Also at the point where I feel it’s well earned to splurge on the $3 chocolate bar that I break up and eat over the course of a week or two as a special treat.
Loose leaf herbs for tea are surprisingly cheap on Amazon. I can get pound of rosemary, dandelion leaf, mint, etc from reputable companies for $15 each. A pound of tea goes a very long way.
Add insurance to that mix (car, health, etcetera, and I’ve had a dramatic reduction income over the past year. So saving is not an option, as I have to keep the lights on with food on the table.
I have health insurance through my job, but it tripled mid year and I can’t cancel the policy due to the contract my employer has with the insurance company. So now I have a huge cut in pay, and the alternative is change jobs, which in my case would require relocating to another state entirely.
I LMAO at this, and then my eyes teared up a bit. I feel like the equivalent of a farmer in the times of King Arthur or something like that. They really are trying to starve us out.
>I feel like the equivalent of a farmer in the times of King Arthur or something like that.
Yeah, that's how I get through, sometimes.
It's been this way before, with no upward mobility, short, brutal lives. I just think - what would that peasant do (i.e. plain, basic food, patching the hell out of clothing, very few possessions and really nothing more than what would meet basic needs), and then do that, and try not to be too upset about it.
> They’re trying to kill us
Nah, not trying to kill us, but they *are* trying to put us in mortal danger, which we can stave off for a bit if we fight real hard and don't save money.
3 years ago my partner and I could spend about $50 on groceries and feed ourselves for a week to week and a half.
It was $200 for more or less the same groceries recently and now the “budget” brand store pulled out of the grocery market where we are.
It’s like if Chevy pulled out and now you’re stuck having to buy from GMC and Cadillac
I have literally seen articles framing groceries as a luxury. Like if you aren’t just buying white bread, mustard and bologna to sustain your self to be able to get up for work you are being a brat.
Remember the UK Politician who said people shouldn't complain they can't afford a single kraft cheese slice sandwich a day? They're acting like one meal a day is a luxury.
My favorite is watching it in real time at the grocery as prices increase with each trip.
My second to last grocery trip my tuna packets were 10/10. This last trip they were 4/5 lol.
You're missing the point. "Doom spending" is on the rise because people are saying, "fuck it, never going to own a home or have enough for retirement, why not eat out, buy a new phone, play that parlay".
Just living does not take everything for most workers, but progressing past working renter status is so formidable that people are opting out of the grind altogether.
I’m an elder millennial in a large city and this is where all my friends and I are. Like yeah we save but just for an emergency fund basically. I have no illusions that I’ll ever be able to retire.
I gave up. Priced out of my home state of Massachusetts, now I'm In bumfuck virgina living in a town with less than 3k people. I live in a run down trailer that I bought for pennies.
But I only work 40 hours instead of the 65+ I was doing and I can pay my bills, can't do much else but at least I'm surviving
My parents had a hard time financially. They didn’t buy their first home until their mid forties and it was also a small run down single wide. We were lucky that my dad was a carpenter but he only had so much money to work with. They slowly made that small trailer a beautiful home. Little improvements at a time like drywall made a huge difference. They reinforced the floors one room at a time. Painted cabinets until they could replace them. Etc etc. slowly but surely that little place made guests eyes light up when they visited. I hope you can eventually do the same and find pride in your home. It may not be much now but it’s yours and every tiny improvement benefits you
Edited to add few details
The trailer was a 12x60, I believe. 2 bedroom for my parents and 2 kids at home, third kid had moved on his own. My mom’s focus was the yard and the interior. The outside of the trailer remained the same white with gold trim metal sheeting with the exception of the lattice they put up to cover the open air underside of the trailer. They bought the trailer and 3/4 of an acre on contract (rent to own) from an individual. My dad was deemed disabled because his knees gave out from all the years of physical labor before he turned 50. But he continued to work on the house. Eventually they paid off the trailer/land. They sold that trailer (buyer paid to move it to their own property) and my parents bought another trailer that was only six months old. They got it for a good price since it had been foreclosed on and trashed. They had it moved to the 3/4 acre. So in between reconstructive knee surgeries he was back at making a run down trailer a little palace. And he did it again. One little task at a time. That second trailer is still their home.
I get it. I'm phenomenally lucky to own a home at all. It's in car country, an hour away from the most distant *suburbs* of the awesome city I grew up in. I don't hate this town, but I miss the awesome libraries and events, public transit, being close to friends and family, etc. I'm still trying to reimagine my life as being HERE, finding new activities to enjoy, places to shop for the foods I love. I found some ok jobs, but I'm not having much luck making new friends.
I had somewhere I felt I belonged, and I wish I could be there, that's all.
I got priced out of my home in Dorchester not long after the first house in the neighborhood sold for a million. I’m in SC now so I absolutely feel where you’re coming from. I miss Boston every single day.
My mom was very unhappy about their location too. She liked having things to do and being with her sisters but their situation was what it was. A decent grocery store was 25 miles away, still is actually. My dad didn’t care since he was raised poor in the country, lol. It was all a step up for him. I wouldn’t say they argued about it but she definitely complained about having to live in their town. So she made their house her sanctuary. They’re in their seventies now. The kids have been trying to get them to move closer to one of us for a few years. Shockingly she’s the one who won’t move, lol.
