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In my area, renting a single bedroom in a house/apartment with 3 or 4 roommates is at least $700 a month (that's in the suburbs, not in the urban center) plus utilities (which has often run over $200 per person in my drafty old apartment due to heating in particularly cold winters). It's not hard to imagine someone working a service or entry level job struggling to make ends meet when the cost of living is so high - especially if they have student loans or a car payment and car insurance.
In my own case, I used my most of my savings after college to move cross country for a low-wage job offer. It was 2010 and after several months, I was happy to have an offer for a permanent job with tuition remission and insurance benefits, even if the salary was low for the area. And then I was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer and my savings evaporated in a matter of weeks and suddenly I was out of pocket over $20,000 in less than 6 months - mostly on credit cards or payment plans. I certainly couldn't have afforded one more emergency - and so often emergencies snowball.
In all fairness, there's a billion-dollar industry dedicated to telling people that their lives are pathetic and everyone will be secretly laughing at them until they get this latest product/gimmick/whatnot.
So what?? People are in control of their own lives. Trying to blame marketing is pathetic.
Signs that the American middle class is on it's death bed. Some say that Trump will help... yes, he will speed up the demise.
'And according to the Fed, an astounding 47 percent of all Americans could not come up with $400 to pay for an emergency room visit without borrowing it or selling something.
A 2014 Bankrate survey, echoing the Fed’s data, found that only 38 percent of Americans would cover a $1,000 emergency-room visit or $500 car repair with money they’d saved.
51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year according to the Social Security Administration.
I quit my job 7 moths ago... without any government assistance..... I guess I must have had more than 400 bucks saved. I've got about another years worth of savings to deal with it. Not everyone lives paycheck to paycheck.....
Signs that the American middle class is on it's death bed. Some say that Trump will help... yes, he will speed up the demise.
'And according to the Fed, an astounding 47 percent of all Americans could not come up with $400 to pay for an emergency room visit without borrowing it or selling something.
A 2014 Bankrate survey, echoing the Fed’s data, found that only 38 percent of Americans would cover a $1,000 emergency-room visit or $500 car repair with money they’d saved.
51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year according to the Social Security Administration.
But 100% of all Americans can come up with $400 (or more) for the latest in smartphones and an unlimited data plan with which to surf the internet on.
And for decades, Americans have functioned on credit, not cash. It's how they buy houses, drive the latest cars, go to college, and fund their christmas shopping. The only people I know that pay in cash are Chinese immigrants.
I spent my week via ER in hospital until yest- 5 days - I do not know If I will have the co-pays - for the surgery and everything else-have great insurance, work- own a house-- I am single and so just one income to carry all- and? stop looking down at people
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I've got about another years worth of savings to deal with it. Not everyone lives paycheck to paycheck.....
