Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon
about the current financial situation. My guess is many Americans are concerned becuase they don't save enough to start with. I am not talking about poor folks, I am talking about people that can save but don't.
It seems many Americans just spend, spend, spend on things we really don't need. When stuff hits the fane, folks start to panic.
What's your take..............
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As another poster said, it takes both parents today to make ends meet. Prices are high and so are taxes. When I grew up my mother stayed at home. She liked it that way so it was not an issue. My father made enough to take care of us. Not in luxury but we ate, had clothes and a bed to sleep in. If he made the same wages today in equivalent, then I assure you my mother would have had to work because we'd all have been hungry.
I don't know how a family can afford to live today with cereal $4 and $5 a box. Milk is expensive too. Bread @ $2+ a loaf and it goes bad fast. It's very expensive to raise a family today.
I wonder how much of it is people buying things they don't need as people buying some treats from time to time? People need to do things that bring some pleasure in their day to day life. A video game, a DVD, a movie out. A trip to McDonalds. People need that. It doesn't mean everyone is spending like drunken sailors. Parents of all times have tried to give their kids some of the things they want, a doll, a firetruck, a candy bar. This leaves parents with debt. period. Things have changed, we have more today, more ads, more t.v., more selection of things.
There is not much left for saving. People have enough trouble getting by.
So even if they do manage to save a pittance the interest rates at the banks are so low as to be laughable. So they look to other places to put their savings. They are not financial wizards they are just people looking for a safe place to safe their hard earned money. Then one day the government decides to raise taxes on their (fill in the blank) or the stocks crash and they lose it all. Or they thought they had a retirement fund from work only to find out that the money is gone because someone went bankrupt, or stole it or mismanaged it and lost it. Or it just isn't worth what it was when they started saving it when they were young.
My heart goes out to these families today. I'm sure they would like to save even if only enough for a rainy day. They can't not they won't.
Maybe when you're out shopping you see lots of people and the seem to be spending, spending, spending, they are but there are lots and lots of people.
God Bless them all
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