The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: Mr Mark on May 26, 2013, 02:47:36 PM
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-usa-survey-paycheck-idUSBRE88I1BE20120919
Most American households basically live pay check to paycheck. Any savings are locked up in housing equity and maybe employer retirement schemes as well, I guess.
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An alternative working title which was not chosen was, "More than two-thirds in U.S. cannot figure out how to cut expenses: survey"
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The survey of 30,600 people found that 68 percent said it would be somewhat difficult or very difficult if their paychecks were delayed for a week.
I witnessed this firsthand a couple of years before the recession when my employer switched payroll from paying current (the paycheck you got on friday covered the time up to and including payday) to paying a week in arrears. It nearly caused a mutiny. It seemed like everywhere I looked I saw really unhappy or even frightened people, no matter how much they made or how intelligent they seemed to be.
In the end the company decided to fill the missing week with a loan payable on separation to anyone who wanted it, and turning it down was so rare that they felt the need to confirm several times that I understood I was going to be "missing" a week of pay.
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The main reason Kowalik's clients live paycheck to paycheck is that they have come to see luxuries as essential expenses, she said.
That is the line that stuck out the most to me.
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"It seems like all the money goes away so quickly," she said. "It's kind of scary."
"Cable used to be a luxury. Now it's expected," she said. "People have an expectation that they should have a mobile phone, you should be able to have the Internet. People are going to have to change their outlook and put things into perspective."
Different "she" quoting, but the first can't seem to determine where the money goes, but the second has a pretty good idea (not just the things cited, but the "expectations." Just a quick example. We had a young girl stay with us for a month because her mom and dad couldn't afford a place to live (car accident, lost job, etc.), but she sure was able to have unlimited talk and text (and some data) on her smartphone. I just don't understand what drives us that way???
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"It seems like all the money goes away so quickly," she said. "It's kind of scary."
"Cable used to be a luxury. Now it's expected," she said. "People have an expectation that they should have a mobile phone, you should be able to have the Internet. People are going to have to change their outlook and put things into perspective."
Different "she" quoting, but the first can't seem to determine where the money goes, but the second has a pretty good idea (not just the things cited, but the "expectations." Just a quick example. We had a young girl stay with us for a month because her mom and dad couldn't afford a place to live (car accident, lost job, etc.), but she sure was able to have unlimited talk and text (and some data) on her smartphone. I just don't understand what drives us that way???
Advertising, culture, "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentalities...
I mean one of the simple tenets of Mustachianism is a simple management of the above. And that management being based off of things you give a crap about and that which you do not. But also in moderation. I love good food, so my grocery bill it high. It is not a trouble, I still save and I'm still on track. If I lost my job tomorrow I'd be back to rice and beans in a heartbeat. The people in these articles can't see past their own lifestyles.
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I love good food, so my grocery bill it high. It is not a trouble, I still save and I'm still on track. If I lost my job tomorrow I'd be back to rice and beans in a heartbeat.
Me too. But I'd also head to the cookbook section of the local library, 'cause there's a lot of good food to be made from cheap ingredients. Most of your ethnic cuisines (that you might pay big bucks for in restaurants) are the product of dirt-poor cultures: “Pig’s ear soup, eh? Now what does that tell you about the place, eh?”
Rincewind shrugged, “Very provident people?”
“Some other bugger pinches the pig!”
- Terry Pratchett
As for cell phones... I never liked them, and resisted getting one for years. What changed my mind was the land line rate increase to over $30/month, while a pay-as-you-go dumb phone runs $7/month.