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[Blade2.0]

Now be the other 90% of millennials that don't get 100,000/year and see how you feel.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I'll just contribute again.

I have owned my property now since early 2020 - had nothing to do with covid. It is a medium sized townhome. I was able to reduce mortgage by a little over $200 a month; now just under $2100. Unfortunately, houses in my direct community have now all appreciated past $1,000,000, and my home appreciated past the cost of a medium sized home in many areas, so I doubt I will be able to purchase a stand alone here unless I get married; which I'm never in a rush to do so, and not sure I even care. My community also burned down [see post history] so I'm very concerned about price appreciation on homes next year.

Solid raise of about 10% [what I typically get]. I raised my 401k contributions enough to just barely miss the maximum [over doubled the contribution]; so my paycheck size changed by about $50.
I was able to get to about 6-7 months of emergency finances. This allowed me to make some purchases that I had been wanting to make for quite a while. Of course, after I made these purchases, I started having emergency expenses, so now I have about 3 months of emergency finances [if I changed nothing about my life]. This makes me feel mildly pinched, but I know I can't really complain.

I have some financially beneficial things happening this year, so I just need to figure out how to make that work for me. Originally, this money was going to be my entry into buying a home, but I made the decision to jump in earlier because I couldn't keep up with the price appreciation in my community before covid, which was a great move, and I wish I did it sooner.

On the negative side of things, my vehicle is over 20 years old, it will pass over 200,000 miles this year; so a vehicle is going to be in play within the next 0-3 years. I had wanted it to survive long enough to get an appropriate EV SUV, but I don't know that it will. I'm far more into function than style on a vehicle, and the only EV SUV that does what I require for my vehicle is the Rivian R1S, and I really doubt I will just dunk money into one. My vehicle was the $$$$ emergency expense of the year, rather than allowing myself to pay MARKET ADJUSTMENT PRICES on a newer vehicle. This might not have been the smartest decision, but it's what I did. I'd love for it to make 2-3 more years.

Unless someone has got burned living in a shitty town, just about every place has had homes appreciate the past 20 years. There was that global crisis speedbump which hurt some cities more than others (touristy towns where people have second homes), but real estate has proven to go up in value. Only problem is it's usually a slow ride. BUT last 5-7 years it's been a rocket.

Unless someone buying right now in 2022 has got bad luck with home prices slumping forever, anyone jumping on the train the past 10, 20, or great great grandpa 80 years has a home up in value. And that value is way more than paying any interest.

As always, it's the same thing every year. Homes have peaked. Wait it out. I bought my first small shitty condo 20 years ago. I've been hearing home prices are too much for 10 years straight. Will it level off at some point? Probably. But unless someone can prove it, I don't think year 11 in 2022 of "homes are too much, wait it out" is going to be right. It's already been wrong for over a decade from me hearing it. Since moving to my current house, it's gone up like $500k.

I'm happy youre up money. Making money in real estate is for many people the biggest asset booster they will get. Unless someone makes really good money, it's not easy getting rich grinding it out saving money every month. I have a condo build going up and it's already up a quarter million dollars. And it's not even up yet. When it;s up and I dump it in a few years, it'll probably be $300k up. After paying closing costs and income tax to dump it, I'll probably be up at least $200k. Nice boost. Not fucking easy to make $200k profit working 9-5.

As for your car, thats a tough call. Its the worst time to buy a car as everything is jacked up with no supply boosts in sight. Used cars are jacked too. If you got to bite the bullet, then you got to. Just remember cars are a depreciating asset. I'm not in the market to buy a car now (maybe in 2-3 years) so I dont know what kind of gap in price a good used car is vs. new, but if there's a good used one that is $10-20k cheaper dont be afraid to get it. I know people who never buy a new car and they make $200,000+. To them a new car is a waste of money. After the first few years driving, it's probably down $10k in value.

 

[BadBurger]

Man, some of these stories.... I guess I have just been good with money and living beneath my means. Been earning over $100k for about five or six years now. I was able to pay off all of my debt within the first year of this income level, and have saved at least $14k/year in my retirement account and no less than $10k/year (most years quite a bit more) across my various savings accounts. Hell, I could live off just my regular savings account for over three years without sacrificing any luxuries or having to move to a cheaper place.

