Survey: 64% of Americans Now Living Paycheck to Paycheck

[scrabbler1]

I just mute the voice when the commercial comes on and then I make a post here on my Chromebook!

I very often mute the TV during ad breaks simply to tell the TV to "SHUT UP!"

 

[street]

I agree. I use many of the same brands I have been using since the 1970s and 1980s. With cars, I am like you, having bought a Geo Prism in 1992 and a Toyota Corolla (the same car) in 2007.

As for advertising, I spend considerable time avoiding the ads on TV. I use the remote's toggle button to switch between a channel in its ad break and another one which hopefully is not in its ad break. (Often, both channels are in ad breaks, so I rotate between 3, even 4 channels!)

I think there is a lot of people that use the same brand item for years also.

Advertising is done because there are first time users of a product each and every day. Those brands are out there advertising trying to influence that one person that had a bad experience with a product or a new first time product user. Sometimes all it takes is one small thing from an ad that a person can remember when they need a product to go buy that product.

I don't watch commercials either and I don't believe they have had an influence on decision buying, but it has in an indirect way.

 

[Time2]

Similar story. We didn't have much growing up but we had a roof over head, cloths and good enough food. My first job after an engineering degree from a reputable university in a developing country would only afford me food, cloth and gas. So I illegally overstayed in the dorm. This prompted me leave everything behind and come to this land of opportunity. I lived with roommates until I got married. LBYM forever and controlled lifestyle creep. Fast forward 25 years and we have more money then I have ever imagined possible.

I married into an immigrant family that came here with nothing and they all have done well. Two were self employed and two worked for someone. The self employed have what we would call fire money, the other two have a sizable 401k and stock in the company they work for. One of her sisters only made it too second grade, not because of her abilities, apparently legal where she came from. She never learned English, lucky to get a job where she could work without working with the public. She can't make a doctor appointment nor know what the doctor said, because of the language barrier, but has at least $600k that I know of, through her employers accounts. My wife and I started saving when we married we have made it to the top 5%. I love these stories of immigrants coming here and living the American dream.

And then there is the r/antiwork thread, full of Americans with the can't do attitude. What a contrast.

 

[Badger]

LOL I forgot to mention I arrived without any furniture! Just some clothes, personal items, and pots and pans. Because my funds didn't go as far as I expected, I had to do without for a long time.

I had a cheap mattress delivered to the apartment, and slept on the mattress on the floor for several months before I could afford a used bed. I bought a couple of chairs at a thrift store and used a box for a table for a while...

This stuff can all be managed when you are young and healthy. It serves as an impetus to work hard, be frugal, move up.

This sounds so familiar to what it was like after my first wife and I went our separate ways. I let her have everything including all the money and then some if I could keep the small, old, run down house we just bought. Mattress on the floor and no heat in the winter for about 4 years. Everything I earned went to the mortgage payment, a small loan, and some basic food like beans, biscuits, and spagetti. Fortunately I had a couple of pots to cook in and 3 of the stove burners still worked. But I was happy after a few months as a bachelor again.
After 5 years I met a lady who became my wife. We were quite frugal but figured out a plan to insure our financial future would be secure. It worked better than we ever imagined. We still live in the same house. Rooms have been remodeled, everything works, and is comfortable with a little extra space I built on. Neither of us will ever have to go through that kind of lifestyle again.
It can be done if you really want it to.



Cheers!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

One reason why advertising just doesn't influence me much /snip/

Says the user with "Disney" in their name. Just kidding, of course.

 

[disneysteve]

Says the user with "Disney" in their name. Just kidding, of course.

LOL.
I didn't say it doesn't influence me at all. As I said earlier in the thread, it influences everybody whether you think it does or not.


TV advertising has little effect on me because probably 90+% of my viewing is on Netflix so no commercials (other than product placement in content).

 

[Time2]

Coke zero, "Best Coke ever?"
Someday I need to try it. If it goes off the market before I try it, I"ll know it was not best!

 

[Amethyst]

Eeek. I would not dare leave such a narrow margin for error, lest I make an entry error myself...I am not infallible! My CU has overdraft protection, thank goodness.

