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View Poll Results: Do you live paycheck to paycheck ?
Yes ! We have very little in savings and almost run out of money between paydays! 113 31.92%
No, we have money in savings and hardly ever run out of spending cash between paydays. 173 48.87%
No savings, but we don't run out of money. 40 11.30%
Other. 28 7.91%
Voters: 354. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-28-2009, 09:57 PM
 
30,855 posts, read 36,750,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TNGal78 View Post
Trying to post a poll.


Also....how often do you get paid ?

This is not a public poll, so nobody will know your answer on the poll.
For anyone interested, Jean Chatzky answered this question in her book:

The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper In Even the Toughest Times

http://www.amazon.com/Difference-Any...1514146&sr=8-1

In her study of over 5000 households she was able to classify people into the following 4 categories:

Wealthy: 3%
Financially Comfortable: 27%
Paycheck-to-Paychecks: 54%
Further-in-Debtors: 15%

She goes on to detail that the wealthy & financially comfortable have certain attitudes/behaviors/traits that lead to their financial success. There are about 20 key traits she notes in the book. She says you normally need to have at least 10 of the traits to hit financially comfortable status.

There is a lot of psychology in her book and she details the kinds of things people who are in the lower 2 categories do to get themselves into the upper 2 categories.

A great book. A more focused, less preachy, more practical version of The Millionaire Next Door.

Last edited by mysticaltyger; 08-28-2009 at 10:34 PM..
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Old 08-28-2009, 10:04 PM
 
30,855 posts, read 36,750,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunshineann View Post
Its like my husband and i have been saying...we dont have money. so we know how to cut corners and make a penny stretch...its when those with alot of money lose it...they are the ones going to hurt. Why? because they dont know how to make that penny stretch like we do. So for that we feel we are richer than they are. We have no money...but a whole lotta love goin on.
Not necessarily true. Most wealthy people are good at saving. Sure, they don't have to work as hard to stretch a dollar as most do. But I think a lot of people don't understand the difference between high income and wealthy.

High income people often live payday to payday or save only negligible amounts. Wealthy people often have high incomes (although definitely not always) but can live on savings/investments for a long time.
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Old 08-28-2009, 10:12 PM
 
30,855 posts, read 36,750,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by becwells View Post
I love this post!

What's wrong with being a little self-indulgent?? I had this discussion with my DH this morning - who says we have to have nice little savings accounts? Beyond having enough to support yourself in the event of an unforseen hiccup, why do we need to focus so much on accumulating wealth? Sure, it might be nice to leave your kids a little something extra when you die, but most likely they will be grown adults who are quite capable of supporting themselves and who don't really "need" whatever savings you work your whole life to put aside.
There's nothing wrong with a little self indulgence. However, I wonder how many people understand what "a little" really is. I find it laughable that most people are not going to have enough $$ to retire decently, yet I see posts all the time where the "you can't take it with you" sentiment is expressed. Most Americans don't have to worry about amassing an excess of wealth.
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Old 08-28-2009, 10:27 PM
 
30,855 posts, read 36,750,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randomdude View Post
I cant think of a reason to pay for cable TV at all! Ive been without cable for well over a year since I got divorced, and much of my life. I do just fine!
I don't have a TV at all and haven't for the last 4 years. I don't miss it that much. I watch movies at a friend's house about once a week.
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Old 08-29-2009, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Marietta, GA
7,887 posts, read 17,120,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
I find it laughable that most people are not going to have enough $$ to retire decently, yet I see posts all the time where the "you can't take it with you" sentiment is expressed. Most Americans don't have to worry about amassing an excess of wealth.
And I know this sentiment won't be popular with some, but if the governmemt would let us save/invest our own 7+% instead of them wasting/spending it and leaving an IOU for future generations, then maybe more people would have more money for retirement.

