My sister did taxes for 20 years at H&R Block. She had clients making $15,000/year who owned their house, car and were putting money away. She had clients making $100k in debt to their eyeballs. One in this category was unaware she’d gotten a $10k raise and could not explain where the extra money had gone. I think the difference is mental maturity. It wasn’t unusual for people on welfare and EBT to own a BMW convertible, have the latest iPhone and have their hair and nails professionally done. People with savings often drove a ten year old Escort and were not professionally put-together.
If you’re living of Uncle Sugar, why save? But then since Uncle Sugar is printing money like crazy, why not live to the hilt now? (Not my philosophy, just posing the question.)
“My sister did taxes for 20 years at H&R Block. She had clients making $15,000/year who owned their house, car and were putting money away. She had clients making $100k in debt to their eyeballs. One in this category was unaware she’d gotten a $10k raise and could not explain where the extra money had gone.”
Truth be told, that is a fascinating story and a truth few like to admit. It’s so strange how people making so much end up so much in debt. Sometimes, I’m told “you have to spend money to make money” and I think the ones up in debt are the ones who are currently living the lie, that if you make a lot and save, you’ll fall behind. It’s the idea of appearances needing to be maintained.
“I think the difference is mental maturity. “
Exactly.
People who are upper class and fiscally irresponsible are the ones who tend to be airheads, the kind of people who have kids running around committing crimes and can’t seem to fathom that yes, THEIR spud are the ones who are doing the crimes.
I myself cannot understand how people on lower incomes avoid debt and manage well, but people making money hand over fist are for one reason or another NOT saving and can’t keep track of where all their money is going. This is why I don’t blame people on welfare for the economic meltdown, or even the government.
To be honest, I admire the ideal of a husabnd being the sole breadwinner, but when I hear stories of upscale high earners not saving anything, I wonder, who on earth is spending the cash? The husband obviously works all day, and so, why isn’t the family free of financial worries? How on earth is a man who makes a half a million a year up to his eyes in debt?
From what I read, wifey is spending buku bucks on:
Shopping sprees
Club Memberships
Nannies
New up to date cars
Interior decorator
Expensive lunches
Books recommended by Oprah
I mean, I don’t get how or why a huge million dollar house is good, if the husband is pulling in half a million a year. Second, considering the nightmares that I read about on here about ex-wives taking their husbands for half of everything, I don’t think it’s the fault of people on welfare for everything that has gone wrong in the US.
To me, it sounds like alimony is a form of welfare and something that (with few exceptions) should be cut back on and reformed.
to be honest, I’m on SSD and slowly rebuilding my life after a series of painful experiences, so I don’t judge people on welfare as hard as others on here do.