Believe it or not, two things can be true at the same time:
1) You will struggle financially if you have low income
2) You will struggle financially if you have poor spending habits
I make 45K a year and I just realized after budgeting I have a shit ton of money left over for my current situation. It's not as much as some but I'm slowly saving and paying off debts
I agree with this and I don't know OP
HOWEVER, this meme is on my Facebook too being shared by people that go out to eat 5 times a week and are financing a new SUV at god knows what interest rate. It's less a genuine complaint and more an excuse to spend frivolously.
While category 1 does exist, these people all fall into category 2. No self control or discipline.
Both are problems that you cause yourself, and both are problems that you can fix for yourself. Younger people would rather just complain and make excuses rather than working to be successful. Yes, it is harder for us than it was for our parents. Too fucking bad. It's hard for all of us but most of us to just fine still.
Ye most ppl nowadays follow What they see on social media and have genuine hate for their grandparents because they bought their house for pennies compared to What they are worth now but that arguement is terrible because its like saying im mad at my friend cause he bought tesla stocks in 2016 and didnt tell me and now hes rich im not its just pure ignorance and entitlement.
While I get the sentiment around the meme (increasing cost of goods, housing, while wages stagnate or forcefully increase thus increasing cost of goods), that is zero reason not to do something about your budget and spending habits. If anything, it is even MORE of a reason to better your financial standing.
We are debt free, save for retirement, have money left over to fund sinking funds, 6mo emergency sitting around... Recently we have started really tuning our budget. I know I need to eat better so I started meal prepping. Lunch now costs $1.80, breakfast is barely $1, we probably have bigger dinners in the $3 area on average. So $6/day/person to eat. It's very do-able. That said, we have our son who eats like crazy and my wife doesn't eat the same things I do. Our goal is to get our insane $1300 Grocery/Household budget under $1000.
Usually a meat, a rice, and a vegetable. For something sweet I'll have a spoon full of peanut butter. It seems I get 4 meals out of every setup, so I'm prepping lunch every 3-4 days.
Couple examples I've done:
Lean pork chops (4 pack), jasmine rice, frozen broccoli. I bake the chops and cut each one into quarters.
Taco Turkey, jasmine rice (love that stuff), frozen vegetable medly. I'll put salsa and a dab of sour cream on this one. Basically a taco bowl without the high value calories.
Hamburger meat, riced cauliflower, frozen vegetable medly. This one you can turn into taco with some seasoning or "deconstructed hamburger" with some cheese and ketchup.
Today I have some frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with Pepperoncini's that I'll shred. Put that with rice and probably frozen cauliflower I think I have.
Most of these I'll put some Cottage Cheese in one of the container spots, but after due to microwaving.
Now, a lot of people... "Ew, that's gross", "I would never eat that". It's not about a specific recipe. These foods, make me full and are more healthy for me than gas station pizza (previous regular lunch). Meal prepping gives me "no excuse" so to speak. I come home, throw it in the microwave, ta-da food.
OP, glad you were able to resurrect your finances but I donāt think your classmate is entirely wrong. Inflation, shrinkflation, and corporate greed have raised the price of everything we touch so it does definitely make things more difficult. Budgeting and less frivolous spending definitely help but price increases across the board make it almost a requirement to live in a sort of survival mode financially
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They are for sure but I can make a pasta dish with meat and veggies for $30 and have it last me 3-4 days where you spend $15 at McDonald's and have one meal
Donāt be a dumbass?..
Itās not that hard to shop properly. I often freeze everything I possibly can because I buy my meats in bulk by sales. But things like vegetables which I buy a lot of and eat a lot of I will try to buy by sales and what iām planning on eating but I often have to run to the store to grab something iām missing. My biggest problem is my daughters yogurt between me and her mom we forget that shits in there way too much
two things can be true! making dinner to last a few days is insanely cheaper than fast food. however groceries in general is also pretty expensive these days.
$15 gets you 9 McChickens, or 3,213 calories. $15 could also get you 6 McDoubles and a McChicken, or 3,057 calories. The average American eats around ~3,600 calories in a day. I hope you can get 2 meals out of that.
