Woodruff wrote:Phatscotty wrote:many people who live paycheck to paycheck waste most of their money.
For many I think it's a life choice. I know more then a few people who can't hold onto a dollar if their life depended on it, it actually does burn holes in their pockets, and many people are too lazy to stretch their dollars out or look for deals or negotiate rents and bills and services or simply refuse to go without HBO-Showtime package and the HD upgrade.
Every time most of us get an opportunity to get ahead, we instead up our services/consumption. It also makes sense in an economic environment where the savings rate cannot even outperform inflation, so who wants to hold onto money anyways right?
Sure, all of that is true, in my opinion, as well. The difference is that I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing for those who choose to live that way, as long as they're not putting themselves into debt doing it (which is a very different matter). Is it a risky proposition? Absolutely. But if they're in a career where it doesn't matter because either there are massive numbers of similar jobs available (fast food, etc) or their job is highly specialized and not overflowing with workers, then it's not even so risky really.
Precisely! I can give two examples.
EXAMPLE ONE: I would say that my wife and I are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck. I only own 25% of my home and about 70% of my wife's car, but neither of us have any other loans or debt. We have one credit card with a $500 spending limit.
Living this way has taught me how to balance a budget, which is something that I would've never learned otherwise. Refusing to go without HBO-Showtime? Hell, we don't even have basic cable...or even a Netflix subscription. That's just one example (of many) of how we save money. I would consider my job pretty safe (small business in IT, owner likes me, etc.). Also, both my wife's dad and my parents would be in a position to be our safety nets should the worst happen.
EXAMPLE TWO: A close family friend died recently leaving his wife with $30,000 in credit card debt. They have quite a few assets, but own next to nothing on their home, so probably not enough to repay everything (and certainly not enough to continue living without some type of assistance). This couple was not living paycheck-to-paycheck (they're both retired). And the last year, they had spent $100,000 renovating their kitchen. Now I ask, are my wife and I in the better position or is my friend?
TL;DR: Living paycheck-to-paycheck could be much better than the alternative.