If you're in the USA and earning six figures outside of any market where the cost of living isn't wild, and still living check to check, then you have obvious issues involving debt or spending or both. Hell, even if you support a stay at home wife and a few kids you should still be living a good life on $100k in just about any city in the US.

I can only guess that for a significant amount of these millennials they took out far too large of student loans at horrific interest rates, not knowing any better. Because I look at my finances and expenses, on the lower end of the six figure range mind you (I am closer to say $120k than I am to $180k), and I could easily spend an additional $1,500/month than I do now and it wouldn't affect my QoL at all - it would only affect how much I can save in the long run.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Man, some of these stories.... I guess I have just been good with money and living beneath my means. Been earning over $100k for about five or six years now. I was able to pay off all of my debt within the first year of this income level, and have saved at least $14k/year in my retirement account and no less than $10k/year (most years quite a bit more) across my various savings accounts. Hell, I could live off just my regular savings account for over three years without sacrificing any luxuries or having to move to a cheaper place.

If you're in the USA and earning six figures outside of any market where the cost of living isn't wild, and still living check to check, then you have obvious issues involving debt or spending or both. Hell, even if you support a stay at home wife and a few kids you should still be living a good life on $100k in just about any city in the US.

I can only guess that for a significant amount of these millennials they took out far too large of student loans at horrific interest rates, not knowing any better. Because I look at my finances and expenses, on the lower end of the six figure range mind you (I am closer to say $120k than I am to $180k), and I could easily spend an additional $1,500/month than I do now and it wouldn't affect my QoL at all - it would only affect how much I can save in the long run.

Yup.

It's not just spending habits, but as you said loans. And the biggest ones people have (excluding mortgage) are probably going to be student loans and car loans. And then whatever credit card debt they might have on top of it.

For you guys who are looking to buy your first home. Home prices are a lot now and the amount of mortgage you qualify for isn't based on how much money you make. It's based on estimated disposable income they calculate. So the more loans you got from giant student and car loans, and they look at CC too, it means your monthly disposable income shrinks. And the more it shrinks the less mortgage they approve you for.

And even worse, the less money you got saved, the less down payment you can put down which doesn't help the mortgage either. So first time home buyers really got to watch what they spend.

Also, when I got a mortgage for my house, I make good money and totally got approved for it and everything, but for some reason they said they want me to pay off my CC. I always pay it off and I remember my monthly balance that month was only like $1000. Peanuts. But hey, they wanted me to pay it off before approval. So you got to watch out for that too.

 

[Urban]

Im 35 now but when i got my first pay check with 18 i began a method to save money:

On the first of the month i would go to the Bank and withdraw 300€ in 30x10€.

Every day i would take 10€ with me for my daily expenses like(pocket money): Something to eat,drink or cigarettes.
When i had money left, i would put it to the side and with a new day i would pick another 10€

Our daily spendings are not that high if you regulate yourself.
Now im doing it with 20€ and i barely spend so much on a day, cause im taking food from home to work.

just for the record: Thats only the pocket money i would take daily with me^^

 

[Fools idol]

I have a few employees which I pay over $140k and they are all maxed our on credit and stupid shit like car loans.

It's pretty insane. One kid asked for an advance on his sallary so he could pay his debt before he lost his house the other week. Turns out he stopped paying his mortgage so he could pay for a Tesla plaid. Just hilarious.

 

[Mattyp]

Don't know exactly how that works. In the U.S., it is portion of your wages that can go into an investment account tax free. There is a limit to what can go in tax free though. So after that, you may want to put cash in other investment vehicles.

Superannuation at 9.5% I’m going to assume he’s Australian, by law here anyone working looses 9.5% on (minimum?) to super (401) every kid adult male female anyone. There’s a tonne of super funds that exist and invest that money most return around 10% per annum. You can do self managed investments, but the idea is for all the idiots even not monetary inclined do nothing and can retire with a nice fat pay day at the end of their working life that will see them through until passing.

You can pay more into this, and it is untaxed up to a point.

Running my own company I just avoid paying myself any super, I put it in property and see much healthier returns. Hoping to have 15 paid for by time I retire at 50 or sell 5 and pay any remaining debts out (have 20 years left)

$10,000 a week passive income at retirement is the goal.

Me and my partner plus our investments are around $350,000 a year as is, but both working full time which takes up a sizeable section of that.

