Smart people who are stupid about money
According to the New York Times, the wave of foreclosures has finally reached Manhattan.
Court filings show that some of these apartment owners have well-paying jobs as lawyers, professors and bankers. Their Facebook pages feature them at parties with friends, and their LinkedIn bios list prestigious careers and educational credentials. And they live at tony addresses like the Atelier at 635 West 42nd Street, the Ansonia at 2109 Broadway, Worldwide Plaza at 350 West 50th Street and the Philippe Starck building at 15 Broad Street.
It amazes me how people with some of the highest-paid jobs available can’t manage to save any money for an emergency. I’m also reminded of the teacher who took out $1.5 million in mortgages on his $50K salary. And this was a math teacher no less! You’d think he’d know how to calculate a monthly mortgage payment, and ask “Hmm, is this amount greater than or less than my monthly take-home pay?” But you’d be wrong.
