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wow, i live on two thirds less than you..... and though i no longer can willy-nilly do whatever i used to love to do (broadway shows every week, vacation up in Maine, attend the Dodge Poetry Fest way back home in Joisey every 2 years)....still, i feel i want for nothing. I never was outrageously into designer clothes nor those ridiculous designer handbags and shoes, but instead of buying the latest newest book on the NYTIMES list, I do haunt used book stores, I buy most everything in thrift stores, down here in the south they are practically on every street corner, i still give generously, almost to my detriment, i save itty bitty amounts from gas or food budget and in times of need i had that little fund i could dole out to the red cross during Maria, Harvey, Irma or international organizations like doctors without borders to help relief efforts all over the world.
ya gotta set your priorities for your own life.... i'll walk walk walk til the cows come home rather than spend money on a gym membership (my weights are bought in a thrift store or just plain gallon water jugs and cans of veggies) I only have the unlimited $30 monthly pay as you go plan, no one needs the brand spanking new model of anything for gosh sakes. It's the ego-driven purchases of tech toys with bells and whistles that can lead one astray. If you really want to save money and live on two thirds less than $60 grand, you can.
There are many jobs that pay good money. I have sympathy but many people don't have long term plans for income & wage growth.
Then there are the people who don't have the intelligence to do more lucrative work. I always think back to elementary school... there were the smart kids, the average kids, and the ones who, no matter how hard they tried, just didn't understand, just couldn't learn. That lower level learner didn't automatically become smart when they grew up. I think they are mostly the ones who can't earn enough to live on. It's not just lack of goals or lack of planning... they just can't.
Then there are the people who don't have the intelligence to do more lucrative work. I always think back to elementary school... there were the smart kids, the average kids, and the ones who, no matter how hard they tried, just didn't understand, just couldn't learn. That lower level learner didn't automatically become smart when they grew up. I think they are mostly the ones who can't earn enough to live on. It's not just lack of goals or lack of planning... they just can't.
And that problem is greater today as more jobs and higher wages require brain and not brawn. It is a very real developed and developing world problem. Automation has replaced much of the need for brawn and now brain is in its path.
Anyone in the USA can be a millionaire of they have the ambition, and work effort it takes to succeed. I do not feel sorry for people that have kids before that are financially responsible (especially since I subsidize their kids).
Every thinks they have to have a mortgage and a house payment. And a large house without roommates. And $5 coffees.
These kinds of discussions always amaze me at the incredible ignorance some people have about "how the other half life," so to speak. Do people honestly believe that everyone making less than $50k a year (or whatever), are teen moms who buy expensive coffee and are just lazy? (Name your cliche!) I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I still am. Total ignorance about other people... and the associated rude dismissal.
I'm a huge proponent of personal responsibility. And I believe people, in general, can usually find a way to improve their financial lot in life. However, there are TONS of factors that go into why people do not. And they're not just excuses for a lot of them.
I think people who do not get this are probably those who put down anyone "less" than they are in any way out of fear that it could happen to them, too. That sometimes it's really not anyone's fault.
No, there are plenty of low wage jobs for them. There is even low skilled entrepreneurship like cutting grass or walking dogs.
Don't knock grass cutting. My lawn guy owns a home in one of the most expensive areas of our town, up in the hills.
I asked myself, "How does he do it?" So I watched and learned.
We hired him because he was doing three other nearby homes at the time. He has a helper and they have a system down pat. The helper does the blowing and edging, Leon does the mowing. They finish four homes in about an hour. Then they move a block down the street and start on another section of homes.
We all pay $15/week, which is cheap for Silicon Valley, and that hasn't changed in many years. Leon's raking in $60/hour. Sure, he has to pay his helper and buy fuel for his mower, but still. He's made economy of scale work for him. Smart!
A friend's mother needed someone to do her lawn, over on the other side of town. I recommended Leon. He got other work there, too, from what I understand.
Every thinks they have to have a mortgage and a house payment.
I don't know about everyone.
But around here the feeling is that you're a chump if you rent, if you make enough to be able to afford a house payment.
Nobody believes the house will ever be paid off, they just want it to appreciate nicely so they can clear $100k-$200k or so when they sell it.
That's what got us into trouble in 2008 and it's quite likely to happen again.
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