 

[jufonuk]

Flipping hell that’s a lot of cash.
Wait but this is USA so I bet a lot goes on health insurance?

Man what I could do with that money.

 

[nush]

As for your car, thats a tough call. Its the worst time to buy a car as everything is jacked up with no supply boosts in sight. Used cars are jacked too. If you got to bite the bullet, then you got to. Just remember cars are a depreciating asset. I'm not in the market to buy a car now (maybe in 2-3 years) so I dont know what kind of gap in price a good used car is vs. new, but if there's a good used one that is $10-20k cheaper dont be afraid to get it. I know people who never buy a new car and they make $200,000+. To them a new car is a waste of money. After the first few years driving, it's probably down $10k in value.

I remember when I brought a reliable junker car for £200, it did what I wanted it to and get me to the office on a long commute where I could earn and save enough money to get a decent used car. Took me less that a year to upgrade but would have taken longer if I'd taken out a loan for a decent used car. Could not have cared less about my personal image driving that junker as it was a means to an end and did what it was required to do.

Never ever by brand new cars, as soon as you drive them off the lot you have lost a serious amount of money. Let some other sucker lose that money.

 

[sinnergy]

Yeah it’s a sad bunch

 

[sinnergy]

I feel like my teachers tried imparting some of that wisdom when we were in middle school and high school, but we were honestly too far removed from the reality to understand the wisdom being given to us. College is when that stuff starts to hit home, and by then the only kind of economics being taught is government and business economics. Instead of an elective, they could make it a gen. ed. requirement. Then, of course, there are plenty of economic workshops offered for free out there in the world to anyone willing to invest a couple of hours of their free time to learning how to balance a budget.... as if anybody wants to spend their non-working hours on something so dull.

Lucky for me, I had a mentor while I was in college who took the time to teach me about spreadsheet budgeting and living to a budget instead of just buying whatever I wanted as soon as I want it.

The last part is for parents .. unless some are orphans .

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

 

[Outlier]

I have a few employees which I pay over $140k and they are all maxed our on credit and stupid shit like car loans.

It's pretty insane. One kid asked for an advance on his sallary so he could pay his debt before he lost his house the other week. Turns out he stopped paying his mortgage so he could pay for a Tesla plaid. Just hilarious.

This reminds me of the movie featuring Kevin Spacey where he's a part of a fake family living in an upper class neighborhood, influencing people to buy products. One of the characters kills themselves after putting themselves into so much debt, trying to keep up with who has the latest and greatest trash.

I don't understand how some people can do that to themselves. I've recently been looking at the Sony Experia 1 III and 5 III, trying to see which one I'd like to buy, but I keep saying to myself "Would I even use half the features of these $1,000 phones? I barely even use my current phone, for calls.". Yeah the latest and greatest tech is cool and all, but just because I can afford it doesn't mean I'll have much use for it.

 

[nush]

This reminds me of the movie featuring Kevin Spacey where he's a part of a fake family living in an upper class neighborhood, influencing people to buy products. One of the characters kills themselves after putting themselves into so much debt, trying to keep up with who has the latest and greatest trash.

I don't understand how some people can do that to themselves. I've recently been looking at the Sony Experia 1 III and 5 III, trying to see which one I'd like to buy, but I keep saying to myself "Would I even use half the features of these $1,000 phones? I barely even use my current phone, for calls.". Yeah the latest and greatest tech is cool and all, but just because I can afford it doesn't mean I'll have much use for it.

Back in the pre-smartphone days I remember there were some guys that brought really expensive watches for clout. But they had to tell everybody how expensive that was because nobody actually knew shit about watches. Show don't tell, if you have to tell you're either insecure or trying to impress people that don't care.

 

[SafeOrAlone]

Anecdotal as hell, but the other day my friend was talking about how they don't understand why people need to upgrade their phones constantly, and that they were "still using "iPhone 11".

I can understand why tech-lovers like to get that constant upgrade, but I'm thinking a lot of people just do it for status or maybe don't even have a good reason. They just think they should.

iPhone 6 out here. I could get a new phone, I just don't see the point. I use mine all the time and it functions great.

 

[Outlier]

Agreed! Maybe.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Agreed! Maybe.

