5 ms·
I agree, hence the "It's also a cultural problem". There is also the fact that we know the French health care system, the social aids you get if you loose your
by sametmax 9y ago
I agree, hence the "It's also a cultural problem".
There is also the fact that we know the French health care system, the social aids you get if you loose your job, and your family will all come into play for some category of problems.
And there is the gamble for more comfort vs responsibility. My generation really don't want to take any kind of responsibility for anything, including society, the planet and their own life.
But even if you consider that:
- saving 10% of my income will not, in any way, let me live through my retirements. Not at half of my current life style anyway. And I do earn more money that most people.
- those are people in a very comfortable situation. Now take people with children, a loan and a standard job, and you have a much less simple picture.
- most people have been told the story that the retirement system will work, or that we will make it work. Beside, they don't thing 30 years ahead for anything.
- a lot of people won't make rational choices in their life. Taking a loan they should not, making a child they can't afford, getting married with the wrong person... Expecting people to save is already at another level of planning. We failed at educating people, but we also told them it was ok to do what they were doing.
- we have a huge value scale issue here. frugality, quality, solidarity... Those are not the thing that society promotes. Solving the retirement problem is not just an economical issue. When banks are bailed out, medias scream "money and consumption" and Trump rules the most powerful country in the world, convincing somebody to not go for take out is quite hard.
- fixing and cookie are getting a lost art.
- things do cost way more. 10% is a lot for some people.
- keithpeter 9y agoIf you can manage to save enough to live on for 6 months at your present level of expenditure you have some kind of insurance against the idiocies of life and employers.
- sametmax 9y agoI agree. Although I find it very peculiar that my parents could live the life my friend live, but afford children, have saving and yet now have a retirement. A 30 years old single person with no children an a job that doesn't have a loan or crazy spending habits should not have to choose between savings and pleasures.
- keithpeter 9y agoYup the biggest social change in my generation (I'm 60 soon) was women going out to work. Mysteriously, having two wage earners per family has not actually increased apparent wealth. In fact it has decreased. In UK housing has become much more expensive as a proportion of earnings, and wage rates seem to have declined in real terms.
- blubb-fish 9y ago> saving 10% of my income will not, in any way, let me live through my retirements. Not at half of my current life style anyway. And I do earn more money that most people. sounds like you need to learn to live more frugal, then. learning to not consume blindly but instead responsibly is just as important as saving money.
- sametmax 9y agoI definitely can. Although I'm not living the grand life. I don't own a car, I don't have children or crazy expensive hobbies. I cook every day, buy vegetables at the farmer market. I don't drink at all, or consume drugs, or smoke. I don't go out a lot. Once a week maybe. Beside I find it very peculiar that my parents could live the life my friends live, yet could afford children, have saving and now have a retirement. A 30 years old single person with no children an a job that doesn't have a loan or mad spending habits should not have to choose between savings and pleasures. But yes, I don't deny I could definitely tune down my spending. I'm not in a difficult situation myself. I don't have saving, but I have a nice life. I'm one of the person who can give away the 500 €. I'm more concerned that so many people around me can't. While there is definitely an attitude issue here, it can't be the only one. I can believe there is a difference in the education my parents had. I can't, however, they were so much better planners than my friends are.
- blubb-fish 9y ago> Beside I find it very peculiar that my parents could live the life my friends live, yet could afford children, have saving and now have a retirement. I understand you know that yourself, but the past is the past - my grand parents were suffering through wars.
- sametmax 9y agoSure, and it's good to be realistic, and take responsibility for your life. But it would be unfair to blame entirely the current generation for their situation. I don't think another one would have ended up in such an entire different situation. Life does cost more. Society does push to consume. I think it's just that given that the economy is probably going to be shittier and shittier, we should take the opportunity of our current still nice lives to prepare. But yeah, we don't.
- icedchai 9y ago10% is just not enough. I save and invest a little over 50% of my takehome. I hope to FIRE by 45.
- ryandrake 9y agoCongratulations, but that rate of savings is not even close to achievable by the vast, vast majority of workers in the world. Looking around my peers, it's hard to imagine that more than a handful can manage to even save 10%.
- icedchai 9y agoThanks. It does require self-discipline. I do think many could achieve at least 20% though. Especially in tech, where we are relatively well paid...