Anonymous wrote:OMG people like having things, OP. THINGS.

What makes you buy things when you know it’s beyond what you make?

I recently tried to help my single mom union working friend with her budget/bills. She barely makes enough monthly to pay for the essentials. Her ex is mostly deadbeat- she has tried to get her CS with little luck as he works only side cash jobs.

$6000 Net Income (with overtime)
(2700) mortgage, taxes, home insurance (on small
( 950) gas, electric, water, cable, cell phone
(680) car pmt for Honda CRV
(250) car insurance for her and 2 teens
(900) groceries & house supplies
(600) misc kid sports, activities, school fees, etc., oil changes

She had 0 left for anything fun or unexpected. No entertainment, medical bills, car repair. She lives in constant fear and stress

I finally get and empathize with how the majority of America lives. Truly paycheck to paycheck.

Anonymous wrote:Some people just don't have much money.

We live within our means now and save carefully, but I'm a fed and have done the math...we can't support our family of 4 on my spouse's $65k salary if I lose my job. Even if they completely paused retirement contributions, between the cost of their employer's family health insurance and infrequent but necessary bills (e.g. home and car repairs), we'd be about $1k/month short.

This. Some people have a lot of money and still can't live within their means because, as others have noted, they are insecure and use purchases to try and feel better. But other people just make less than the cost of living.

This group has increased in recent years due to inflation. We *do* live within our means and sometimes it's been very hard and involved real sacrifice these last few years, as certain discretionary items have moved outside our budget. But we're UMC. Imagine being working class and suddenly necessary expenses like food and housing cost 10-20% more. Yes some people's incomes have increased at the same time, but it's not universal.

Anonymous wrote:When DH and I were dating he had no concept of budget. He spent a lot when he got paid and couldn’t make it last until the next paycheck. No one ever told him about saving. He had been deprived of a lot growing up and REALLY liked to buy things. Lots of reasons. He’s a saver now but if I hadn’t intervened and brought some financial literacy into his life, he’d probably be in a ton of debt and made years of bad financial decisions.

Usually when people grow up poor, they prefer to save money so that they always have some when they really need it.

Some people just don't have much money.

We live within our means now and save carefully, but I'm a fed and have done the math...we can't support our family of 4 on my spouse's $65k salary if I lose my job. Even if they completely paused retirement contributions, between the cost of their employer's family health insurance and infrequent but necessary bills (e.g. home and car repairs), we'd be about $1k/month short.

What's the real reason for spending more than you have?

Umm...I don't. Stupid question.

Head in sand about family downward mobility

Anonymous wrote:Mmm we are just fine. My husband saved over 5 million by the time he was 30...twenty years ago.

What about your spending?

Anonymous wrote:What's the real reason for spending more than you have?

Insecurity. People worry to much about what other people think.

When DH and I were dating he had no concept of budget. He spent a lot when he got paid and couldn’t make it last until the next paycheck. No one ever told him about saving. He had been deprived of a lot growing up and REALLY liked to buy things. Lots of reasons. He’s a saver now but if I hadn’t intervened and brought some financial literacy into his life, he’d probably be in a ton of debt and made years of bad financial decisions.

OMG people like having things, OP. THINGS.

I think it’s usually because people are bad at calculating their means. They add up all the predictable, regular costs but underestimate the periodic and unpredictable ones. Car trouble. Home repairs. Job loss. Illness.

Also they budget without a contingency cushion and expect themselves to bat 1000 on sticking to it, which is not going to happen for a family vacation, for example.

The lower your means, the harder it is to do both of those things well because living cheaply is really, really hard.

Mmm we are just fine. My husband saved over 5 million by the time he was 30...twenty years ago.

Huh? Is this a troll post about how some DCUM posters are mad that others have 1M in savings instead of 10M?

What's the real reason for spending more than you have?