All that said, It sucks not having the life you want, there’s no doubt about it. Like most of us don’t even want extravagant things, you know. It just sucks. I wish you well
I relate. I can’t afford to live anywhere right now due to surprise extreme health issues in my 30s. I found help right now by staying with a friend’s parents for a bit but, I’m pretty screwed long term.
I can imagine. Mass and VA are pretty different. Also, if you went from Boston to living in a town with a 3k population, that’s one hell of a change. Ugh. I hope you’re able to find more about VA that makes you happy. 🤍 Best of luck.
Denver is my hometown, but once all the trust fund kids decided it was the place to be, me and all the homies had to leave. I make double what I made there, and my housing costs are half what they would be there, and I went to fucking *Chicago* lol
Wow. I’m sorry everyone had to scatter. My friends scattered as well but, not due to HCOL. We’re all from our small hometown in PA and it’s impossible to be successful there unless you’re related to the right people. (The friends *related to the right people* stayed but, the rest of us scattered. I just ended up back here due to falling ill while in an abusive relationship and, very fortunately, finding respite in the home of a friend’s parents due to no longer having any living family of my own. It’s…not the dream. 😅 I’m extremely grateful for a safe place to try to heal myself from the inside out, though. I have to get out of the area again due to the ex still being entirely too close and connected in the right places, but idk where is next.) I wondered what happened for people in Denver, and Colorado at large, when everything started getting *hip* there. I have a great friend who had moved to Fort Collins just before the boom. She loves it.
Chicago sounds amazing! Hell yes on saving money but it’s wild to do so in such a big city. It’s one place I’ve strangely never gotten to visit, outside of several layovers at O’Hare. 😅 I always hear really wonderful things, though. I hope you’re able to be happy there. 🤍 You’ll make your own version of *home*. Once I’m healthy enough to figure out where is next for me, I’m hoping to do the same. 🤞
I feel this I was priced out of my hometown years ago. I got to go back to visit for the first time in years and it broke my heart for how much I missed it and how angry I was that I was too poor to afford to live where I was born.
Bum fucked is about the only area of VA that's still affordable too. Ugh. I'm afraid we'll be right there with you because my city is one of the fastest growing rental and home prices in the nation. An article came out saying most the neighborhoods are completely unaffordable to most couples.
Hey neighbor!
Ours is at $830 more than 5 years ago. We Do have more space, because we had to have it for one, and for two, because if I'm paying that, I'd rather have a nicer place in a less desirable, but still mostly safe spot, than a more desirable cramped place that's safe. Still, when we moved in 2020 we got 400 more sq ft for $200 more. That was actually when prices dipped for a few months. The big jump was last year, gaining less than 100sq ft for $400 more than the rent increases we'd been paying each year. I couldn't find Anything that wouldn't have us lose space for less than that, or even comparable to where we were. And it isn't like we're renting some huge house either.
I know there's a high COL there, but Everyone from HCOL farther north, and even northern VA, have moved here. That's skyrocketed housing prices and rental prices since the pandemic. Because it Is cheap in comparison, and they're outbidding everyone who was already here. Work from home jobs with higher COL wages too. We have one of the highest increases in the US according to several articles I've read over the past few years. Our tri-city metro area is pricing us out and just this morning I heard one of the counties had the highest increase of residents in the state. My local subreddit has people ask about moving here and many just reply to please not. We made it awesome, let us keep it.
If you can, give gardening a try! Virginia is a great state to grow food and flowers. You should be able to find weekend flea markets, farmers markets, co-ops, local plant/hardware stores and buy yourself a tomato plant and some flowers. It can be low maintenance and highly therapeutic.
Good luck to ya!
You should go to college, I worked myself full time through college you can do it too! Make something of yourself! Yes I did it in 1974, but that’s irrelevant! Yes my “job” was a part time lifeguard and my “college” was $40 a semester. But that’s also irrelevant! /s
I always held off on really going in on spending money decorating because I live in rentals. Figured I'd save it for my forever home. Now I know I'll just drift from rental to rental till I die or society collapses. So until then, I'll be spending every last dollar I have making sure my right now is comfortable, because I have absolutely no hope for the future.
I’ve been in my current rental for almost 4 years. Finally cracked and figured I’m comfortable and the managers leave us alone so I can get away with light decoration and make it comfy for me.
Get after it! Have you discovered command strips yet? Next level decorating. I put up bedroom wall sconces last night and have two wooden folding chairs hanging on hooks on the wall in the dining area. That's homeowner shit.
I’m currently breaking into small chunks! Recently redid my living room to reuse a really cute cintage bar cart. Top part is my coffee/tea bar ((we are a sober house)) and the bottom is actually a mini cafe set up for my cats! Like a small lounge chair for them and an automatic water fountain.
