6 ms·

60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, Report says

77 points by safaa1993 3y ago

ge96 3y ago
I'm one baby... dumb choices, even hitting 6 figs, still poor/in debt ha. I did give some away though so wasn't just being wasteful. But I forgot my place considering I've been in debt since 2010.
- easeout 3y ago
  Would you be open to illustrating in general terms what your situation is like?
  - ge96 3y ago
    Sure this is a "burner" account I had a poor background but I had grants so I did have access to education but I was bad at it eg. failed. I was lucky to pick up web development to try and get rich from high traffic ads. That did not happen. I worked in factories/restaurants and did some freelancing. I landed my first W2 agency job at $40K/yr then $50K/yr. I climbed the ladder, SWE contractor job $84K/yr then a failed startup thing, $110K after that. I then quit my job since I didn't want to learn C#/.NET (dumb). Was hard to get a job for a couple months, about to go work in Amazon Warehouse till another local agency picked me up for $75K/yr where I'm at now. All the while I've been either burning money (eg. POS car repair, or expensive toys) or helping my families (last 3 years) I think I gave them $60K+ in total. Current net worth is -$80K. Anyway I have been very fortunate/lucky I'm just dumb. I hate my job at the moment so I'm either going to get another job or get fired... repeat the debt implode cycle again.
    - rngname22 3y ago
      Hating your job is a matter of the real, material conditions * your own perspective, optimism, ability to make lemonade out of lemons, and pain tolerance. Unfortunately it's often seen as easier to change the former than the latter (which seems to perhaps be developed throughout childhood and one's upbringing and former experiences), but I would perhaps try to brainstorm if you can ways to improve your own subjective perspective/lens itself. If you quit your prior job, and with your new one hate and want to quit it/think your discomfort for it'll get you fired, maybe you could try to reach out to those around you in your peer network (maybe a former dev coworker or boss or a current coworker and try to get their perspective on things). Maybe there's something with your own ability to tolerate discomfort or find solace in good aspects of your jobs that you could find.
      - ge96 3y ago
        The thing is, without debt, my job is decent, people would be glad. But it is also brain dead development. We outsource our work and I just glue it together... And then they recently have really gotten into micromanaging where every minute of the day is tracked vs. hey, you have two weeks to complete this sprint. That's what an agency is I guess. My ideal job I'm not qualified for unless I do it as a hobby eg. robotics. So I will free myself financially eventually and then do that for fun. And I will continue to help my families since they're in a worse situation than me. Hopefully I remember being poor. I used to dream of having a Lamborghini Aventador but now I realize that money could buy me a house with land somewhere.
        ge96 3y ago
        6 days later I just got myself fired from my job lol. I guess my opinion on bad company practice went too far. Well I will see how I adapt to this situation. I could have quit but idk... I wanted that layoff effect where "it wasn't my choice" but I'm just a coward I guess.
    - shipscode 3y ago
      Nothing dumb about helping your family, so it doesn't sound too bad to me all things considered.
    - CoastalCoder 3y ago
      Sorry things are looking so bleak. We're pulling for you.
    - tekla 3y ago
      > All the while I've been either burning money (eg. POS car repair, or expensive toys) its amazing how some people will just ship "expensive hobbies" in the list of "why do I have no money" explanations.
      - ge96 3y ago
        Well in my case I could have paid debt off instead of add more
dangus 3y ago
I feel like this is not a very useful article without a comparison to data over time. I also think we could turn the numbers optimistic and say that 40% of Americans not living paycheck-to-paycheck is pretty impressive. Finally, I think if you ask the question "are you worried about finances?" of course most people are going to say "yes."
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  Someone else's numbers gave 38% in 2012: https://consumerfed.org/press_release/many-families-struggle-to-make-ends-meet-but-those-with-a-financial-plan-feel-and-do-better/ https://consumerfed.org/press_release/many-families-struggle... ... which doesn't really say that much; I'll leave it to someone on your side of the Atlantic to find historical census data (eg https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/wealth.html https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/wealth.html ) and cross index it against historical income data (eg https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-27... ) to determine if —with a presumably consistent methodology— there have been any significant developments in who is living on what they have and who on what they have coming.
- ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
  > I also think we could turn the numbers optimistic and say that 40% of Americans not living paycheck-to-paycheck is pretty impressive. I don't think we could say that at all. Only 40% isn't only unimpressive, it's depressing. The ideal would be 100%. > I think if you ask the question "are you worried about finances?" of course most people are going to say "yes." I think that's a safe bet at the moment, considering most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck at the moment.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - rayiner 3y ago
    Sure, utopia is preferable to reality. But how is that a helpful assertion?
gumballindie 3y ago
Wondering how the situation looks like in the uk. The country is basically in limp mode.
