Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just for reference, your screen name, at least to me, sort of implies you are a CPA? If so, given that you at least passed the CPA exam, how did you justify "live for today" spending in your own head? I mean, this takes "ought to know better" to a new level, if it is indeed the case.
Not trying to be a jerk, but just asking sincerely. It would be like finding an MD who smokes.
As to the athletes, at least IMHO probably the ones who end up broke spend most of what they make in the early years, thinking they will save later, then an injury or whatever stops their career with no warning. I have read that players in many sports teams exert a lot of peer pressure on "new guys" to spend freely. And while some ballplayers are highly intelligent, not all are. The dumb ones probably don't understand the difference between a million and a billion, find themselves suddenly in more money than they can comprehend, then just as suddenly it's gone.
I do have to give you credit for taking responsibility for your own situation, in any case. So many people, sadly many in America of all places, manage to wreck their financial situation and then blame anyone but the person in the mirror who did the wrecking.
Final thought - pleasures in life that save money and/or create something of value. Growing a garden instead of taking a trip. Working on your own car, even restoring an old car, or at least finding an old beater and fixing it up to make a decent driver. Cooking for yourself rather than eating out. Going for a bike ride or jog. I personally find these things to be fun, I rather like the feeling of accomplishment, as opposed to being the paying consumer of some sort of canned entertainment.
I'm assuming you didn't read my previous post in this thread:
I'll reiterate. Assume what you will. You don't know my life, nor I yours. My profession has nothing to do with the situation. And in my referenced post I left out a lot of stuff. So nicely, I will call you a jerk for your comment
Last edited by metalmancpa; 06-23-2016 at 06:01 PM..
I'll reiterate. Assume what you will. You don't know my life, nor I yours. My profession has nothing to do with the situation. And in my referenced post I left out a lot of stuff. So nicely, I will call you a jerk for your comment
Well, actually that was the post I was replying to.
I'll take pleasure in you living in a cardboard box in your old age, you have earned it.
Excuse me for trying to be helpful. Disappointed that I learned nothing of any value from your post. That's rare, at least on this forum.
PGDR; great post.
It almost seems our major American export itself has become 'Greed'.
Actually, you're right about that, as evidenced by the world economic collapse! The "greed is good" motto of the 1980s worked for the U.S. for awhile, on paper. In reality, entire swathes of the country and some of our big cities were going under, but on paper the economy looked good. So, the rest of the world decided to adopt our model, and looked what happened. It turned out our system has been merely moving most of the nation's wealth into fewer hands while we've also been starving our government consumer and citizen protection agencies and services (but not the criminal justice system!). We weren't doing as well as it looked on paper and what we were doing wasn't sustainable because you can bleed a turnip only so long and then it has nothing left to give, like our disappeared middle-class that was thriving only 30 years ago. Once the rich cut way back on their taxes to the nation and instead of creating livable wage jobs, or any jobs frankly, the nation's resources were sent off shore to be hoarded by a few, pushing more Americans into poverty, without the middle-class to pay for everything, we are imploding. All those countries who adopted our model are paying for it now. Not only are their national economies a mess, but their government safety-net/social agencies are suffering and in danger of disappearing so the private sector that controls our country can completely control theirs too, enriching themselves on the instruments of government, all while dissing government for the people.
Bonanza: I didn't even realize until I grew up how Ben Cartwright was teaching me that a good citizen is inclusive, shares, and refuses to compromise with bigots. (<;
I am not an extreme libertarian that believes in no government regulation at all. IMO, there are tons of quality of life improvements that I use every day, even far above and beyond what was available ten years ago when I was 20. Some are from the private sector, others likely due to public sector legislation or favorable policy, but that's neither here nor there in the context of this thread.
Some of your complaints are simply due to technological advancement. Basic skiptracing can now be done by anyone with access to the internet and a few bucks - it's no longer solely in the realm of professionals. Privacy is decreasing with corporations tracking more, the government tracking more, and hackers and other thieves stealing info from the prior two entities.
Maybe some criminal penalties are too harsh now, but others weren't harsh enough then. My grandfather has roughly a dozen DUIs, multiple felony theft convictions (worked for a NASA contractor in the 60s and stole/sold equipment from NASA), domestic violence convictions, etc. He's straightened up in his old age, but DUI especially was not treated as a serious matter then. He'd be locked up for life now before he could have done half the stuff he did.
In the context of retirement, I think perhaps one of the most serious issues facing younger folks today are prior criminal convictions. One criminal conviction, often of any type in this employment market, and it's hard to rally back from that. I know folks who have had drug related arrests (even if it's just pot) and other types of arrests, and have honestly seemed to reform themselves, but they can't get decent enough jobs to where they can consistently pay routine bills, much less fund their retirement.
If someone does something stupid and gets a record (public urination while drunk could get you a sex offender charge), you can't just drive to another place now and start over as an unknown quantity. It's almost impossible for some folks to rebuild their lives and get on a stable track for the future.
My point is, there were aspects of life for young people in the 1970s and early 1980s that made it easier and more manageable because it was less bureaucratic, we had more freedoms from government and corporate intrusion; until 1980, a more responsive to our needs government; and we had more safety nets. Why things changed, like the Internet, are irrelevant to my point really. The end of your post very much illustrates what I am trying to say.
