Current Events > Honestly how are a lot of people so bad with managing money?

(+) Yeah! (+)

now that I think about it, its a pretty simple concept to save half of what you make every month IMO

no need to go in credit card debt or anything

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A lot of people simply do not make enough to meet their everyday needs

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While I agree people tend to be bad with money, I also feel like you're overlooking a ton of realities here in your broad sweeping statement.

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NinjaWarrior455 posted...

A lot of people simply do not make enough to meet their everyday needs

Its pretty easy to cut your expenses and needs though unless you have a family to feed

then maybe thats the only excuse to have to be in debt

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Lunar_Savage posted...

While I agree people tend to be bad with money, I also feel like you're overlooking a ton of realities here in your broad sweeping statement.

realities? such as?

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

realities? such as?

If you need it spelled out for you, then yes...my hypothesis is correct. Thanks for confirming.

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What cosy life does OP have that he can save 50% of his earnings, lol


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yeah guys just save half

like just do it

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

now that I think about it, its a pretty simple concept to save half of what you make every month IMO

no need to go in credit card debt or anything

I'm gonna assume this is a joke topic
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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

now that I think about it, its a pretty simple concept to save half of what you make every month IMO

no need to go in credit card debt or anything

You say this while living with your Mom and Dad probably

Most people in their late twenties and early thirties cannot afford to save. They live paycheck to paycheck to be able to afford rent, food, paying bills and healthcare.

What a stupid topic

NinjaWarrior455 posted...

A lot of people simply do not make enough to meet their everyday needs

Like their daily Starbucks and putting everything on credit lol

Seriously, socialism wont help anyone without any harsh lessons for those that are just stupid with money, which is pretty much all those who want socialism...

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dolomedes posted...

this is the stupidest take

Says the person drowning in debt...

Seriously, follow YouTube discussions like Dave Ramsey and Graham Stephan.

Poor people in America are so because they are just plain stupid with money.

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Let's break down a simple case study for OP. I'm going to use UK figures because it's easier for me, but adjust as you will.

Say you earn 20k a year. Now this is not a good salary, but it is more than minimum wage. It's about what new grads would earn or unskilled workers who don't live in the city. After taxes that's 1429 take home per month.

Now here's your bills:

• 500 rent (for a very modest accommodation probably shared with someone else)
• 100 council tax
• 70 electricity
• 60 internet
• 100 travel
• 50 phone

Seeing the problem yet? We're at 880 already - over 60% of your salary - and we haven't even factored in food, or clothing, or medical costs, or any kind of entertainment at all. You've got an entire month to survive and you haven't bought a single bite to eat.

So where would you cut down on your luxurious spending in the above example?

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Rent and groceries and insurance keep going up but my pay stays the same!

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pinky0926 posted...

Let's break down a simple case study for OP. I'm going to use UK figures because it's easier for me, but adjust as you will.

Say you earn 20k a year. Now this is not a good salary, but it is more than minimum wage. It's about what new grads would earn or unskilled workers who don't live in the city. After taxes that's 1429 take home per month.

Now here's your bills:

* 500 rent (for a very modest accommodation probably shared with someone else)
* 100 council tax
* 70 electricity
* 60 internet
* 100 travel
* 50 phone

Seeing the problem yet? We're at 880 already - over 60% of your salary - and we haven't even factored in food, or clothing, or medical costs, or any kind of entertainment at all. You've got an entire month to survive and you haven't bought a single bite to eat.

So where would you cut down on your luxurious spending in the above example?

Get a roommate, get a higher paying job.

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It's mostly with people having kids without being married

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rising costs of bare necessities, jobs that underpay and a good ol overconsumption culture and you have the big 3 on why many are broke as a joke.

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SocksForWok999 posted...

Get a roommate, get a higher paying job.

Genius insight, well done

Who knew that the trick to having more money was to earn more?

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dolomedes posted...

lmao

pinky0926 posted...

Genius insight, well done

Who knew that the trick to having more money was to earn more?

Well the alternative is praying for socialism to take over because we all know how well the government is with handling money : )

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pinky0926 posted...

SocksForWok999 posted...

Get a roommate, get a higher paying job.

Genius insight, well done

Who knew that the trick to having more money was to earn more?

It's as bad as those who will say "do these 3 things and you won't be in poverty" and one of them is "get a job"

Like, really bro?
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General guidelines, in roughly decreasing order of fuck-your-shit-up:

1. Don't have children until you can actually afford them
2. Don't get a neck or face tattoo
3. Don't drop out of high school
4. Avoid becoming addicted to drugs, especially illegal ones
5. Don't get a useless degree in college
6. You don't need superfluous luxury items like $200 shoes, a new car, that shiny new smartphone, cable TV, Netflix, videogame consoles, or even a $6 coffee.