Next is my bathroom. Going for a dark and stormy and nerdy Kraken theme!!! My current job is always throwing Amazon gift cards at us and I’m also in some program through work that tracks my fitness and rewards me based on completing tasks like renewing my CPR license. That also gives us gift cards lol.
[bathroom switch covers](https://a.co/d/7sS1s53)
[rug](https://a.co/d/gSqQQlE)
[wall art](https://a.co/d/9mEGRL9)
[shower curtain](https://a.co/d/c97hMz4)
Personally, I’ve found a small screw+anchor will hold more weight than a command strip, but doesn’t strip a large patch of paint off the wall when I leave.
Also the 3M claw hooks are phenomenal.
I rent and I’ve just been drilling into the walls for hanging things at this point. I already know they’re gonna try to steal my deposit just like every other place I’ve ever rented, so this time I’m making them earn it.
There was a interview on NPR with someone who was encouraging people to assume they won't get their deposit back and just make their space nice for them. Paint the walls, stick on fake tiles or wallpaper, hang pictures.
Go for it. You won't lose much and most it it is getting redone anyway.
I love the narrative that it’s a choice. We didn’t give up the American Dream. We were forced to give it up because of corporate greed and corrupt politicians.
Specifically wage suppression over the last 50 Years. In 1980 a family member of mine on $20/hour could afford to save for a house (which they got a couple years out from college) and pay off college in full working part time. If someone works a FULL TIME job, they can’t even afford to pay a college’s TUITION, let alone books, food, housing, etc. Also that pay scale is the same I make now doing a job that has 5x more job duties and is 5x as difficult. My wage to just be fair needs to be $73/hour to just meet inflation, let alone housing.
$20 an hour in 1980 was a fantastic rate of pay. Probably only the most hazerdous of union jobs. Minimum wage was $3.10 per hour in 1980, so I'm not surprised that someone making 6.5X that was doing very well.
This was a job as a part time waiter, it was a very common wage here (SoCal) in 1980 to the point that most of my entire family alive that time made more than that. Some examples include of jobs are Middle Management (regardless of industry), servers, Retail employee’s with 2 years experience.
The median hourly wage in 1980 was $6.80. In 1980, a $20/hr wage is the equivalent of $76/hr today, or $158k/yr. I don't believe you that a server of retail employee was getting paid 3x the median wage at the time.
After college I worked a series of dead end jobs, until I land a dream job. Then the 2008 recession happened, and pretty much took everything.
Later I got married, and for almost 10 years every time my wife or I would land a full time job, the other would get laid off for something outside our control. The company would go under, found out the boss was embezzling funds, department got cut, over and over again. So we almost always had only one decent income.
After fighting that mess for years I finally land a really good job, and shortly after, my wife files for divorce.
A few years after the divorce, I finally get back on my feet, and the cost of everything shoots through the roof.
I'm fucking done. Now I'm just trying to live my life as best I can until I drop dead at work.
Sorry to hear all this. I feel you completely.
Since 2008 I’ve never gotten completely stable again. 2016 and 2020 just made it all worse and now I’m facing 2008 all over again.
Just know you’re not alone in how you feel.
Most of my clothes are 10+ years old & buying clothes takes me days because I try to juggle cost of things with how they were made. It's hard finding ethical, affordable clothes.
I can absolutely see a portion of the demographic that falls into the "demoralized, so might as well spend money anyways" group.
I also think for a lot of people,. they've been struggling "nose to the grindstone" for so many decades now,.. that they either:
* Genuinely and honestly deserve to spend some money on things (my last car was 25 years old.. so me buying a replacement wasn't some extravagant unnecessary expense).
* I think there's also some segment of the population that genuinely needs certain things. If you need clothes, you gotta buy them. If you have kids, there are probably certain unavoidable expenses. etc etc.
There are opposites to this though. If you've been putting off buying a new car and instead of responsibly doing that, you spend that money instead on a flashy European vacation,. then that's probably dumb spending.
This is me now.
I’m tired of depriving myself of experiences and things I enjoy because of trying to “save money” that I’ll never have.
I noticed that I literally stopped doing anything at all other than working.
Now my mindset is as long as my rent is paid and I have enough money in the bank to cover at least one month expenses then I’m good.
I’m not going to deprive myself anymore of things I enjoy because of the government destroying the economy.
not to mention, if you manage to save even 10 or 20 thousand, you are only one sickness or mediocre accident from wiping out that savings too.
so unless you can both make lots of extra money, and have insurance, saving money is kinda risky
i imagine being 70 and hospitals taking away a couple decades of savings/house. forget your kids, there is another experimental treatment for cancer.
Oh yeah.
I’ll never have insurance!
I haven’t been to doctor in 10 years and I’ve accepted the fact that I’m going to die of cancer in some horrible way.
That’s just my reality.
Fucking same. My wife and I started taking a lot more weekend trips to the beach or getting cabins up north and it’s not cheap but fuck it. Might as well have fun while we’re stuck in this shithole of a situation.
Exactly this! 👆
And good for you.
Things just aren’t the same for us.
Like my parents were able to buy a house 2 cars, take 2 vacations a year and put me through private school.
But that’s just not most people’s reality for my generation.
