Social This can't be right (Americans saving habits)

[Slapjit]

Fi start mi seh bare mandem oot here spendin’ $1500 pon DoorDash an food trucks each month swear down fam like $50 a day EASY every day like dem tink evryting irie mi seh nah fam jus cook fi yuhself an yuh fam

Mi can whip up some rice an fire jerk chicken or stew pork fi under $10 an still have meal fi di nex day like bro are you dumb yuh fumblin’ bags lef an right mi swear no wonder yuh nuh rockin’ Gucci broke bwoi

One tayum mi feed mi yutes some homemade kbbq mandem was like “yo fam ting fire better dan restaurant” an mi seh of course fam dem restaurants servin’ dog food charging $30 a head plus tips an' mek yuh cook it yuhself LMFAOLLL real talks broski di quality drop hard affi COVID mi seh RFK did right pon dat

Also mi seh ppl round here trowin’ away $500+ pon car payments fi commute 80-100+ mi a day an of course dem haffi stop fi Starbucks pon di way b4 or afta di drive but fam yuh spendin’ well ova a G pon commuting every month gas sbux insurance maintenance mi seh yuh car nah run right afta dem payments done smdh Meanwhile mi oldazz Accord still smoking yuh ride ting got VTEC buddy dem try flash dem high beams pon di stoplight mi seh nah fam yuh finna see dust

Same ppl who seh mi seh nuh broski yuh cyaan afford fi buy house here fam mad expensive but mi seh look pon Jose weh chuckin’ boxes at Amazon fixin' roofs on him day off #bluecollarwarrior yeah him livin in di hood but at least him maddah nuh naggin’ him fi clean him room an' him can actually bring a gyal home .

 

[TeTe]

Does this include 18 year olds? I know I had no savings at all until I was in my 20s.

The funny thing is, I worked from the time I was 16-18 and my grandparents forced me to save that money. I had around $4k saved up by the time I was 19. Once I moved out that evaporated quickly... Per the reasons I listed above.

 

[Contempt]

It is interesting that they use $2k as the cutoff. Big difference between having $2k and $200k in various accounts.

Even $200k isn't going to last that long in retirement.

The average life expectancy is what, 85 now? that's 20 years after retirement at 65.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Yes.. and I think it happens because US economy has been good for them for too long. After living a couple of years in Argentina, most people would know how to budget and save money.

We spend about 60% of our income at home and the rest goes for investing and saving.

I think the key is to look for the things that make you happy and rely on them... unless that is buying expensive shit of course. I need a gym membership and to go once a week to have a cup of coffee with my GF to a nice coffee shop and a couple of bucks ocasionally to go out with my friends and I'm set.

Last year we bought an apartment cash and put it to rent because fuck it. We will have that fixed income for the rest of our life and we were not using that money.

Live within your means. Follow this rule and you will be a millionaire.

More likely below your means.

 

[Cole train]

Yes.. and I think it happens because US economy has been good for them for too long. After living a couple of years in Argentina, most people would know how to budget and save money.

We spend about 60% of our income at home and the rest goes for investing and saving.

I think the key is to look for the things that make you happy and rely on them... unless that is buying expensive shit of course. I need a gym membership and to go once a week to have a cup of coffee with my GF to a nice coffee shop and a couple of bucks ocasionally to go out with my friends and I'm set.

Last year we bought an apartment cash and put it to rent because fuck it. We will have that fixed income for the rest of our life and we were not using that money.


More likely below your means.

Kinda off topic but since discussing money i gotta ask hows milei doing?

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Kinda off topic but since discussing money i gotta ask hows milei doing?

Pretty well I would say. I'm 100% on the Milei Chainsaw Train

Inflation is about 2% monthly which is amazing since we got used to 10% and things are looking normal. Dude cut a shit ton of govenrment expenses so I think it can be maintained (opposite to the 90s with Menem which was a time bomb).

Salaries in USD has increased a shit ton too so Argentina got sort of expensive.. so I'm going to Brazil on vacations.

