Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 17:30     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
[quote=Anonymous]We have no issues with savings and have plenty. But if the shutdown goes on longer, we’d have to take money out of stocks or CDs which would incur fees or taxes owed.

I too am wondering why more feds aren’t better savers. I feel like my coworkers save though. I mean I look at our parking lot and it’s completely full of mid level, several year old cars. Coworkers also don’t live in nice neighborhoods and most are in older townhouses. I assume most of them have plenty of savings due to all of that?[/quote]

Why do you have to assume anything? You have no idea what their personal situations are. No one knows we are supporting family on both sides due to unforeseen tragedies and medical conditions.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 17:12     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Most people lie about their finances. If they're well paid and claim that they're financially struggling because of the shutdown, they're probably lying. I understand why they do it -- better to have people feel sorry for you than to be jealous of you. I believe almost nothing that other people tell me about their finances.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:50     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:We have no issues with savings and have plenty. But if the shutdown goes on longer, we’d have to take money out of stocks or CDs which would incur fees or taxes owed.

I too am wondering why more feds aren’t better savers. I feel like my coworkers save though. I mean I look at our parking lot and it’s completely full of mid level, several year old cars. Coworkers also don’t live in nice neighborhoods and most are in older townhouses. I assume most of them have plenty of savings due to all of that?


PP, call your bank before on the CD and let them know the issue, they may waive penalty fees due to the shutdown. I was able to keep the full interest incurred and no fees/
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:43     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:We have no issues with savings and have plenty. But if the shutdown goes on longer, we’d have to take money out of stocks or CDs which would incur fees or taxes owed.

I too am wondering why more feds aren’t better savers. I feel like my coworkers save though. I mean I look at our parking lot and it’s completely full of mid level, several year old cars. Coworkers also don’t live in nice neighborhoods and most are in older townhouses. I assume most of them have plenty of savings due to all of that?


To me there is a culture of saving and frugality in the federal workforce. Maybe not in the agencies that consistently have higher wages like the DOJ, but no one on my team seems to regularly make expensive purchases and they are all really into saving for retirement. Maybe their money isn’t liquid but I’m personally not seeing it.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:39     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
What if we all got catastrophic plans and just paid out of pocket for everything else with hsa? Obviously our government can’t fix this problem so we need to just vote with our feet. I think the private insurance industry has become a lose lose situation.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:37     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
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.


We don’t have a dog in this fight, but you absolutely don’t know. Nobody knows that DH had surgeries last year. Nobody knows we had a major repair this year and then a leak that took all of our savings. You. Do. Not. Know.


+1. I don't think OP and his/her ilk want to know. They'd rather feel superior and judge their colleagues, friends and neighbors instead of improving themselves.

Posters are confused.

Op stated that the person... " spent sixty bucks on dinner, ordered two drinks, went to a movie after".

If you had expensive medical bills and struggling financially, then hopefully you aren't doing ^ these things.

Generally, if you are strapped financially, you cook your meals at home and watch something for free on tv, or get a dvd at the public library. You don't go out and spend $100 on dining out and entertainment. That's irresponsible.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:35     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
We have no issues with savings and have plenty. But if the shutdown goes on longer, we’d have to take money out of stocks or CDs which would incur fees or taxes owed.

I too am wondering why more feds aren’t better savers. I feel like my coworkers save though. I mean I look at our parking lot and it’s completely full of mid level, several year old cars. Coworkers also don’t live in nice neighborhoods and most are in older townhouses. I assume most of them have plenty of savings due to all of that?
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:34     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Many Americans live beyond their means. It’s the American nightmare.


I honestly think the poor financial education is purposeful. The economy would fall off a cliff if every American decided to stop buying crap and live frugally.


GWB encouraged Americans to go to Disneyland and shop after 9/11. To me that’s when people started upping consumption because a Republican told us it was patriotic.

To be fair, Obama said something similar.

70% of our economy is consumer driven. We are a consumerist society, and it will be the death of us.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:32     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Many Americans live beyond their means. It’s the American nightmare.


I honestly think the poor financial education is purposeful. The economy would fall off a cliff if every American decided to stop buying crap and live frugally.


GWB encouraged Americans to go to Disneyland and shop after 9/11. To me that’s when people started upping consumption because a Republican told us it was patriotic.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:31     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
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.


We don’t have a dog in this fight, but you absolutely don’t know. Nobody knows that DH had surgeries last year. Nobody knows we had a major repair this year and then a leak that took all of our savings. You. Do. Not. Know.