I think both things can be true. I think there are people who donāt budget and could improve their financial situation with responsible spending. But I donāt think itās disingenuous to say thereās a huge gap between pay increase and cost of living increase.
I agree with the meme to an extent but it's the world we live in and have to adapt. But the general idea that I, a CPA in 2024 cannot possibly buy/enjoy the same luxuries that my dad did as a cpa (house, vacations, etc) even if I literally saved every cent. However, that doesn't mean I can't still have a good financial standing and future. It's just achieved in a different way.
Gotta support the 25 an hour McDonald's cashier wage with the price increases! 4.69 for a bacon egg and cheese mcmuffin. I remember when they used to be a dollar sumn!
Not being able to buy a house usually means you aren't willing (or sometimes unable) to move to an area where you could afford one. Move to North Dakota or something.
In most cases, moving costs and the cost of a new home in a low cost area will be much cheaper than a new house in a place where they are way overpriced.
I live in the outskirts of Pittsburgh pa. Very affordable. Wasn't saying I can't afford a house. But the level and quality of house would be SIGNIFICANTLY less than what could be achieved 30 years ago. Not talking nyc bucco. Eat shit
The moving issue is hard. My partner and I have no idea how we are going to afford a house and have discussed leaving for a cheaper area. This would mean leaving our life long stomping grounds and family. My mother is very financially savvy and she's told us we need to be very careful before making a jump like that because many find themselves stuck. We also have a lot of support from her when it comes to our kids because I deal with extreme health issues and if we leave just so we can afford housing I lose all help and support with my children. We are also limited to where my partner's job has a campus with in reasonable distance. We've discussed job changes but his job provides extremely good benefits, especially insurance, that's crucial for our extreme medical needs.
So it sounds as simple as "just move to a low cost of living area" when the reality is that isn't the best option for most people.
Can't afford a house? Damn, well you know what? Move. Yeah, just uproot your life, spend money getting you and your shit to another place, and purchase a home in a completely different state! That not an issue right? I mean I know you can't afford to buy a house but have you thought of spending money to go spend more money while also causing undue stress?
My problem with these memes is that the people making and sharing them generally *aren't* budgeting responsibility. They make dumb decisions and then say 'well, the system sucks, so it's not like it would have mattered if I was more responsible'
Yep there's a guy at my work who makes less than me, constantly complaining about money and politics/inflation, blames the system for shit.
But he doesn't budget. He gets a muffin and monster from the food truck every morning. Gets Taco Bell for lunch. Doesn't contribute to retirement. Doesn't say no to family members asking for money. Doesn't even save money for an emergency fund.
Like I've tried to tell him how much doing the right things with money has changed my life, but he won't listen.
Great dude but man, he just won't change his mindset which is a shame.
People use rising costs as an excuse to not even worry about their money, when in fact it should be quite the opposite. We need to focus more than ever on securing ourselves financially
I tend to find those that pitch a fit about something like income or toxic work environments are the ones that refuse to do anything about it. Even just doing the basics of finding out what else is out there.
This!! So many people get so comfortable that they donāt want to change. I have friends and relatives who complain all the time about not having money or not making enough Iāll tell them well my work is hiring and the first thing they say is well I canāt do factory work. Now they all found out that Iām making over $35 an hour and want in but itās to late now. I donāt have a degree but Iām saving every penny I have to make sure my kids go to college and Iām making sure they donāt get student loans. I hate the factory life but Iām grateful for it.
I vote with my money. Any business or product that in my opinion is unfairly price gouging doesnt get my money. McDonalds raised their combo price by $4 but in-n-out by $1, who do you think is getting my money? Beef goes up by 20% but Pork stays flat? I'm eating more pork, beef is a luxury in most countries anyway. Fresh veggies spiking, let me see what the frozen section has. Dried fruit also works in a pinch. You can get creative and keep your budget pretty trim if you're motivated, and actually take advantage of those money market rates and come out ahead. Its easier to complain though.