Not gonna lie.. looking good I would say. Bad moment to do tourism in Argentina.. or at least it is not cheap as fuck as it was in the last 3-4 years.

 

[IDL]

Canada is probably even worse.

According to a 2 second search, 1/4 Canadians can't cover a $500 expense

The Daily — One in four Canadians are unable to cover an unexpected expense of $500

In fall 2022, over one-third (35%) of Canadians reported that it was difficult for their household to meet its financial needs in the previous 12 months. When asked whether their household had the resources to cover an unexpected expense of $500, 26% said that they would be unable to do so, with...

www150.statcan.gc.ca

And that is 2022 I suspect it's slightly worse now

Americans think they have it bad when it comes to living expenses.. Canada is way less affordable in terms of wages vs expenses.

 

[Fedorgasm]

We've crossed a threshold where companies are now way better at creating temptation than people are at resisting it.

Americans are screwed. They can't stop spending money even when they don't have any.

 

[Noveltymortar]

It isn’t that. It’s that over the past 40 - 45 years the ultra-wealthy have successfully engaged in a massive transfer of wealth from the lower and middle classes to the upper class. That combined with neo-liberalism, stagnating wages (while production kept increasing, and waning unionization of workers, has really hurt everyone’s ability to make the money necessary to both provide for their families, and save.

It very much is poor money management for the most part. Poor people by and large make repeated bad decisions and the results are very predictable.

 

[irish_thug]

Canada is probably even worse.

According to a 2 second search, 1/4 Canadians can't cover a $500 expense

The Daily — One in four Canadians are unable to cover an unexpected expense of $500

In fall 2022, over one-third (35%) of Canadians reported that it was difficult for their household to meet its financial needs in the previous 12 months. When asked whether their household had the resources to cover an unexpected expense of $500, 26% said that they would be unable to do so, with...

www150.statcan.gc.ca

And that is 2022 I suspect it's slightly worse now

Americans think they have it bad when it comes to living expenses.. Canada is way less affordable in terms of wages vs expenses.

It's probably more than slightly worse now.

An average 2 bedroom apt in Toronto goes for $2300 a month. That is significantly more than the mortgage on my house.

 

[IDL]

It's probably more than slightly worse now.

An average 2 bedroom apt in Toronto goes for $2300 a month. That is significantly more than the mortgage on my house.

Yeah it's almost laughable how bad it is, especially for younger people

We have claimed the spot of highest household debt in the G7

Canada's household debt is now highest in the G7

Household debt also exceeds Canada's entire GDP, housing agency data reveals.

www.bbc.com

 

[boingyman]

Fi start mi seh bare mandem oot here spendin’ $1500 pon DoorDash an food trucks each month swear down fam like $50 a day EASY every day like dem tink evryting irie mi seh nah fam jus cook fi yuhself an yuh fam

Mi can whip up some rice an fire jerk chicken or stew pork fi under $10 an still have meal fi di nex day like bro are you dumb yuh fumblin’ bags lef an right mi swear no wonder yuh nuh rockin’ Gucci broke bwoi

One tayum mi feed mi yutes some homemade kbbq mandem was like “yo fam ting fire better dan restaurant” an mi seh of course fam dem restaurants servin’ dog food charging $30 a head plus tips an' mek yuh cook it yuhself LMFAOLLL real talks broski di quality drop hard affi COVID mi seh RFK did right pon dat

Also mi seh ppl round here trowin’ away $500+ pon car payments fi commute 80-100+ mi a day an of course dem haffi stop fi Starbucks pon di way b4 or afta di drive but fam yuh spendin’ well ova a G pon commuting every month gas sbux insurance maintenance mi seh yuh car nah run right afta dem payments done smdh Meanwhile mi oldazz Accord still smoking yuh ride ting got VTEC buddy dem try flash dem high beams pon di stoplight mi seh nah fam yuh finna see dust

Same ppl who seh mi seh nuh broski yuh cyaan afford fi buy house here fam mad expensive but mi seh look pon Jose weh chuckin’ boxes at Amazon fixin' roofs on him day off #bluecollarwarrior yeah him livin in di hood but at least him maddah nuh naggin’ him fi clean him room an' him can actually bring a gyal home .