+1. I don't think OP and his/her ilk want to know. They'd rather feel superior and judge their colleagues, friends and neighbors instead of improving themselves.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:28     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Not to mention that things are incredibly expensive right now because this administration is willingly tanking the economy for their own benefit. A lot of people are scared and struggling. Have some empathy. It’s free!
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:24     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
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.


We don’t have a dog in this fight, but you absolutely don’t know. Nobody knows that DH had surgeries last year. Nobody knows we had a major repair this year and then a leak that took all of our savings. You. Do. Not. Know.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:23     Subject: Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Well, my DH is a GS-15 and I work for a nonprofit. We cannot afford for my DH to not get paid. I don't think we live extravagantly but somehow cannot save much. Due to some unexpected expenses lately, we have only $2k in savings. We have 2 kids in elementary school. We cannot afford this at all.


This is part of the problem. A GS-15 alone makes almost $200k (assuming step 7 or higher). Only 12% of American families of 4 make this. Assuming your nonprofit pays you $100k, you are in the top 5% of what an American family of 4 earns. If you live in DC, people may be more understanding of the high cost of living, student loans, etc. But, 95% of American families make less and are definitely not going to believe you can't manage to save anything.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:15     Subject: Re:Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:People without adequate emergency funds simply spend too much relative to their incomes. Failing to constrain spending to an appropriate level is the problem. No matter how little you make, you have to spend less than that on housing, cars, vacations, kids' activities, recreation, etc. It's not complicated, but it requires discipline. And for those who argue they have uninsured medical expenses which excuse a lack of savings, no that is no excuse - you, too, can spend less on housing, on cars, etc. You may want a shorter commute, or a nicer place to live, or a nicer car, or a vacation, but you can only afford what your income allows relative to your expenses. Failing to save for your future and for emergencies is simply a choice, not something imposed on you by a cruel world.


Feel better? Hope you or your family don't get cancer and lose your health insurance.

There's ACA, although if it's up to the Rs, they would gut it. Then you'd really be up sh(t creek.

But, Op's scenario isn't this. They are talking about people being furloughed who are still living like they aren't furloughed even as they lament that they have no emergency savings.

Also, the majority of people don't have cancer early on in their careers. I told my kid to save a lot early on because you don't know what will happen in the future. I've been through two layoffs, once one year out of college. It sucked.

There is no such thing as job security these days, so yea, mot people with decent paying jobs should be saving at least 8 months of emergency living expenses.


They don't have to gut it. They can just take away the subsidies and make it unaffordable to many.

That's essentially gutting it. If too many people drop out of ACA due to costs, those left will end up with sky high premiums, which will in turn, make even more drop out.

In effect, there will be so few people on ACA that it will essentially be gutted.


Pp here. I agree.
Anonymous
Post 10/15/2025 16:11     Subject: Re:Well paid government employees who can't afford a one or two week shutdown
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:People without adequate emergency funds simply spend too much relative to their incomes. Failing to constrain spending to an appropriate level is the problem. No matter how little you make, you have to spend less than that on housing, cars, vacations, kids' activities, recreation, etc. It's not complicated, but it requires discipline. And for those who argue they have uninsured medical expenses which excuse a lack of savings, no that is no excuse - you, too, can spend less on housing, on cars, etc. You may want a shorter commute, or a nicer place to live, or a nicer car, or a vacation, but you can only afford what your income allows relative to your expenses. Failing to save for your future and for emergencies is simply a choice, not something imposed on you by a cruel world.


Feel better? Hope you or your family don't get cancer and lose your health insurance.

There's ACA, although if it's up to the Rs, they would gut it. Then you'd really be up sh(t creek.

But, Op's scenario isn't this. They are talking about people being furloughed who are still living like they aren't furloughed even as they lament that they have no emergency savings.

Also, the majority of people don't have cancer early on in their careers. I told my kid to save a lot early on because you don't know what will happen in the future. I've been through two layoffs, once one year out of college. It sucked.

There is no such thing as job security these days, so yea, mot people with decent paying jobs should be saving at least 8 months of emergency living expenses.


They don't have to gut it. They can just take away the subsidies and make it unaffordable to many.

That's essentially gutting it. If too many people drop out of ACA due to costs, those left will end up with sky high premiums, which will in turn, make even more drop out.

In effect, there will be so few people on ACA that it will essentially be gutted.