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We are doing well. I never want to sound too positive because all could be lost any moment but I never want to sound to negative because I believe that you make your situation better or worse based on your own attitude. I would love to be doing better and that is what we are working towards, but we do not have any large debts, thanks to hubby, and do not plan on having any large debts any time soon.
Doing bad, can never get ahead. One check away from being poor.
Some of the girls in my office are like that. We were closed two days because of the hurricane and since I'm salaried I didn't think anything of it but I remember one girl was frantic because she was going to be 16 hours short on her paycheck and her rent was due the following week. I remember back when I balanced my checkbook down to the penny like that - my heart goes out to all of those living paycheck to paycheck, especially in these times
The poll is flawed. Doing fine is very different from well-off. The poll should ask whether your overall net worth is better today than it was a year ago? That's a better gauge. Doing fine is average. Who wants to be average? I'm not as worried about being able to "live fine" as much as being able to live like I'm accustomed to living. I haven't had to worry about finances in years, not even needing to regularly check my account balances and I never want to feel the pressure to do so. However, my overall net worth which includes my investments and 401-k, etc. has been negatively impacted. I don't want to have to sacrifice. Yeah, I said it!
The poll is flawed. Doing fine is very different from well-off. The poll should ask whether your overall net worth is better today than it was a year ago? That's a better gauge. Doing fine is average. Who wants to be average? I'm not as worried about being able to "live fine" as much as being able to live like I'm accustomed to living. I haven't had to worry about finances in years, not even needing to regularly check my account balances and I never want to feel the pressure to do so. However, my overall net worth which includes my investments and 401-k, etc. has been negatively impacted. I don't want to have to sacrifice. Yeah, I said it!
I disagree... your net worth is pointless unless you need to leverage it. I live in a house that is almost paid off, and it provides wonderful security knowing that in a year or so, I will only have to pay taxes and no mortgage. But the money I have locked up in the home, be it $100,000 or $500,000 provides me no immediate benefit until I sell it.
The same goes for my 401k. Its value today has no bearing on my life since I don't need to leverage it today (34 years from retirement). In fact, being able to purchase mutual funds at incredibly low prices only helps my dollar averaging strategy and lowers the overall basis of my purchases.
Most people illogically believe that they lost money when they purchased a share of stock at $20, it increases in value to $30, then plummets to $10. Now if you sell that stock under $20, yes you lost money... but if you hold on to it and it increases in value above $20, you didn't lose money.
Because I like putting my own miles on the car and I like knowing where my car has been driven and how! That is the biggest issue for me. How do I know that the person who owned the car before me took good care of it? My husband would agree with you! He hates buying new!
As long as you're fine with losing 10-35% of the value of an asset by simply driving it off the lot, then that's fine. It's a luxury that some are willing to pay for... just like others do with gambling or drinking expensive wine.
The only thing that bugs me are when people think that they're entitled to have a car that's 0-5 years old when they can't afford the basic necessities of life, and then want to complain about how life's dealt them a bad hand. You put yourself at a disavantage when you purchase a depreciating asset like a car, and then take out a loan for it... hardly ever winds up making financial sense. But then again... neither does eating $300 dinners, unless you can afford to blow your money while still taking care of your obligations.
I disagree... your net worth is pointless unless you need to leverage it. I live in a house that is almost paid off, and it provides wonderful security knowing that in a year or so, I will only have to pay taxes and no mortgage. But the money I have locked up in the home, be it $100,000 or $500,000 provides me no immediate benefit until I sell it.
The same goes for my 401k. Its value today has no bearing on my life since I don't need to leverage it today (34 years from retirement). In fact, being able to purchase mutual funds at incredibly low prices only helps my dollar averaging strategy and lowers the overall basis of my purchases.
Most people illogically believe that they lost money when they purchased a share of stock at $20, it increases in value to $30, then plummets to $10. Now if you sell that stock under $20, yes you lost money... but if you hold on to it and it increases in value above $20, you didn't lose money.
Unfortunately, I was hoping to cash in on some of my stock but I'm going to have hold off on some of my plans since I'd be taking a major loss. I also have to put plans on selling property on hold so yes I get your point if you're not planning to touch anything but some us were and won't be able to relocate, retire or do other things that were planned for the immediate.
Struggling. Economy is partially to blame, as it is causing me to lose my job. But moreso - I fault myself for choosing such an unstable career in the first place. I should have done my research.
As long as you're fine with losing 10-35% of the value of an asset by simply driving it off the lot, then that's fine. It's a luxury that some are willing to pay for... just like others do with gambling or drinking expensive wine.
The only thing that bugs me are when people think that they're entitled to have a car that's 0-5 years old when they can't afford the basic necessities of life, and then want to complain about how life's dealt them a bad hand. You put yourself at a disavantage when you purchase a depreciating asset like a car, and then take out a loan for it... hardly ever winds up making financial sense. But then again... neither does eating $300 dinners, unless you can afford to blow your money while still taking care of your obligations.
No entitlement here. We buy safe, reliable cars and drive them for 10+ years. I still have my Honda Accord that was purchased for me when I was 16 yrs old (brand new) and I am not going to age myself on here, but it is over 10 yrs old now. We do not buy luxury vehicles, and I can tell you that in our last purchase we only paid $1000 more for the vehicle new than used. We are currently looking at used vehicles (SUV's) due to the fact that we have a boat and no way to haul it... but it would not be a vehicle that we use all the time nor would it be a luxury vehicle. My hubby does not believe in luxury vehicles.
We are doing ok---not rich but everything is paid for and we only have monthly bills to pay....Food, electric and of course gas for our truck. Don't have as much as we'd like in our savings but have a lot of inventory. Inventory doesn't mean much unless there is someone who wants to buy it! But we are in pretty good shape and I can't complain!
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