On checking account balances, at the other extreme there was one time in my life when my checking account balance showed as 2¢, although it never actually got that low because an outstanding check didn't clear before the next direct-deposited paycheck. But it was close!

My DW-to-be was horrified. I tried to explain that it didn't matter - the check either cleared or it did not, there was no middle ground and a positive balance, even if only by one cent, was all that was required. She was not convinced.

 

[NW-Bound]

It has only been a month since I let my checking account balance go below $100k for the first time in almost 20 years.

I never had $100K in my checking account, although back when I was in my late 30s I had almost that much due to procrastination in moving the excess money into an investment account.

I was getting a bit nervous at end of last year. My 3 checking acct. balances (total) were getting down to near $20K. Told DW "I can't live like this!" ...

When still working and having high expenses with children, my checking balance used to be in the $20-30K or so. But now, with a steady lifestyle, I am comfortable with having less than $10K in the checking accounts.

To the people that just have the bare minimum in checking what do you do when you need a 5-digit number to buy something?

What if I need more money? By having my brokerage accounts linked to the checking accounts at Schwab and Bank of America/Merrill Edge, with just a mouse click I can transfer cash from the investment accounts to the checking accounts instantly.

However, for the instant transfer the fund must be in cash, and I can only raise another $10K or so. For more cash, I will have to sell equities or redeem funds, and this transaction will take 3 days to settle and for the cash to be available. In 3 days, I can raise about $500K or so before incurring much tax liability.

If I need cash very urgently in less than 3 days, I can invoke the margin feature of the brokerage accounts. This costs me a bit of interest charge, but for just 3 days it is not too bad.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I don't know if influencing has zero impact on me, but I know from my spending spreadsheet that we don't buy a lot of unnecessary consumer goods. Retirement for me had been a way to re-evaluate and improve how we spend our money. Like instead of going to the heavily advertised plays in the city, we've found some local non-profit community and college theater groups with modest ticket prices, very high quality productions and nice. comfy seats in tax payer funded theaters. (The touring plays here are often in venues where people are packed in like sardines with no leg room.) And we are supporting the community that way instead of giving our money to some NY production company.

 

[Koolau]

One reason why advertising just doesn't influence me much is because once I find a product I like, I stick with it indefinitely, only changing if they discontinue it and force me to find a replacement. I very rarely try new products just for the heck of it. I've been using the same brand of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, soap, underwear, pants, laundry detergent, and pretty much every other product I buy regularly for years and years. I've owned Toyota Camrys since 1991. When it's time for a "new" car, I just go buy another Camry (and I've only had 4 in that 31-year period). When my everyday sneakers get worn, I order a new identical pair. Same for my running shoes. I'll shop around for the best price, but I buy the same style or the closest version they currently sell.


Advertising just isn't of interest to me because I have no intention of changing what I buy. If it works and I like it, I'm satisfied. I don't go looking for the newest thing every time.

Pretty much my MO as well. However, I do tend to buy used cars as long as they are Japanese (big exception is the Buick LeSabre because of the low miles/low price I found.) Almost bought a Camry this last time, but found a RAV4 for less with fewer miles (a bit older.)

I have at least 3 pairs of shoes bought on sale that match the shoes I'm wearing now. Fashion is not a big deal to me nor is the latest thing. Not so much frugal as that I want what I already know works for me. YMMV

 

[Koolau]

LOL.
I didn't say it doesn't influence me at all. As I said earlier in the thread, it influences everybody whether you think it does or not.


TV advertising has little effect on me because probably 90+% of my viewing is on Netflix so no commercials (other than product placement in content).

Heh, heh, I have a DVR and rarely even see a commercial anymore. I love it! YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

TV ads did not affect me. It's because I had an uncanny ability to ignore TV ads. They just did not register with me.

Say, I had the TV turned on. Immediately after an ad finished and the regular show resumed, if you asked me what the last ad was, I could not tell you even if you offered me $100.

And now, I don't even have the TV on anymore.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back on living paycheck to paycheck, here's a recent article about retirees living SS check to SS check.


