Why is it hard for some privileged people to realize that saving is hard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the "struggling" people I know make stupid decisions. This is THE easiest country and area to do well in.

+1

If you have a lot of money...

I know a young woman who several years ago was on her own, struggling with money problems. She wanted to go to graduate school but couldn’t afford it. She started walking dogs to help make ends meet. She went about it intelligently, taking every job that came her way and going out of her way to accommodate her customers. She took some of the money she earned and invested it in a web presence. She expanded her services and over a couple of years because a thriving small business owner. Started graduate school and took on a couple of employees. One of those employees took care of my dog in the fall because the woman who started the business was taking a well deserved post graduation vacation to Asia. She didn’t have parents paying for that trip; she was scrappy and smart and made something out of nothing.

You don’t need “a lot of money” to start taking the steps to improve your financial future.

However, you’re talking to people are in the middle of that woman’s story. And you still don’t know if she has 3-6 mo of savings....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Especially if you make barely enough to cover the bare minimum. I am honestly disgusted by people online and in real life saying that govt employees (and everyone) should have 3-6 mons of expenses saved. That's mighty hard seeing as a lot of people live check to check. If I can barely make it to payday, where is the "savings" money coming from? We don't all have surplus funds at the end of the month to put away. And 6 months of expenses? That's a lot of money when most people don't even have $1000 for an emergency.

Hon, I made 60k one year and saved 20k of it. I had my expenses down to 2k/mo. Ans yes, this is in the DC area. I was than a. SAHM, DH made 110k/yr (less than thr average federal worker) supporting 3 people and managed to save 25k/yr, not including 401k, so even more.

Unlike many, we know the difference between a want and a need.

It’s awesome that you were able to do that! So what about people who haven’t - should they starve?

So the people who have made sacrifices in their life to save should simply bail out people who didn't?

This thread was asking for empathy, not donations.

[Anonymous]

Can we at least acknowledge the simple truth that a LOT of people have kids before they can easily afford them (meaning putting a day care line item in the budget and buying things like diapers and formula won't put you in the hole every month)?

Yeah it sucks if you want to have kids at 27 and end up having to wait until 35 but you do what you have to do.

It's simple math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the person and priorities. We have always made it a priority no matter our income level. If you are making over $80K, you should have a few months in savings. If you are making $120+, you should have 4-6 months minimum.

Same.

We still live in the house we bought when our income was 150k. It is now 750k.

Don’t let lifestyle creep happen.

+1 (although we don't make 750k!) We bought our (modest) house when we made 100k, we now make 250k. Almost all of our contemporaries have "traded up" after pay and family size increases. However, we have stayed put since making more and having kids. As a result are savings are very healthy. In fact, our monthly bills are now lower now than before we had kids. We drive older, paid-off cars, etc. But we have much more flexibility and less stress. Would not trade that for more square footage or fancier finishes.

I agree, it's hard to save. And when we first set out to achieve our goals, I was skeptical that we would be able to do it. I had student debt and no savings at all in my late 20s. My spouse and I had to be extremely disciplined in order to get to this point (saving for down payment, paying off student loans, figuring out childcare options, etc.), it definitely wasn't "fun". There were a lot of things i would have liked to buy or do, but did not because we had set a budget and it did not include those items. But looking back 10 years later, it has been so so so worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we at least acknowledge the simple truth that a LOT of people have kids before they can easily afford them (meaning putting a day care line item in the budget and buying things like diapers and formula won't put you in the hole every month)?

Yeah it sucks if you want to have kids at 27 and end up having to wait until 35 but you do what you have to do.

It's simple math.

+ 1

Kids are more expensive than most people realize before having them. They've become almost like a luxury item.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Especially if you make barely enough to cover the bare minimum. I am honestly disgusted by people online and in real life saying that govt employees (and everyone) should have 3-6 mons of expenses saved. That's mighty hard seeing as a lot of people live check to check. If I can barely make it to payday, where is the "savings" money coming from? We don't all have surplus funds at the end of the month to put away. And 6 months of expenses? That's a lot of money when most people don't even have $1000 for an emergency.

Hon, I made 60k one year and saved 20k of it. I had my expenses down to 2k/mo. Ans yes, this is in the DC area. I was than a. SAHM, DH made 110k/yr (less than thr average federal worker) supporting 3 people and managed to save 25k/yr, not including 401k, so even more.

Unlike many, we know the difference between a want and a need.

It’s awesome that you were able to do that! So what about people who haven’t - should they starve?

So the people who have made sacrifices in their life to save should simply bail out people who didn't?

This thread was asking for empathy, not donations.

The PP I was responding to talked about people "starving." I didn't realize that empathy staved off starvation, or other less sever forms of deprivation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the person and priorities. We have always made it a priority no matter our income level. If you are making over $80K, you should have a few months in savings. If you are making $120+, you should have 4-6 months minimum.

Same.

We still live in the house we bought when our income was 150k. It is now 750k.

Don’t let lifestyle creep happen.

Ok this is weird. I get not wanting to let lifestyle creep happen but there is no need to be a miser who hoards money either.

[Anonymous]

I grew up really, really poor in Appalachia. My family was well below poverty line most years. Poverty can be crushing but I agree many people way overspend and blame it on what they “deserve.” I got out by clawing my way out eating the rice and beans in a cold shared apartment and all that.

If you trade financial security for everyday indulgences, you will never get ahead without some serious luck. Otherwise you will continue to flounder. It IS a choice usually. Exception is crushing medical bills. We need basic nationalized health care. No, you won’t get the best, but we need adequate free care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the person and priorities. We have always made it a priority no matter our income level. If you are making over $80K, you should have a few months in savings. If you are making $120+, you should have 4-6 months minimum.

Same.