As for your grandfather, if he didn't kill or maim anyone, I would argue it was better that he wasn't locked up for life. What good would that have done him, his family, or his community at large? Our willingness to throw people away, feeding them to the criminal justice system and prison industry, has hurt out entire country, except for the few who profit financially from it. It's our nation cannibalizing itself. One of the reasons our criminal justice system in this country is broken and abusive is because we started using it to "solve" all of our social problems, to the point we exaggerate social problems so that we have to address them with the criminal justice system. We created an industry out of a government service. As for using the criminal justice system to "straighten people out," just because that is how we now address health and emotional problems people have doesn't mean it is the better way for individuals or society in general. I don't consider it an improvement.
The number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States is medical debt.
Until we stop pointing fingers at our fellow citizens, while also forgetting the tremendous influence unrestrained corporate marketing of not only goods and services but values as well (there is a reason corporations spend billions on marketing; it works by unconsciously influencing perceptions of need versus want, which means people aren't truly exercising "free will" when making those consumer choices), and fix our broken healthcare system that costs Americans more than any other nation for poorer results, more Americans are going to go under. Seniors will be declaring bankruptcy in mass numbers; how is that going to help our economy?
Well, actually that was the post I was replying to.
I'll take pleasure in you living in a cardboard box in your old age, you have earned it.
Excuse me for trying to be helpful. Disappointed that I learned nothing of any value from your post. That's rare, at least on this forum.
You have the type of attitude that I find in poor taste when looking through your rose colored glasses at those who have hit financial difficulties. Without explanation you assume things. Not sure where you were trying to be helpful, as IMO was more condescending.
Sorry, but I didn't plan for my daughter to attempt 3 times and spend 3+ years through the hospital system which totally affected mine and my wife's work at the time. Didn't expect my wife's mother and oldest sister to pass away and really effect my wife mentally. I didn't plan for my wife then falling chronically ill with pain and being forced to leave her job of almost 20 years to go on disability. I didn't expect my Dad to fall ill for which I now have to be a primary caregiver and take over their finances. That's just some explanation of life.That doesn't even touch upon my work history, nor who I am as an individual.
What do you want me to say. Should have handled it better because I'm a CPA? I should get a grip and be smart and to hell with living for today but be strong and save and wait for retirement?
I'm happy that you'll take pleasure in me living in a cardboard box. You are yet another example to me of how humans don't know how to be human.
Last edited by metalmancpa; 06-25-2016 at 05:29 PM..
Seems to be the Affordable Healthcare Act got it wrong on many counts?
It also made life much more bureaucratic than anytime previously.
There was a time when a person could buy a small parcel of land and build... now it can take years to build if at all... endless design review, encyclopedia of building requirements right down to the type of water faucet, showerhead, windows to roof and downspouts.
Raising the value threshold on theft has resulted in an explosion of thefts and repeat offenders... every 20 minutes there is a smash and grab vehicle theft in San Francisco... incredible.
I do know more people than ever who are not worried about retirement... they are participants in Section 8 Housing which is a gateway to many other services/programs.
It does seem Americans are more and more herd mentality vs rugged individualists... it is almost like the seniors I know are the last holdouts of the individualists... they remember how things were.
Never before has just about every aspect of living/life been so regulated... I was looking through old yearbooks and the local high school actually offered Marksmanship years ago without concern a student would go 5150 and go on a rampage.
One of my friends owned a small Mom and Pop excavation company... good service at fair prices... at 62 he called it quits... the dump truck and excavator he bought new and lovingly cared for could no longer be legally used in California unless he paid for expensive repowering to meet the latest demands of the Air Quality District...
Another family friend that has raised hay and crops on a family farm was told he was damaging wetlands... it's now illegal to have a lawn in some places... illegal to have a lawn repeated for emphasis.
I agree with you... even about the point of so many blindly following Madison Ave advertising....
It is kind of ironic in that I am very close to Swiss friends... Swiss are very shrewd when it comes to International Business... some would even say greed but the Swiss Economy and System is alive and well...
Heck, all of my Swiss Friends have guns and ammunition GIVEN to them by the government...
Maybe the problem isn't the world but people?
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 06-25-2016 at 05:15 PM..
The number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States is medical debt.
Yep and here is something even scarier about that:
Quote:
A study done at Harvard University indicates that this is the biggest cause of bankruptcy, representing 62% of all personal bankruptcies. One of the interesting caveats of this study shows that 78% of filers had some form of health insurance, thus bucking the myth that medical bills affect only the uninsured.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,724 posts, read 58,067,115 times
Reputation: 46190
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReachTheBeach
Yep and here is something even scarier about that:
Many of us age 'post- career to age 65' are in the new medical insurance "other donut hole" .
A(?)CA disolved all our affordable USA HC options, and we will go many yrs without coverage. (until we somehow miraculously reach age 65). I suspect there will be more, not fewer medical destitute bankruptcies with A(?)CA.
I have seen a fair number of parents and grandparents go from a lifetime of diligent and purposeful saving, into poverty over HC needs of an adult child or grandchild.
It is pretty ez to lose everything once you reach retirement / critical mass. (Medical, lawsuits, insurance gaps, liabilities that bloom out of proportion, such as banks calling commercial notes due in 2008). Many investors lost million of dollars in RE properties that were never delinquent in 30 yrs, but bank demanded full payment immediately during 2008 financial crisis. Both my parents, and inlaws were very well planned, yet lost everything financially and health after age 65. 2 of 4 are stlll living, tho certainly not as planned 40 yrs ago!
Life thows curve balls, A(?)CA just threw us a stone. A crushing blow to 30+ yrs of planning.
Ymmv
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Agreed