Well there are outliers ofcourse (pun intended). And although his portrayal may seem pessimistic (which imho is just a side effect of realistic observation) this has indeed been the case for forever and if you can't correlate this with our current reality I don't know what to say. Btw not speaking to you directly <3

 

[Platinumstorm]

Now be the other 90% of millennials that don't get 100,000/year and see how you feel.

Oh trust me, I have thought about this constantly for the last 8 years, and I do on a daily basis. It bugs one of my coworkers so much that she is now bringing meals for her assistant so she doesn't go hungry during the week.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I remember when I brought a reliable junker car for £200, it did what I wanted it to and get me to the office on a long commute where I could earn and save enough money to get a decent used car. Took me less that a year to upgrade but would have taken longer if I'd taken out a loan for a decent used car. Could not have cared less about my personal image driving that junker as it was a means to an end and did what it was required to do.

Never ever by brand new cars, as soon as you drive them off the lot you have lost a serious amount of money. Let some other sucker lose that money.

I used to work with a guy who was a high level director. He drove a shitty Caravan or Windstar. One of those ugly giant family vans. It was on the company car selection list. At his level he could had got a much better sedan. But the company list always has a van if you want. There was always a sedan, SUV and van classes to choose from. He chose the van.

Good guy. When I asked him why, he said his wife has the sedan and he drives the beast. He's got a family so hey if you need room for tons of shit then you got to get a van.

Family first. He didn't give a shit. And he was among the high level execs at the company.

 

[StateofMajora]

I had a mortgage making 12 dollars an hour in 2017 and was not living paycheck to paycheck. Making 100k and failing to do the same is just pathetic.

Now i’m doing far better because when I got a good paying job in 2018 I saved\invested about 50% of my check. Lowering expenses plus investing is how you should live if you don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck.

One thing i’d never do is take a loan for a car… there’s no investment there, it’s just going to go down in value so I drive cheap old cars. Frankly unless i’m mega rich one day i’ll continue to drive cheap cars, it’s like the absolute last priority for me.

I get that maybe some people who are making 6 figures have to live in high price areas but at the same time, most could probably move and maybe make less but pay far less to live and actually come out ahead.

 

[Blade2.0]

I used to work with a guy who was a high level director. He drove a shitty Caravan or Windstar. One of those ugly giant family vans. It was on the company car selection list. At his level he could had got a much better sedan. But the company list always has a van if you want. There was always a sedan, SUV and van classes to choose from. He chose the van.

Good guy. When I asked him why, he said his wife has the sedan and he drives the beast. He's got a family so hey if you need room for tons of shit then you got to get a van.

Family first. He didn't give a shit. And he was among the high level execs at the company.

Vans are the fucking best. They're also expensive as shit nowadays. Look up a Honda Odyssey.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Vans are the fucking best. They're also expensive as shit nowadays. Look up a Honda Odyssey.

I just did. Skimming the base prices in Canada. I never knew an Odyssey would cost more than an Accord by up to $10k! Odysseys are priced right up there with Ridgeline, PIlot and Accord Hybrid!

 

[Blade2.0]

I just did. Skimming the base prices in Canada. I never knew an Odyssey would cost more than an Accord by up to $10k! Odysseys are priced right up there with Ridgeline, PIlot and Accord Hybrid!

They do come with all the bells and whistles though. And entertainment packs for the kids. I also think vans ride better than SUVs, personally.

 

[Fools idol]

One thing i’d never do is take a loan for a car… there’s no investment there, it’s just going to go down in value so I drive cheap old cars. Frankly unless i’m mega rich one day i’ll continue to drive cheap cars, it’s like the absolute last priority for me.

Not always bud.

I am a car collector myself, have a good mixture of old classics from the 90's and some modern classics like the 458 italia and they have all appreciated in value significantly since I bought them. It's all about buying the right cars

M cars, ferraris, racing variants of most brands tend to hold value and can be bought cheap and maintained well, VW Golf's and most Honda sports models from 2002-2015 ish especially cheap right now and will hold value..

IF you know what you are doing, and you maintain your cars well they can be sound investments providing you dont hammer the miles up.

 

[StateofMajora]

Not always bud.

I am a car collector myself, have a good mixture of old classics from the 90's and some modern classics like the 458 italia and they have all appreciated in value significantly since I bought them. It's all about buying the right cars

M cars, ferraris, racing variants of most brands tend to hold value and can be bought cheap and maintained well, VW Golf's and most Honda sports models from 2002-2015 ish especially cheap right now and will hold value..