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

now that I think about it, its a pretty simple concept to save half of what you make every month IMO

That wouldn't be possible unless I was bringing in like 6 grand. Rent and student loans alone cost me 2 then there's the car payment, insurance, phone, food, gas, internet. I'm out close to 3 on necessities, god forbid I do something fun the entire month. A night out fucks with my entire budget.

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We did it, we solved poverty

Makeveli_lives posted...

A night out fucks with my entire budget.

Then, don't do that.

1. Bad impulse control. People want stuff when they see it, and think about consequences later.

2. Entitlement-People think they deserve bougie stuff despite doing not enough to earn it. People treat themselves to fancy meals, vacations, clothes, and material things all the time.

3. Fixed mentality-People don't take ownership for their financial wellbeing. They just spend and buy what they want. If they can't afford it, it's the billionaires fault.

4. Laziness-They don't put in the work to advance in their career. They chose easier, fun majors. They don't buckle down and do the work. They're replaceable at work and put in the minimum. Then have the audacity to demand more.

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Internet is entertainment tho. Also that phone bill sounds really expensive, are we going for the unlimited everything for some reason?

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SocksForWok999 posted...

Says the person drowning in debt...

Seriously, follow YouTube discussions like Dave Ramsey and Graham Stephan.

Poor people in America are so because they are just plain stupid with money.

Graham Stephan videos in a nutshell

I save 3 cents a day on coffee, that's why I'm a millionaire.

Thanks for the sage advice Graham!

dolomedes posted...

1. check
2. check
3. check
4. check (i smoke legal weed when i can)
5. check
6. my shoes were 20 bucks, i take the train/bus, my phone is budget, i don't have cable or video game consoles, i use someone else's netflix, and i refuse to pay more than 3 bucks for coffee
i'm consistently broke

That's why it's guidelines. Sometimes, shit's just fucked up.

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

now that I think about it, its a pretty simple concept to save half of what you make every month IMO

no need to go in credit card debt or anything

That's bait.

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SocksForWok999 posted...

Well the alternative is praying for socialism to take over because we all know how well the government is with handling money : )

You're veering this conversation off into a different territory, I was just explaining why "save 50% of what you earn" is entirely unrealistic for most people, even the frugal ones.

sauceje posted...

Internet is entertainment tho. Also that phone bill sounds really expensive, are we going for the unlimited everything for some reason?

We live in a society where every single provider of everything is moving to online services. You may as well say taking the bus is entertainment.

50 is about standard for a lot of phone contracts. Mine is 15, but it's not unusual.

Also I didn't include any insurance in my list there, so if you want to haggle on phone contracts then let's add car insurance, home insurance, health insurance...

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pinky0926 posted...

We live in a society where every single provider of everything is moving to online services.

All of which can be accessed at a library, give or take porn.

If you're renting the place insurance isn't on you (I think?)
could just use public transit to go to work or whatever
no idea about the health insurance, personally my employer pays for me to have healthcare so sure

also just because you have to use the internet for some stuff doesn't mean it can't also be entertainment tbh

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Questionmarktarius posted...

All of which can be accessed at a library, give or take porn.

This is some excessively frugal shit, but sure. Cut out the most useful everyday tool for surviving and prospering in modern society and make it more difficult for yourself to save 30-50 a month. Still not going to let you save 50% of your paycheck.


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Godnorgosh posted...

So maybe address the shit that these guidelines don't cover, eh

That would include things like the costs of housing, tuition and healthcare

That would require not being bad with other peoples' money.

sauceje posted...

If you're renting the place insurance isn't on you (I think?)
could just use public transit to go to work or whatever
No idea about the health insurance, personally my employer pays for me to have healthcare so sure

1) Not here but mileage may vary.
2) Not an option in my particular instance, and not for a lot of people. I would prefer to be able to use public transport, but it's still quite expensive.

I reckon even the most dystopian USSR lifestyle you could dream up would knock off maybe 200 on your monthly expenses from the above, so either way...still not saving 50% of your paycheck.

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pinky0926 posted...

Still not going to let you save 50% of your paycheck.

Is that even possible with housing being a complete shitshow essentially everywhere that's more than five miles from a cow?

Questionmarktarius posted...

Is that even possible with housing being a complete shitshow essentially everywhere that's more than five miles from a cow?

I don't know anyone who saves that much except for people making big money and still living very frugally, so I'd say not.

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I'm at this weird point right now where I'm constantly shopping and looking for deals. Not spending any money, but I'm always browsing to see if there's anything I could buy for a ridiculously good deal. Somebody selling a small sectional for $300 that I'm very interested in.

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yeah money is just not a thing people can get nowadays, huh

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