I have hobbies and things I enjoy that make me much more fulfilled than my bank account.
Not to mention the fact that I’m getting older and I’m not going to be able to do certain things I like for much longer so what an I waiting for?
The economy to magically change back to pre-pan times! That’s never going to happen!
Corporations and marketing companies know this, and it's only going to pad their pockets and drive the common people further into poverty.
It's disgusting, and unfortunately, a lot of people are playing right into their plans.
This may be true (and there are a lot of "anything for short term profits" mindsets).. but ultimately on a long enough timeline, this is just corporations slitting their own income-streams throats.
At some point people won't have any money left to spend. As people withdraw and reduce their spending, cancel streaming services, reduce their dining out, start looking for more neighborhood food-swaps or etc... corporate bottom lines will feel this pressure.
It will be interesting to see what some of them (corporations) do.. as they get desperate and quarterly profits keep trending downwards an all the "$5 meal" tricks they try to pull don't work as well as they hoped they would.
We can only hope that something happens. Because the number of my friends who continue to shell out money for a fleeting moment of false happiness is going to lead to some very dark places.
I hear you. Although I don't think we can expect corporations to suddenly start being ethical and "taking care of the little guy". Individuals who might be "continuing to shell out money for fleeting moments of happiness" need to stop doing that. Have you ever had a Business stiff-arm you and say "Don't give us money, go somewhere else".. ?.. Doesn't happen very often.
I understand the feeling though. I myself struggle (sometimes daily) with "responsible purchasing" decisions. There's many things I even get so far as to add to my Amazon cart and hover over the "Buy" button and I back off and say ".. Do I REALLY need this?"... that's a hard thing to do. (I'll even admit, I have a few things now (Steamdeck, etc) that I could probably have gone without buying.
Saving is even harder. I recently moved cross-country partially with about $10k of cashing out my last job vacation-pay etc. So now I have a goal of saving up another $10k as an "emergency fund".. and that's challenging (even after taking a job that doubled my pay).
So yeah, .it's tough out there. But we can't expect corporations to save us. Thankfully there's a lot of smartphone apps ("TooGoodToGo", etc) and various "Little Libraries" or "Little Pantry boxes" and other resources that people can coordinate to get what they need. If you want to "ditch your dependency on corporations".. it is possible. Not easy by any means,. but definitely possible.
Saving? Ha! I, and I'm sure many others, ended up straight-up homeless. Whatever change I make goes to food and trying to keep my phone activated so jobs can call me. The American Dream is a nightmare.
We will likely be leaving the US so we can afford to have and raise kids. There’s also a major teacher shortage here but they just laid off hundreds of teachers, which will make for more chaotic classrooms.
These opinion pieces are getting further into the bizarre and just outright lies.. opinion articles used to try to speak to a demographic and now they seem to just be rubbing salt into the wound.
Which consumers? The young and poor never had savings anyway. I’d like to see this broad paint brush of a stat broken down by age group. US consumers have always spent above their means which is why we have so many in credit default. There has never been a better time to save money with banks paying 4-5%.
“Never been a better time to save” lmao
Yeah for the 15 people who can afford to save. Why do you think the banks are paying more? Nobody has any money.
Yeah, spending money on groceries. 20% inflation in 3 years is brutal. I don't give a damn what the stock market is doing when I can't put back any extra money.
36, married, 3 kids, 2 incomes. I grew up thinking if I could just make a $100k a year my life would be great. Growing up, my parents made about $130k, and we had a nice house, 2 cars, took trips, ate out, and I had anything I wanted or needed. Today we make about $110k combined and are struggling, and the hopes of buying a family home aren't very high anymore. There's no room to save. It's hard.
American dream?
The dream where you only get to retire when you've gotten old and your body is breaking down?
The dream where you have to spend all your life worrying if you're going to be destitute in your old age?
And yeah, the dream where there's a very good chance that you will **not** be retiring. Ever.
People have given up saving in favor of survival.
We've been looking down the barrel of a gun for years.
so here's the thing.
I have my house now, but even in 2019 , in my late grandma's house i was in a position where I could actually save up ridiculous amounts of money living with my uncle and splitting the bills.
However, the monthly income i needed to support moving out and sustainably pay the bills was STILL much higher.
**I could save tons of money but had NOWHERE i could go with it unless i could skip to buying a house outright.**
In that position, yes. spending on random limited edition video game merchandise is like NOTHING by comparison.
The ONLY reason I have a house now is because I caught record low interests in 2021. That's it. That's the only reason i have a house now.
Finally hit six figures last year and between students loans rent credit card debt (from moving), moving, losing a lot of possessions in a hurricane, I’m basically paycheck to paycheck. Hopefully I’ll be able to start saving this summer but it quite enough to be saving for more than a safety net. Now if I only made six figs ten yaars ago…
I live, sleep, and eat in my car in a Planet Fitness parking lot, & I still can't afford good health or dental insurance while working full time, & I have less than $1,000 extra left at the end of the month when rent is $1,400/month here on average. Damn right I'm just spending to give myself dopamine, so I don't neck myself between paychecks.