IF you know what you are doing, and you maintain your cars well they can be sound investments providing you dont hammer the miles up.

i’m taking about cars you strictly drive all the time for commute and not garage princesses… and especially getting a LOAN for said cars ; they’re the opposite of a house investment wise.

I’m interested in other things for collecting, never been too interested in cars. But yes I know you can collect and make money on cars if you’re an enthusiast and don’t drive them much / maintain them well

 

[isual]

i make just over 100k USD, and my net worth is about 400k USD. working at 2 of the FAANG's remotely has boosted my income, but i want to buy property or a house for me to live in. i pretty much just rent and have saved up quite a bit through the years.

i really think that if you at least graduated college, have no misdemeanors or felonies, don't have a kid way too early, you can still try to make it.

 

[StormCell]

The last part is for parents .. unless some are orphans .

Yeah, you're not wrong... I'm not an orphan, but my parents were just never all that interested in the budgeting. They live meagerly. To them, I seem rich. Why would I need to worry about money? Well... to want not, you waste not. Or something like that.

I'm all about budgets and not spending carelessly. I'm no scrooge though, and it has taken years for my wife to come around to seeing the full effect of eating out vs cooking dinner at home. She can still buy all the fancy coffee drinks she desires, but now we have dinner at home every night. Why? Because why spend $10 per person per meal when the whole dinner can cost $10 and provide you with lunch the next day! Yes, of course. It's a no brainer decision. lol

 

[StormCell]

I'll just contribute again.

I have owned my property now since early 2020 - had nothing to do with covid. It is a medium sized townhome. I was able to reduce mortgage by a little over $200 a month; now just under $2100. Unfortunately, houses in my direct community have now all appreciated past $1,000,000, and my home appreciated past the cost of a medium sized home in many areas, so I doubt I will be able to purchase a stand alone here unless I get married; which I'm never in a rush to do so, and not sure I even care. My community also burned down [see post history] so I'm very concerned about price appreciation on homes next year.

Solid raise of about 10% [what I typically get]. I raised my 401k contributions enough to just barely miss the maximum [over doubled the contribution]; so my paycheck size changed by about $50.
I was able to get to about 6-7 months of emergency finances. This allowed me to make some purchases that I had been wanting to make for quite a while. Of course, after I made these purchases, I started having emergency expenses, so now I have about 3 months of emergency finances [if I changed nothing about my life]. This makes me feel mildly pinched, but I know I can't really complain.

I have some financially beneficial things happening this year, so I just need to figure out how to make that work for me. Originally, this money was going to be my entry into buying a home, but I made the decision to jump in earlier because I couldn't keep up with the price appreciation in my community before covid, which was a great move, and I wish I did it sooner.

On the negative side of things, my vehicle is over 20 years old, it will pass over 200,000 miles this year; so a vehicle is going to be in play within the next 0-3 years. I had wanted it to survive long enough to get an appropriate EV SUV, but I don't know that it will. I'm far more into function than style on a vehicle, and the only EV SUV that does what I require for my vehicle is the Rivian R1S, and I really doubt I will just dunk money into one. My vehicle was the $$$$ emergency expense of the year, rather than allowing myself to pay MARKET ADJUSTMENT PRICES on a newer vehicle. This might not have been the smartest decision, but it's what I did. I'd love for it to make 2-3 more years.

Yeah, I feel like I'm in a very similar situation overall. I left a job at the end of October for another job, but that other job ended up taking a little while to begin. I now earn substantially more than I used to, and we no longer eat out except for special occasions. We had a baby last year, so that plus the month-long wait for the new job to start knocked out all our savings and then some -- had to borrow some money from parents to stay afloat while the new job's paychecks began rolling in.

Sometimes it feels like no amount of planning really ever avoids these issues unless you are just sitting on gobs of money, which the investors all say not to do! Oh well...

 

[Zeypher]

Why is it that something so critical as basic finance and taxes and how to go about them are never taught in schools when its something EVERYONE will need for their entire lives. People world over struggle with those due to lacking knowledge about them and since school never taught it they consider it slightly less important. Step by step introduction to basic personal finance and taxes should be taught to everyone since young. I still wish I was taught these two when I was growing up as I would have made some more informed choices.

 

[Von Hugh]

Jesus christ, people on GAF are rich.

