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I don't know, maybe I am just lucky. Most of the younger people that I know well enough to see their lifestyle tend to have great jobs and a pretty good work ethic, as well as some very good habits on the savings vs spending side.
My own kids, as well as most cousins that had kids that hung out with mine, understand that busting one's tail for peanuts is not smart, but putting in decnet hours at a well paying job, investing, many even owning some property can be ways to really get ahead...
Not bragging, just saying sometimes one's efforts do pay off.
I'm not talking about people living in McMansions. In those cases, unless they're rich, it's obvious that they're in debt.
I'm talking about young people that work part-time minimum wage jobs but somehow they manage to support themselves.
I know someone that works a part-time minimum wage job and his roommate also works a part-time minimum wage job. But as far as I know, they support themselves. I don't know how they do it.
They don't live a life of luxury. But they don't live in poverty either. They pay for college, rent a house together, drive cars (which is expensive when you add up the price of the car, insurance, gas, and maintenance), and they go out to eat.
Maybe they are living by this motto: Have the headache now. Party later.
That begs the question, how did you get by when you were these kids' age, working a part time job, sharing a room, paying tuition and getting around?
As many have already mentioned, you can never know how a person's finances are simply by the way they look or dress. You can make an educated guess, sure, but no one will honestly know. We can all guess, but at the same time, someone else may be wondering about how you can manage your lifestyle.
Jobs come easy to some people and not to others. Myself, I have always been able to find a job and I'm the type of person that will take any type of job even if it means taking minimum wage and wiping table downs. I have a brother in law who has two college degrees, still in college and racking up student loans because each time he graduates, he somehow thinks that the career he just graduated from is now obsolete. The point I was driving at is that . . . when you're faced without a rich daddy and it's time to pay tuition, you're left with decisions to make. It's human nature to survive at any cost and the weaker ones will always try to live off the strong. We all have one of those in our families.
Next time you pay your bills, try to imagine how much money you would save if you eliminated cell phones, all home phone options, no newspaper or online pay subscription, no satellite radio subscription, no cable or satellite TV, and no Internet. All those things add up. When I was paying child support and making less money than I do now, I had tv via rabbit ear antenna, Internet via our local public library, DVD/VCR movies via the library, land phone line (no caller ID, call waiting, nor any other options), no cell phone, and no pay subscriptions.
That begs the question, how did you get by when you were these kids' age, working a part time job, sharing a room, paying tuition and getting around?
As many have already mentioned, you can never know how a person's finances are simply by the way they look or dress. You can make an educated guess, sure, but no one will honestly know. We can all guess, but at the same time, someone else may be wondering about how you can manage your lifestyle.
Jobs come easy to some people and not to others. Myself, I have always been able to find a job and I'm the type of person that will take any type of job even if it means taking minimum wage and wiping table downs. I have a brother in law who has two college degrees, still in college and racking up student loans because each time he graduates, he somehow thinks that the career he just graduated from is now obsolete. The point I was driving at is that . . . when you're faced without a rich daddy and it's time to pay tuition, you're left with decisions to make. It's human nature to survive at any cost and the weaker ones will always try to live off the strong. We all have one of those in our families.
How did I get by when I was their age?
I'm young myself. In fact, I'm slightly younger than these people.
My parents support me. Maybe you think that's a good thing or maybe you think that's a bad thing. But I'm just answering your question of how I get by.
I don't have a car because my parents didn't let me take my car to college and there's no way I could afford a car. Even if I worked, it would be hard to afford a car. So I wonder how these people with part time minimum wage jobs can afford cars plus all this other stuff (tuition, rent, going out to eat).
GI Bill, financial aid, savings. Imagine receiving about $1000/$2000 a month for college from the GI Bill, a few hundred from financial aid each month, with savings and a job, that's a lot of disposable income.
They got a scholarship to a certain school, one less bill to worry about.
Selling on Ebay or Craigslist.
Club Promoters.
Another part time job on the weekend, such as landscaping, valet, or website designing.
Online poker. A friend of mine went to Las Vegas one weekend not long ago and won about $20,000 from gambling, tax free.
Gains on stock market investments. Rental income.
A friend of mine does this for a living, deals cards(black jack, poker, etc.) for party events, I participated once and made nearly $100 on a single night, arrived at 9pm and left before 11pm. Enough time to go work again or to the local bar.
I hope I opened your mind about other possibilities.
My friend played poker to supplement his income. I know that's pretty big with the college kids these days. Wait, what am I saying? I'm only 25 myself.
That begs the question, how did you get by when you were these kids' age, working a part time job, sharing a room, paying tuition and getting around?
When I was their age, jobs were there to be had, and they paid a living wage. When I was 20, my young wife and I were paying $40 a month for an apartment, and I had a job that paid a little over a dollar an hour (maybe $150 a month take home) and gas was 25c a gallon and my old Plymouth cost $250. We were able to save money.
Summer jobs in canning factories paid a dollar an hour, folding boxes of loading pallets. Students worked two shifts a day, 7 days a week, all summer, slept in the bunkhouse, and made over a thousand dollars in a summer, which is all it cost to go to the state university for tuition room and board..
I have a friend who just went to a part-time schedule at his $9/hour job because he just couldn't seem to deal with one of his managers. Yeah, I think it was silly on his part to do that. He lives with a roommate, doesn't live a lavish lifestyle, and also doesn't contribute anything toward retirement or otherwise save much money every month. I'd hate to be him if an emergency happened. But that's how he does it, I guess.
Edited to add: He does have his own car, but it was one of his parents' cars, so he doesn't have a car payment.
Next time you pay your bills, try to imagine how much money you would save if you eliminated cell phones, all home phone options, no newspaper or online pay subscription, no satellite radio subscription, no cable or satellite TV, and no Internet. All those things add up. When I was paying child support and making less money than I do now, I had tv via rabbit ear antenna, Internet via our local public library, DVD/VCR movies via the library, land phone line (no caller ID, call waiting, nor any other options), no cell phone, and no pay subscriptions.
I pay my neighbors $10 a month for Internet access (which I need for work and school) and pay $30 a month for my cell phone and that's all I have. For me, it's more than worth it. Most of my friends are like me as well and don't have fancy cell phones or cable... Especially the ones who are just getting by.
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Wait, what am I saying? I'm only 25 myself.
