Economy 40% of Americans don't have $500 for emergencies

[HereticBD]

Are we really going to argue that almost 60% of Americans have no fiscal sense at all?

In a country where materialism is king? It's not a stretch.

 

[Jim Braddock]

Got a tooth fixed at the tune of 1500$ for two hours of work. Paid in full.
This news is scary but most people have messed up priorities.

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Savings are for losers. I have $500, but it’s locked away in penny stocks making me millions.

 

[panamaican]

In a country where materialism is king? It's not a stretch.

And 25% are immune?

I assume there's an explanation for the middle 15%? Are they in the materialism group or the immune from materialism group?

 

[drstrangelov]

That’s scary, basically these folks are one missed paycheck away from ruin. I was talking with my parents about this the other day, they bought a house in a middle class suburb, nice neighborhood but small house, for 70k in the early 80s. They were able to afford it with one income for much of the time my siblings and I were growing up, and my father didn’t have a college education.

Their neighbors sold their house for 485k last year, same house, same basic lot size, fewer upgrades over the years. So figure the buyer of that house must be making at least 150k a year if not more. That’s the new middle class. I’ve got to wonder what percentage of people have household income over 150k, is it more than 60%? Basically my concern is that the lower class is growing rapidly as wage stay low for many jobs, while people with college education or higher, or people in trades/unions, see their incomes grow rapidly and bring the cost of living up with them.

 

[method115]

I’m for a lot of social programs.

but there are so many ignorant fucktards out there. I can’t fathom how in the fuck you cant have $500 saved up.

ignorant stupidity should not be rewarded. These people are either dumb, or made horrible life decisions.

the only people I feel for are the medical poor. It’s awful and almost criminal. Something needs to change there.

I agree I think people themselves are a large part of the problem. My wife is poor she doesn't make shit compared to me. She wants to try and have another kid and it's been hell explaining to her that we can't afford it. She see's how much I'm saving every paycheck and she thinks we can just use all that money and it's no big deal. Concepts like retirement and emergency funds don't even seem to be a concern for her. On top of that she see's her friends make these poor decisions and thinks "Well how can they do it?". My first response is well what does their retirement account look like? How much do they have set aside for emergencies?.

She recently got a brand new car and was willing to spend way more then I knew she could afford just to get it. Luckily it came up much cheaper than we initially thought but she was ready and willing to make another poor financial decision.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

I’m for a lot of social programs.

but there are so many ignorant fucktards out there. I can’t fathom how in the fuck you cant have $500 saved up.

ignorant stupidity should not be rewarded. These people are either dumb, or made horrible life decisions.

the only people I feel for are the medical poor. It’s awful and almost criminal. Something needs to change there.

Exactly. And no amount of ‘social programs’ will fix poor decision making, it will only encourage it in most situations by enabling.

 

[Javelina]

Surprised but it's true, and even worse than the OP claim ($400), according to the Federal Reserve:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/10-americ...0-emergency-expense-federal/story?id=63253846

Medical costs are a huge part of this.

lol, these are exactly who we should let choose our next president or governor

while we are at it we should let a 9 year old transgender pick our education secretary

 

[RoosterHucklebuck]

They don't have any problems getting the newest iphone though.

 

[HereticBD]

And 25% are immune?

No, they can just afford to be a little irresponsible. They actually have "disposable income".

I assume there's an explanation for the middle 15%? Are they in the materialism group or the immune from materialism group?

Again, if you can afford it, it's not going to effect your savings much, when put in a chart like that.

Nobody is immune to materialism. I don't know where you got that from. It comes down to living within your means. Some can afford to spend boatloads of money on bullshit. Some can't. The people who can't however, are still doing it though. This isn't complicated.

 

[panamaican]

No, they can just afford to be a little irresponsible. They actually have "disposable income".



Again, if you can afford it, it's not going to effect your savings much, when put in a chart like that.

Nobody is immune to materialism. I don't know where you got that from. It comes down to living within your means. Some can afford to spend boatloads of money on bullshit. Some can't. The people who can't however, are still doing it though. This isn't complicated.

I'm wondering because you're the 2nd person to claim "materialism" without anything to tie the two together.

And since the chart doesn't break it down by income brackets, I'm hesitant to just say "these people have disposable income and those people don't". And as I mentioned in my original post, you'd still expect more of a binomial distribution with the most people being in the middle groups, not the tails.

 

[Fawlty]

It's not surprising. I don't think people realize just how hard it is to live on minimum wage or in some of the more expensive cities. People can criticize their savings, which is fair, but only to a degree. 57% of Americans have less than $1000.

Are we really going to argue that almost 60% of Americans have no fiscal sense at all? I doubt it, there is obviously a systemic issue somewhere when a country this wealthy has such poor savings rate.