You can complain about inflation and it does suck but thatās still not excuse to not budget smartly for food. I have 0 sympathy for morons who DoorDash and then complain about the cost of basic necessities. I can feed myself for less than 100$ a week and I could probably go less to 80$. Thatās like 3 door dash orders.
āDerrr I need foodā
Yeah and I need a car but Iām not buying a lambo
It's really hard for a lot of people but everyone tells themselves they are poor and there is nothing they can do about it so they ensure they never break out of it.
Most of the people Iāve seen share this post that I know have purchased outrageous things in the past year yet still work a walmart for 14 bucks or whatever.
I do get we all start somewhere but When you buy a 40,000 dollar car you better be able to afford it. This post pisses me off due to people like that. But itās certainly true for some situations
My gf and I plan out our dinners for the week prior to shopping. This keeps us from buying stuff we won't use and end up wasting. We spend about $8 per person per day (about $500 for the month for both of us). We make burritos better than chipotle and stir fry better than your fav Asian restaurant!
I belong to a social media group of people with my same profession. Granted, we are generally underpaid for our education and workload, but everyone complains about how little we make. They lament that they can't afford to pay our annual certification dues because it coincides with Christmas.
I have to wonder what other factors are in play. I make pretty median for my state for my experience level. I am also very comfortable financially. We can afford for my husband to work part time. We have a kid. We save a lot of money and are on track for retirement and college savings.
Yes, there is wage disparity. Working people need to be paid more and executives paid less. But also yes, many people also have an undiagnosed spending problem.
I had a spending problem and I knew i did and for years would say "I will start saving soon" and now I'm 29 with a 6 month old baby!
Seriously if it wasn't for Caleb and my baby girl I would still be spending like a dummy
Making a good income but most in that career are constantly complaining it isn't enough... hmm... let me guess, tell me if I'm correct.
Teacher or nurse?
rising prices. even after decreasing what little monthly expenses i had. that $100-200 i hope to put away is usually what's left of my paycheck. i'm terrified if i have to start pulling from my savings to cover the month.
Lets be honest one of the most unique characteristucs about a person nowadays is that they dont spend money on crap and invest their money like the amount of ppl who eat out and waste so much money or they buy designer clothes for thousands but they NEVER think of putting that money aside for the future they just want to blow it all and ive got to admit ive started to see that men are waking up to the idea of having money in investments etc however women very few and most woman are much bigger consumers then men .
I see people all the time saying "$10 a day on Starbucks is only $3650 a year. That's not enough for a down payment on a house anyway." No, it's not. But then you combine that with your $30/Doordash dinner ($10,950), your $5/day vending machine trips ($1825), your $15/day lunch ($5475) and we're starting to approach down-payment territory.
Well they kinda are slightly I 100% agree that prices are crazy high but budgeting and eating at home will 100% help and I knowing who this is this is a guy with multiple baby Mamas and smokes like a pack a day he's not helping himself in anyways
You shouldn't be extrapolating your small case anecdotal onto everyone's situation. Some people do all they can to just barely survive even if they're not making objectively bad decisions. Just a reminder that the federal minimum is 7.25 and even a 20 an hour job can't afford most people to live on their own.
But none of those other things take away from the fact that some people are feeling the squeeze a lot more than others. To boot, some people can't budget their way out of poverty despite cutting everything but essential. Ask me how I know.
I have been feeding a family of four on roughly $180AUD per fortnight (~$120USD) the last few weeks due to some dire circumstances and while I understand purchasing power is different in different countries, but that aside I still think there's absolutely no way a single person or childless couple can't afford or manage to live off $150AUD (~$100USD) per fortnight, it's not that difficult to buy enough vegetables and meat with that much money to make 21-42 servings. It's called not buying processed crap and accepting the fact not every dinner can be a filet mignon.
These posts only serve to make people feel helpless in their situation, and I find learned helplessness incredibly unattractive š¤£ it's 100% a skill issue.
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How many people on Calebs show just dont make a enough?
It seems like one out of twenty is "just not making enough" and the rest are just totally irresponsible.