 

[LordCBH]

Tell them to move out of shitty expensive places like California and New York. If I made $100,000 a year where I lived I wouldn’t have to worry about shit.

 

[AJUMP23]

Jesus christ, people on GAF are rich.

That is a relative idea. What is rich to you is probably not rich to those that are fairly comfortable.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Why is it that something so critical as basic finance and taxes and how to go about them are never taught in schools when its something EVERYONE will need for their entire lives. People world over struggle with those due to lacking knowledge about them and since school never taught it they consider it slightly less important. Step by step introduction to basic personal finance and taxes should be taught to everyone since young. I still wish I was taught these two when I was growing up as I would have made some more informed choices.

IMO, because the board of education are lazy fucks. It's not like budgeting, finance and something like even building a resume would wouldnt even need to be full semesters. All these financial acumen stuff can be jammed into a partial semester.

If high school has everyone taking math and english class, they could add these topics in to go along with such awesomely life changing content like quadratic equations and analyzing Romeo and Juliet. Replace some of that useless filler for calculating principal and interest on mortgages, car loans etc...

I remember some people (conspiracy theory) saying schools dont want people to learn that so they'll be stupid when it comes to debt and student loans. Teach kids to be money savvy and they'll analyze the value of tuition fees and ivy league schools. I dont think schools are intending to be that evil so I dont believe it goes that far.

 

[AJUMP23]

IMO, because the board of education are lazy fucks. It's not like budgeting, finance and something like even building a resume would wouldnt even need to be full semesters. All these financial acumen stuff can be jammed into a partial semester.

If high school has everyone taking math and english class, they could add these topics in to go along with such awesomely life changing content like quadratic equations and analyzing Romeo and Juliet. Replace some of that useless filler for calculating principal and interest on mortgages, car loans etc...

I remember some people (conspiracy theory) saying schools dont want people to learn that so they'll be stupid when it comes to debt and student loans. Teach kids to be money savvy and they'll analyze the value of tuition fees and ivy league schools. I dont think schools are intending to be that evil so I dont believe it goes that far.

When I was in HS I laughed at classmates that went to practical math classes, about check writing and financial planning, because it was something my family talked about and taught me. Now with some age behind me I would say we all could use a budgeting and financial planning classes in High School.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

When I was in HS I laughed at classmates that went to practical math classes, about check writing and financial planning, because it was something my family talked about and taught me. Now with some age behind me I would say we all could use a budgeting and financial planning classes in High School.

My high school had none of that when I was there (early 90s). Early high school math class was divided into a few tiers (general or advanced), and then later on in grade 12 I think, you picked advanced courses like finite, calculus or algebra & geometry.

I dont even remember who our guidance counselor was. Never showed their face. Dont even know what that person even does. I guess if a student has an issue they go to them for help, but zero proactive stuff from them. If no students ask them for personal help, that person might just sit in their office all day doing nothing(?). If the course curriculum is fixed and not changing, then maybe the guidance counselor should so some shit. Nothing.

 

[StormCell]

When I was in HS I laughed at classmates that went to practical math classes, about check writing and financial planning, because it was something my family talked about and taught me. Now with some age behind me I would say we all could use a budgeting and financial planning classes in High School.

I said this earlier in the thread: there's something about being in primary school that sort of prevents (or prevented) us from making real world connections. Students would go through the motions and fill out those spread sheets, but until they're dealing with something more tangible it's difficult to hit home with what budgeting really looks like. For me, that thing really struck when I was shopping for a place to live and needed a car (and consequently an auto loan) to get to/from my job -- that's when one really mulls over trying to live in a studio flat or endure the awesomeness of roommates.

It's almost like credit cards should require a license to operate.

 

[StormCell]

My high school had none of that when I was there (early 90s). Early high school math class was divided into a few tiers (general or advanced), and then later on in grade 12 I think, you picked advanced courses like finite, calculus or algebra & geometry.

I dont even remember who our guidance counselor was. Never showed their face. Dont even know what that person even does. I guess if a student has an issue they go to them for help, but zero proactive stuff from them. If no students ask them for personal help, that person might just sit in their office all day doing nothing(?). If the course curriculum is fixed and not changing, then maybe the guidance counselor should so some shit. Nothing.

