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

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Jan 10, 2019
11:34:30am

cougaman All-American

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

are talking about a small number of the population that can't save for good reason. There is a large portion of the country that makes enough to live below what they make and save but chooses not to. They need the nice cars, the big TVs, the nice phones and lumber paycheck to paycheck because of it.

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cougaman

Bio page: cougaman
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Last login: Apr 18, 2024
Total posts: 68,374 (4,370 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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