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70% of long island are places that sell junk too! Do we need an Arbys really??
All should become smarter shoppers. TVs should last 5-10 years if you buy a good one.
Eat out when you have a groupon. If you qualify for college grants and loans your child will pay most of that $30,000 a year after he graduates so push him to get some scholarship money. I would attribute money wasted more to Starbucks,. $100 concert tickets and $100 Mets tickets...The mets just aren't worth that much anymore..not more than once a year anyway.
A good follow up question would be "do YOU make over 100K". The majority of people I know DON'T, and as with me, they do fine. It's a little tough, we don't eat out a lot, we don't buy new cars. But it can be done. As someone else pointed out, it's a lot easier when you have your health insurance paid for, are guaranteed a job and raises.
I'm sure you've come to this conclusion after 30 years of following trends.
Do yourself a favor and watch the video of Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren's discussion about the decline of the American middle class, not because I am right but because you may want to stop being so wrong.
While it may make you feel all high and mighty to tell people who are stuggling that they are in the situation they are because they own a cellphone, it really has little or no basis in reality in the grand scheme of things.
Things like televisions, cellphones and computers are incredibly inexpensive realtive to income compared to where they were 30 years ago. When it costs 30K a year to send a kid to college, $800 TV's and $1,000 per year in Cellphones are relatively immaterial.
Sure I don't feel bad for someone who says they can't get by when they're driving a Mercedes, but how many people does that REALLY apply to? It's an anecdote that makes you feel smart but it's really meaningless and stupid.
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Some people are in their situation through no fault of their own, but others just don't seem to use any financial sense. A little off topic but it appears that congress is still fighting the consumer protection bureau, PBS segment below.
70% of long island are places that sell junk too! Do we need an Arbys really??
All should become smarter shoppers. TVs should last 5-10 years if you buy a good one.
Eat out when you have a groupon. If you qualify for college grants and loans your child will pay most of that $30,000 a year after he graduates so push him to get some scholarship money. I would attribute money wasted more to Starbucks,. $100 concert tickets and $100 Mets tickets...The mets just aren't worth that much anymore..not more than once a year anyway.
You can always take the route of a very affordable community college at around $2000/semester, if you get good grades you can get a scholarship, commute to a local 4 year college from home.
Let us not forget the sports nuts who paid $10,000 for a seat for the Jets & Giants. I heard of one person with kids not yet in college taking out a loan of $40,000 to retain his seats.
I'm sure you've come to this conclusion after 30 years of following trends.
Do yourself a favor and watch the video of Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren's discussion about the decline of the American middle class, not because I am right but because you may want to stop being so wrong.
While it may make you feel all high and mighty to tell people who are stuggling that they are in the situation they are because they own a cellphone, it really has little or no basis in reality in the grand scheme of things.
Things like televisions, cellphones and computers are incredibly inexpensive realtive to income compared to where they were 30 years ago. When it costs 30K a year to send a kid to college, $800 TV's and $1,000 per year in Cellphones are relatively immaterial.
Sure I don't feel bad for someone who says they can't get by when they're driving a Mercedes, but how many people does that REALLY apply to? It's an anecdote that makes you feel smart but it's really meaningless and stupid.
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Your last paragraph nailed it. There are more struggling Mercedes drivers than you know.
I didn't say you were wrong, you are just underplaying the impact an additional THOUSAND DOLLARS per month has on a person that is struggling in middle class. If $12,000 cash every year going towards nonesense is not contributing to the problem you are delusional.
You don't need 30 years of trends to arrive at this conclusion, it's common sense.
Not having cellphones or TV's would make virtually no dent in the net worth of people on li, and many people need cellphones and internet for their jobs now, so saying they aren't necessities is very...1990's.
People are trying to intimate that folks are struggling because they spend too much on stuff they don't need. That's not common sense, it's basically wrong for the vast majority of people...and I happen to be one of those people with 8 year old cars and no data plan for my cellphone paying less than 12% of my family's gross towards housing costs, not someone complaining because the ledger doesn't balance at the end of my month after I pay my BMW payment.
If you can't afford your house because one person lost their job and you only take home $3,000 a month with a $2500 mortgage payment..you're going under no matter what your cellphone plan is.
Your last paragraph nailed it. There are more struggling Mercedes drivers than you know.
I didn't say you were wrong, you are just underplaying the impact an additional THOUSAND DOLLARS per month has on a person that is struggling in middle class. If $12,000 cash every year going towards nonesense is not contributing to the problem you are delusional.
You don't need 30 years of trends to arrive at this conclusion, it's common sense.
Why drive a Benz?, when you can drive a reliable Honda, Toyota or even the Ford Focus?
Heck of a lot cheaper - you just won't get the "hot chick" with it.
Not having cellphones or TV's would make virtually no dent in the net worth of people on li, and many people need cellphones and internet for their jobs now, so saying they aren't necessities is very...1990's.
People are trying to intimate that folks are struggling because they spend too much on stuff they don't need. That's not common sense, it's basically wrong for the vast majority of people...and I happen to be one of those people with 8 year old cars and no data plan for my cellphone paying less than 12% of my family's gross towards housing costs, not someone complaining because the ledger doesn't balance at the end of my month after I pay my BMW payment.
If you can't afford your house because one person lost their job and you only take home $3,000 a month with a $2500 mortgage payment..you're going under no matter what your cellphone plan is.
Well, duh. If it takes two incomes to manage your household and you lose one of those incomes you will have a very difficult time.
Explain to me how that isn't common sense?
Well, duh. If it takes two incomes to manage your household and you lose one of those incomes you will have a very difficult time.
Explain to me how that isn't common sense?
Like, duh, man.
Most financial experts say you should be spending around 25% of your salary on housing.
The average on LI is over 50. You know, those houses you keep telling everyone it's time to buy NOW!?
Now try to figure out what that means when someone loses their job.
Okay, I'll explain it to you since you will be deliberately obtuse in an attempt to achieve some victory.
If you are paying 25% of your income towards housing and you lose 50% of your income, you can stop saving and cut out non-essentials and still survive until you get the second job again.
If you are paying 50% of your income towards housing and lose a job, you will be in default in a year regardless of whether or not you turn your cellphone off.
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