I follow the good old fashioned one third rule. Take your pretax income, you know uncle sam will take one third, you should put one third for your daily expenses / savings if possible, and NO MORE THAN one third for rent/mortgage and other debt.

So if you make $4500 pretax, your expenses should not exceed $1500, and your rent/mortgage plus credit card and car payments should never exceed $1500, it’s called living within means. It pays off.

If $400 extra gets you broke, then you have been ‘barely making it’ when it comes to paying mortgage, tax, and fees. That said though, I feel for the writer and I feel his pain, tough times all around!

Both sides should be ashamed of themselves.

Skywalker wrote:

abred0803 — the C.O.L. is Hoboken has certainly risen over the years but I don’t think the increase is out of line with what you’d find in other decent northern NJ towns that on the train line. There are a lot of things wrong with Hoboken, but it has a lot to offer, too — it’s just a PATH ride away from the city, it’s safe, everything is within walking distance, parking is reasonably do-able compared with NYC, etc. So, you get what you pay for — there’s a definite C.O.L. premium associated with not having to schlep to work on NJT from inland Jersey (like you would be doing in South Orange, Summit, Montclair etc) , and not having to watch your back (e.g. Jersey City, Union City, North Bergen).

I understand that Hoboken itself is a premium compared to other cities in NJ and to me personally, even better than living in Brooklyn due to the closeness of midtown versus being south of Manhattan. I really mean as a whole when compared to the country. I know that there is no way to truly compare, however, I just don’t see how it is possible for a place to be at the price it is in some parts of the country (specifically here.) I would love to know what the value of the land assessment is on certain places here and how they come to that conclusion and what the market mark-up is compared to that, etc, etc. I guess it is real estate 101 for the northeast that I would like to know more about.

patk14 wrote:

Depends on what your definition of peak is. I know someone who bought a large 1-bedroom for $130K in 1987 (a peak). By 1992 similar units were going for $90K (31% decline). He sold in 1996 (which you claim as a peak year) for $130K. Nine years and not one dime of appreciation. .

I bought and sold my condo in those two years too, and right, little appreciation (I made a *little*). I bought another place in ‘93. It’s a place to live, with a family, hard to do that renting as the family grows. A few years ago the apparent value was whooppee! high, but I’d have to pay alot anywhere else in the area too. Now it’s lower but same story, tending to be lower all around the area.

As just mentioned, the real point is overspend/overtax problem in Hoboken, and the elected racketeers who keep it going, as crystalized in the 47% tax increase timed to hit just when everything else was falling apart. That’s what’s special about Hoboken.

Otherwise, why is real estate so expensive a mile from a gigantic city, one with probably more super-high paying jobs than any other in the world? same reason it’s probably going to go down some now that a lot of those jobs are being lost.

mikey578041 wrote:

Announcement:

Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, and the general cost of living, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Nice. But if you’re saying that the government manages that side of existence, then do not go into that light.

Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, and the general cost of living, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for any inconvenience.