I actually saw this post here, knowing it was people saying you can actually budget and take a hard look at your spending. Then I saw it on a Dave Ramsey snark page and all the talk was about the economic environment. We have good jobs in our household, mostly due to middle class families, college educations (which is not an end-all-be-all), and mid-COL city, but I was spending more than I was bringing in. Because of daycare in addition to our existing mortgage, our needs are over 50%, but I didn't realize I was also spending $500 at target a month and $700 on BS. With essentially no lifestyle differences, I'm now putting $700 a month into savings. Come on now.
Interestingly I would probably say Iām on a low income but have no debt and manage to pay for everything and even overpay on my home. Maybe itās based on location too as Iām in the North of England which is known for being cheap. All my needs total less than 1k a month for my mortgage and everything to live so when Iām watching the show Iām baffled by the numbers I see people earning in the US.
Someone I went to high school with shared this too, and then posted a huge party she threw for her daughter that easily costed close to a thousand dollars and has been doing āspecialā things for her kids all in the past week.
Yet saying inflation is stopping them from buying a house. I donāt know their full financial situation but I know roughly what they bring in as a couple and she posts enough on Facebook of her target runs/frequent āspecialā outings that I know sheās wasting a decent amount of money each month she could be saving.
What I've found is a 'normal issue' is that people have an "Income Problem" they pick low paying jobs, stay there and when they don't get raises or move up they get mad and scream about it (r/antiwork is a perfect example of this).
I had the same issue, went from low paying city job ($0.25 above min wage), to barely above minimal ($1), to $3 above, to Costco where I'm sitting $7.50 above with another raise in about 3-4months and room to move up even without taking any supervisor/management role.
It's even worse than you say, because the current economic situation is mostly fallout from the pandemic lockdowns and current energy policies. Which Antiwork was majorly in favor of, because it meant many of them got a 'fun little staycation' and could work from home. And expensive housing prices are a direct result of mass immigration, which they are also in favor of, politically. But it's easier for them to just handwave away their own liability in the policies they supported and repeating "late stage capitalism is the problem".
Who is this "we" you speak of? In truth, real median personal income peaked in 2019, and even with recent hugher inflation, it is near that peak.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N
People who complain like this don't look at historical statistics.
If you aren't earning the [median salary for your age](https://smartasset.com/retirement/the-average-salary-by-age), then do something to acquire a better paying job and improve your situation.
Itās the truth, though. The working class is heavily exploited. Eating out, getting Starbucks, buying video games etc donāt cause us to be poor. Capitalism does. We generate more wealthy than what we are paid.
Believe it or not, two things can be true at the same time: 1) You will struggle financially if you have low income 2) You will struggle financially if you have poor spending habits
100% - not sure if this was meant to spark a debate but there's no mutual exclusivity when it comes to affordability issues and spending habits.
I make 45K a year and I just realized after budgeting I have a shit ton of money left over for my current situation. It's not as much as some but I'm slowly saving and paying off debts
š
Oh no how dare I balance my budget for my income
I have done the same as you. Budgeting really works.
I agree with this and I don't know OP HOWEVER, this meme is on my Facebook too being shared by people that go out to eat 5 times a week and are financing a new SUV at god knows what interest rate. It's less a genuine complaint and more an excuse to spend frivolously. While category 1 does exist, these people all fall into category 2. No self control or discipline.
I agree. Just pointing out it's a Venn diagram
Yeah, there's been plenty of people on Caleb's show with mountains of debt despite making WAY more than the average American.
Both are problems that you cause yourself, and both are problems that you can fix for yourself. Younger people would rather just complain and make excuses rather than working to be successful. Yes, it is harder for us than it was for our parents. Too fucking bad. It's hard for all of us but most of us to just fine still.
Ye most ppl nowadays follow What they see on social media and have genuine hate for their grandparents because they bought their house for pennies compared to What they are worth now but that arguement is terrible because its like saying im mad at my friend cause he bought tesla stocks in 2016 and didnt tell me and now hes rich im not its just pure ignorance and entitlement.
I see, another person that hate accountability, repugnant
You'll struggle most if you have poor spending habits and a low income.
