Lol you have the biggest ax to grind with the world.

I've worked for plenty of rich jerks. Does that mean every one of their employees deserves to make six figures a year?

You're correct.

It's one of the best job markets in our lifetime so they should have found another job last year.

utah, get me two said:

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Who said they deserved six figures? 30k isn't **** for a college grad

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So why'd they accept it?

Lol so somewhere between knowing what they and their boss make and being incensed about it, and wondering why they took the job in the first place, lies a very important boundary of decency

Plot twist: Utah is an admin at a small business

He runs the register at the coffee shop in the lobby.

The guy towing the $50,000 boat might be sending his kid to public school instead of private (or has no kids).

Or he might have chosen no to live in a certain "desirable" neighborhood and lives more in the oustkirts.

Or he might have family money.

Or maybe he didn't lose half his money in a divorce.

Or he may just be independently wealthy.

It's important not to try and compare yourself when you don't know other's situations, but if you're going to do it it's silly not to be honest with yourself in that they simply may have been more successful financially.

I'm a old, so take this for what its worth & yes, I am fully aware that times have changed.

I grew up with parents that "watched their money". Dad had a not high paying office job & Mom stayed home until we were all in public school, then picked up part time or seasonal work when she could. She eventually became a damn good secretary (retired from A&M). They sacrificed & saved yet never made us feel like we were deprived of anything. We never had the newest/best, always shopped the sale racks first, went on car trip vacations to grandparents every summer - staying at hotels along the way WITH A POOL which was a treat, as was eating out at a cafeteria some Sundays after church.

All that to say that they never lived above what they could afford. Their first house together back in the 50's was $3600 - a real stretch for them, but doable. They sat down with the home builder - the next door neighbor - and somehow got him to owner finance it so we could live in that great little neighborhood with great schools - the most important thing to my Mom.

All that TLDR to say that we have always been self employed. Feast or famine type existence our whole working careers. Luckily the feast periods far out numbered the famine ones. We live like I was raised - weighing what was important to us and never feeling deprived. What was important to us was planning for the future. We reinvested profits in our business instead of new cars, etc. Then started in on rental properties. We are now retired and those provide our income so that we have never touched any of the money we put back over the years. We are finally getting around to working on our own house now! Neighbors have asked if we are going to level it and go big - like some in the neighborhood. Nope. Love our 60's house - paid for in cash in 2008 during that downturn.

jtraggie99 said:

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Like others have said, living paycheck to paycheck typically means you are dependent on that next paycheck to pay your monthly expenses. It means you have little to no savings that you can access, if you were to not get that paycheck, and you would not be able to pay your bills (or not very easily).

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My so called 'fixed' mortgage has gone up nearly $1k in 5 years due to inflation/appreciation and insurance.


Yet I haven't had a raise in 2.5 years. Where does that fit into your definition?

62strat said:

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jtraggie99 said:

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Like others have said, living paycheck to paycheck typically means you are dependent on that next paycheck to pay your monthly expenses. It means you have little to no savings that you can access, if you were to not get that paycheck, and you would not be able to pay your bills (or not very easily).

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My so called 'fixed' mortgage has gone up nearly $1k in 5 years due to inflation/appreciation and insurance.


Yet I haven't had a raise in 2.5 years. Where does that fit into your definition?

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Your fixed mortgage hasn't gone up. If you escrow, sure that payment has, but that's not just going to your mortgage company and not sure anyone ever said property taxes and insurance are fixed.....

Aren't you in CO? Aren't your property taxes relatively cheap?

Also, maybe you quoted the wrong post?

https://instagr.am/p/C3LenWZxVdd

I didn't realize you were being sarcastic. Every working American is being devastated by inflation and anyone that votes Democrat deserves what they vote for.

woodiewood said:

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jtraggie99 said:

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The Collective said:

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A majority of people just constantly ratchet up their lifestyle - so dumb

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Exactly. The article seems like it is trying to insinuate that it's largely due to inflation, but if you're making that kind of money and still living paycheck to paycheck, it's because you are buying stuff you don't need and can't actually afford. There are many, many people who make significantly less and still manage to save money and NOT live paycheck to paycheck...

It's like my dad always told us growing up, no matter how much money you make, you can always find ways to spend it all if you choose to do so...

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Yep, without self control, many persons will spend to the level of their income. We buy one or two new car every three years and buy a better car and upgrade the model and classic wheels. We move up to a house where all the children "need" their own bedroom. We each need an office. Of course a game room and a living room (that is used for two holiday means a year). We need a three car garage for our golf cart and/or bass boat. We have to have a hunting lease somewhere. Golf club membership? Out back, we need a covered outdoor kitchen and in-ground heated swimming pool.

And we it all at 35 years old.

All is great. We sure have a lot of wants...very few needs.

Good advice for the recent graduates is that if you save 10% of what you make and invest wisely, you will be able to do whatever you want to do when you are about 55 years old. BTW, don't expect too much from social security.

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Told my not long ago Mays Finance graduate to immediately put back 15% in his retirement and never stop or take it out for any reason. Whatever his income is throughout his career the minimum is 15% to retirement. Anything extra is gravy. When he's married she does the same thing, investing early is going to pay off big time. We also talk about lifestyle creep a bunch. Especially as he starts earning more in his career.

If only my younger self would have done that.

62strat said:

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jja79 said:

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You don't have a fixed rate mortgage then. The payment on a fixed rate mortgage cannot change. Your taxes and insurance, which are not part of your mortgage, may have increased. If you escrow those amounts your monthly deposit to your escrow account might have increased but your mortgage, if it's fixed rate, has not.

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I understand how a mortgage works; I put it in quotes to be sarcastic; even buying a home and having a fixed mortgage, I am still very much affected by inflation, namely appreciation which makes my taxes and insurance go up.

Yet I haven't gotten raise in 2.5 years so it's a double edged sword.

If this continues then at some point I may be living paycheck to paycheck as well!

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I'd argue the bigger problem is your income hasn't increased at the rate of inflation. The fact your mortgage portion has stayed the same despite high inflation is a benefit of long term fixed rate debt, you get to pay the loan back with dollars that are worth less than when you borrowed the money. However that only works if your income also increases.

It is because our politicians are obsessed with spending too much money, as well as the fed printing way too much money on top of it as well. So we need to revolt against our politicians and the wreckless ways of the Federal Reserve.