The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: N on July 16, 2013, 09:01:42 AM
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Im sure some of you have seen this
http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/mcdonalds/budget/budget2.php
all around ridiculousness
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Ack! We have a daily spending goal of $25? A total of $750 per month? After all, nobody would want to save more than $100 a month....especially if they could spend $25 on McDonalds and other junk every day.
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I wouldn't rag on this too much, it's a good idea.
100 savings out of 2000 income is much better than most (only a 5% savings, but on a low income lower savings is expected), and that $25/day is supposed to cover all food costs and all other spending (like starbucks, clothes, etc.) besides a $100/mo
"other." The rent is cheaper ($600/mo).
It's actually decently reasonable, IMO. Could they cut down? Sure (the cell phone is $100/mo, for example), but this isn't as bad of advice as some of the personal finance sites out there give.
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yeah, but medical, 20$/mo?
no heat?
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Heat says $50.
The fact that 2 jobs are listed is the most depressing part of this to me.
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yeah, but medical, 20$/mo?
no heat?
heating is listed at $50. That's more than I've ever spent.
Maybe an extra $15 from heat can be spent on health insurance? $35 is the cheapest plan on ehealthinsurance in my area, but I think I'd spring for the $5K deductible for $4 less.
At least it's encouraging people to think about money.
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I think folks are looking at two different budgets -- mine has heat as $0 as well, not $50. The one I'm seeing has monthly spending money as $800, not $750.
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I think folks are looking at two different budgets -- mine has heat as $0 as well, not $50. The one I'm seeing has monthly spending money as $800, not $750.
probably a glitch for certain regions?
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I think folks are looking at two different budgets -- mine has heat as $0 as well, not $50. The one I'm seeing has monthly spending money as $800, not $750.
probably a glitch for certain regions?
Maybe not a glitch, maybe targeted towards certain regions that may need heat or not?
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I think folks are looking at two different budgets -- mine has heat as $0 as well, not $50. The one I'm seeing has monthly spending money as $800, not $750.
What does it break down the daily spending as then? Still 25? Or $26.67?
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I think folks are looking at two different budgets -- mine has heat as $0 as well, not $50. The one I'm seeing has monthly spending money as $800, not $750.
What does it break down the daily spending as then? Still 25? Or $26.67?
They round it to $27 per day. My browser thinks it's in Virginia because of my IP; I'm physically in an region that needs no heat, though.
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Originally it was $0 for heat, they've been pilloried for it across the internet, and they then changed it to $50.
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I first read that and thought: No way! They can get a cheaper cell plan and buy a used car with cash or go without. This is terrible advice.
Then I realized not everybody is like us. If they gave that advice there would be higher chance of people not following any of it. So, while $100/mo is an alarming amount to spend for such a small income, I think it's probably better to ease people into being more frugal. A moderately successful plan is better than no plan at all.
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I first read that and thought: No way! They can get a cheaper cell plan and buy a used car with cash or go without. This is terrible advice.
I don't get the impression any of the particular items are supposed to be advice. The advice is just that you should make a budget in the first place.
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I first read that and thought: No way! They can get a cheaper cell plan and buy a used car with cash or go without. This is terrible advice.
Then I realized not everybody is like us. If they gave that advice there would be higher chance of people not following any of it. So, while $100/mo is an alarming amount to spend for such a small income, I think it's probably better to ease people into being more frugal. A moderately successful plan is better than no plan at all.
And the perfect is all too often the enemy of the good (or the better, at any rate). Good point.
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It's actually not as bad as I thought. The $20 health care is mighty low, but I read an article ripping on the McD's pay claiming that it should be $220 for emergency only health care. That's not right either. $62.50 will buy this middle-aged man here *very* nice healthcare...
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I first read that and thought: No way! They can get a cheaper cell plan and buy a used car with cash or go without. This is terrible advice.
I don't get the impression any of the particular items are supposed to be advice. The advice is just that you should make a budget in the first place.
Yeah, like anyone in the real world has expenses with nice round dollar values
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Heat says $50.
The fact that 2 jobs are listed is the most depressing part of this to me.
