Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown

[Anonymous]

Yes I'm a bit judgey of these people since Im good with money just like the skinny folks are a bit judgey of me because I'm a bit overweight and I eat too many cookies lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the thread didn't get any post during the 2018 furlough. Here it is again. How has the situation changed? Lots more people retired since 2013.

Maybe there were no posts in 2018 because reviving ancient threads is annoying. Especially petty ones like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being smug. I'm genuinely confused how people taking home five to eight thousand a month, have no kids, have no major medical expenses, and have paid off most or all of their student loans cannot save enough for a one month emergency fund.

I am a gs 13. After paying for the best health insurance and putting sevenpercent into my 401k, I take home 4400 a month. I spend two thousand on housing, and otherwise spend between six hundred to 1400 a month (300 student loan payment). I save at least a thousand a month without even trying hard.

You should put the max in your TSP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the pages of replies. But I agree with OP. I cannot understand why so many people live paycheck to paycheck. I don't have sympathy. I have disgust. Missing a few paychecks should not be an emergency. An inconvenience, yes. A headache, perhaps. But not an emergency.

A young Fed family living in FFX have a mortgage of $4k, daycare for 2 kids is $2k, car payments of $600

Fed makes $90k and spouse is a teacher making $60k.

Their monthly income is net $10k. Their monthly fixed expenses is $9k.

It sucks to live in the DMV is you don’t come from money or engage in the lobbying/law/defense tech milking Federal teat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being smug. I'm genuinely confused how people taking home five to eight thousand a month, have no kids, have no major medical expenses, and have paid off most or all of their student loans cannot save enough for a one month emergency fund.

I am a gs 13. After paying for the best health insurance and putting sevenpercent into my 401k, I take home 4400 a month. I spend two thousand on housing, and otherwise spend between six hundred to 1400 a month (300 student loan payment). I save at least a thousand a month without even trying hard.

You should put the max in your TSP.

LOL. Yes!! I absolutely should have been maxing out my 401k. What was I thinking??? I think I was saving for a down payment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being smug. I'm genuinely confused how people taking home five to eight thousand a month, have no kids, have no major medical expenses, and have paid off most or all of their student loans cannot save enough for a one month emergency fund.

I am a gs 13. After paying for the best health insurance and putting sevenpercent into my 401k, I take home 4400 a month. I spend two thousand on housing, and otherwise spend between six hundred to 1400 a month (300 student loan payment). I save at least a thousand a month without even trying hard.

Well, many people have much larger student loan payments than you, or may (rightly or wrongly) have larger housing payments due to trying to get on the property ladder, may be saving more than 7% towards retirement (which is pretty paltry for someone so condescending about other’s financial habits.), or may have previously incurred medical debt or other significant expenses you’re not aware of.

I’m genuinely confused that you lack the self awareness or imagination to understand that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 years ago Fed employees were middle class earners — now in DC with tech and crypto and finance, Feds are LMC and stretched thin.

Well first, there are two kinds of feds. The feds who tend to hang out on DCUM are often in white collar jobs, have graduate degrees, and make high grade federal salaries as a result. This board is full of fed lawyers, economists, scientists, etc., who can easily make 120-180k in DC depending on grade and step (DC gets a locality bump for cost of living). In a dual-fed couple, that's a very healthy income even in this area and not "lower middle class".

But even feds making less money, GS 12 and below, can still have a decent HHI if they are married. And if they are in their 30s, 40s or 50s, they will often have been able to buy property before rates went up. A dual income couple in this area making 150-200k will still be okay if they have a reasonable mortgage.

Which is not to say I don't have empathy for feds in those categories, I know it's hard to go without income (I am a freelancer so I am very, very familiar with the dynamic of just not having income for a while and the stress that comes from not being sure when your next paycheck will happen). But I also think people in these categories should be able to survive for a few weeks if necessary.

I feel particularly bad for feds in low-earning roles making 50 or 60k. Maybe single or their spouse is in a similar or lesser paying job. Even if your spouse is still working, at that level it's going to be hard to make ends meet and you are way less likely to have a decent emergency fund. In some cases these workers might be younger and have had less time to prepare. Best case scenario they have family who can help. But it would be a real hardship.

[Anonymous]

I started reading his thread from the beginning and was confused by all the Tea Party references. Oh, 2013! How quaint! Those were the days! Now we have Young Republicans spewing racist hate and threatening political violence, Charlie Kirk Day and so much unbelieveable shit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12 years ago Fed employees were middle class earners — now in DC with tech and crypto and finance, Feds are LMC and stretched thin.

Well first, there are two kinds of feds. The feds who tend to hang out on DCUM are often in white collar jobs, have graduate degrees, and make high grade federal salaries as a result. This board is full of fed lawyers, economists, scientists, etc., who can easily make 120-180k in DC depending on grade and step (DC gets a locality bump for cost of living). In a dual-fed couple, that's a very healthy income even in this area and not "lower middle class".

But even feds making less money, GS 12 and below, can still have a decent HHI if they are married. And if they are in their 30s, 40s or 50s, they will often have been able to buy property before rates went up. A dual income couple in this area making 150-200k will still be okay if they have a reasonable mortgage.

Which is not to say I don't have empathy for feds in those categories, I know it's hard to go without income (I am a freelancer so I am very, very familiar with the dynamic of just not having income for a while and the stress that comes from not being sure when your next paycheck will happen). But I also think people in these categories should be able to survive for a few weeks if necessary.

I feel particularly bad for feds in low-earning roles making 50 or 60k. Maybe single or their spouse is in a similar or lesser paying job. Even if your spouse is still working, at that level it's going to be hard to make ends meet and you are way less likely to have a decent emergency fund. In some cases these workers might be younger and have had less time to prepare. Best case scenario they have family who can help. But it would be a real hardship.

Please any one making $160k is a poor according to DCUM. If you were to get an affordable mortgage, your commute would be 1hr+.

[Anonymous]

I work with a lot of childless single women and they all support other family members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the pages of replies. But I agree with OP. I cannot understand why so many people live paycheck to paycheck. I don't have sympathy. I have disgust. Missing a few paychecks should not be an emergency. An inconvenience, yes. A headache, perhaps. But not an emergency.

It’s 2025 and you are agreeing with a post from 2013. You’re a sharp one.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe that OP is X years old and just realized that some people spend beyond their means and live paycheck to paycheck. Yes, even ones who make good salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: … (DC gets a locality bump for cost of living) …

No, it doesn’t. This is absolutely incorrect.

[Anonymous]

I’m wondering if OP got married in the intervening 12 years and now has kids and a mortgage and a whole lot more sympathy for people’s finances.

For us, it’s been an absolute shit year financially because of major problems with our house including a flooded basement, plus my one daughter has had thousands of dollars in unreimbursed medical expenses. This is not the time for a shutdown.

[Anonymous]

Yet in Covid I was walked out door at start, kid in college. Three kids, oldest in college and stay at home mom wife and a mortgage,

Took me three years and two months to get back to old level of job. So shocked people can’t make it a two weeks.

Feds are allowed to work other jobs, why aren’t they working? Are they just sitting home? I was doing other jobs while out of work