- clnq 3y ago
  Generally, not good. Many SWEs in games want to leave for cheaper countries or countries with better pay (US). Our salaries are low, but we don’t have a good social safety net to show for it (i.e. our public healthcare is practically inaccessible due to wait times in hospitals, and public dental — forget about it). So it’s a raw deal. I don’t think about how people on average salaries live. Or people with kids, or both. It is too depressing of a thought. One third of kids now live in poverty, more than one in five adults — a better stat thanks in part to professional DINK couples threading water. Poverty is below paycheck-to-paycheck. There are no clear prospects for things improving. No meaningful political action. See BBC, Guardian, etc for what the government is concerned about instead. There’s no point turning this into a political discussion and beating the proverbial dead horse. Upskilling and migrating into more well paid jobs is hard. If you didn’t have enough time to study outside of work before, now with the CPI rising and your real wage dropping, you have even less time. Even if it sounds grim, people are finding individual solutions, like leaving. The last two years in the games industry has seen a lot of attrition just from people becoming unable to sustain their lifestyles in the UK. And a lot of these people are exceptionally skilled 10+ years of exp professionals, and very driven, so they deserve at least an average lifestyle. What is going on thanks to Brexit and all that is an injustice to them. And good on them for looking out for themselves first. Whenever a colleague leaves for a better life elsewhere, I am happy.
  - gumballindie 3y ago
    Probably the most accurate description of what’s happening in the uk. On your final paragraph, I can confirm that pay in east europe, and the standard of living, are higher. I am in the uk but have links there and people just dont understand how someone can work in the uk in tech an not afford a property or a family, whereas in east european countries that’s the norm. While it is not my case, I can absolutely tell that my peers in that region of the world are better off than i am, and by british standards i am pretty good. The irony of brexit is that somehow karma is turning the uk in that which it despised. The potholes in roads, failing health care, rising poverty, increasing government corruption and an ever increasing mass of people demanding dubious political action, makes me think the culture of the uk has seriously regressed in that it can’t sustain itself. There is almost no company that has provided a service without more than minor issues in the past couple of years and thats alarming. I frequently read stats about various uk institutions, such as hospitals or schools and they all have official good and outstanding reviews while google and other review sites show a very grim reality. This means the uk is faking statistics to appear better than it is. I am extremely worried about the country. I dont think it will exist for long and it will split into its historical regions.
asylteltine 3y ago
Considering how I see people spending money in the mall, I’m not surprised
user568439 3y ago
I never understood people living like this. I’ve never lived paycheck to paycheck even though with my first job as SWE 1 month after my graduation I was earning 900€ a month. I went to live on my own because it was in another city and of course I had to share apartment with more people during 5 with years. I did that until I had a salary where the rent for living alone in a place I liked was below 30% of my netto salary. The only debt I ever had is my mortgage and I have savings to cover for at least 3 years without working. Without counting that I would get unemployment plus some other investments that would protect me more. All this lifestyle didn’t stop me from traveling a lot (sometimes for months) and having nice things. But except for the home down payment, I never spent more in a year than I earned. But I also admit that I missed a lot of good investment opportunities due to my risk aversion
- lovich 3y ago
  Bud if you had a software job one month out of college I don’t think you’ve really had to interface with how bad shit gets. A large group of these people are having a revenue problem, not a spending problem I walked out of college in the Great Recession with a 900/month student loan debt and paying 500/month for rent in the shittiest apartment in the area with two roommates. I could only get minimum wage jobs that would send you home if you ever got close to full time so you didn’t get benefits. Working 50-60 hours a week got me about 1400-1700 a month before tax. I frequently had to steal food if I wanted to eat even every other day and healthcare was completely out the window. There was no improving that situation by being more careful about spending because there was nothing to cut. That was paycheck to paycheck with zero luxuries and not even all the necessities
  - asdfasvea 3y ago
    >>>A large group of these people are having a revenue problem, not a spending problem I walked out of college in the Great Recession with a 900/month student loan debt <<< You didn't make it one sentence before you undermined your premise. Explain how a 900/month student loan payment isn't a result of a spending problem.
jt2190 3y ago
The actual report: https://www.pymnts.com/study/reality-check-paycheck-to-paycheck-holiday-shopping-credit-financing/ https://www.pymnts.com/study/reality-check-paycheck-to-paych...
- gruez 3y ago
  direct link: https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PYMNTS-New-Reality-Check-November-2023.pdf https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PYMNTS-New...
_8j50 3y ago
