76% of Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck

no neither me nor my wife went to college but she did go to cosmotology school and now does hair but has paid off those loans.. i started where im at scrubbing toilets and cleaning everything now i will hopefully be able to take over the business where i work with in the next 10-15 years... but i have been working my ass off being here early and working late and only taking off the 1 week vacation i get each year... honestly i cant even picture having to pay that much in student loans i feel for you..

 

It just becomes "the way it is" after a while - like with most payments. You budget for them and expect them every month, they come and you fork over your money because that is what you did last month, and plan on doing again next month.

 

sounds about right

 

That’s great man, it sounds like you really know how to manage your money to be where you are at.

Here in Cali, I rarely meet someone who gets the slightest concept of this. It really just blows my mind when I find out what other couples make and how little they have or how much they struggle to pay bills. So so so many of them turn to their parents which just floors me.

 

Hit the nail on the head right there.

 

When I first met my wife 11 yrs ago, I had about $1500 in credit card debt. Sounds not so bad but I never paid more than the minimum. I was also looking at about $10k all in all for my drunk driving conviction and my student loan, about $4000. She told me to pay off the credit cards asap instead of paying half the rent, since she had been able to pay it herself all along before I moved in. I then cut up 3 of the 4..my only one is a Visa with 8% APR.

We didn't rush to pay off either student loan since it's a tax writeoff. Both our vehicles were paid for which helped. Once I paid off my OUI stuff and we got some of the house jobs done I bought a new truck on a nice discount, planning to keep her 96 Tacoma till I paid mine off. While that didn't quite happen, it was part of the buyback so we only had to finance $5k to get her an almost new Rav4. Sucked to jump from $0 to $500 in car payments in 12 months for sure.

Her trick is once she pays something off, she'll throw that money per month to paying off something else since we lived just fine without it in the first place. Much as I hated to finance my pool, it was $100 per 24 mos at 0%..and saved us a fortune from her rehab following shoulder surgery, she did it in the pool.

 

Kids and cars. The two things that dig people in debt they can't get out of, IMO. Having kids because you want them not because you're ready for them is a huge problem in America. And buying cars that aren't yours, taking out a loan. People tend to consider a car that has a loan out on it their own when in fact the only thing you can own is something you've paid for. My grandfather said there's only two things you should use credit for, a house and a car, and if you dont have to use it for the car, don't. At any point in my car loan I could have paid it off but choose not to due to low interest rate and the helping of establisment of credit. I own two other cars outright title in hand. I've had my tacoma loan long enough that I think in the next month or two I'll just say eff it and pay it off so I own it finally as well. From the time that loan is done until I die I'll never take a car loan again.
So long as I stick to that I shouldn't ever have to worry about paycheck to paycheck again. and if I ever do get to that point I'll move to alaska with my guns and you'll see me on the mountain men show. haha. I'll be dead first season.

 

couldnt have said that better! i know so many people/still kids themselves that have kids and they cant afford them so they look to either their family or to the government with their hands out (for our hard earned money that we have pay them for being irresposibe) me and my wife have decided to not even think about kids untill our house is payed off along with other bills and honestly people can call me a bad person or selfish(which for some reason they do??) but right now i like having nice things, like my truck and guns (which i can afford with no issue)and even just being able to pick up at anytime that im not working and go fishing or hit up the golf course but i am still a kid myself(23 years old) and i wish other people my age would use their heads because in the end having a kid you cant afford eventually affects the kid that is being raised which to me is more selfish than not having a kid at all...

 

If couples were to not have children unless they could "afford to" then a whole hell of a lot of us wouldn't be alive today! That would be an entirely different discussion thread there for sure. No, I was not rich, and yes it was VERY difficult to afford raising 3 children, but I would not trade them for ANY amount of money or financial freedom. Period. Children, and the way they enrich your life are worth WAY more than any amount of money.

 

I will concede that too many couples do have children too early in life sometimes.

 

Not so much "too early" as it is "before they can afford to", but I agree. Judge Judy preaches that about not having children you can't afford to raise, even to her own daughter who is very well off.

Some years ago there was an article about welfare in a local newspaper and the comment board was going online about it. One woman was saying she was on welfare and her kids deserve to have things like a bike or birthday party..she was told sure but not on other people's dime. It came out somehow that this woman had had another child while on welfare and she got bashed for being irresponsible..that part I agree with, if you cannot afford to take care of things now do not have another child, get another credit card, go on a trip, whatever..

 

76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck... That's 76% that get at least two paychecks in a row... Better than most of the world can say!

