3 ms·

I agree the first story doesn't add up. She's still making $20k with her part-time work - a lot of people are worse off! You can survive on $20k in the Detroit

by lacker 18y ago

I agree the first story doesn't add up. She's still making $20k with her part-time work - a lot of people are worse off! You can survive on $20k in the Detroit area. Instead, she lost her car and got evicted. I'm guessing she didn't prepare financially for being a student, and she still hasn't readjusted her expenditures.

Retric 18y ago
Two years ago I owned my car and had a roommate so when I was unemployed for 6 months and it was no big deal. Now my apartment is 1515$ a month an my car payment is 500$ a month. There is no way in hell I could pay that while making 20k / year. If your making X and drop down to 1/4 X then all those obligations that seemed reasonable at the time are just not possible.
- lacker 18y ago
  Exactly, which is why if you drop down to 1/4X you need to move out of that $1500 apartment. If someone ignores the problem until your car is repossesed and you get evicted, there are people more deserving of sympathy. Also, I think $1515 a month in Detroit gets you a castle with a moat around it.
- bmelton 18y ago
  You know, I was kind of nodding along with your statement until it hit me that our generation's definition of "living within your means" is likely far different from that of our parents'. My father, if he lost his job, would be fine, probably for a year or better. Perhaps it's our generation, having grown up with credit cards and availability as the norm, but my dad (and definitely his) has always been a 'cash' payment sort of guy. I remember a discussion I had after starting a new job, after having been laid off from my previous one, in which I made the comment that I'm striving to get to 40% savings. He laughed at me, claiming how impractical it was, and how I couldn't afford to live off only 60% of what I made... but having just done so for awhile, I knew the benefit of having a safety net... and I was just lucky before that I found employment before my savings ran out.

by lacker 18y ago

Retric 18y ago

Two years ago I owned my car and had a roommate so when I was unemployed for 6 months and it was no big deal. Now my apartment is 1515$ a month an my car payment is 500$ a month. There is no way in hell I could pay that while making 20k / year. If your making X and drop down to 1/4 X then all those obligations that seemed reasonable at the time are just not possible.

lacker 18y ago
Exactly, which is why if you drop down to 1/4X you need to move out of that $1500 apartment. If someone ignores the problem until your car is repossesed and you get evicted, there are people more deserving of sympathy. Also, I think $1515 a month in Detroit gets you a castle with a moat around it.
bmelton 18y ago
You know, I was kind of nodding along with your statement until it hit me that our generation's definition of "living within your means" is likely far different from that of our parents'. My father, if he lost his job, would be fine, probably for a year or better. Perhaps it's our generation, having grown up with credit cards and availability as the norm, but my dad (and definitely his) has always been a 'cash' payment sort of guy. I remember a discussion I had after starting a new job, after having been laid off from my previous one, in which I made the comment that I'm striving to get to 40% savings. He laughed at me, claiming how impractical it was, and how I couldn't afford to live off only 60% of what I made... but having just done so for awhile, I knew the benefit of having a safety net... and I was just lucky before that I found employment before my savings ran out.