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Huh. I'd always considered the definition of disposable income as the income that I would literally consider to be disposable, e.g. the money left over after I'

by eric_h 8y ago

Huh. I'd always considered the definition of disposable income as the income that I would literally consider to be disposable, e.g. the money left over after I've covered everything I need (including housing, clothing, food and taxes) that I could set on fire and not change my current condition. Per the wikipedia article of disposable income, I could afford a Ferrari (on a payment plan), but I would generally say I don't have the disposable income to afford a Ferrari because I still have to pay rent and feed myself. Obviously the article defines that as discretionary income, I've always considered them to be equivalent terms.

Kurtz79 8y ago
In common speech, your definition of "disposable income" is perfectly acceptable. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disposable%20income https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disposable%20inco... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/disposable-income https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/disposab... Note that the Oxford Dictionary uses GP's definition, probably to distinguish themselves from Cambridge :) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/disposable_income https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/disposable_inco... It's probably a case of a word used incorrectly, but so often that ends up assuming a different meaning.
em500 8y ago
These are standard economic terminology, not definitions made up by the article writer or wikipedia.. They're can be found in probably every introductory economics textbook from the past half century.
wutbrodo 8y ago
> after I've covered everything I need (including housing, clothing, food and taxes) that I could set on fire and not change my current condition. Housing and taxes make sense because they're generally inflexible costs, but how does clothing fit into this? Unless you're sewing smocks out of burlap, the majority of most people's clothing expenses is fully discretionary in every sense of the word (even including work clothes, for those unfortunate enough to have their employer force them to dress a certain way). That isn't to say it's a waste of money, but it's discretionary in the same way that eating at nice restaurants or going to concerts is: something you spend not to survive, but to improve your quality of life in some way.

by eric_h 8y ago

Kurtz79 8y ago

In common speech, your definition of "disposable income" is perfectly acceptable. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disposable%20income https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disposable%20inco... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/disposable-income https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/disposab... Note that the Oxford Dictionary uses GP's definition, probably to distinguish themselves from Cambridge :) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/disposable_income https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/disposable_inco... It's probably a case of a word used incorrectly, but so often that ends up assuming a different meaning.

em500 8y ago

These are standard economic terminology, not definitions made up by the article writer or wikipedia.. They're can be found in probably every introductory economics textbook from the past half century.

wutbrodo 8y ago

> after I've covered everything I need (including housing, clothing, food and taxes) that I could set on fire and not change my current condition. Housing and taxes make sense because they're generally inflexible costs, but how does clothing fit into this? Unless you're sewing smocks out of burlap, the majority of most people's clothing expenses is fully discretionary in every sense of the word (even including work clothes, for those unfortunate enough to have their employer force them to dress a certain way). That isn't to say it's a waste of money, but it's discretionary in the same way that eating at nice restaurants or going to concerts is: something you spend not to survive, but to improve your quality of life in some way.