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

Forum Index » Jobs and Careers

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I wanted to go back to the OP's original question, I learned long ago everyone has different values about money.  I always joke that there is always one sibling that spent money as soon as they got it and another that saved everything and would have their brother/sister begging to "borrow" money when the ice cream truck came around.  Same parents, different habits. I was a saver/rainy day planner from a young age.  My parents were always saying they didn't have money and although they tried to shield us, I always felt we were one emergency away from the brink. I saved my money to be able to afford activities and later to be able to support myself fully knowing my parents couldn't be a safety net.  I've also seen where people spend money to feel good about themselves so they drive the nice car or have the big house whether they can truly afford it or not. I've also seen where someone is in so much debt they feel helpless. It could be credit card debt from college/right out of college before they wised up, medical debt while uninsured, college loans plus perhaps losing their job at some point. Everything multiplies once you get behind. In those cases even if they stayed home and used natural light/kerosine lamps and went no where and did nothing, they still would not be out of debt anytime in the next decade. So they feel the $60 dinner isn't going to make a difference in the debt so they might as well enjoy life a little.  There are also people that have widely varying perceptions of how much they have.  I've seen lots of varying opinions on DCUM about middle class salaries and how much house a person could afford.  Well the Federal Government is a subset of the same types of people you find outside the government.

So anyway, I go out with friends that have different budgets and different situations. I don't get involved in their situations and question their money judgement.  My only thing is that the person is responsible for their own choices.  That means I don't expect to order a water, take public transportation, and order an appetizer and have friends that ordered 3 drinks and a full meal plus parking validation to the bill say "oh let's just split the check".  I don't call out the person ordering the expensive entree complaining about XYZ in life being so expensive, nor do I call out the person on a budget asking "oh we make the same so why can't you afford XYZ again?" If a person is giving lip services to struggling, I may mention some things Ive read or done recently to save money, just as people may swap diet tips.  It's up to the individual if they really want to get serious about it.  I just ask we pick someplace that can work for several budget/price points and you can fund on your own whatever you decided to order.  If someone can't work with those two things I won't go out with them very often. My friends have to live with the consequences of their choices so if spending $60 on dinner makes them unable to pay their mortgage, they will learn the hard way to cut back. I can't control their decision so I don't get myself twisted about something I can't control. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics