Current Events > Why are so many people bad with money?

(+) Yeah! (+)

If you're barely making the rent, why buy an iPhone 12 Pro Max? It seems obvious to me, but you should buy the phone you can afford, the car you can afford, and save up as much as you can.

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Cool stuff is cool

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$1000 in the scheme of things is nothing. Especially for a device thats largely become a pseudo-necessity for modern living, and especially when most people wont be dropping that $1k all at once but as a monthly upcharge to their service.


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where money

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Hey man I got this guy who said he's going to give me a briefcase with millions worth of gold bars and all I have to do is pay him $500 to get it through customs

Becuase currency is an abstract representaiton of an abstract concept and actually only exists on paper....you know like all maths

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CommonJoe posted...

$1000 in the scheme of things is nothing.

$1000 invested into an S&P 500 index fund can multiply itself 20x over the course of 30 years.

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Cool generalizations.

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Orlando_Jordan posted...

$1000 invested into an S&P 500 index fund can multiply itself 20x over the course of 30 years.

With inflation that isnt very much at all... why would you do that

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There are so many different ways to argue this depending on circumstances, you really have to be specific.

You could have a used phone like an iPhone 8 to trade in and get the 12 Pro Max for $15/mo on an installment plan.

People that are bad with money are the ones who pay full price for their new phones and trade in their old phones for peanuts. They think I dun want no contracts derp even though theyve been with their carrier for 10 years and would just have to pay the phone off to unlock it and go to a different carrier...the same price theyd have paid anyways but no promo in the meantime.

Now people that make like $30-40k a year but drive $50k+ trucks that use it for a daily driver and haul stuff like once a year get me.

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CommonJoe posted...

$1000 in the scheme of things is nothing. Especially for a device thats largely become a pseudo-necessity for modern living, and especially when most people wont be dropping that $1k all at once but as a monthly upcharge to their service.

Except there are waaayy cheaper phones that do everything you may need out of a phone. Hell, mid range phones like a pixel 4a will run you for less than 300-400 and you can also get the SE iphone for near that amount. But getting the latest iphone when you dont make much money is pure vanity, a consumer trap and just bad finances. Harder to crawl out of a bad place when you have so much of your income compromised over a phone.

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CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

Except there are waaayy cheaper phones that do everything you may need out of a phone. Hell, mid range phones like a pixel 4a will run you for less than 300-400 and you can also get the SE iphone for near that amount. But getting the latest iphone when you dont make much money is pure vanity, a consumer trap and just bad finances. Harder to crawl out of a bad place when you have so much of your income compromised over a phone.

Galaxy A20S 120 bucks does everything an iphone 12 does. Only differnce it has 1 less lens

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CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

Harder to crawl out of a bad place when you have so much of your income compromised over a phone.

My phone was $1k when I bought it and it's comprised an extra $50/mo on my bill.

That isnt a lot and even if it is, the more likely case is that that person wont be able to even get the phone service in the first place, much less the phone.


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Instant gratification is gratifying, instantly.

People like having stuff. Stuff costs money.

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ZeroX91 posted...

Galaxy A20S 120 bucks does everything an iphone 12 does. Only differnce it has 1 less lens

Ive made money off my phones for the past decade getting high-end phones on deals, then after the promo is done getting as much back as possible (which ends up being more than originally paid) while getting a new high-end phone.

Only short sighted people who are bad with money buy cheap crappy phones that often end up as money sinks with no long-term value.

Even stuff like the Pixels and A Series you can get on deals though.

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CommonJoe posted...

My phone was $1k when I bought it and it's comprised an extra $50/mo on my bill.

That isnt a lot and even if it is, the more likely case is that that person wont be able to even get the phone service in the first place, much less the phone.

A loss of $50 a month "isn't much." How about we set up a recurring $50 ACH transfer from your account to mine?

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People without money know what its like to not have money and it doesnt scare them. Theyre making it work, buying a fancy phone and going cheap on the rest, or a big TV, or whatever it is because they want to have at least one or two things making them not miserable.

Its how the rich stay rich. Cheap as all get out but can buy expensive things that can be sold to buy more expensive things. Rich people are terrified to lose money, its why theyre so cheap.

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gatorsPENSbucs posted...

People without money know what its like to not have money and it doesnt scare them. Theyre making it work, buying a fancy phone and going cheap on the rest, or a big TV, or whatever it is because they want to have at least one or two things making them not miserable.