Don't have kids before 30 and well esrablished financially or get credit cards (ever!). avoid driving or owning cars as much as possible (city with subway, remote work and biking,etc...). Avoid illegal drugs. I have seen people pay a hefty price for all these things. For all the complaints americans have, especially to our EU friends certain things should be clarified: if you get sick you can get treated for free in a timely manner and get worldclass care, if you can't afford the bill (which is assuming the insurance company will pay, so the amount is always insane) you can ignore the bill and you will be fine, I have seen people do this without a problem, you don't even have to give your real name unless you have a gunshot wound or a stabbing. You have to try hard to lack so much food that you become malnourished in the US, even if you have no job and you are living on the streets. Even in expensive places you can have three meals a day with less than $10 (povery line is like $20k/yr, $10/day is $3600/yr). Shelter is what is usually hard, especially if you're picky (reasonable) but the US is so big there are many choices but even as a homeless most go to california for the year round nice weather so they can camp there. I only stated this because it might sound like people are living this way to meet basic needs and in some cases like when they have children but not enough income or fall for the scam that is credit cards and pay day loans they fall into a trap. Cars have a crippling effect economically but smart people get used/cheap toyota/honda and never drive them outside of commute and grocery shopping, but still just your car parked costs insurance, maintenance, parking fees,etc... A nationwide problem I have seen is how easy it is for americans to get complacent because all their needs are met. Especially if you have a drug problem (including nicotine and alcohol). It's only a problem if you have a solution I guess, and obligatory: it's expensive being poor. How can I put it? You know how in the military they say "if you get shot, don't die", it's sort of like that, "if you're poor living pay check to paycheck, don't get broke" (liquidity trumps all!).
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Larrikin 3y ago
  Not having credit cards is a silly mistake that naive people make instead of properly planning their budget. A proper mix of credit cards will get you at a minimum a 2 to 5 percent discount on every single thing that you buy. With certain deals and smart usage of points, this can jump to 10 to 50 percent. I literally get thousands of dollars in cash back on my normal spending every year, not even counting things like discounted flights and hotels that don't directly show up on my year end report. And that is only discussing one single benefit. Things like charge backs and flagging fraud operate much more smoothly when using a credit card instead of a debit card. Problems arise when you spend money you don't have, or even worse spend money you will never have. The savings completely disappear once you start carrying a balance and start getting interest fees. Just treat your credit card like a debit card and have a budget. Paying with cash and especially your debit card is just a poor move.
codeTired 3y ago
It’s most likely a mix of things. Life in US is really fucking expensive once you have a child and a home. Our daycare for one kid is $1600. Same as mortgage, luckily we put down a large down payment and bought at low rates. Also, if you have health issue, that also makes things pretty extreme. Healthcare is just brutal in US for low income people. Insurance can cost anywhere from $0 to $3000+. Depending on employment and family situation. Personal finance education is also pretty bad. I know many people who are absolutely awful with finances and don’t do basic math. They don’t think how money can generate more money but what they can buy. 20% of luxury goods buyers are making under $50k. This isn’t always the case though. If you make little money and don’t have connections it is really hard to get ahead. Once you start using credit cards and loans to eat and pay for housing the finance charges eat you alive. I was pretty poor and even used food stamps when I went back to school in my 20s. It wasn’t until I made connections with people in high places when getting jobs and opportunities became easy. I’m lazier than I was before, I work less than I worked before, yet make much more money.
- gruez 3y ago
  >20% of luxury goods buyers are making under $50k. source?
  - HWR_14 3y ago
    It's also a misleading statistic if true. Part of it is that luxury goods have a wide variety of prices. A $100 watch might be classified as a "luxury good" or a $200 pair of earrings. Part of it is it was about buyers, not total purchases or dollar value. The people who stretch to buy a pair of $300 jeans as a Christmas present are on equal footing in that statistic to the people who dress head to toe in Gucci and never wear the same thing twice. So, yeah, 1/5 people buying a luxury good making it the item they splurge on while making under $50,000 is reasonable.
  - userinanother 3y ago
    If air Jordan’s are luxury products then yeah easy to see how that is
deterministic 3y ago
The majority of people spend way more than they can afford on things they don’t need. I make good money and live in a very expensive city. But I still try to live as minimalistic as possible. Putting as much as I can into assets that generate money I can then reinvest. I completely changed my understanding of how to handle money after reading the book “Rich dad, Poor dad”. I highly recommend it. The only thing I regrets is not reading it much earlier. It would have made an even bigger difference to my financial situation.
friend_and_foe 3y ago
It's fun isn't it? "Stimulate spending" and then complain that nobody is saving money. It's the game: complain that Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, get elected, turn around and debase the currency to "stimulate the economy", rinse and repeat.