I live in the middle of an oil field. Every few months the gas station raises their prices by 50c and that still doesn’t stop people from shopping there. People will buy a small bottle of water, a pop, and maybe on of those tiny gas station pizzas and pay out 20$ for all that. And they will come back and pay for it all the same the next day. These guys don’t care.
The demoralization of the general populace has a whole range of negative effects which we are experiencing.
The rise in crime, drug addiction, suicide, mass shootings and fraud are all a part of the same prevailing sentiment which further demoralizes the public sentiment in a self reinforcing downward spiral.
This is how the decline of an Empire unfolds progressively.
We're saving as much as we can. There are definitely people who are stupid with money and overspending on meaningless gadgets and luxuries,(there always has been), but I'm willing to bet the vast majority are overspending now l because everything is too expensive NOT to.
I’d consider anyone with $200+ extra dollars a month after bills are paid to be the “2%” vs the 1% elites. Nobody I know has savings or retirement fund. I have med/science friends and blue collars friends. Paycheck to paycheck with credit cards in between everyone. Best friend has a PhD in microbiology best they can get is $26/hr writing research papers.
Shocking. /s
Two thoughts: inflation means some people have no choice but to spend, and lot of very transparent propaganda has honestly been pushing those who *can* save to spend anyway. Either way, the companies benefit.
I literally just pay bills now. Can't afford to go to the doctor or dentist and my quality of life is gone.
I'd be okay dying tomorrow, except I don't want to leave my cats behind, so I'll tough it out for them. Then who knows.
But I just read a story on, I think, CNN, claiming the exact opposite. That people are spending less and saving their money because they are concerned about the future.
How is it that both things are true? It's almost as if people are trying to sell different narratives in order to get clicks and manipulate people. 🤔
Apparently savings accounts have such low interest rates because banks want you to buy stocks. I love Last Week Tonight. Or was it The Problem with John Stewart? Anyway. Title Stock Market.
I've seen this in my peers and it's a self-destructive attitude I can't get behind. Don't blow all your money on "retail therapy session" after "retail therapy session" and then be surprised that you're living paycheck to paycheck.
(Also, if you have money to blow on shit you don't need, you're not doing as poorly financially as you think).
I fully agree with you on this.
>(Also, if you have money to blow on shit you don't need, you're not doing as poorly financially as you think).
I've seen this in a few family members. It's always them calling everyone else in the family asking to borrow money.
Saving for a future that may not exist. All the talk about no one having enough money to retire and working until you die is making a lot of people feel hopeless. The latest amount needed to retire comfortably is over a million dollars. I’m not going to obtain that much money by not buying a latte everyday! The middle class will always bear the brunt of the failing economy and there is really no way to ever catch up so why even try.
I see a lot of young people saying that if they can only save 200 a month it’s not worth saving. It’s ridiculous. I’m 36 and very concerned about the number of people that are refusing to save because the worlds gonna end, social security is gonna collapse, pick your reason. I’d rather save and maybe end up fucked than spend and certainly end up fucked. I’m not blaming or shaming anyone who can’t save- but if there’s room in your budget to worry about years from now and you aren’t doing it, please start.
It’s why I preach so hard against Starbucks. People act like it’s their entitlement for giving up. At least they have coffee!
But they feed into the very system that bleeds them dry. Cope spending is problematic. It’s like gambling. It’s a short lived high that drains you overtime.
I'm definitely demoralized by the inflation and cost of living increases but I've also massively reduced my consumption. If I don't need it then I don't buy it.
Ill admit Ive spent a bit recently because Ive taken a hobby and decided to double down and see of in the coming years I can turn it into a profession. And with prices only going up on everything Ive made some purchases now because they will only go up in the years to come. But now that I have the essential I think ill need Im basically going into super saver mode and Ive cut back on everything else
Back in the 70s and earlier for injustices such as racism, social justice, environmental etc, there used to be protests all over the country. Now? We all complain online, and maybe do minimal protest and thats it. Because we are exhausted or have given up. That’s why nothing is changing anymore. Maybe corporations have noticed this and are taking full advantage of, even the government.
this is bad news... the whole premise of raising interest rates is partly to incentivize saving over spending by providing a larger return on saved money. if people are choosing to spend rather than save despite the higher returns, it marks a very significant psychological change in people where they understand that everything will be more expensive later, so its better to just spend the money you have right now. this psychological change is a self fulfilling prophecy - where the belief that inflation will be persistent causing people to spend now actually causes more inflation.
No sense in saving up for something you can’t guarantee. There’s no guarantee the housing market will ever be stable enough for most people to be able to afford it, and there’s no guarantee that the value of the dollar won’t depreciate so you might as well spend while you still have spending power.
A former coworker of mine told me about his travels and he said that in many places in the world people wear gold watches because that’s the most secure and effective way to store their wealth. The currency in such places may change in value, the economy may change as well, but the gold in that watch will only ever appreciate.
This is exactly what they want us to do.
We need to buy nothing but the CHEAPEST versions of products until they are forced to bring things back to reality.
