And their choice is? You might be a little nuts or shit ton rich.Nah the problem is people spend way too much on things they do need like housing, medical care, education, vehicles, and such. All that shit has skyrocketed in price this century.
Too many things break at once, too many expected expenses piled on top of unexpected ones
Yeah my ideal situation would be cleared cc's, ~5k in 'emergency savings', double-triple mortgage principals every month (I double when I can), max'd roth ira, and the rest to who-knows-what. Someday.
People spend too much on things they don't need. A portion of the working class does live on poverty levels especially depending on their location. But generally a lot of people just buy too much and don't budget their money. I am a good example, 30 years ago I was always broke and had about $4000 in credit card debt and other debt on top of that. I got fed up and did the Dave Ramsey thing before I knew what it was. I worked hard, which got me a promotion. I sold some stuff, busted my ass, and paid everything off within 9 months. I started saving, getting 6 months worth of wages for an emergency fund, and then hitting the retirement hard. I also saved up for my next car before I bought it. A year before this if you would have asked if it was possible I would have said I needed a huge raise. Actually I needed to get control of my spending.
I wish people knew how much better it is actually having money in case of an emergency, and actually earning interest rather than paying interest. If my car breaks down or my furnace dies it sux, but it's handled, and then I put that money back. My coworker and I were discussing this at work and he said how much do you have in your checking and I said about $4,500 right now to which he replied man if I had that I'd buy a keg of beer and a 75" tv to which I replied that's why you'll never have that.
I'm a little nuts for saying people are getting price gouged on things they have to spend on like housing, medical care, education, transportation, etc? At least the first three are blatantly price gouged.And their choice is? You might be a little nuts or shit ton rich.
I can safely say, no you are not nuts. You are talking to out of touch people. That's more the issue.I'm a little nuts for saying people are getting price gouged on things they have to spend on like housing, medical care, education, transportation, etc? At least the first three are blatantly price gouged.
Apologies, I mis read your post.I'm a little nuts for saying people are getting price gouged on things they have to spend on like housing, medical care, education, transportation, etc? At least the first three are blatantly price gouged.
This but....Problem is "means" doesn't cut it. $20 an hour used to be a great jerb. That won't pay the rent/car payment and groceries.
Also, inflation is cumulative, bitches.
Sure income matters, because the effects of expenses is relative to your income. Elon Musk being inexplicably diagnosed with a rare cancer that costs $10M to cure has no effect on his financials.Income doesn't matter... people spend way beyond their means. There are tons and tons of "rich" people living paycheck to paycheck because they overspend.
"30 credit cards in it. I must have given her a look . She held it up and says " Thats what 150k in credit cards looki like""
That's on average 5K per card. Sort of a starting limit range.
Since December last year:
- New water heater - about 55% of my salary
- New vacuum cleaner - about 45% of my salary
- Orthopedic doctor's appointments + left knee MRI + injection for knee + physical therapy for meniscus fracture + spur (dunno if it's the correct term in English) on right foot + physical therapy for it - about 90% of my salary AND COUNTING ...
Only the vacuum cleaner could have been avoided since the old one STILL worked BUT it was "showing it's age" of 22 years.
Good thing i had WELL OVER 1 months salary's worth of "emergency funds", or i'd be screwed: here's hoping no more unexpected expenses pop up in the near future, until i replenish the "emergency funds" some more, which means avoid spending unnecessarily for 3 or 4 months, minimum.
We had over $16,000 in unexpected expenses last year. It was staggered throughout the year but it felt like a lot of bad luck all in the same year. Fortunately this year has been a bit of the opposite so far
Yes but why not at least pay it with the credit line, it's lower interest. Credit lines are like 5-10% while credit cards are like 19%. In an ideal situation you should have savings built up for emergencies, but that is hard to do now days, so it's a good idea to have a credit line even if you don't need it at least it's there if you do.
@SteveGrabowski pc and I are about the same age. It was very possible to buy a house, car, pay your bills and eat. I have no debt but starting all again would be a struggle.
Ha, you could buy a kia.
My real wage growth? Went to work for myself.IKR? If only the boomers didn't spend the last 3 decades voting down real wage growth--that they experienced when they were coming up--to match what is essentially the same inflation from then to today, over the long term.
Crazy!
you do realize you are not the only boomer of the boomer generation? Also the boomer generation benefited from a lot of advantages vs today's generation.My real wage growth? Went to work for myself.
Sure income matters, because the effects of expenses is relative to your income.
Uh, because sudden expenses happen suddenly? If you have to get a new credit line, so like 2-3 or more days to shop around, apply, sign papers and activate it, you already can't pay the mechanic with a thing you don't have--but you already have a cc.
IKR? If only the boomers didn't spend the last 3 decades voting down real wage growth--that they experienced when they were coming up--to match what is essentially the same inflation from then to today, over the long term.
Crazy!
How do you think roads get made? Schools funded? Or your healthcare paid for (since you live in Canada)? Do you really want American style capitalist healthcare where costs are massively variable, unpredictable, and grossly inflated?Wages are fine, it's the costs of living that's the problem, it keeps going up each year which means that even a good wage doesn't go as far anymore. I mean, sure it would be nice if megacorporations paid their employees like 60 bucks an hour just because they can afford it, but guarantee they would still raise their prices which in turn just refuels inflation even more. Increasing wages is not the answer, reducing the costs of living is. It would be nice if you could actually save like half the money you make instead of like 95% of it going towards basic costs of living. Lowering taxes, eliminating CPP, EI and all the other deductions would help a lot too as that is the biggest cost of living we have. Look at your gross pay cheque, imagine actually getting to pocket all of that money.
How do you think roads get made? Schools funded? Or your healthcare paid for (since you live in Canada)? Do you really want American style capitalist healthcare where costs are massively variable, unpredictable, and grossly inflated?
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Taxes are the cost of civilization. And every road being a toll road would hardly be cheaper.
My net taxes (state+federal) are around 25%. I would gladly increase the tax rate on myself and those above me, income wise, to help ensure everyone in the US can get adequate healthcare. It also makes employers have to compete more, because they can't use healthcare as a bargaining chip anymore. It also spurs innovation as people can start businesses without having to worry about how they will obtain health insurance.
So how is reducing taxes going to improve any of that? You realize that the difference will be even more money going to those ruling elites?Most of the money we pay in taxes just gets completely wasted. Just look at the whole Arrivescam fiasco or all the billions going to the war industrial complex. Health care is crumbling, roads are crumbling, everything that taxes are suppose to be for is crumbling, but the ruling class is buying yatchs, private jets, going on vacations several times a month and dining like kings on our dime. They are laughing at us. We are taxed six ways to sunday, and see nothing for it.
So how is reducing taxes going to improve any of that? You realize that the difference will be even more money going to those ruling elites?