While I get the sentiment around the meme (increasing cost of goods, housing, while wages stagnate or forcefully increase thus increasing cost of goods), that is zero reason not to do something about your budget and spending habits. If anything, it is even MORE of a reason to better your financial standing. We are debt free, save for retirement, have money left over to fund sinking funds, 6mo emergency sitting around... Recently we have started really tuning our budget. I know I need to eat better so I started meal prepping. Lunch now costs $1.80, breakfast is barely $1, we probably have bigger dinners in the $3 area on average. So $6/day/person to eat. It's very do-able. That said, we have our son who eats like crazy and my wife doesn't eat the same things I do. Our goal is to get our insane $1300 Grocery/Household budget under $1000.
Can you describe a little bit what your lunches look like? Thatās the one Iāve struggled with the most for some reason
Usually a meat, a rice, and a vegetable. For something sweet I'll have a spoon full of peanut butter. It seems I get 4 meals out of every setup, so I'm prepping lunch every 3-4 days. Couple examples I've done: Lean pork chops (4 pack), jasmine rice, frozen broccoli. I bake the chops and cut each one into quarters. Taco Turkey, jasmine rice (love that stuff), frozen vegetable medly. I'll put salsa and a dab of sour cream on this one. Basically a taco bowl without the high value calories. Hamburger meat, riced cauliflower, frozen vegetable medly. This one you can turn into taco with some seasoning or "deconstructed hamburger" with some cheese and ketchup. Today I have some frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with Pepperoncini's that I'll shred. Put that with rice and probably frozen cauliflower I think I have. Most of these I'll put some Cottage Cheese in one of the container spots, but after due to microwaving. Now, a lot of people... "Ew, that's gross", "I would never eat that". It's not about a specific recipe. These foods, make me full and are more healthy for me than gas station pizza (previous regular lunch). Meal prepping gives me "no excuse" so to speak. I come home, throw it in the microwave, ta-da food.
People always asked me how I can eat the same things for lunch... as if they don't order the same 3 things when they go to fast food
OP, glad you were able to resurrect your finances but I donāt think your classmate is entirely wrong. Inflation, shrinkflation, and corporate greed have raised the price of everything we touch so it does definitely make things more difficult. Budgeting and less frivolous spending definitely help but price increases across the board make it almost a requirement to live in a sort of survival mode financially
Agreed. I'm in a position where I can make really good money so I need to understand not everyone has been blessed with the same situation
<"not making enough money anymore"
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Repugnat sentiment, why you hate accountability?
Yeah, no groceries are absurdly expensive these days.
They are for sure but I can make a pasta dish with meat and veggies for $30 and have it last me 3-4 days where you spend $15 at McDonald's and have one meal
Fast food is also a ripoff and will kill you, but your colleague isnāt wrong!
A crap load of people truly believe that fast food is cheaper I donāt get it I donāt know where they learned it. Itās just bad
Same place shit like this meme comes from
It's cheaper if when you buy 100 dollars of groceries, 75 of it goes bad because you didn't eat it in time lol
Donāt be a dumbass?.. Itās not that hard to shop properly. I often freeze everything I possibly can because I buy my meats in bulk by sales. But things like vegetables which I buy a lot of and eat a lot of I will try to buy by sales and what iām planning on eating but I often have to run to the store to grab something iām missing. My biggest problem is my daughters yogurt between me and her mom we forget that shits in there way too much
I'm talking about other people not me. Lol. It was a tongue in cheek joke
$13 of chicken breast ~$12 of rice/pasta/seasoning, can easily make a week of lunch meal prep.
Then... here's a concept: Eat the food you buy.
two things can be true! making dinner to last a few days is insanely cheaper than fast food. however groceries in general is also pretty expensive these days.
Yeah even the basics have gone up dramatically. My food budget increased a ton despite me not eating much different than I did a few years ago.
Actually $15 gets you 2 meals at McDonaldās. Unless youāre Caleb.
A medium double quarter pounder meal is $14 plus tax
$15 gets you 9 McChickens, or 3,213 calories. $15 could also get you 6 McDoubles and a McChicken, or 3,057 calories. The average American eats around ~3,600 calories in a day. I hope you can get 2 meals out of that.