 

Lots of socioeconomic factors contribute to this. I do firmly believe that current Fed policies are a huge contributing factor to the overall purchasing power of the US dollar. Conversely this forces a drop in savings.

The other half is just the herd mentality of "Gotta have it now" and "keep up with the neighbors".

I used to be paycheck to paycheck a long time ago then I got smart.
My '06 DBLCAB I bought brand new, cash, paid for. Saved and wrote a check for it. Traded it last week, again, cash for the 2013 4x4. Right after I bought the '06 I started putting monies aside for a new truck I knew I would need at some point down the road.

Common sense stuff. Budget and stick to it. Don't need Starbucks each day, pack a bag lunch to work, make meals at home and make enough for plenty of leftovers. Nothing wrong with plain old Levi's, don't need designer jeans or shoes. Hell I've had one pair of cowboy boots for 15yrs now.

 

Yup, the clothes thing I agree with. I have a friend who has to have Tommy Hilfiger all the time..his $50 shirt can buy me 5 shirts just like it that don't have the label. I'm the type that when I rip a pair of jeans I'll throw them in the garage for work/painting clothes, same with a pair of sneakers. I couldn't tell you the last time I bought more than one pair of pants or one shirt.

I do go to a lot of concerts, but on average it costs me about $20 to go out that night besides the ticket..most of that is if I must pay to park. I'm fine to get one soda or bottle of water when I arrive and that's it. In my younger years I'd have consumed $75 worth of beers as well..stopping that enables me to have a little fun too.

 

People still wear Tommy Hilfiger lol

 

Yup, and this guy can afford to do it all the time. In all honesty, he is my age (he just turned 40) and still lives at home with his stepmother. He has a very good job that would enable him to purchase a home but just chooses not to, for what reasons I am not sure of. Thus he has the disposable income since he doesn't pay anywhere near the going rate of home expenses or utilities to go buy designer clothes, drop $600 on World Series tickets, and the like..

 

i agree 100% that having a child is a beautiful thing but not many people now a days are like you and they will not work hard and put the extra effort and time to make the money or even give their chidren the love they deserve/need like you did.. hell my sister had a kid and her husband didnt make much money and neither did she but instead of adjusting their lifestyle to afford their child he claimed he didnt have any money but some how had 2 dirtbikes and 2 boats??? thats basicaly what i am trying to say because most people are like this they will not stop spending their money on material things and end up broke and having to get money from someone else i.e. family/welfare al because they are irresponsible..again i am not against or oppossed to having children one day but i would like to be a little farther along in life so i can afford to spend as much time as possible with them.. but i feel like we are getting way off subject so i will stop here..

 

I could live off savings for 6+ month due to me having roomates and id have to sacrifice my diet for ramen and tap water though

 

Judge Judy is a WHOLE nother subject. lol. Off topic yes, but in response I agree with you partially, but who are we to say who should and should not have a child? I won't get into the argument here on this one because Neither of us will sway the others opinion on that subject I am sure.

At first though I DIDN'T put forth the effort. I was still wanting mine-mine-mine at the beginning, but I quickly started seeing what a gift a child is, and how my life was no longer my own, it was my children's life now. I do see the argument about people living beyond their means and such, but I am willing to bet your friend with 2 dirtbikes and 2 boats would be living just as selfishly had he NOT had children.

I do appreciate your devotion to wait until later, and yes, I think one SHOULD be better financially before they have children, but I also will not sit there and tell a couple "you two don't have enough money, so you need to make sure you don't have children." Yeah, welfare sucks, and I hate seeing people on it, but hey, I had to be on food stamps and public assistance for 6 months myself at one point. It DOES serve a good purpose, when not abused. Of course too many people abuse it for sure.

I guess what I am trying to say is that having children based solely on your financial status would mean that only the rich would have children, and that is just wrong in too many ways.

 

Agree 100% good sir. And to add, I'm not sure anyone is ever ready for kids. There comes a time when you have to grab your partners hand and jump knowing that you will do the best that you know how. If you made sure all of your finances were in order and you had the "required" 6 months of savings, most people would not be having children until they are in their mid thirties.

My wife and I are beginning the talks of kids, we are 26 and 27. While we may not be financially golden YET, I would rather have my children when I am younger and ensure that I am still physically able to be a part of the life when they are my age. My parents had me when they were in their late 20's, I still go hiking and camping with my dad. We still climb 6,000' mountains and hit the golf course all the time.

I know a few people who's parents had them when they were in their mid/late 30's and those options are almost out of the question now. Not saying that this is always the case - tomorrow is never guaranteed for anyone, but I would like to plan my life for more than just a monetary benefit.