So is this the norm now for people working in 2017? (credit, application)
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It's the sad reality. Meanwhile folks from other countries get way more vacation and are able to do more with less often times. It's the dream we were sold and still readily partake it. Unless we flip the script, and go the whole minimalist route. All the "happening" places are already outlandish or getting outlandish for many money wise. Denver is one good example. and well california has been bonkers forever but they are also bleeding people who have had enough.
I don't know if anyone has brought this up but in my household, other than the mortgage, our next biggest expense is health insurance. Nearly two decades ago after I was taken off my dad's military insurance, I started paying a miniscule amount for health insurance. As I moved up the ranks, my insurance was fully covered by my employer and my family was partially covered. Then at some point, employers stopped covering their employees like they used to. I pay roughly $400 a pay period for medical insurance that doesn't cover a lot and we don't use but i'm required to have it. I also have ancillary insurances that come up to $50 a pay period.
Other than that, we have a large cell/cable/internet bill of roughly $350 a month and auto insurance which is about $200 per month because of a teen on our policy. I am covering my parents' cell phones.
I just recently came back from visiting my parents in CA. Oddly enough, I paid less for every day goods there than I do here in TN. The taxes on my parent's portion of the cell phone bill are lower as well. Honestly, if you bought a house like my parents did back in 1999, your COL is probably not that bad if you work locally or you're a fully retired military vet like my pops is. Unfortunately, a lot of people commute ungodly hours and spend quite a bit on gas. If your kids take advantage of the CAL Grants and the BOD waivers, school can be a little cheaper as well. Thing is though, they also pay for car registration (how much is it there now?) and state taxes.
Almost all of my coworkers talk about going to their second job in the evening when they are about to get off work. Some of them make close to $85,000 a year and still need to work a second job in order to make ends meet. Do you see this with coworkers on your job? I rather just cut back and pay for things I can afford rather than work two jobs. It's also a couple of them who don't have kids and still have to work two jobs to make it. So it seems like this is becoming a normal thing for a lot of people today since the primary job is not paying as much. It also can be that 30 years ago there was no such thing as these bills below
Cable
Internet
Cell Phone
Netflix
There was cable, but it was much cheaper. What's really gone up insanely high is housing, medical, and college.
Working two jobs is hardly new. Some do it to make ends meet and some do it for extras. Some will do it before giving anything up, like expensive phones or premium cable packages. I have tried to do budgets for people but they won't give on anything, so they have to earn more money one way or another.
If you live in a town that can afford to keep the library open for convenient hours. In my city, most of the libraries are only open 9-5. Many are closed on Sunday. And they are only open 1-2 evenings a week (at least at the branches nearby). Not so convenient if potential employers are emailing you to coordinate interviews or schedules daily.
I've visited more "high scale" communities (I'm sure more expensive to boot), where the library is even open till 10pm! Even Sundays! In fact, their Sunday hours were better than the Monday to Friday and Sat. hours of other, not as good libraries! But yeah, these hours of operation are far and few.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizmo980
Somebody else mentioned using the library for internet, which obviously as a librarian myself, I agree is a good idea. But we're not open 24 hours/day, so you're SOL if you need to work on something outside of our hours. Also, we limit the total amount of time you can use daily, which is tough if you're filling out job applications, writing term papers, etc. We can usually extend that time, but it's never guaranteed.
Yeah, this was another thing I was afraid of.
For both cases, there are times you don't need to use it THAT much. It's more so just having access throughout the day that's more important. Like a restroom, or kitchen. For the former, I've had public areas I could bum off of, but I prefer to leave that as a temp solution.
The rest of us need to subscribe to the likes of Mediacom, Cox, Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon, although there are smaller shop ISPs in some circles
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizmo980
When it comes to cable and Netflix, I agree - but internet is almost a necessity these days, especially if you're a student or job seeker. My 10 year-old niece can't even do her classwork without a computer and internet, so yeah. As for cell phones, for those of us without a landline, it's the ONLY form of phone communication. I pay $85/mo for my phone lease + service, but save $30/mo by not having a landline. Going 100% phone-free isn't really a safe option for anyone, especially if you live alone, so it makes sense to do cell-only if you get a decent rate.
Netflix is... $8 to $15 a month? If you have decent internet anyways, then at least THAT won't be additional incurred costs. That can be an incredible value for the money. Yes, entertainment does fall into the "wants" category, but having a way to relax and chill can be worth its weight in gold. Bonus for having more things to talk about in the workplace and bonding more with the office folk. Plus, when you consider common alternatives for R&R... bars, restaurants, golf... these are much more social than video streaming, and have their own advantages, but they can also be much more costly.
It's useful for both school and work. There are a lot of tutorials, courses, and how-to's for free posted on YouTube. Some folks may still want to opt for instruction that's paid and/or more formal, but the free content is at least worth checking out.
I first got a data plan for my cell phone back in 2011. That added another $30 a month to my bill, but OTOH, I saved $70 a month by downgrading my internet service, and finally cutting cable TV, so I still came out ahead! Otherwise, you can make up the deficit by eating out less once a month, or cutting back on "fancy drinks" (smoothies, "better coffees", etc.)
I really don't feel like reviewing 12 pages. I'll just say I agree with the OP, I'd also like to point out that someone making 85 grand who still need to work a second job isn't doing it because of Netflix or a cable bill. No I'm thinking they feel the need to have standing rib roast dinners on a regular basis, take $10,000 vacations and must drive a new $50,000 car. Not me, I'll scale back and enjoy my free time. I would hate to work a second job.
Netflix is... $8 to $15 a month? If you have decent internet anyways, then at least THAT won't be additional incurred costs. That can be an incredible value for the money. Yes, entertainment does fall into the "wants" category, but having a way to relax and chill can be worth its weight in gold. Bonus for having more things to talk about in the workplace and bonding more with the office folk. Plus, when you consider common alternatives for R&R... bars, restaurants, golf... these are much more social than video streaming, and have their own advantages, but they can also be much more costly.
Oh, I agree! Didn't mention this in my other post, but I do pay about $20/mo total for Netflix and Hulu + $50/mo for mid-level internet service through AT&T, which enables me to stream TV (and obviously use internet). These aren't really "luxuries" in my opinion, since as you said, entertainment is necessary for good mental health. I live alone and stay up VERY late, so what else am I going to do at 3am?
Usually I'm doing other stuff like reading, surfing the web, cleaning, etc, while the TV is on... but I'd probably go crazy without it in the background. And I justify these expenses with the fact that I don't spend much else on "entertainment;" as I rarely go out socially these days, maybe see one movie per year in the theaters, don't drink alcohol, eat out at expensive restaurants, or other stuff many folks spend money on instead. We all have our priorities, lol.
I've visited more "high scale" communities (I'm sure more expensive to boot), where the library is even open till 10pm! Even Sundays! In fact, their Sunday hours were better than the Monday to Friday and Sat. hours of other, not as good libraries! But yeah, these hours of operation are far and few.
The library where I work is open from 10am-9pm Mon-Thurs, and 10am-7pm Fri-Sun; most libraries aren't open past 9pm, but I have seen a few open until 10. I'd love to work at one of those, since I'm a major night owl! My supervisors always take advantage of this, and (with my blessing) schedule me for as many nights as possible.
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