Great aticle on how middle class is struggling and not saving enough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but I wanted to be financially secure so I went into law

Yeah, law! There's an industry that isn't restructuring at an incredible rate and has jobs a plenty and also all at six figures!

Fucking idiot.

Not really. I got out of law school in 1988 and I'm almost done working now, but go ahead and assume I'm a 35 year old idiot. Like you.

I think the point of the pp's post is that your statement, "I wanted to be financially secure so I went into law," is not applicable today. I am glad you made a smart choice ... in 1988.

+1 This

[Anonymous]

I'm glad there are so many smart people on here who would never make poor choices.

Personally, I haven't made poor financial choices that have put me too deep in the hole. But I still have no idea what I'm doing in terms of savings and investments. No. Idea. I don't even know where to turn for that kind of advice from someone who doesn't have their own interests at stake, and who would find it worth their while to advise me.

I wish they taught basic financial planning in high school.

[Anonymous]

I've mad plenty of poor choices. Just off the top of my head, I've lost $500k in investments into various schemes.

It's not all roses.

If you want to learn about savings, and investments, there are plenty of books you can read. Hopefully they taught English in the high school you went to, and that someone introduced you to the concept of a library.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but I wanted to be financially secure so I went into law

Yeah, law! There's an industry that isn't restructuring at an incredible rate and has jobs a plenty and also all at six figures!

Fucking idiot.

Not really. I got out of law school in 1988 and I'm almost done working now, but go ahead and assume I'm a 35 year old idiot. Like you.

I think the point of the pp's post is that your statement, "I wanted to be financially secure so I went into law," is not applicable today. I am glad you made a smart choice ... in 1988.

But the general point remains, that there are many more financially secure disciplines than journalism/etc., unless you're going to take the view that no profession offers more financial security than any other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad there are so many smart people on here who would never make poor choices.

Personally, I haven't made poor financial choices that have put me too deep in the hole. But I still have no idea what I'm doing in terms of savings and investments. No. Idea. I don't even know where to turn for that kind of advice from someone who doesn't have their own interests at stake, and who would find it worth their while to advise me.

I wish they taught basic financial planning in high school.

Start with your parents, or other family or close friends who are financially successful. Read Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman and Michelle Singletary. Subscribe to Money or Kiplinger's, or check them out from the library. Go on bogleheads dot com.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad there are so many smart people on here who would never make poor choices.

Personally, I haven't made poor financial choices that have put me too deep in the hole. But I still have no idea what I'm doing in terms of savings and investments. No. Idea. I don't even know where to turn for that kind of advice from someone who doesn't have their own interests at stake, and who would find it worth their while to advise me.

I wish they taught basic financial planning in high school.

Start with your parents, or other family or close friends who are financially successful. Read Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman and Michelle Singletary. Subscribe to Money or Kiplinger's, or check them out from the library. Go on bogleheads dot com.

Agreed. I learned a ton by reading Dave Ramsey (actually just listened to his books on my iPhone via Audible while I worked out). I am way way better off financially now, after listening to his books. We have the peace of mind of an emergency fund, for example! Truly life-changing for my DH and me. (Our parents always had low-paying jobs and so we never really had any financial education because they didn't know much to teach us.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But I still have no idea what I'm doing in terms of savings and investments. No. Idea. I don't even know where to turn for that kind of advice from someone who doesn't have their own interests at stake, and who would find it worth their while to advise me.

Fee based financial planners

I wish they taught basic financial planning in high school.

This isn't a panacea. You have to have skin in the game. How many high schoolers have skin in the game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not really. I got out of law school in 1988 and I'm almost done working now, but go ahead and assume I'm a 35 year old idiot. Like you.

Thanks for making my point for me, again, idiot. Tired of kicking your own ass yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Next generation is toast, left to buy overpriced homes. These deals and ATM's are not out there anymore.

Big deal. Just find a time machine, go back to 1988 and go to law school. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have a HUGE issue of him writing an article like he is part of the middle and working class.

Just another reason to hate the Atlantic. These people are so out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
But the general point remains, that there are many more financially secure disciplines than journalism/etc., unless you're going to take the view that no profession offers more financial security than any other.

I'm a journalist and I'm financially secure. Any questions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But the general point remains, that there are many more financially secure disciplines than journalism/etc., unless you're going to take the view that no profession offers more financial security than any other.

I'm a journalist and I'm financially secure. Any questions?

For a journalist I'd expect better reading comprehension. The PP stated that there are more financially secure choices, not that journalism can't be financially secure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secret-shame/476415/

What do you think? Is this you? Why or why not?

I haven't read the thread, sorry, I just wanted to mention that throughout the entire article he never once mentions his income in any year let alone an average over the years. Pretty hard to judge the situation. Most middle-income or middle class people have a steady income of sorts so it is more about how much you make and spending versus saving. An idiosyncratic career like writing books is hard to analyze. You could sell millions of copies and be very rich. More likely you won't and thus private school is maybe not the best idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is the answer - genuine fool. I have no issue with his life choices - he day to day life seems pretty awesome - cool job that he has passion for, wife taking care of the kids and house, high achieving kids and he gets to live in the most desirable places in the country.

I have a HUGE issue of him writing an article like he is part of the middle and working class. Nope. He had a lot of choices and made choices to maximize comfort and success in the present moment. Now that retirement is looming he is looking back reflecting on those choices and deciding that the American economy is set up so that middle and working class folks can't accumulate wealth. Sorry - his personal example actually illustrates the exact opposite and 99% of humans on this planet would feel blessed and thrilled to have his financial status. Clown.

Spot on!

Thanks for digging up the property info. He didn't disclose that or even hint at that.

Why doesn't he get a home equity line of credit, not to use for consumption but as his emergency fund? I cannot believe that a guy with $700k in home equity has the gall to style himself as the working poor, if your research on the house is correct.

[Anonymous]

Nice takedown on Gabler's piece in Slate.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_bills/2016/04/neal_gabler_s_atlantic_essay_is_part_of_an_old_aggravating_genre_the_sad.html

I don't begrudge him sending his children to private schools in NYC and then Stanford and Emory. His Stanford daughter is a Rhodes Scholar. Frankly, I'd be pretty happy to give up lots of my financial security to help my DCs achieve their highest possible potentials.

What I don't understand is why he doesn't rent out the Hamptons house in the summer for $10k/week and summer in some inexpensive mountain cabin. Or just move to one of the cool emerging small cities Boulder, Boise, Des Moines or Burlington where $1000/month rents still go very far. He could have upper middle class status, be a local celebrity among well-educated neighbors who read his pieces, teach a couple adjunct classes, and have lots of interns/research assistants for free.