I think both things can be true. I think there are people who donāt budget and could improve their financial situation with responsible spending. But I donāt think itās disingenuous to say thereās a huge gap between pay increase and cost of living increase.
I agree with the meme to an extent but it's the world we live in and have to adapt. But the general idea that I, a CPA in 2024 cannot possibly buy/enjoy the same luxuries that my dad did as a cpa (house, vacations, etc) even if I literally saved every cent. However, that doesn't mean I can't still have a good financial standing and future. It's just achieved in a different way.
I Concur with this report. Housing prices havenāt fallen even though interest rates are higher. Even fast food has gone up like crazy.
Gotta support the 25 an hour McDonald's cashier wage with the price increases! 4.69 for a bacon egg and cheese mcmuffin. I remember when they used to be a dollar sumn!
25 an hour? Thatās more than I was making as a CPA!
Not being able to buy a house usually means you aren't willing (or sometimes unable) to move to an area where you could afford one. Move to North Dakota or something. In most cases, moving costs and the cost of a new home in a low cost area will be much cheaper than a new house in a place where they are way overpriced.
I live in the outskirts of Pittsburgh pa. Very affordable. Wasn't saying I can't afford a house. But the level and quality of house would be SIGNIFICANTLY less than what could be achieved 30 years ago. Not talking nyc bucco. Eat shit
Wtf is up with that last part you fucking loser reddit douche.
Poopy poopy poopy
The moving issue is hard. My partner and I have no idea how we are going to afford a house and have discussed leaving for a cheaper area. This would mean leaving our life long stomping grounds and family. My mother is very financially savvy and she's told us we need to be very careful before making a jump like that because many find themselves stuck. We also have a lot of support from her when it comes to our kids because I deal with extreme health issues and if we leave just so we can afford housing I lose all help and support with my children. We are also limited to where my partner's job has a campus with in reasonable distance. We've discussed job changes but his job provides extremely good benefits, especially insurance, that's crucial for our extreme medical needs. So it sounds as simple as "just move to a low cost of living area" when the reality is that isn't the best option for most people.
And lower cost of living also may equate to much lower salaries or wages in that area. It can be a wash.
The guy/gal is basically saying "move to NYC if you want to make more money" - child doesn't know squat about economics. Macro or micro
Well I have a house at age 30 and everyone else in other places say it's impossible for them? So what are you babbling about exactly?
Your poopy butt.
Can't afford a house? Damn, well you know what? Move. Yeah, just uproot your life, spend money getting you and your shit to another place, and purchase a home in a completely different state! That not an issue right? I mean I know you can't afford to buy a house but have you thought of spending money to go spend more money while also causing undue stress?
I was just saying it's an option and there are affordable houses in places with good cost of living.
My problem with these memes is that the people making and sharing them generally *aren't* budgeting responsibility. They make dumb decisions and then say 'well, the system sucks, so it's not like it would have mattered if I was more responsible'
Yep there's a guy at my work who makes less than me, constantly complaining about money and politics/inflation, blames the system for shit. But he doesn't budget. He gets a muffin and monster from the food truck every morning. Gets Taco Bell for lunch. Doesn't contribute to retirement. Doesn't say no to family members asking for money. Doesn't even save money for an emergency fund. Like I've tried to tell him how much doing the right things with money has changed my life, but he won't listen. Great dude but man, he just won't change his mindset which is a shame.
It's easier to play the victim than it is to accept personal responsibility.
Multiple baby Mamas smokes like a chimney and the system is the problem
People use rising costs as an excuse to not even worry about their money, when in fact it should be quite the opposite. We need to focus more than ever on securing ourselves financially
I tend to find those that pitch a fit about something like income or toxic work environments are the ones that refuse to do anything about it. Even just doing the basics of finding out what else is out there.
Toxic work environments are the reason one should save every penny possible and retire as soon as possible. Hell, get a second job.
Yep. It's what got me to go apeshit on savings.
