3 ms·
possible alternative explanations: 1. laid off after three months into your first job after an expensive education, still have negative net worth with a lot of
by shoo 10y ago
possible alternative explanations:
1. laid off after three months into your first job after an expensive education, still have negative net worth with a lot of student debt to pay off
2. unexpected events (e.g. serious medical ongoing problems requiring expensive treatment) completely wiped out savings
3. working somewhere for years that doesn't pay enough money beyond what's required to subsist.
I've probably missed a bunch of other things.
I'm lucky enough to: be in a country where student debt repayments are tied to income and managed by the government and there's no interest beyond an index for inflation; have never been laid off; live in a country with a functional public health system where health insurance is affordable; have no dependants; have never needed to pay for ongoing serious medical treatment for myself or another person; have always been paid enough (even in non-IT jobs) such that it is possible to save a bit of money.
- ryandrake 10y agoBingo. Additionally, any "book on life skills" is going to emphasize: 1. Building an emergency fund 2. Funding retirement account 3. Paying down debt, highest rate first _IF_ I've managed to "put away a lousy ten grand" it's gone into one of those things, not into a discretionary spending account. Further, even if I was to become so fortunate as to have $10K in discretionary savings (which, by the way, in the real world is an awful lot of money for working folks), I'm sure as shit not going to blow it on an international vacation when I'm surviving on my emergency fund without an income. Take it from someone who has lost their job suddenly in a bad job market: The second that happens, time is your worst enemy. Do the long division, and mark a big red X on your calendar on the day you run out of money. Take any job you find before that day comes.