I would gladly opt out of Social Security and never ask the government for a dime when I retire. As it stands, I'll be lucky if I ever see a dime anyway, and all that cash will have been pissed away by a government out of control.
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Old 08-29-2009, 03:35 PM
 
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Yea I live pay check to pay check by CHOICE but I do have 3 months worth of savings. I CHOOSE to live at home and not go out every night like all my friends also. Only 30% or so of my income goes towards debt but I usually give somewhere around 60-70% of my income to knock it out.
I owe 30k on private student loans but every two week paycheck I get, $700 goes towards the loan. I'm hoping to get this knocked out in 2 years so I can be virtually debt free and start to live and not worry about owing anyone money. I'm hoping by the time I'm done my income should double and I'll have a little play money and the rest goes into investments. Nothing like owning everything you have, I was so glad to pay my $10,000 car off a few months ago.
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Old 08-31-2009, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
5,522 posts, read 10,163,108 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
And I know this sentiment won't be popular with some, but if the governmemt would let us save/invest our own 7+% instead of them wasting/spending it and leaving an IOU for future generations, then maybe more people would have more money for retirement.

I would gladly opt out of Social Security and never ask the government for a dime when I retire. As it stands, I'll be lucky if I ever see a dime anyway, and all that cash will have been pissed away by a government out of control.
I have to agree with this. Im fully behind giving people back their SS and businesses theirs, and let us invest it ourselves.

How much "economic stimulus" do you think an automatic cut of the SS tax would create? Thats better then any rebate check you can possibly send out, and it just keeps on giving forever.
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Old 08-31-2009, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Marietta, GA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randomdude View Post
I have to agree with this. Im fully behind giving people back their SS and businesses theirs, and let us invest it ourselves.
The reasons often cited by those against this concept are cliche. They basically boil down to "people are too stupid and need the government to save them from their own stupidity" and "the volatile stock market cannot be trusted and we need the stability of government" to ensure that folks have income in their retirement.

The reality is that Social Security was never meant to be used as a a primary retirement vehicle, and at the time of conception, the average life span was around 65 years. The reality is also that well diversified and well planned investments (over the long term) can reap a much higher return than anything the government can provide. The last reality is that the government has not invested or even saved the money collected from SS participants over the last 75 years. Instead they have spent the money and left IOUs in what should be a trust fund with trillions of dollars in it.

There is no money....it's a ponzi scheme that cannot be sustained much longer. People need to be given back their own money and they need to take responsibility for their own destiny.
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Old 08-31-2009, 12:19 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
5,522 posts, read 10,163,108 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
The reasons often cited by those against this concept are cliche. They basically boil down to "people are too stupid and need the government to save them from their own stupidity" and "the volatile stock market cannot be trusted and we need the stability of government" to ensure that folks have income in their retirement.
Even an idiot can put money in a savings account. Its not much, but its pretty much like saving 6.2% of your income every year, and getting compounding interest on it. Hell, you can just pack away the money in municipal bonds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
There is no money....it's a ponzi scheme that cannot be sustained much longer. People need to be given back their own money and they need to take responsibility for their own destiny.
To be fair, the government turned it in to a ponzi scheme. At no point should have more money been given out then what was collected plus investment return. Hands shouldnt have been allowed to use it for other purposes, and more money shouldnt have been handed out simply because people lived longer.
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Old 08-31-2009, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Marietta, GA
7,887 posts, read 17,120,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randomdude View Post
Even an idiot can put money in a savings account. Its not much, but its pretty much like saving 6.2% of your income every year, and getting compounding interest on it. Hell, you can just pack away the money in municipal bonds.
Exactly, and if you take the % employers are paying now and add that in, then it's double. We're already doing this and calling it the "401k," so all we'd really be talking about is diverting more money to 401k type accounts and not sending it to the feds to be wasted.

It will take people doing a little more research and maybe the government could put some enforced ratios in place. Perhaps people over 55 years old should be required to put a certain percent of their money in more conservative and less risky investments or something like that to avoid short term fluctuations in markets causing massive loss for people near retirement age.

There are many ways to get more out of the same money and enforce savings for retirement without the government running it. Instead of discussing how the government should be gaining more power over us, we should be disucssing how to get it out of the business of being in control of our lives. Getting rid of Social Security would be a good first step.
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