Look at the 2 biggest groups - people will $0 and people with $10,000+. Does that make sense? A normal distribution would put the highest percentages in the middle with the ends being the smallest, we have the opposite. Why?

It's always so weird to me that people refuse (or are unable?) to see that 'there's something in the water' when a national problem hits a level like this. Do we not talk about large systems enough in school or something? I just can't comprehend that people don't comprehend it.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

not only this....

but about 20-30% of all 401k in the US have/has a loan out against it
which means even people that are planning for retirement are still having issues

 

[kahiljabroni]

I agree I think people themselves are a large part of the problem. My wife is poor she doesn't make shit compared to me. She wants to try and have another kid and it's been hell explaining to her that we can't afford it. She see's how much I'm saving every paycheck and she thinks we can just use all that money and it's no big deal. Concepts like retirement and emergency funds don't even seem to be a concern for her. On top of that she see's her friends make these poor decisions and thinks "Well how can they do it?". My first response is well what does their retirement account look like? How much do they have set aside for emergencies?.

She recently got a brand new car and was willing to spend way more then I knew she could afford just to get it. Luckily it came up much cheaper than we initially thought but she was ready and willing to make another poor financial decision.

Do you have a rock solid prenup? If not, your wife is not broke and you are not well off. Your retirement is hers and her debt is yours.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

this also why Payday cash advance places exist

 

[bobgeese]

Almost any job b I could get doesn't pay shit, because of my record. The legal system fucks over so many people

Serious question,

You chose to break the law. Should you not have to face the consequences?


Furthermore, why the hell would anyone hire you when the next guy made the right choices, and didn’t rack up felonies? Hmmm, who do I want to work for me?

 

[Sano]

Yes they think that way and that's why they'll always be fucked.... but they are wrong. Even if a person found themselves in a minimum wage job a series of winning decisions could land them in a much better spot in the future.

On a basic level if you make a shitty income you should avoid all unnecessary spending. By cutting your spending drastically you could easily save up a grand a year. Over the course of ten years, if you invested that money you'll have 15k at least. That's a great emergency fund.
Now imagine, keeping your spending the same but getting a part time 2nd job that pays a measly 150 a week. That's 7500 bucks a year banked. Add that to the grand you could already save and you'll have a down payment for a 2 family home plus an emergency fund in under 5 years.

Obviously there are a series of bigger life choices that can help or hurt your ability to do this.
Who you pick as a partner.
If you decide to have unprotected sex and end up pregnant.
Your ambition level....your hobby should be applying and interviewing for better paying jobs. You should be the best employee and constantly look for promotions.

Time and decisions are incredible things. The wrong decision multiplied by 10 years will find yourself deep in debt with very few options. The correct choices when multiplied by 10 years will turn your life around. People need to learn this in order to succeed and get out of that statistic. They don't need to be enabled with a handout and victim status

So let me get this straight, in the richest country in the history of the world, people should work themselves to the bone for 10 years straight, living at the absolute minimum, never indulge or treat themselves just so they could scrape together a grand a year? Not only is this completely unreasonable, it's completely unrealistic. What happens if they get sick? What happens if they need a car to get to work and it breaks down? What happens if they want to send their children to college? What happens if they get laid off? What happens if a family member gets sick? So on. There's a million things that could happen to prevent someone from being able to scrape by on a shit salary.

More importantly, these people deserve a decent wage if they work for it. It's that simple. I'm curious, what's your salary? And were your parents well off?

 

[Raptac]

We aren't all played the same hand. Some people aren't even given enough cards. Some people aren't even allowed to the table.

That's some pure BS.

Third world idiots come to Murica with nothing and become successful but lets pretend actual Muricans have no access to the success table.

 

[Sano]

And 25% are immune?

I assume there's an explanation for the middle 15%? Are they in the materialism group or the immune from materialism group?

"but poor people have sneakers!"

Meanwhile the top 20% spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on traveling, art, furniture, restaurants, clothes and more. It's easy to save money if you use $100.000 dollars a year on spending and still have $50.000 in savings, while at the same time can afford accountants to handle your finances.

Top 20%

Bottom 20% (spends a larger percentage of their income on food, housing and healthcare)

 

[F1980]

"but poor people have sneakers!"

Meanwhile the top 20% spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on traveling, art, furniture, restaurants, clothes and more. It's easy to save money if you use $100.000 dollars a year on spending and still have $50.000 in savings, while at the same time can afford accountants to handle your finances.

Top 20%

Bottom 20% (spends a larger percentage of their income on food, housing and healthcare)

There are doctors that go to payday loans. At the end of the day, you gotta live within your means.