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We could start with, they can't afford them. Or, how about why someone shouldn't have cable TV too? Perhaps the same reason.
Oh, there are affordable cell phones and affordable cell phone plans. I paid about $100 for my current cell phone (bought refurbished). This month, my cell phone bill was $48.48 including taxes, and I pay for my mom's line too. We both have smart phones. My son's cell phone is on a different provider so I get a separate bill for him. Just under $30 per month with taxes, for unlimited everything.
Last edited by Petunia 100; 05-27-2016 at 09:55 AM..
Not having a cell phone has about the same impact on your employment prospects as having a criminal record. I think it has become a basic expectation these days for fully functional members of society.
You need a financial intervention, badly. You posts on this thread indicate so much wrong with how a lot of young people (not just you) know so little about financials.
For you to be tossing $25 aside because its just so little is nonsense. When I started my IRA back in my 30's, I started with $25 a week. $100 a month. Do you know how much money you'll have at 65 if you start saving $100 a month now? Check the online calculators, you'll be stunned.
$500 a month car payment? Thats ridiculous. You need to read Dave Ramsey and change your financial outlook. If you dont start saving RIGHT THIS MINUTE, when will you?
I was like you at your age. I really was. Then I started saving, even a tiny bit, and never touched it. I saved every week. Then it got to where I enjoyed saving that amount, it got fun watching that retirement account grow. I put it in a ROTH, so when I take it out in a few years, it will be tax free.
I only made as much as you are making for a very few years. I was usually making much less. But I still saved. I never had a $500 a month car payment, and when my paycheck came in I always paid myself (saved) first. You can do it, but it takes learning how to, and sticking with it.
Read Dave Ramsey. If all it does is changed your mindset a bit, it will be worth it.
Oh. Dont EVER EVER lease a car. EVER.
EVER.
I grew up around the car business... started paying into Social Security with my first "Real" job over the summer when I was 12... washing and cleaning cars for a dealership.
Everyday people would come in looking to buy more car than they could afford... all they wanted was to drive it home... some would be back a year or so later with life changes... getting married, birth of a child and would find they owed more than the car was worth... so no equity... it was not just kids but teachers and police officers.
As far back as I can remember, it was ingrained to save my money to buy a house... aside from paying my parents $20 of my $50 a week earnings for room and board... I banked $25 each week to buy myself a house... 10 years later at age 22 I bought my first home... without anyone's assistance and paid cash for it... of course the definition of a home was rather broad... it was little more than 600 square feet, built around 1915 on a 25 x 100 city lot and scheduled for a condemnation hearing... what did I care... it was all mine and never looked back again.
I hate recurring expenses... never had a cell bill, never a cable bill and only one new car that was too good for me to pass up...
As to cars... I have never sold a car for less than I paid... never! Mostly just old reliable cars someone wanted to get rid of and always under $2,000.
Actually, I've read Serious Conversation's posts for several years. He does know about "financials". He does know what his own weaknesses are and admits his financial mistakes. Much of his debt, though, stemmed from simply not having adequate income and relocating for better job opportunities. Now that he's making decent money, he's doing okay ... except that his job may go south, again leaving him without adequate income.
As for the car, don't start with the "buy a $2000 beater" bull manure. All those mythical beaters that cost so little but are supposedly so reliable will nickel and dime the owners to death before they finally die. They have "old car disease" -- fix one part this month, fix another next month. Been there, done that, don't do it any more. FTR, SC had one of those. It cost him 2 grand for repairs and then more went wrong with it, so he bought a new car -- with an excellent warranty.
BTW, your hero Dave Ramsey has declared bankruptcy more than once IIRC. If his advice works for you, fine, but he's sure as hell isn't any great shakes as an economic advisor for most people.
Don't know Dave Ramsey other than hearing his name on the Internet.
I can say buying a cheap used car has saved me more money than I can count.
Maybe working in the car business at an early age let me know a good deal.
No nickle and dime stuff here... and I never have sold a car for less than paid... ever.
Toyota Corolla's have been great... seem to be very problem free and people like to buy them... older American pickups have been very good to me... I'm still driving my 1985 Service Van I bought used in 1990.... it's 31 years old... one transmission, one starter and two water pumps in 31 years... no car notes ever for me!
I change my own oil, replace brake pads, belts, hoses, etc as needed... it really isn't that hard.
My one new car was bought in Germany and I paid cash... it was just too good a deal to pass up and I needed a car for the time I was working there... the local BMW Dealer charges $550 and axle for brakes... I used BMW parts and it cost me $140 an axle and a two hours of my time...
The cars I buy cost less on average than the sales tax my friends pay buying new.
As a kid... we never ate out... no burgers and certainly no restaurants... the only exception was on my birthday... Dad would take us all out for a Pizza to celebrate...
Two of the young ladies at work both bought new cars in the last couple of months... they really had to struggle and come up with more down due to credit/income.
Both were told their positions are to be eliminated July 1 along with a lot of other people as our company is being sold...
Management has been avoiding me... so it is very likely I will be affected... they just don't want me to leave before the sale.
I remember when they were car shopping and I asked if they would be better not buying new... they said they really wanted a new car and were tired of driving what they had... one was a hand me down from her Grandmother... it was a real stretch to make the deals and that was with a job.
To their credits... they already have interviews set up with competitors and have 6 weeks to put something together...
Did I say I how much I hate recurring monthly bills?
Not having a cell phone has about the same impact on your employment prospects as having a criminal record. I think it has become a basic expectation these days for fully functional members of society.
I pretty much agree, however, cell phones come in all shapes and sizes. I have one that calls and texts only. Cheap and no data plan. Or, you could spend $500 on a new phone plus the data plan or everything in between. Choices! Along with the cell phone, if you ARE "poor" or need a job, I would hope you will use that phone to dial the numbers of some employers that may be able to hire you. THAT will assist one in being a fully functional member of society.
Not having a cell phone has about the same impact on your employment prospects as having a criminal record. I think it has become a basic expectation these days for fully functional members of society.
I think it would be easier to explain away the criminal record.
To the people saying "I have a cheap cell phone plan", there are four cellular networks in the United States. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T Mobile. Verizon and AT&T are by far the best coverage and you pay for it. If you want data, you'll be hard pressed to find a plan for less than $60/month. In 2016, it's hard to imagine not having a smartphone with internet access. Sprint and T Mobile have much more limited networks. Sprint has limited roaming onto the Verizon network. T Mobile has limited roaming onto the AT&T network. You can get cheaper plans with those carriers. The rock bottom plans are the prepaid mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) that use the Sprint and T Mobile networks and don't have the Verizon/AT&T roaming features. Boost(owned by Sprint) and MetroPCS(owned by T Mobile) are the two biggest. If you happen to live somewhere with good Sprint or T Mobile coverage and don't travel much, you can save huge money with Boost or MetroPCS.
The T-Mobil plan they provide me for work costs $100 for 1,000 minutes and the minutes roll over.
Years ago the 1000 minutes would last about 18 months...
So many at work have my work cell that 1,000 minutes last about 6 months... or about $15 per month.
What if he started with a pile of student loan debt which prevented him from buying a home? (I presume you own your home.)
What if not being able to buy a home caused him to have to pay ever-increasing rent, which resulted in his paying more for housing than you have? The combination of the two above could definitely impair his ability to save and invest. How does a rent slave take control of their spending when rents are necessarily skyrocketing?
If it takes you 30 years to pay off student debt, there's a serious problem there.
I DID start with student loan debt, never got the degree, and STILL managed to buy a home.
You can't buy a home because you never used your degree, and instead worked a lifetime of minimum wage jobs until that degree became useless.
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