Heard on the radio this morning that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck

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Jan 10, 2019
10:54:29am

mudpupper All-American

Heard on the radio this morning that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck

Not sure how accurate that statistic is but I think it shows that people in this country have zero clue on how to save money. The commentators tried to give a spin that people need bigger salaries.

But I truly think that most people regardless of their income level just don't know how to save anything for a rainy day.

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mudpupper

Bio page: mudpupper
Joined: May 13, 2003
Last login: Apr 24, 2024
Total posts: 43,017 (146 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Heard on the radio this morning that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck

mudpupper

1/10/19 10:54am

True for 99% of the world. It's difficult to earn far more money than you need. Otherwise, everyone would do it.

mulletino

1/10/19 10:56am

It's difficult to leave below your income, apparently. Need is relative.

SandYFan

1/10/19 10:57am

Your "needs" just shift depending how much money you make.

rcbyufan

1/10/19 10:57am

Tell that to the single mother of 3 who already lives in a crap hole and barely breaks even. If only she'd eat beans

mulletino

1/10/19 11:01am

Will do. She is an outlier.

SandYFan

1/10/19 11:02am

I think you're out of touch with most of the world's reality. But you do you.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:02am

Right, the world at large. Not in the United States.

SandYFan

1/10/19 11:05am

It's not as crazy as you think. Minimum wage doesn't provide much. Basic

Jay Rick

1/10/19 11:10am

Yeah but with the unemployment rate today, how are you getting paid minimum wage

SandYFan

1/10/19 11:17am

Being not as smart as others. Having parents that didn’t encourage

Jay Rick

1/10/19 11:22am

And if you ha e kids, you need a lot more than minimum wage to

Jay Rick

1/10/19 11:25am

I’m not sure you know what an outlier is

Dillinger

1/10/19 11:19am

70% of African-American children are born to single mothers. But they're just outliers. They'll get over it.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:30am

Link please.

SandYFan

1/10/19 11:35am

RE: Link please.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:36am

the crazy thing is that if you go back farther than this graph, black kids were actually more likely to be born in a 2

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 12:26pm

Yep. The war on drugs has completely demolished black families

CDV

1/10/19 1:17pm

Larry Elder (a black guy) claims that the welfare system ruined the black family. You get more free stuff if you aren't

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 2:34pm

I'm sure there isn't any one culprit. Complicated.

Jay Rick

1/10/19 3:04pm

Well, then I think Larry Elder is a black guy who got this one wrong. At least, if we are talking

CDV

1/10/19 3:35pm

I think the evidence will show that the family broke down first and then imprisonment rose. We definitely need

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 6:33pm

78 % of Americans are single mothers with 3 kids?

cougaman

1/10/19 11:29am

?

mulletino

1/10/19 11:30am

OP talks about how the majority of the country live paycheck to paycheck. You

cougaman

1/10/19 11:34am

I gave one example of a sizable segment of society that might struggle to get ahead.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:42am

Right. And there are numerous examples of families that could get ahead but

cougaman

1/10/19 11:44am

I don't disagree with you. But my neighborhood in SL County is hardly representative.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:45am

Right. OP is just saying that the 78% is way too high and I agree with him.

cougaman

1/10/19 11:58am

Right and I agree. But my point has been that the vast majority of the world lives by the sweat of their brow day/day.

mulletino

1/10/19 12:22pm

Not to sidetrack your discussion, but that scripture is pretty interesting if

rcbyufan

1/10/19 12:41pm

I'm not denying her existence. Her "needs" would absolutely shift if you doubled

rcbyufan

1/10/19 11:42am

TIL 78% of the population are single mothers of three living in a craphole and splurging on beans too frequently

SuperTank

1/10/19 3:51pm

Habituation...

dtownCoug

1/10/19 11:29am

No it's not true for 99% of the world. In East Asia the savings rate is 20-40%

1/10/19 11:02am

How much of the world's population is that?

mulletino

1/10/19 11:03am

China itself is 20%

1/10/19 11:08am

And what % of China does what you're suggesting? Sorry, should I have said 95% instead of 99%?

mulletino

1/10/19 11:09am

Well the mean savings rate is 46% in China. If you fit a normal distribution on

1/10/19 3:23pm

ha. No way 50% of China saves 46% of their income. But I'd look at some data.