Its how the rich stay rich. Cheap as all get out but can buy expensive things that can be sold to buy more expensive things. Rich people are terrified to lose money, its why theyre so cheap.

Rich people aren't cheap, they get value out of their money. Why replace a great TV or phone just because a new one came out? When something breaks, they upgrade. It's smart.

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Conker posted...

Ive made money off my phones for the past decade getting high-end phones on deals, then after the promo is done getting as much back as possible (which ends up being more than originally paid) while getting a new high-end phone.

Only short sighted people who are bad with money buy cheap crappy phones that often end up as money sinks with no long-term value.

Even stuff like the Pixels and A Series you can get on deals though.

I'm not a big phone person, so I only got an iPhone SE for $150 a few months ago during holiday sales and my phone plan is like $200 for an entire year (unlimited min/text/8gb data per month). Good enough for me probably for 3 or 4 years, and I'm not exactly poor. I know people on SD were buying the SE for like $110 and trading them in right away for >$200 credit. I'm probably too lazy to be trading/selling phones all the time though.

ZeroX91 posted...

Becuase currency is an abstract representaiton of an abstract concept and actually only exists on paper....you know like all maths

/topic

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project_night posted...

I'm not a big phone person, so I only got an iPhone SE for $150 a few months ago during holiday sales and my phone plan is like $200 for an entire year (unlimited min/text/8gb data per month). Good enough for me probably for 3 or 4 years, and I'm not exactly poor. I know people on SD were buying the SE for like $110 and trading them in right away for >$200 credit. I'm probably too lazy to be trading/selling phones all the time though.

That is a good deal and if you get a new phone sooner than later itll payoff.

You can buy a 2020 SE for around $200 ($150+prepaid plan) right now and turn around and get $750 for it from Verizon, for example. People arent that savvy or think its a bother, though.

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damn orlando jordan, you're still active? i remember you from the pwb board lol

thing1010 posted...

damn orlando jordan, you're still active? i remember you from the pwb board lol

I am eternal.

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Keeping up with the Joneses

No one wants to be the guy or gal with the shitty car and phone. Then throw in the fact that just about any idiot can finance almost anything they want with a credit card.

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Some people cant help but blow money on wants over not paying for needs.

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Solid Snake07 posted...

Keeping up with the Joneses

No one wants to be the guy or gal with the shitty car and phone. Then throw in the fact that just about any idiot can finance almost anything they want with a credit card.

I'd rather be the guy with a shitty car and phone for 3 years, and end up in a good place to live with a good career than stay poor and have an expensive phone.

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I'm bad with money, but I've gotten better over the last few months

If I need to grocery shopping, I would go to Wegmans, because that is what I was used to doing growing up. Never considered Aldi until recently. And there were certain brands that I would buy out of habit.
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Conker posted...

That is a good deal and if you get a new phone sooner than later itll payoff.

You can buy a 2020 SE for around $200 ($150+prepaid plan) right now and turn around and get $750 for it from Verizon, for example. People arent that savvy or think its a bother, though.

yeah, back in November Cricket was doing $110 ($50 phone + $60 prepaid plan) iPhone SE (2020) with port in special. I bought a little earlier from Tracfone so paid ~$150 total for my 2020 SE. I used a Rsim to unlock it (~$10) and use a different carrier. Phone is fine for my usage, but the battery is pretty crap though.

Says the guy who literately bought his Gamefaqs account when he can make one for free.

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PG_Era posted...

Says the guy who literately bought his Gamefaqs account when he can make one for free.

thing1010 posted...

damn orlando jordan, you're still active? i remember you from the pwb board lol

Checkmate.

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Orlando_Jordan posted...

I'd rather be the guy with a shitty car and phone for 3 years, and end up in a good place to live with a good career than stay poor and have an expensive phone.

Preaching to the choir.

Funny thing about being bad with money though, it's not limited to the poor. Plenty of people who make good money but are terrible with it. They're just are bad on a larger scale.

Got a buddy who makes about the same amount of money as me who has a 100k Porsche and probably a 500k house. Guys gonna be making payments for the rest of his life. But whatever, more power to him

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Orlando_Jordan posted...