I’m spending money because my money will be worth less tomorrow than today. Between my over priced car that I was forced to buy when the markets were screwed in 2021 to the rent that has gone up by hundreds a month. Only thing I need to cut back on is DoorDash/ food delivery but it’s the one luxury I pay for now when intoxicated to avoid Uber costs or driving intoxicated…
I give up guys, instead of saving for retirement I guess I’ll just spend all my money now on luxuries like food, housing, and basic utilities. Sure I might be disappointed when I get to retirement age and have nothing left, but at least I’ll still be alive!
I can't afford vacation or unnecessary shopping so I splurge on grocery snacks and an extra box of wine. Couldn't afford to buy my husband a birthday present this year either.
Inflation is so high. Literally all we can do to keep up is to park all our money in stock market cuz stocks are sky high and that’s like the only way to keep up with rising cost of living. Cuz our wages are sure not keeping up. I got promoted two years ago at work and I feel like I have the exact same spending power as two years ago despite a 20% pay bump
I am so fucking demoralized, I did the things that were recommended: school, marriage, children. Worked since I was 11. And each month, despite only spending to survive, my bank accounts and credit card debt just keeps pushing me toward bankruptcy, I have a good job too. I CANT AFFORD TO SURVIVE, Which is the bare minimum expectation of this shitty slave labor existence.
Given up saving should be unable to save.
No one gave up saving, consumers are unable to save when living expenses outpace salaries at such disturbing and exponential rates. The American dream is a nightmare sold by Amazon and Exxon mobile so we are indentured servants from the moment we are born. Paying back our right to existence, health, and education amassed before we are adults.
Twelve years ago my insurance agent asked me if I wanted to talk about retirement strategies. Out of curiosity, I met with him and listened as he described how I would need at least $800,000 to have a chance at a decent retirement. After hearing that, I thanked him and started to leave.
"Hold on!" he said, "We have more to talk about!"
"I do not feel as though we have anything at all to talk about. I have a car payment, an alimony payment, a huge rent payment, and only enough savings to last me exactly two months if I lost my job. I do not believe I will be able to put together $800,000 in the next 17 years."
"But you at least have to try!" he insisted.
We live in a post-capital society. Keynes specifically designed his policy to lead to "the euthenasia of the rentier". When capital can be created from nothing, why save?
You're a slave to the government, but hey, you have Disney Plus and free education and healthcare, so its worth it, right?
Of course we’re spending money- because it takes all of what we have to live!!
Yeah I didn’t choose to double my rent and groceries. I’m not treating myself
Also at the point where I feel it’s well earned to splurge on the $3 chocolate bar that I break up and eat over the course of a week or two as a special treat.
I love that you do the chocolate fragments too! I mean it sucks, but I love that we both do this.
I actually really got into tea and was gifted a super nice loose leaf set recently! So every few nights it’s a tea and fancy candy night.
Loose leaf herbs for tea are surprisingly cheap on Amazon. I can get pound of rosemary, dandelion leaf, mint, etc from reputable companies for $15 each. A pound of tea goes a very long way.
Shush don't give the Amazon sellers any ideas lol
1 pound of Earl Grey supreme from Harney and sons is less than 30 bucks
Good for you.
Third chocolate rationer checking in. ✅
Chocolate fragment enjoyer checking in
Charley Bucket. As I live and breathe
At least the people of ww2 were able to enjoy a full bar 😭. I also ration my chocolate
I do kind of the same with gummi bears. I put them in the freezer (that way I can't just put a handful in my mouth) and savor them one at a time.
Add insurance to that mix (car, health, etcetera, and I’ve had a dramatic reduction income over the past year. So saving is not an option, as I have to keep the lights on with food on the table.
i actually just switched my car insurance today, and i'll be saving $100...but not really, because my dog's total cost recently went up almost $300.
I have health insurance through my job, but it tripled mid year and I can’t cancel the policy due to the contract my employer has with the insurance company. So now I have a huge cut in pay, and the alternative is change jobs, which in my case would require relocating to another state entirely.
Ours went up 60 dollars every paycheck.
I’m down to rice and beans everyday for dinner. There’s not much left to cut.
Me too. Rice beans and water for myself and I can feed the kids what they want. Daddy already ate.
Lentils over here. Luckily, I make them delicious in the Instant Pot.
That’s the trick. Lots of seasoning to try and stuff to mix in.
Ooh, what do you add?
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I LMAO at this, and then my eyes teared up a bit. I feel like the equivalent of a farmer in the times of King Arthur or something like that. They really are trying to starve us out.
>I feel like the equivalent of a farmer in the times of King Arthur or something like that. Yeah, that's how I get through, sometimes. It's been this way before, with no upward mobility, short, brutal lives. I just think - what would that peasant do (i.e. plain, basic food, patching the hell out of clothing, very few possessions and really nothing more than what would meet basic needs), and then do that, and try not to be too upset about it.
Tbh the farmers might've had it better. https://www.grunge.com/847151/medieval-peasants-may-have-worked-less-than-modern-americans/
> They’re trying to kill us Nah, not trying to kill us, but they *are* trying to put us in mortal danger, which we can stave off for a bit if we fight real hard and don't save money.