We still live in the house we bought when our income was 150k. It is now 750k.

Don’t let lifestyle creep happen.

Ok this is weird. I get not wanting to let lifestyle creep happen but there is no need to be a miser who hoards money either.

+1 time to see a therapist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the person and priorities. We have always made it a priority no matter our income level. If you are making over $80K, you should have a few months in savings. If you are making $120+, you should have 4-6 months minimum.

Same.

We still live in the house we bought when our income was 150k. It is now 750k.

Don’t let lifestyle creep happen.

Ok this is weird. I get not wanting to let lifestyle creep happen but there is no need to be a miser who hoards money either.

+1 time to see a therapist

Pp should see a therapist for not moving to more opulent surroundings just because s/he can?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the person and priorities. We have always made it a priority no matter our income level. If you are making over $80K, you should have a few months in savings. If you are making $120+, you should have 4-6 months minimum.

Same.

We still live in the house we bought when our income was 150k. It is now 750k.

Don’t let lifestyle creep happen.

Ok this is weird. I get not wanting to let lifestyle creep happen but there is no need to be a miser who hoards money either.

+1 time to see a therapist

Pp should see a therapist for not moving to more opulent surroundings just because s/he can?

Not sure about the house, If they bought it long ago it might already be worth close to a million. The idea is NOT to be a miser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Especially if you make barely enough to cover the bare minimum. I am honestly disgusted by people online and in real life saying that govt employees (and everyone) should have 3-6 mons of expenses saved. That's mighty hard seeing as a lot of people live check to check. If I can barely make it to payday, where is the "savings" money coming from? We don't all have surplus funds at the end of the month to put away. And 6 months of expenses? That's a lot of money when most people don't even have $1000 for an emergency.

Hon, I made 60k one year and saved 20k of it. I had my expenses down to 2k/mo. Ans yes, this is in the DC area. I was than a. SAHM, DH made 110k/yr (less than thr average federal worker) supporting 3 people and managed to save 25k/yr, not including 401k, so even more.

Unlike many, we know the difference between a want and a need.

It’s awesome that you were able to do that! So what about people who haven’t - should they starve?

So the people who have made sacrifices in their life to save should simply bail out people who didn't?

This thread was asking for empathy, not donations.

The PP I was responding to talked about people "starving." I didn't realize that empathy staved off starvation, or other less sever forms of deprivation.

On the other hand, scolding on the internet definitely helps.

And how do you know people with less money haven't "made sacrifices"? Maybe they sacrificed having another kid or owning a home. Maybe they sacrified a lot of things to get medical care. Maybe they sacrificed their own savings to help family (which is statistically shown to be one of the reasons Black families have less wealth than white).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are basically furloughed for 2 months and need to save to get themselves through the summer months. Many school systems don’t have 12 month pay options, only 10 month. It’s a bit different as it’s not a surprise, but considering the volatility of today’s government, fed workers should always put themselves in a position to be able to weather a shutdown. Of course saving is hard—but it is a skill that’s a necessity.

What?! No. Feds make 68k on average and work year round. Not the same as teachers who are off for 2-3 months.

Let’s see. In LCPS last year, I was off from about June 15 to about August 15. That’s two months. And we aren’t paid for that time. (We can have our salary spread out over 12 months instead of 10 though.)

We are contract employees and do not have that time factored in as “vacation.”

Np: and your salary takes that into account and you would know to budget accordingly. The fact that you (and others) don’t see/understand the difference between that and being furloughed, without notice, does not inspire confidence in your ability to think critically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the "struggling" people I know make stupid decisions. This is THE easiest country and area to do well in.

+1

If you have a lot of money...

I know a young woman who several years ago was on her own, struggling with money problems. She wanted to go to graduate school but couldn’t afford it. She started walking dogs to help make ends meet. She went about it intelligently, taking every job that came her way and going out of her way to accommodate her customers. She took some of the money she earned and invested it in a web presence. She expanded her services and over a couple of years because a thriving small business owner. Started graduate school and took on a couple of employees. One of those employees took care of my dog in the fall because the woman who started the business was taking a well deserved post graduation vacation to Asia. She didn’t have parents paying for that trip; she was scrappy and smart and made something out of nothing.

You don’t need “a lot of money” to start taking the steps to improve your financial future.

I the pp didn’t respond to my note.
Yes, some of us are on our way. We’re ij the middle of our success story.
I’m glad some of you went from 100 to 250 hhi.

Maybe that will be me or OP in a few more years

Guarantee I’d have more savings if I could.
However, you’re talking to people are in the middle of that woman’s story. And you still don’t know if she has 3-6 mo of savings....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the "struggling" people I know make stupid decisions. This is THE easiest country and area to do well in.

+1

If you have a lot of money...

I know a young woman who several years ago was on her own, struggling with money problems. She wanted to go to graduate school but couldn’t afford it. She started walking dogs to help make ends meet. She went about it intelligently, taking every job that came her way and going out of her way to accommodate her customers. She took some of the money she earned and invested it in a web presence. She expanded her services and over a couple of years because a thriving small business owner. Started graduate school and took on a couple of employees. One of those employees took care of my dog in the fall because the woman who started the business was taking a well deserved post graduation vacation to Asia. She didn’t have parents paying for that trip; she was scrappy and smart and made something out of nothing.

You don’t need “a lot of money” to start taking the steps to improve your financial future.

However, you’re talking to people are in the middle of that woman’s story. And you still don’t know if she has 3-6 mo of savings....

I the pp didn’t respond to my note.
Yes, some of us are on our way. We’re ij the middle of our success story.
I’m glad some of you went from 100 to 250 hhi.

Maybe that will be me or OP in a few more years

Guarantee I’d have more savings if I could.

*fixed bad formatting