High school guidance counseling probably is or was an understaffed position at our high schools. I had a similar experience in that I don't think I ever saw one except for when choosing classes.

Make no mistake about it, though, you know high school counselors probably deal with a lot of dramatic crap. I doubt they have time to play solitair on their work computers.

 

[darrylgorn]

'Living' paycheck to paycheck

 

[AJUMP23]

My high school had none of that when I was there (early 90s). Early high school math class was divided into a few tiers (general or advanced), and then later on in grade 12 I think, you picked advanced courses like finite, calculus or algebra & geometry.

I dont even remember who our guidance counselor was. Never showed their face. Dont even know what that person even does. I guess if a student has an issue they go to them for help, but zero proactive stuff from them. If no students ask them for personal help, that person might just sit in their office all day doing nothing(?). If the course curriculum is fixed and not changing, then maybe the guidance counselor should so some shit. Nothing.

I think I was ahead of the financial comprehension curve because I was homeschooled for several years. Then is private school for my HS years.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I said this earlier in the thread: there's something about being in primary school that sort of prevents (or prevented) us from making real world connections. Students would go through the motions and fill out those spread sheets, but until they're dealing with something more tangible it's difficult to hit home with what budgeting really looks like. For me, that thing really struck when I was shopping for a place to live and needed a car (and consequently an auto loan) to get to/from my job -- that's when one really mulls over trying to live in a studio flat or endure the awesomeness of roommates.

It's almost like credit cards should require a license to operate.

Good point.

But you also get students trying their best understanding calculus when nobody uses that in the real world. Really comes down to how much a student cares about money at late high school age to teach them this before they graduate. I know I'd care. But then some wouldnt give a shit.

Maybe jam it in as a mandatory short term college/university course. At that time, money is important and a few years later it's job time.

For me, I've always been good with money, and my cheap parents drilled it into our heads to always look for value. On the other hand my sis in law has no problem buying $400 kitchen gadgets she'll use once in her life which drives my brother insane. I dont think she ever cares about buying any thing on deal. She just buys what she buys when she feels like it even though everyone knows most things go on sale at frequent times and all you got to do is wait a week or two and some place will have it on sale. Lucky for her my bro makes good money so they can afford it. But even when they started their careers with modest salaries, she'd always been like that. He'd shake his head at a bad purchase, and I'd laugh. A lot of her side of the family is like that. Although oddly her parents are cheap like mine. So it's not coming from them.

 

[StormCell]

Good point.

But you also get students trying their best understanding calculus when nobody uses that in the real world. Really comes down to how much a student cares about money at late high school age to teach them this before they graduate. I know I'd care. But then some wouldnt give a shit.

Maybe jam it in as a mandatory short term college/university course. At that time, money is important and a few years later it's job time.

For me, I've always been good with money, and my cheap parents drilled it into our heads to always look for value. On the other hand my sis in law has no problem buying $400 kitchen gadgets she'll use once in her life which drives my brother insane. I dont think she ever cares about buying any thing on deal. She just buys what she buys when she feels like it even though everyone knows most things go on sale at frequent times and all you got to do is wait a week or two and some place will have it on sale. Lucky for her my bro makes good money so they can afford it. But even when they started their careers with modest salaries, she'd always been like that. He'd shake his head at a bad purchase, and I'd laugh. A lot of her side of the family is like that. Although oddly her parents are cheap like mine. So it's not coming from them.

I threw that last sentence into my post about needing a license to operate finances/credit almost as an afterthought, but the more I'm thinking about it the more I'm believing it. Forget school courses or college courses -- in fact, I'd like to see more people skipping college for apprenticeships and similar.

You have to have a license to operate a vehicle. You need a license and hunter safety course to hunt. You absolutely should have to pass a test to use credit (ie. loans, credit cards). Without credit, you basically can't rent an apartment without a co-sign. We don't teach anyone about credit, really, but you have to have it to thrive in society. It's about the same thing as budgeting, so bundle together and make people get a license to operate credit. lol

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I threw that last sentence into my post about needing a license to operate finances/credit almost as an afterthought, but the more I'm thinking about it the more I'm believing it. Forget school courses or college courses -- in fact, I'd like to see more people skipping college for apprenticeships and similar.