mulletino

1/10/19 3:49pm

Yeah, most stats from China are bogus. But the same pattern of 25-40% is norm

1/10/19 4:27pm

It's not difficult

donnerstag

1/10/19 11:04am

Seems difficult for most considering most don't/can't accomplish it. Congrats on what you're able to do.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:05am

Most people don't, but those with decent jobs could

donnerstag

1/10/19 11:07am

Most of those people (in the U.S. anyway) do have iphones and internet and

Northwest Cougar

1/10/19 11:09am

Average income Utah County is $73k, median is $60k. That is way more than enough

BYUFootballisBack

1/10/19 11:16am

I don't think Utah County is an accurate reflection of most of the world. But no doubt you may be right for certain

mulletino

1/10/19 11:18am

Just giving an example of even places where life is good and people have plenty

BYUFootballisBack

1/10/19 11:28am

Naturally. What exactly are you working for if you don't increase your lifestyle as you increase your income?

mulletino

1/10/19 11:33am

You have to balance the future and present when handling your finances

donnerstag

1/10/19 11:39am

I don't disagree with you. Yet the human condition remains.

mulletino

1/10/19 11:43am

Financial freedom/independence. More time with family/loved ones...

BYUFootballisBack

1/10/19 12:01pm

There's also a law of diminishing returns with frugality, IMO. I have a very balanced "enjoy life to the fullest"

mulletino

1/10/19 12:17pm

If my life goes like my parents’ has, there will be very little fun to be had

Jay Rick

1/10/19 12:57pm

RE: Average income Utah County is $73k. That doesnt go as far as you would think

edenham103

1/10/19 11:33am

Family of 3 here in our 20s. 2 years ago we were making under 50k and saving

BYUFootballisBack

1/10/19 12:06pm

If you gave most people $20,000, they would find a place to spend it

fredy

1/10/19 10:57am

It's a bit of both, I think you are underselling the plight of the lower middle

fbguru

1/10/19 10:59am

I saw a stat a year or two ago that said that most people who make up to 225k

newbie

1/10/19 10:59am

I’m living paycheck to paycheck now that wife stopped working & still put away

pegushin

1/10/19 11:01am

Thankfully that stat included 401K

newbie

1/10/19 11:02am

I mean, I am. It's not a literal "no one."

SandYFan

1/10/19 11:02am

For the most part I think you're right. Too many people are irresponsible and

Dynasty1

1/10/19 11:08am

At what age do you think the average person should have their finances in good enough order to not be living

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 11:08am

It varies based on life situation. Unexpected medical burdens, divorce, long

DJROSS

1/10/19 11:13am

That stat is a little misleading.

Nathanael Greene

1/10/19 11:14am

My wife was an administrative assistant and her boss made 160K plus bonuses. Her

cougaman

1/10/19 11:25am

Have you ever been unemployed for more then a year?

Canusa

1/10/19 11:29am

Sure many people have special circumstances. But when 78% of the people fall

mudpupper

1/10/19 12:09pm

This is the part that many people miss. One major illness, accident, or job loss

WDaddy

1/10/19 12:11pm

It’s a very complicated issue

troutmaster13

1/10/19 11:50am

explain how the "cards are stacked against" the poor. I think the cards are stacked against those with a low IQ, but

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 12:29pm

You underestimate how much influence your parents and social network

Jay Rick

1/10/19 1:00pm

Yet sometimes some of the most successful people didn't have that

Northwest Cougar

1/10/19 1:19pm

Definitely. But those are true “outliers.” Not at all the norm. The advantages

Jay Rick

1/10/19 2:08pm

And yet people with large numbers of siblings show vastly different outcomes

rcbyufan

1/10/19 2:11pm

meh. I'm sure there are differences here and there. but sociologist track

Jay Rick

1/10/19 3:24pm

so does that mean our society is broken? or does it mean there is a problem we need to fix? or does it mean that

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 2:39pm

No clue. I don't have answers.

Jay Rick

1/10/19 3:21pm

I agree that networks are material - I disagree that I underestimate them. If parents work hard for the sake of their

HarlemCoug

1/10/19 2:36pm

I don't even have anything to say about the government. I don't know what

Jay Rick

1/10/19 3:25pm

I view my assets in blocks of monthly living. +5 or +14 like that.

1/10/19 12:04pm

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