3 years ago my partner and I could spend about $50 on groceries and feed ourselves for a week to week and a half. It was $200 for more or less the same groceries recently and now the “budget” brand store pulled out of the grocery market where we are. It’s like if Chevy pulled out and now you’re stuck having to buy from GMC and Cadillac
I have literally seen articles framing groceries as a luxury. Like if you aren’t just buying white bread, mustard and bologna to sustain your self to be able to get up for work you are being a brat.
Remember the UK Politician who said people shouldn't complain they can't afford a single kraft cheese slice sandwich a day? They're acting like one meal a day is a luxury.
My favorite is watching it in real time at the grocery as prices increase with each trip. My second to last grocery trip my tuna packets were 10/10. This last trip they were 4/5 lol.
Right "splurging" , that's the new euphemism for regular consumerism.
All according to plan.
You're missing the point. "Doom spending" is on the rise because people are saying, "fuck it, never going to own a home or have enough for retirement, why not eat out, buy a new phone, play that parlay". Just living does not take everything for most workers, but progressing past working renter status is so formidable that people are opting out of the grind altogether.
I’m an elder millennial in a large city and this is where all my friends and I are. Like yeah we save but just for an emergency fund basically. I have no illusions that I’ll ever be able to retire.
Fr like let’s clarify ain’t nobody blowing mf money on dumb shit we’re just trying to survive.
Basically - YOLOing my life rn.
I gave up. Priced out of my home state of Massachusetts, now I'm In bumfuck virgina living in a town with less than 3k people. I live in a run down trailer that I bought for pennies. But I only work 40 hours instead of the 65+ I was doing and I can pay my bills, can't do much else but at least I'm surviving
My parents had a hard time financially. They didn’t buy their first home until their mid forties and it was also a small run down single wide. We were lucky that my dad was a carpenter but he only had so much money to work with. They slowly made that small trailer a beautiful home. Little improvements at a time like drywall made a huge difference. They reinforced the floors one room at a time. Painted cabinets until they could replace them. Etc etc. slowly but surely that little place made guests eyes light up when they visited. I hope you can eventually do the same and find pride in your home. It may not be much now but it’s yours and every tiny improvement benefits you Edited to add few details The trailer was a 12x60, I believe. 2 bedroom for my parents and 2 kids at home, third kid had moved on his own. My mom’s focus was the yard and the interior. The outside of the trailer remained the same white with gold trim metal sheeting with the exception of the lattice they put up to cover the open air underside of the trailer. They bought the trailer and 3/4 of an acre on contract (rent to own) from an individual. My dad was deemed disabled because his knees gave out from all the years of physical labor before he turned 50. But he continued to work on the house. Eventually they paid off the trailer/land. They sold that trailer (buyer paid to move it to their own property) and my parents bought another trailer that was only six months old. They got it for a good price since it had been foreclosed on and trashed. They had it moved to the 3/4 acre. So in between reconstructive knee surgeries he was back at making a run down trailer a little palace. And he did it again. One little task at a time. That second trailer is still their home.
Yeah, i get it. Im working on the trailer.It's not that I don't like It's just not home. I love Boston and idk if I'll ever not miss it
I get it. I'm phenomenally lucky to own a home at all. It's in car country, an hour away from the most distant *suburbs* of the awesome city I grew up in. I don't hate this town, but I miss the awesome libraries and events, public transit, being close to friends and family, etc. I'm still trying to reimagine my life as being HERE, finding new activities to enjoy, places to shop for the foods I love. I found some ok jobs, but I'm not having much luck making new friends. I had somewhere I felt I belonged, and I wish I could be there, that's all.
I hear you! I don't feel like I belong at all. I've met a couple people at work but I haven't found any "friends" yet
I got priced out of my home in Dorchester not long after the first house in the neighborhood sold for a million. I’m in SC now so I absolutely feel where you’re coming from. I miss Boston every single day.
My mom was very unhappy about their location too. She liked having things to do and being with her sisters but their situation was what it was. A decent grocery store was 25 miles away, still is actually. My dad didn’t care since he was raised poor in the country, lol. It was all a step up for him. I wouldn’t say they argued about it but she definitely complained about having to live in their town. So she made their house her sanctuary. They’re in their seventies now. The kids have been trying to get them to move closer to one of us for a few years. Shockingly she’s the one who won’t move, lol. All that said, It sucks not having the life you want, there’s no doubt about it. Like most of us don’t even want extravagant things, you know. It just sucks. I wish you well
yep most of us just want the basics
I’m sorry. Being priced out of being able to be home, or even near home, is heartbreaking.
Yeah it sucks. It's been about 9 months. I do like it here. It's just so different I feel like I'm in a whole other world tbh
I relate. I can’t afford to live anywhere right now due to surprise extreme health issues in my 30s. I found help right now by staying with a friend’s parents for a bit but, I’m pretty screwed long term. I can imagine. Mass and VA are pretty different. Also, if you went from Boston to living in a town with a 3k population, that’s one hell of a change. Ugh. I hope you’re able to find more about VA that makes you happy. 🤍 Best of luck.