You have to have a license to operate a vehicle. You need a license and hunter safety course to hunt. You absolutely should have to pass a test to use credit (ie. loans, credit cards). Without credit, you basically can't rent an apartment without a co-sign. We don't teach anyone about credit, really, but you have to have it to thrive in society. It's about the same thing as budgeting, so bundle together and make people get a license to operate credit. lol

Not a bad idea.

Just to show how stupid money can be, my bro long time ago filled in something using his dog's name. It circulated in a mailing list because then he laughed telling all of us he got a credit card application in the mail in his dog's name.

It can be argued banks and CC companies take advantage of dumb people, but also many of those people do themselves no favours having 5 credit cards. I dont get how anyone even needs that many. I got two - VIsa and MC - and I only use one of them regularly. The limits on them arent even that big as I never bothered asking them to boost it up. It just goes up naturally every so often as they tease me to spend more which I dont. I have the other card as back up in case my main one doesnt work or gets stolen (which has happened).

 

[G-Bus]

Wife and I both make around that and I honestly don't know how the average family does it.

We certainly don't struggle but we aren't rich either. Everything is so damn expensive. I drive a 2003 civic because I don't want to deal with car payments.

Don't make sense to me. I know people that make half of what we do and both parents drive new cars, go on vacation, eat out all the time. Have toys like dirt bikes and quads, side by sides. Drinking all the time.

Does everyone just swim in debt?

The illusion of wealth is interesting.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

Wife and I both make around that and I honestly don't know how the average family does it.

We certainly don't struggle but we aren't rich either. Everything is so damn expensive. I drive a 2003 civic because I don't want to deal with car payments.

Don't make sense to me. I know people that make half of what we do and both parents drive new cars, go on vacation, eat out all the time. Have toys like dirt bikes and quads, side by sides. Drinking all the time.

Does everyone just swim in debt?

The illusion of wealth is interesting.

I think it just depends on priorities. If they’re really making half of what you’re making, yeah, it’s a safe assumption they’re in huge amounts of debt and/or aren’t saving for retirement. Which, if you wanna YOLO your way through life, more power to you.

We don’t live that way, so when our washing machine blew up this week it was no big deal to just order a new one…because we have six months of income saved up and don’t carry a balance on any credit cards. If we had nothing in the bank and no available credit, like a lot of people with multiple car payments and big toys with loans, we’d be stressing out. But we drive older cars into the ground too and don’t go into debt for stuff, so it’s fine

 

[paolo11]

If you got lot of debt and child support, yeah $100k more is not enought

 

[Pagusas]

Wife and I both make around that and I honestly don't know how the average family does it.

We certainly don't struggle but we aren't rich either. Everything is so damn expensive. I drive a 2003 civic because I don't want to deal with car payments.

Don't make sense to me. I know people that make half of what we do and both parents drive new cars, go on vacation, eat out all the time. Have toys like dirt bikes and quads, side by sides. Drinking all the time.

Does everyone just swim in debt?

The illusion of wealth is interesting.

Without knowing where you live and your budget, Its hard for me to say,

But in a place like DFW, 200k a year for a family will more than cover a 500k house mortage (about 3k mortgage), 15% 401k investments per paycheck, 2 new cars, Insurance, utilities, groceries, raising a kid, 2 5k vacations a year, lots of subscriptions and 1 - 2k into savings a month without issue. Thats basically what our budget does, and many of our neighbors.

 

[CGiRanger]

Weren't there classes called "Home Ec" that used to teach things like budgeting and such? But they disappeared. Why is that?

 

[Pagusas]

Weren't there classes called "Home Ec" that used to teach things like budgeting and such? But they disappeared. Why is that?

Its a huge mystery. I was shocked when my HS (back in 2000) didn't teach any fiscal management, tax understanding, basic budgeting or anything. Luckily our Algebra teacher of all things decided to make a part of the lesson plan be about career planning and budgeting. Good guy that teacher.

It seems more and more like parents are expected to be the fiscal teachers, which is all fine and good if you have responsible parents, but let's be honest, most parents these days are just fat immature teenagers plus a decade of wrinkles and bad choices, they have the parenting skills of Peggy And Al Bundy

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Weren't there classes called "Home Ec" that used to teach things like budgeting and such? But they disappeared. Why is that?

I had home ec called Family Studies here but that was grade 7 and 8. And had nothing to do with money. We cooked, learned about family structure and sewed shitty sweatpants. I dont know if it's still around.