@NoGoodNamesLeft translation please?

 

[Deleted member 592570]

Canada is probably even worse.

According to a 2 second search, 1/4 Canadians can't cover a $500 expense

The Daily — One in four Canadians are unable to cover an unexpected expense of $500

In fall 2022, over one-third (35%) of Canadians reported that it was difficult for their household to meet its financial needs in the previous 12 months. When asked whether their household had the resources to cover an unexpected expense of $500, 26% said that they would be unable to do so, with...

www150.statcan.gc.ca

And that is 2022 I suspect it's slightly worse now

Americans think they have it bad when it comes to living expenses.. Canada is way less affordable in terms of wages vs expenses.

And we pay way higher taxes

 

[Contempt]

It's probably more than slightly worse now.

An average 2 bedroom apt in Toronto goes for $2300 a month. That is significantly more than the mortgage on my house.

I thought I'd see how Australia stacked up:

Households Debt to GDP - Countries - List

This page displays a table with actual values, consensus figures, forecasts, statistics and historical data charts for - Households Debt to GDP.

tradingeconomics.com

...well shit

...double shit huh @Meatspin?

 

[Meatspin]

I thought I'd see how Australia stacked up:

Households Debt to GDP - Countries - List

This page displays a table with actual values, consensus figures, forecasts, statistics and historical data charts for - Households Debt to GDP.

tradingeconomics.com

...well shit

...double shit huh @Meatspin?

That does not surprise me at all. Mortgages are handled very differently in Switzerland from Australia though. Much more common for people to carry mortgages into retirement But on the up side, no capital gains tax.

 

[Protectandserve]

Absolutely. Living in debt is 100% encouraged and made into its own enterprise.

America is consumerism at its finest. You save some money then spend it on a big purchase or just go into debt to buy it, then add more debt

 

[TeTe]

Yeah it's almost laughable how bad it is, especially for younger people

We have claimed the spot of highest household debt in the G7

Canada's household debt is now highest in the G7

Household debt also exceeds Canada's entire GDP, housing agency data reveals.

www.bbc.com

I thought I'd see how Australia stacked up:

Households Debt to GDP - Countries - List

This page displays a table with actual values, consensus figures, forecasts, statistics and historical data charts for - Households Debt to GDP.

tradingeconomics.com

...well shit

...double shit huh @Meatspin?

This is impossible. I was told by some people around here the US was the worst place to live and every other country had their shit figured out, because our capitalism has caused everyone to live in poverty except like ten people.

 

[Satur9]

Absolutely believe it.

Most folks have no common sense and willingly spend all their money on the dumbest things possible, even when told how they can save. Keeping up with the Jones' and needing to complete the illusion they are someone special keeps them there too. It is a personal choice in most cases, as there were so many people who grew up extremely poor like myself but refused actually take the appropriate steps to save for the future. I feel vulnerable when my "just in case" account is less than 25k now.

 

[TeTe]

Actually you're 27th.

Global Social Mobility Index - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Probably because there's such a wide range to that mobility in the US. I'm guessing in more socialized countries, jumping up a tax bracket probably pushes you past like 40 percent of the country. Although probably not what you want in those countries because you'll be taxed to bolivia if your income rises too much.

 

[Cid]

As a guy in top 3 country yes and no

You will make a lot more money in usa as college educated person not to mention career possibilities are endless even without college as a healthy person (theres a reason why all smart people try to go to usa from here)

That being said its easier to go to college here since its free and its easier to reach average comfortable standard of living

But this just my country no clue about others

I'd say yes and yes.

Social mobility is ability to move from a lower class to a comfortable standard of living (higher class) which we both agree would be in Finland.


Smart people in a country with it's shit together like Finland are about as far removed from the subject as you can get. Going to the states for more money is about population size and economy size. Not going to get massive economy with Finland population.

Even using that example Americans have to compete for these jobs against smart people from countries with quite frankly better education systems like Finland.