Nemo2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 8,368
We had to climb mountains and start fires.
Fire? You had fire?!! Luxury!
We had to climb mountains and start fires.
Fire? You had fire?!! Luxury!
Our can had multiple strings - it was a party line can.We had to use cans linked by a string.
Fire? Luxury?
When I grew up and wanted to talk to my cousin 200 miles away, I had to run the whole distance and cross two rivers each way. And, I had to carry my younger sister on my back the whole time!
You had legs?!?! Lucky!
Right. It's amazing how many people either fail to properly do the math, even something as simple as adding and subtracting, or they don't want to even bother spending the time to do it...because, well, you nailed it!The motion was defeated. All I could think was “math is hard”[emoji849]
But hasn't it always been this way, the savers vs non-savers?
Is this the article where the one woman is an art administrator and has a part time job plus can't pay her student loan? She's got a Master degree, loves her job and can't pay her bills. I have a hard time making sense out of this.
Yes, I know that some people have lower paying jobs, medical issues, that prevent them from saving but most of the people don't spend their money wisely.
Good first post.
Isn't that an oxymoron? Wouldn't a `good job' have `good pay' by definition?I can see how many couldn't come up with 400 bucks. I know some young couples that got married and have good jobs but pay isn't very good.
Isn't that an oxymoron? Wouldn't a `good job' have `good pay' by definition?
....
best advice gave my nephew and to anyone who asked...eliminate debt, live beneath your means and save and invest in good growth mutual funds. we learned the hard way but thank goodness we learned early. this stuff should really be taught in middle or high school.
Isn't that an oxymoron? Wouldn't a `good job' have `good pay' by definition?
Supposedly...Mother Teresa took no salary.
apart from a reasonable motprtgage (15 yrs fixed, 20-30% down with total monthly PITI no more than 40-50% of take home pay) there is no "good debt". so apart from that i completely agree.Good advice, except I'd adjust that a bit and say "eliminate bad debt".
Not all debt is equal, it should not be looked at as such.
-ERD50
I got my first flip cell phone last year. The only reason I got it is because it used to belong to my wife. For father's day I bought her a smart phone as she wanted one for a while and there were some really good sales. I rarely use it. Only to pick the wife up from the grocery store when it is raining or to communicate with my wife when we are separated. I threw away a pager and my watch when I retired. That was a wonderful day. My life is much better without these "essential" annoyances.So true.
Many of these same people who cannot make it a couple of days without pay, are walking around with an I-phone and a $70/month unlimited plan, and their spouse has one too.
I grew up without a cell phone, and made it, along with all my friends. It would be the first thing I'd drop if I couldn't save money. It is a luxury.
Sometimes I wonder how our US economy can be declared to be "healthy" by so many economists, and even "firing on all cylinders" when I read articles like this.
"4 in 10 adults say they couldn't produce $400 in an emergency without sliding into debt"
‘I see no way out’: Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common
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I want to address the issue of how the economists can say the economy's healthy under these circumstances. First, I think they tend to look at overall national wealth rather than the distribution of wealth.
Some people just have a personality/mindset that just won't allow them to save or make smart financial decisions. An example:
One of my good friends built too expensive of a house at age 45. After 8 years with a mortgage that he would never have paid off in his lifetime (single with modest income), 8 years of being broke every day and living cheque to cheque, he finally sold and moved to an apartment. He was finally above water and actually had $100k in savings for the first time in his life as he sold the house for a good price.
But, instead of a decent apartment, he got one that cost 40% more. Then he left his govt. job before reaching the minimum number of years to avoid penalty and took a huge hit on his pension. That wasn't enough. He then sold a 6-year old car with low mileage and put $20k down on a LEASED Jaguar. Rent and the lease eat up more than 80% of his monthly pension, so he's dipping into his savings every month. To top it off, the residual value of the Jaguar is $27k.
He finally had his head above water for the first time in almost a decade, but immediately did everything possible to ruin that. He will likely deplete half of his savings in just a few years.
apart from a reasonable motprtgage (15 yrs fixed, 20-30% down with total monthly PITI no more than 40-50% of take home pay) there is no "good debt". so apart from that i completely agree.
I got my first flip cell phone last year. The only reason I got it is because it used to belong to my wife. For father's day I bought her a smart phone as she wanted one for a while and there were some really good sales. I rarely use it. Only to pick the wife up from the grocery store when it is raining or to communicate with my wife when we are separated. I threw away a pager and my watch when I retired. That was a wonderful day. My life is much better without these "essential" annoyances.
I think "the economy" is much too loosely equated with "the economic health of the majority of citizens." I think this leads to all sorts of problems. We at least need another set of metrics - ones that measure the economic situation of citizens - to also look at before making policy decisions.
The Washington Post just ran an article that I have trouble thinking about, I think because I am myself mixing up "the stock market" with "the economy" and with "the economic health of the majority of citizens. I need to find a way of keeping them straight in my head!
Some people consider credit card charges to be 'debt', even when paid before the due date with no fees or interest.
Technically, I guess they are correct. But I only consider it debt if you let it go beyond the grace period.
Sometimes I wonder how our US economy can be declared to be "healthy" by so many economists, and even "firing on all cylinders" when I read articles like this.
"4 in 10 adults say they couldn't produce $400 in an emergency without sliding into debt"