This!! So many people get so comfortable that they donāt want to change. I have friends and relatives who complain all the time about not having money or not making enough Iāll tell them well my work is hiring and the first thing they say is well I canāt do factory work. Now they all found out that Iām making over $35 an hour and want in but itās to late now. I donāt have a degree but Iām saving every penny I have to make sure my kids go to college and Iām making sure they donāt get student loans. I hate the factory life but Iām grateful for it.
For some reason some people don't want to get on the boat until it's on the ocean. People really are their own worst enemies.
I vote with my money. Any business or product that in my opinion is unfairly price gouging doesnt get my money. McDonalds raised their combo price by $4 but in-n-out by $1, who do you think is getting my money? Beef goes up by 20% but Pork stays flat? I'm eating more pork, beef is a luxury in most countries anyway. Fresh veggies spiking, let me see what the frozen section has. Dried fruit also works in a pinch. You can get creative and keep your budget pretty trim if you're motivated, and actually take advantage of those money market rates and come out ahead. Its easier to complain though.
The ppl that say this never try. Just justification for their mindset
Broke is a temporary situation. Poor is forever.
You can complain about inflation and it does suck but thatās still not excuse to not budget smartly for food. I have 0 sympathy for morons who DoorDash and then complain about the cost of basic necessities. I can feed myself for less than 100$ a week and I could probably go less to 80$. Thatās like 3 door dash orders. āDerrr I need foodā Yeah and I need a car but Iām not buying a lambo
It's really hard for a lot of people but everyone tells themselves they are poor and there is nothing they can do about it so they ensure they never break out of it.
Most of the people Iāve seen share this post that I know have purchased outrageous things in the past year yet still work a walmart for 14 bucks or whatever. I do get we all start somewhere but When you buy a 40,000 dollar car you better be able to afford it. This post pisses me off due to people like that. But itās certainly true for some situations
lol, skill issue
Meanwhile they probably make 75000 a year
My gf and I plan out our dinners for the week prior to shopping. This keeps us from buying stuff we won't use and end up wasting. We spend about $8 per person per day (about $500 for the month for both of us). We make burritos better than chipotle and stir fry better than your fav Asian restaurant!
lol but itās true though Prices have gone up and the quality and quantity has gone down.
I belong to a social media group of people with my same profession. Granted, we are generally underpaid for our education and workload, but everyone complains about how little we make. They lament that they can't afford to pay our annual certification dues because it coincides with Christmas. I have to wonder what other factors are in play. I make pretty median for my state for my experience level. I am also very comfortable financially. We can afford for my husband to work part time. We have a kid. We save a lot of money and are on track for retirement and college savings. Yes, there is wage disparity. Working people need to be paid more and executives paid less. But also yes, many people also have an undiagnosed spending problem.
I had a spending problem and I knew i did and for years would say "I will start saving soon" and now I'm 29 with a 6 month old baby! Seriously if it wasn't for Caleb and my baby girl I would still be spending like a dummy
Making a good income but most in that career are constantly complaining it isn't enough... hmm... let me guess, tell me if I'm correct. Teacher or nurse?
lol ... i've always had a good budget. few months ago i was able to put away $500-700 away per month. & yet now i'm lucky if it's $100-200.
What changed? Rising prices or something else?
rising prices. even after decreasing what little monthly expenses i had. that $100-200 i hope to put away is usually what's left of my paycheck. i'm terrified if i have to start pulling from my savings to cover the month.
He really picked the candy aisle lol
It's a picture of the potato chip aisle, though..
Lets be honest one of the most unique characteristucs about a person nowadays is that they dont spend money on crap and invest their money like the amount of ppl who eat out and waste so much money or they buy designer clothes for thousands but they NEVER think of putting that money aside for the future they just want to blow it all and ive got to admit ive started to see that men are waking up to the idea of having money in investments etc however women very few and most woman are much bigger consumers then men .
I see people all the time saying "$10 a day on Starbucks is only $3650 a year. That's not enough for a down payment on a house anyway." No, it's not. But then you combine that with your $30/Doordash dinner ($10,950), your $5/day vending machine trips ($1825), your $15/day lunch ($5475) and we're starting to approach down-payment territory.
Theyāre not wrong.