Yeah, I'm sure that they changed the heat once the news articles came out about its omission. I notice that they also don't have gas for the cars. Theoretically, it could come out of "other."
The spokespeople have also said that the 2 jobs are from a two-income household, not necessarily one person. I am very concerned about the health piece. The spokesperson said that the net income is after insurance, but I have sincere doubts about that.
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The spokespeople have also said that the 2 jobs are from a two-income household, not necessarily one person. I am very concerned about the health piece. The spokesperson said that the net income is after insurance, but I have sincere doubts about that.
A $20 co-pay is pretty common on a lot of health plans, but you would have to assume that a whole family only goes to the doctor once per month, and there are no other expenses beyond that (like prescription medication or lab work), which is a ridiculous assumption.
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The spokespeople have also said that the 2 jobs are from a two-income household, not necessarily one person. I am very concerned about the health piece. The spokesperson said that the net income is after insurance, but I have sincere doubts about that.
A $20 co-pay is pretty common on a lot of health plans, but you would have to assume that a whole family only goes to the doctor once per month, and there are no other expenses beyond that (like prescription medication or lab work), which is a ridiculous assumption.
How many people were in the family? That seems more than reasonable for one person, but it still ignores the premium on the insurance.
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The spokespeople have also said that the 2 jobs are from a two-income household, not necessarily one person. I am very concerned about the health piece. The spokesperson said that the net income is after insurance, but I have sincere doubts about that.
A $20 co-pay is pretty common on a lot of health plans, but you would have to assume that a whole family only goes to the doctor once per month, and there are no other expenses beyond that (like prescription medication or lab work), which is a ridiculous assumption.
How many people were in the family? That seems more than reasonable for one person, but it still ignores the premium on the insurance.
For a one-person family, the co-pay would be reasonable, excluding all other expenses. Maybe they're assuming the health insurance premium is deducted from the paycheck and the money this family is using only includes take-home pay?
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The fact that 2 jobs are listed is the most depressing part of this to me.
Maybe it's just the part of the country I live in, but nobody around here works at McD's as a full-time job. It's just the place where high-school, college, and retirees go to earn a few extra bucks doing some part-time work.
I can't really get upset about it not being a wage sufficient for one to support a whole family on. If every job paid that kind of money, there'd be no part-time jobs for people that just want a few extra bucks here and there.
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Yeah, I'm sure that they changed the heat once the news articles came out about its omission. I notice that they also don't have gas for the cars. Theoretically, it could come out of "other."
Groceries come out of 'other' as well :)
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I think a lot of the outrage over this was because you have this huge billion dollar corporation giving "budget" advice that includes $20 health insurance (I wonder what that covers...) to its low paid employees and has them working 2 jobs.
The figure listed for their first job is $1,105. 160 hours a month at McDonald's at minimum wage is $1,160 before taxes, and I think taxes are more than $55 a month.
The thing is though, no employee except a manager is ever going to get 40 hours. 30, maybe 35, is the max. Jobs like this also don't have you on a consistent schedule so juggling another job takes a lot of work.
I'm not sure when I stand on the minimum wage needs to be raised debate, but I think we do need to have a discussion on what standard of living someone should have if they put in an honest 40 hours. Should they have incomes so low they qualify for public assistance? Is it right that taxpayers are effectively subsidizing these profitable companies by giving them cheap labor? I know someone will say that the companies would just raise their prices and we'd be paying for it that way. Maybe that's true, but at least the employees wouldn't have the stigma of being lazy moochers.
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As far as I can tell, those numbers are supposed to show you possible line items for your own budget, not offer spending guidelines. And your groceries and gas aren't supposed to come out of the "other" line, but rather out of the "spending money" that's supposedly left over after you pay for fixed expenses like rent and heat.
I'm with the "perfect is the enemy of the good" comments here. There are millions of people who would benefit from a low-level "keep track of what you spend" tutorial. And I don't expect McD's to include advice like "if you work at McD's you can't afford a freakin' car". I have trouble imagining a Mustachian McDonald's... maybe Mayor McCheese could give people a punch in the face?
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The budget isn't ideal for sure but given the financial situation of most people who will use it I say its a pretty good place to start.