77 points by safaa1993 3y ago

ge96 3y ago

I'm one baby... dumb choices, even hitting 6 figs, still poor/in debt ha. I did give some away though so wasn't just being wasteful. But I forgot my place considering I've been in debt since 2010.

easeout 3y ago
Would you be open to illustrating in general terms what your situation is like?
- ge96 3y ago
  Sure this is a "burner" account I had a poor background but I had grants so I did have access to education but I was bad at it eg. failed. I was lucky to pick up web development to try and get rich from high traffic ads. That did not happen. I worked in factories/restaurants and did some freelancing. I landed my first W2 agency job at $40K/yr then $50K/yr. I climbed the ladder, SWE contractor job $84K/yr then a failed startup thing, $110K after that. I then quit my job since I didn't want to learn C#/.NET (dumb). Was hard to get a job for a couple months, about to go work in Amazon Warehouse till another local agency picked me up for $75K/yr where I'm at now. All the while I've been either burning money (eg. POS car repair, or expensive toys) or helping my families (last 3 years) I think I gave them $60K+ in total. Current net worth is -$80K. Anyway I have been very fortunate/lucky I'm just dumb. I hate my job at the moment so I'm either going to get another job or get fired... repeat the debt implode cycle again.
  - rngname22 3y ago
    Hating your job is a matter of the real, material conditions * your own perspective, optimism, ability to make lemonade out of lemons, and pain tolerance. Unfortunately it's often seen as easier to change the former than the latter (which seems to perhaps be developed throughout childhood and one's upbringing and former experiences), but I would perhaps try to brainstorm if you can ways to improve your own subjective perspective/lens itself. If you quit your prior job, and with your new one hate and want to quit it/think your discomfort for it'll get you fired, maybe you could try to reach out to those around you in your peer network (maybe a former dev coworker or boss or a current coworker and try to get their perspective on things). Maybe there's something with your own ability to tolerate discomfort or find solace in good aspects of your jobs that you could find.
    - ge96 3y ago
      The thing is, without debt, my job is decent, people would be glad. But it is also brain dead development. We outsource our work and I just glue it together... And then they recently have really gotten into micromanaging where every minute of the day is tracked vs. hey, you have two weeks to complete this sprint. That's what an agency is I guess. My ideal job I'm not qualified for unless I do it as a hobby eg. robotics. So I will free myself financially eventually and then do that for fun. And I will continue to help my families since they're in a worse situation than me. Hopefully I remember being poor. I used to dream of having a Lamborghini Aventador but now I realize that money could buy me a house with land somewhere.
      - ge96 3y ago
        6 days later I just got myself fired from my job lol. I guess my opinion on bad company practice went too far. Well I will see how I adapt to this situation. I could have quit but idk... I wanted that layoff effect where "it wasn't my choice" but I'm just a coward I guess.
  - shipscode 3y ago
    Nothing dumb about helping your family, so it doesn't sound too bad to me all things considered.
  - CoastalCoder 3y ago
    Sorry things are looking so bleak. We're pulling for you.
  - tekla 3y ago
    > All the while I've been either burning money (eg. POS car repair, or expensive toys) its amazing how some people will just ship "expensive hobbies" in the list of "why do I have no money" explanations.
    - ge96 3y ago
      Well in my case I could have paid debt off instead of add more