See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/f...ing-with-inflation/ar-AAVjP3e?ocid=uxbndlbing

About 12 percent of older adults live solely on Social Security, which pays an average $1,658 per month, a $93 increase from last year, according to the Social Security Administration.

Half of older people who live alone are struggling to get by on less than $27,000 a year — or the bare minimum for a single renter in good health to cover expenses, according to the Elder Index, a cost-of-living measure created by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The steady climb of inflation during the pandemic has put further stress on retirees.

 

[grasshopper]

I have at least 3 pairs of shoes bought on sale that match the shoes I'm wearing now. Fashion is not a big deal to me nor is the latest thing. Not so much frugal as that I want what I already know works for me. YMMV

I buy hiking/walking shoes every year 3 pairs at a time usually 20% off and free shipping I have been wearing the same brand and model for 8 years now.

I can take a pair out of the box know that I don't have to break them in and go 10 miles no problem. Every 4 months they go in the trash and get a new box out.

I average around 125 miles a month, so every pair goes 500 miles.

 

[aja8888]

Back on living paycheck to paycheck, here's a recent article about retirees living SS check to SS check.


See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/f...ing-with-inflation/ar-AAVjP3e?ocid=uxbndlbing

Well, at 65 years old, Leslie Morgan looks pretty healthy to me in that article. She should go back to work to make ends meet.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, at 65 years old, Leslie Morgan looks pretty healthy to me in that article. She should go back to work to make ends meet.

Hah, I did not notice her age.

Well, I looked again, and have to say that my wife looks even younger and healthier.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ugh, I just noticed the following passage.

Morgan lives on a fixed income of about $35,000 a year, before taxes, roughly half of what she made when she was working. Her payments have been adjusted for inflation, she said, though the gains haven’t been enough to make up for actual costs, such as a 15 percent jump in monthly Medicare premiums that prompted her to opt out of the benefit altogether.

So, she stopped getting Medicare supplement plans! Aye, aye, aye...

I agree that Leslie would better go back to work part-time to get money for that Medicare premium.

I suspect that she still has a mortgage.

 

[aja8888]

Ugh, I just noticed the following passage.





So, she stopped getting Medicare supplement plans! Aye, aye, aye...

I agree that Leslie would better go back to work part-time to get money for that Medicare premium.

The article doesn't say if she is married or has children, who could possibly help her. Plus she lives in Ashville, NC which is a pretty high end tourist area. Lots of possibilities for her, and she didn't plan very well.

 

[NW-Bound]

The article doesn't say if she is married or has children, who could possibly help her. Plus she lives in Ashville, NC which is a pretty high end tourist area. Lots of possibilities for her, and she didn't plan very well.

I suspect Leslie still has a mortgage.

My widowed mother has an income of less than $36K. Yet, she lives very well and has money left-over. She owns her home, which is now worth $424K according to Zillow. Not having to pay rent or mortgage is crucial.

My wife has a younger friend who wanted nothing to do with home ownership. She rather rents for the rest of her life. I suspect that she will not do well in her retirement.

 

[Dtail]

Tough article. We are mostly all blessed.

 

[Gumby]

Yes, we are blessed. I remember the days of my youth, when it was a big deal whether the soup was $1.58 per can or $1.72 per can. I would do almost anything not to return to those days.

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ Of course not. Now, you get to make your own homemade soup, which is healthier and less expensive.

 

[38Chevy454]

That article had examples of people that must have retired with little savings. They may not have been high paid jobs, but certainly were middle class near average it seems. So the logical explanation is that they retired without sufficient savings. Should have kept working longer and saving more.

 

[Amethyst]

The article's wording on Leslie's Medicare is very vague. It sounded like a throwaway quote, which a young reporter didn't bother to investigate.

No matter how pinched she's feeling, she would be mad to give up all health insurance; and she doesn't sound crazy. I wondered if she has a policy through her teacher's retirement. Same as I have Medicare Part A, and Federal BCBS in lieu of Med Part B.

So, she stopped getting Medicare supplement plans! Aye, aye, aye...

I agree that Leslie would better go back to work part-time to get money for that Medicare premium.

I suspect that she still has a mortgage.