Rich people aren't cheap,

I delivered pizza in multiple states, in a ton of cities, and believe me, rich people are very cheap. Waited tables too. You get your big tip every so often, but the vast majority of the time if we pulled up to a huge house or got sat with some fancy people .... the tip was gonna suck.

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Gotta stay rationalizing to keep that dopamine rush flowing

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No impulse control

I really wish schools offered/required a course on finances. It doesn't have to be anything overly complicated. But just an explanation on how credit cards, school loans, car loans, housing loans, long term value of a car, etc. Just some over-all better education on putting some thought into your buying decisions.

Cars are one of the areas that Americans really, really don't seem to understand the long term finances of. This leads to a never ending debt cycle. No you can't afford the car if you are taking a 10 year loan on it. Instead of getting a truck that costs $50,000 - consider getting a car 1/3 the price and then renting a truck for the one time a year you need a truck. You'll save on the base price of the car, interest on the loan, insurance, gas, etc.


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Solid Snake07 posted...

Preaching to the choir.

Funny thing about being bad with money though, it's not limited to the poor. Plenty of people who make good money but are terrible with it. They're just are bad on a larger scale.

Got a buddy who makes about the same amount of money as me who has a 100k Porsche and probably a 500k house. Guys gonna be making payments for the rest of his life. But whatever, more power to him

Orlando_Jordan posted...

I'd rather be the guy with a shitty car and phone for 3 years, and end up in a good place to live with a good career than stay poor and have an expensive phone.

This doesnt even make sense. Having a nice phone shouldnt deter someone from having that same good career you speak of, which is the deciding factor of staying poor or not.

The phone has no real reason to keep someone poor or not and having a good place to live or a nicer car in three years.

Lets say they buy a $200 phone instead of a $500-1000 phone. In three years, that extra $500-1000 is less than a month of rent or mortgage on a new place to live. That phone isnt gonna prevent that.

Now a new car thats $500+ a month will, and I agreed with that earlier in the topic. If you can keep a car thats either low cost or paid off for longer its worth it rather than getting something new, if its going to prevent you from getting a new home.

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foxhound101 posted...

I really wish schools offered/required a course on finances. It doesn't have to be anything overly complicated. But just an explanation on how credit cards, school loans, car loans, housing loans, long term value of a car, etc. Just some over-all better education on putting some thought into your buying decisions.

Cars are one of the areas that Americans really, really don't seem to understand the long term finances of. This leads to a never ending debt cycle. No you can't afford the car if you are taking a 10 year loan on it. Instead of getting a truck that costs $50,000 - consider getting a car 1/3 the price and then renting a truck for the one time a year you need a truck. You'll save on the base price of the car, interest on the loan, insurance, gas, etc.

Once you realize how big interests and high consumerism levels is whats driven Americas economy, its no wonder it hasnt even been brought up.

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Conker posted...

This doesnt even make sense. Having a nice phone shouldnt deter someone from having that same good career you speak of, which is the deciding factor of staying poor or not.

The phone has no real reason to keep someone poor or not and having a good place to live or a nicer car in three years.

Lets say they buy a $200 phone instead of a $500-1000 phone. In three years, that extra $500-1000 is less than a month of rent or mortgage on a new place to live. That phone isnt gonna prevent that.

Now a new car thats $500+ a month will, and I agreed with that earlier in the topic. If you can keep a car thats either low cost or paid off for longer its worth it rather than getting something new, if its going to prevent you from getting a new home.

It's not just about a phone or a car. This pattern of behaviour tends to permeate into almost every facet of life for people.

I think the average credit card debt for Americans is like 6 grand, the average income is 30 something. That's a problem

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Orlando_Jordan posted...

A loss of $50 a month "isn't much." How about we set up a recurring $50 ACH transfer from your account to mine?

Whatre you 5

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Solid Snake07 posted...

It's not just about a phone or a car. This pattern of behaviour tends to permeate into almost every facet of life for people.

I think the average credit card debt for Americans is like 6 grand, the average income is 30 something. That's a problem

Right but the point was they tied having a good career later on to spending now. That doesnt really make sense.

That also isnt specific to poor people or those who get high-end phones or expensive cars being detrimental to the good career mentioned they could have.

TC mentioned theyd rather have a good career and nice home in a few years and have a cheap phone/car now, which a career should have nothing to do with prior spending.

Even rich people blow all their money as you described and then go in debt. They still would have a good career and nice home even if they are blowing threw money before they become successful.

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