3 ms·
Why it's so hard for Americans to retire
- sema4hacker 3y agoI've got a 29-year-old employee making $40/hr. She drives me crazy because she refuses to sacrifice things she really can't afford (like clothes, makeup, nails, travel, entertainment) that drain her income and prevent her from acquiring the important necessities (primarily a decent place to live). She also can't bring herself to work more than 30 hours per week, yet complains everything is too expensive. I knew her favorite singer was in town, so I asked "Did you go to the concert?". Her: "Yes, but someone else paid for the tickets". Me: "So you didn't spend any money at all?" Her: "Well, I did buy a $10 hot dog." No matter what I say, I can't get her to see she's one small disaster away from ending up destitute or homeless, and that she needs to carefully budget and plan and try to do much better with her time and money management. Her 30-something sister with whom she shares a dump rental apartment in a bad neighborhood has a similar issue with priorities. The sister works for the school district so she doesn't have a job each summer but instead of getting a temp job to bring in more income she simply goofs around for 3 months. I have no idea how to break through those mindsets.