE
You would like to own a first/bigger home, a vacation home or upgrade your current vacations (better hotels/resorts, more exotic destinations). Changing your demographic might mean you sold your company or experienced a career windfall, you have equity that has vested or you got married. You may or may not have children. You are somewhat label conscious but selective but still like good value. You appreciate adventure.


The Huxtables
FAMILY
You are from an upper middle class family. Both your parents went to college and one or both have graduate degrees. Your inheritance will go towards your children (if you have them) or charity. You currently own a home. If you don’t it’s by choice or you may move soon to another city or country.

JOB/HABITS
You make well into six figures or close/over seven figures alone or combined with a spouse (though you may have a single income and are married). You have no debt; your retirement account is well invested and can currently carry you through your retirement independent of your substantial savings. You often buy label items but will purchase a value item if you perceive it is good quality. You spare no expense on vacations though sometimes find luxury travel costs exorbitant. Splurging means purchasing fine jewelry or a luxury car.

ASPIRE
You would like to own a bigger home, a vacation home or travel more frequently. Changing your demographic might mean your investments have performed extremely well. You appreciate the best.

So there you have it. I fully recognize that like in astrology, folks may fall on the cusps of these profiles. The next step is establishing line items for these aspects and starting to budget for them over an extended period of time. Also, now that we have established profiles, I look forward to offering you some recommendations on these different lifestyle aspects, for example, Keatons and Huxtables might appreciate the website www.tablethotels.com that lists some fabulous boutique and luxury lodging ideas around the world. A few months ago I was looking into traveling to Puerto Rico and one property they feature is this unique eco-boutique hotel that I’m dying to go to (I ended up booking a staycation this summer instead.)

We’ll also soon explore the concept of being Almost Done. Some homework for you is to read Obama’s convention speech for starters http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/28/barack-obama-democratic-c_n_122224.html (you don’t have choose sides, just read the speech if you didn’t hear it yet.) As for my tender toes, wearing better socks, getting a pedicure and taking it easy for a few days seemed to do the trick. I forgot to mention in my last post that the saying ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry,’ comes from the movie Love Story (or rather, the book).

I’ll still take a big apology from Wall Street after this week.