dangus 3y ago

I feel like this is not a very useful article without a comparison to data over time. I also think we could turn the numbers optimistic and say that 40% of Americans not living paycheck-to-paycheck is pretty impressive. Finally, I think if you ask the question "are you worried about finances?" of course most people are going to say "yes."

082349872349872 3y ago
Someone else's numbers gave 38% in 2012: https://consumerfed.org/press_release/many-families-struggle-to-make-ends-meet-but-those-with-a-financial-plan-feel-and-do-better/ https://consumerfed.org/press_release/many-families-struggle... ... which doesn't really say that much; I'll leave it to someone on your side of the Atlantic to find historical census data (eg https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/wealth.html https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/wealth.html ) and cross index it against historical income data (eg https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-27... ) to determine if —with a presumably consistent methodology— there have been any significant developments in who is living on what they have and who on what they have coming.
ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
> I also think we could turn the numbers optimistic and say that 40% of Americans not living paycheck-to-paycheck is pretty impressive. I don't think we could say that at all. Only 40% isn't only unimpressive, it's depressing. The ideal would be 100%. > I think if you ask the question "are you worried about finances?" of course most people are going to say "yes." I think that's a safe bet at the moment, considering most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck at the moment.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- rayiner 3y ago
  Sure, utopia is preferable to reality. But how is that a helpful assertion?

gumballindie 3y ago

Wondering how the situation looks like in the uk. The country is basically in limp mode.

clnq 3y ago
Generally, not good. Many SWEs in games want to leave for cheaper countries or countries with better pay (US). Our salaries are low, but we don’t have a good social safety net to show for it (i.e. our public healthcare is practically inaccessible due to wait times in hospitals, and public dental — forget about it). So it’s a raw deal. I don’t think about how people on average salaries live. Or people with kids, or both. It is too depressing of a thought. One third of kids now live in poverty, more than one in five adults — a better stat thanks in part to professional DINK couples threading water. Poverty is below paycheck-to-paycheck. There are no clear prospects for things improving. No meaningful political action. See BBC, Guardian, etc for what the government is concerned about instead. There’s no point turning this into a political discussion and beating the proverbial dead horse. Upskilling and migrating into more well paid jobs is hard. If you didn’t have enough time to study outside of work before, now with the CPI rising and your real wage dropping, you have even less time. Even if it sounds grim, people are finding individual solutions, like leaving. The last two years in the games industry has seen a lot of attrition just from people becoming unable to sustain their lifestyles in the UK. And a lot of these people are exceptionally skilled 10+ years of exp professionals, and very driven, so they deserve at least an average lifestyle. What is going on thanks to Brexit and all that is an injustice to them. And good on them for looking out for themselves first. Whenever a colleague leaves for a better life elsewhere, I am happy.
- gumballindie 3y ago
  Probably the most accurate description of what’s happening in the uk. On your final paragraph, I can confirm that pay in east europe, and the standard of living, are higher. I am in the uk but have links there and people just dont understand how someone can work in the uk in tech an not afford a property or a family, whereas in east european countries that’s the norm. While it is not my case, I can absolutely tell that my peers in that region of the world are better off than i am, and by british standards i am pretty good. The irony of brexit is that somehow karma is turning the uk in that which it despised. The potholes in roads, failing health care, rising poverty, increasing government corruption and an ever increasing mass of people demanding dubious political action, makes me think the culture of the uk has seriously regressed in that it can’t sustain itself. There is almost no company that has provided a service without more than minor issues in the past couple of years and thats alarming. I frequently read stats about various uk institutions, such as hospitals or schools and they all have official good and outstanding reviews while google and other review sites show a very grim reality. This means the uk is faking statistics to appear better than it is. I am extremely worried about the country. I dont think it will exist for long and it will split into its historical regions.