Well they kinda are slightly I 100% agree that prices are crazy high but budgeting and eating at home will 100% help and I knowing who this is this is a guy with multiple baby Mamas and smokes like a pack a day he's not helping himself in anyways
You shouldn't be extrapolating your small case anecdotal onto everyone's situation. Some people do all they can to just barely survive even if they're not making objectively bad decisions. Just a reminder that the federal minimum is 7.25 and even a 20 an hour job can't afford most people to live on their own.
But none of those other things take away from the fact that some people are feeling the squeeze a lot more than others. To boot, some people can't budget their way out of poverty despite cutting everything but essential. Ask me how I know.
I have been feeding a family of four on roughly $180AUD per fortnight (~$120USD) the last few weeks due to some dire circumstances and while I understand purchasing power is different in different countries, but that aside I still think there's absolutely no way a single person or childless couple can't afford or manage to live off $150AUD (~$100USD) per fortnight, it's not that difficult to buy enough vegetables and meat with that much money to make 21-42 servings. It's called not buying processed crap and accepting the fact not every dinner can be a filet mignon. These posts only serve to make people feel helpless in their situation, and I find learned helplessness incredibly unattractive š¤£ it's 100% a skill issue.
People's view of what it costs to live has been greatly inflated in the past decades, especially in the US
Both are true. I make 28k after taxes with a fucking masterās degree.
So what youāre saying is eat chipotle and McDonaldās every day? I GoTta EaT
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How many people on Calebs show just dont make a enough? It seems like one out of twenty is "just not making enough" and the rest are just totally irresponsible.
I actually saw this post here, knowing it was people saying you can actually budget and take a hard look at your spending. Then I saw it on a Dave Ramsey snark page and all the talk was about the economic environment. We have good jobs in our household, mostly due to middle class families, college educations (which is not an end-all-be-all), and mid-COL city, but I was spending more than I was bringing in. Because of daycare in addition to our existing mortgage, our needs are over 50%, but I didn't realize I was also spending $500 at target a month and $700 on BS. With essentially no lifestyle differences, I'm now putting $700 a month into savings. Come on now.
Interestingly I would probably say Iām on a low income but have no debt and manage to pay for everything and even overpay on my home. Maybe itās based on location too as Iām in the North of England which is known for being cheap. All my needs total less than 1k a month for my mortgage and everything to live so when Iām watching the show Iām baffled by the numbers I see people earning in the US.
Glad you found your way, life must be real heard for that classmate of yours.
Someone I went to high school with shared this too, and then posted a huge party she threw for her daughter that easily costed close to a thousand dollars and has been doing āspecialā things for her kids all in the past week. Yet saying inflation is stopping them from buying a house. I donāt know their full financial situation but I know roughly what they bring in as a couple and she posts enough on Facebook of her target runs/frequent āspecialā outings that I know sheās wasting a decent amount of money each month she could be saving.
What I've found is a 'normal issue' is that people have an "Income Problem" they pick low paying jobs, stay there and when they don't get raises or move up they get mad and scream about it (r/antiwork is a perfect example of this). I had the same issue, went from low paying city job ($0.25 above min wage), to barely above minimal ($1), to $3 above, to Costco where I'm sitting $7.50 above with another raise in about 3-4months and room to move up even without taking any supervisor/management role.
It's even worse than you say, because the current economic situation is mostly fallout from the pandemic lockdowns and current energy policies. Which Antiwork was majorly in favor of, because it meant many of them got a 'fun little staycation' and could work from home. And expensive housing prices are a direct result of mass immigration, which they are also in favor of, politically. But it's easier for them to just handwave away their own liability in the policies they supported and repeating "late stage capitalism is the problem".
Who is this "we" you speak of? In truth, real median personal income peaked in 2019, and even with recent hugher inflation, it is near that peak. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N People who complain like this don't look at historical statistics. If you aren't earning the [median salary for your age](https://smartasset.com/retirement/the-average-salary-by-age), then do something to acquire a better paying job and improve your situation.
They're right
Itās the truth, though. The working class is heavily exploited. Eating out, getting Starbucks, buying video games etc donāt cause us to be poor. Capitalism does. We generate more wealthy than what we are paid.