asylteltine 3y ago

Considering how I see people spending money in the mall, I’m not surprised

user568439 3y ago

I never understood people living like this. I’ve never lived paycheck to paycheck even though with my first job as SWE 1 month after my graduation I was earning 900€ a month. I went to live on my own because it was in another city and of course I had to share apartment with more people during 5 with years. I did that until I had a salary where the rent for living alone in a place I liked was below 30% of my netto salary. The only debt I ever had is my mortgage and I have savings to cover for at least 3 years without working. Without counting that I would get unemployment plus some other investments that would protect me more. All this lifestyle didn’t stop me from traveling a lot (sometimes for months) and having nice things. But except for the home down payment, I never spent more in a year than I earned. But I also admit that I missed a lot of good investment opportunities due to my risk aversion

lovich 3y ago
Bud if you had a software job one month out of college I don’t think you’ve really had to interface with how bad shit gets. A large group of these people are having a revenue problem, not a spending problem I walked out of college in the Great Recession with a 900/month student loan debt and paying 500/month for rent in the shittiest apartment in the area with two roommates. I could only get minimum wage jobs that would send you home if you ever got close to full time so you didn’t get benefits. Working 50-60 hours a week got me about 1400-1700 a month before tax. I frequently had to steal food if I wanted to eat even every other day and healthcare was completely out the window. There was no improving that situation by being more careful about spending because there was nothing to cut. That was paycheck to paycheck with zero luxuries and not even all the necessities
- asdfasvea 3y ago
  >>>A large group of these people are having a revenue problem, not a spending problem I walked out of college in the Great Recession with a 900/month student loan debt <<< You didn't make it one sentence before you undermined your premise. Explain how a 900/month student loan payment isn't a result of a spending problem.

jt2190 3y ago

The actual report: https://www.pymnts.com/study/reality-check-paycheck-to-paycheck-holiday-shopping-credit-financing/ https://www.pymnts.com/study/reality-check-paycheck-to-paych...

gruez 3y ago
direct link: https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PYMNTS-New-Reality-Check-November-2023.pdf https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PYMNTS-New...

_8j50 3y ago

Don't have kids before 30 and well esrablished financially or get credit cards (ever!). avoid driving or owning cars as much as possible (city with subway, remote work and biking,etc...). Avoid illegal drugs. I have seen people pay a hefty price for all these things. For all the complaints americans have, especially to our EU friends certain things should be clarified: if you get sick you can get treated for free in a timely manner and get worldclass care, if you can't afford the bill (which is assuming the insurance company will pay, so the amount is always insane) you can ignore the bill and you will be fine, I have seen people do this without a problem, you don't even have to give your real name unless you have a gunshot wound or a stabbing. You have to try hard to lack so much food that you become malnourished in the US, even if you have no job and you are living on the streets. Even in expensive places you can have three meals a day with less than $10 (povery line is like $20k/yr, $10/day is $3600/yr). Shelter is what is usually hard, especially if you're picky (reasonable) but the US is so big there are many choices but even as a homeless most go to california for the year round nice weather so they can camp there. I only stated this because it might sound like people are living this way to meet basic needs and in some cases like when they have children but not enough income or fall for the scam that is credit cards and pay day loans they fall into a trap. Cars have a crippling effect economically but smart people get used/cheap toyota/honda and never drive them outside of commute and grocery shopping, but still just your car parked costs insurance, maintenance, parking fees,etc... A nationwide problem I have seen is how easy it is for americans to get complacent because all their needs are met. Especially if you have a drug problem (including nicotine and alcohol). It's only a problem if you have a solution I guess, and obligatory: it's expensive being poor. How can I put it? You know how in the military they say "if you get shot, don't die", it's sort of like that, "if you're poor living pay check to paycheck, don't get broke" (liquidity trumps all!).

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Larrikin 3y ago
Not having credit cards is a silly mistake that naive people make instead of properly planning their budget. A proper mix of credit cards will get you at a minimum a 2 to 5 percent discount on every single thing that you buy. With certain deals and smart usage of points, this can jump to 10 to 50 percent. I literally get thousands of dollars in cash back on my normal spending every year, not even counting things like discounted flights and hotels that don't directly show up on my year end report. And that is only discussing one single benefit. Things like charge backs and flagging fraud operate much more smoothly when using a credit card instead of a debit card. Problems arise when you spend money you don't have, or even worse spend money you will never have. The savings completely disappear once you start carrying a balance and start getting interest fees. Just treat your credit card like a debit card and have a budget. Paying with cash and especially your debit card is just a poor move.

codeTired 3y ago

It’s most likely a mix of things. Life in US is really fucking expensive once you have a child and a home. Our daycare for one kid is $1600. Same as mortgage, luckily we put down a large down payment and bought at low rates. Also, if you have health issue, that also makes things pretty extreme. Healthcare is just brutal in US for low income people. Insurance can cost anywhere from $0 to $3000+. Depending on employment and family situation. Personal finance education is also pretty bad. I know many people who are absolutely awful with finances and don’t do basic math. They don’t think how money can generate more money but what they can buy. 20% of luxury goods buyers are making under $50k. This isn’t always the case though. If you make little money and don’t have connections it is really hard to get ahead. Once you start using credit cards and loans to eat and pay for housing the finance charges eat you alive. I was pretty poor and even used food stamps when I went back to school in my 20s. It wasn’t until I made connections with people in high places when getting jobs and opportunities became easy. I’m lazier than I was before, I work less than I worked before, yet make much more money.

gruez 3y ago
>20% of luxury goods buyers are making under $50k. source?
- HWR_14 3y ago
  It's also a misleading statistic if true. Part of it is that luxury goods have a wide variety of prices. A $100 watch might be classified as a "luxury good" or a $200 pair of earrings. Part of it is it was about buyers, not total purchases or dollar value. The people who stretch to buy a pair of $300 jeans as a Christmas present are on equal footing in that statistic to the people who dress head to toe in Gucci and never wear the same thing twice. So, yeah, 1/5 people buying a luxury good making it the item they splurge on while making under $50,000 is reasonable.
- userinanother 3y ago
  If air Jordan’s are luxury products then yeah easy to see how that is

deterministic 3y ago

The majority of people spend way more than they can afford on things they don’t need. I make good money and live in a very expensive city. But I still try to live as minimalistic as possible. Putting as much as I can into assets that generate money I can then reinvest. I completely changed my understanding of how to handle money after reading the book “Rich dad, Poor dad”. I highly recommend it. The only thing I regrets is not reading it much earlier. It would have made an even bigger difference to my financial situation.

friend_and_foe 3y ago

It's fun isn't it? "Stimulate spending" and then complain that nobody is saving money. It's the game: complain that Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, get elected, turn around and debase the currency to "stimulate the economy", rinse and repeat.