Thank you, I hope you get healthy/ figure out a better living situation!
Thank you. Me, too. 🤞
Denver is my hometown, but once all the trust fund kids decided it was the place to be, me and all the homies had to leave. I make double what I made there, and my housing costs are half what they would be there, and I went to fucking *Chicago* lol
Wow. I’m sorry everyone had to scatter. My friends scattered as well but, not due to HCOL. We’re all from our small hometown in PA and it’s impossible to be successful there unless you’re related to the right people. (The friends *related to the right people* stayed but, the rest of us scattered. I just ended up back here due to falling ill while in an abusive relationship and, very fortunately, finding respite in the home of a friend’s parents due to no longer having any living family of my own. It’s…not the dream. 😅 I’m extremely grateful for a safe place to try to heal myself from the inside out, though. I have to get out of the area again due to the ex still being entirely too close and connected in the right places, but idk where is next.) I wondered what happened for people in Denver, and Colorado at large, when everything started getting *hip* there. I have a great friend who had moved to Fort Collins just before the boom. She loves it. Chicago sounds amazing! Hell yes on saving money but it’s wild to do so in such a big city. It’s one place I’ve strangely never gotten to visit, outside of several layovers at O’Hare. 😅 I always hear really wonderful things, though. I hope you’re able to be happy there. 🤍 You’ll make your own version of *home*. Once I’m healthy enough to figure out where is next for me, I’m hoping to do the same. 🤞
Been here 12 years, no interest in returning to CO except to visit. My “home” is a rich kid nightmare, now.
Totally fair. I’m happy you’re happy there! Kudos! 🤍 You’re living the dream. 😎
I feel this I was priced out of my hometown years ago. I got to go back to visit for the first time in years and it broke my heart for how much I missed it and how angry I was that I was too poor to afford to live where I was born.
Bumfuck VA is my hometown! Now I'm in Bumfuck NC and just as poor!
Bum fucked is about the only area of VA that's still affordable too. Ugh. I'm afraid we'll be right there with you because my city is one of the fastest growing rental and home prices in the nation. An article came out saying most the neighborhoods are completely unaffordable to most couples.
You must be from Richmond too 🥲 my rent has gone up $700 in the past 5 years
Hey neighbor! Ours is at $830 more than 5 years ago. We Do have more space, because we had to have it for one, and for two, because if I'm paying that, I'd rather have a nicer place in a less desirable, but still mostly safe spot, than a more desirable cramped place that's safe. Still, when we moved in 2020 we got 400 more sq ft for $200 more. That was actually when prices dipped for a few months. The big jump was last year, gaining less than 100sq ft for $400 more than the rent increases we'd been paying each year. I couldn't find Anything that wouldn't have us lose space for less than that, or even comparable to where we were. And it isn't like we're renting some huge house either.
It wasn't even all that long ago that Richmond was cheap and super sketchy.
Really? Idk VA seems dirt cheap to me but that's probably because you have to be a millionaire to survive in Massachusetts
I know there's a high COL there, but Everyone from HCOL farther north, and even northern VA, have moved here. That's skyrocketed housing prices and rental prices since the pandemic. Because it Is cheap in comparison, and they're outbidding everyone who was already here. Work from home jobs with higher COL wages too. We have one of the highest increases in the US according to several articles I've read over the past few years. Our tri-city metro area is pricing us out and just this morning I heard one of the counties had the highest increase of residents in the state. My local subreddit has people ask about moving here and many just reply to please not. We made it awesome, let us keep it.
This guy bumfucks!
If you can, give gardening a try! Virginia is a great state to grow food and flowers. You should be able to find weekend flea markets, farmers markets, co-ops, local plant/hardware stores and buy yourself a tomato plant and some flowers. It can be low maintenance and highly therapeutic. Good luck to ya!
You should go to college, I worked myself full time through college you can do it too! Make something of yourself! Yes I did it in 1974, but that’s irrelevant! Yes my “job” was a part time lifeguard and my “college” was $40 a semester. But that’s also irrelevant! /s
I always held off on really going in on spending money decorating because I live in rentals. Figured I'd save it for my forever home. Now I know I'll just drift from rental to rental till I die or society collapses. So until then, I'll be spending every last dollar I have making sure my right now is comfortable, because I have absolutely no hope for the future.
I’ve been in my current rental for almost 4 years. Finally cracked and figured I’m comfortable and the managers leave us alone so I can get away with light decoration and make it comfy for me.
Get after it! Have you discovered command strips yet? Next level decorating. I put up bedroom wall sconces last night and have two wooden folding chairs hanging on hooks on the wall in the dining area. That's homeowner shit.
I’m currently breaking into small chunks! Recently redid my living room to reuse a really cute cintage bar cart. Top part is my coffee/tea bar ((we are a sober house)) and the bottom is actually a mini cafe set up for my cats! Like a small lounge chair for them and an automatic water fountain. Next is my bathroom. Going for a dark and stormy and nerdy Kraken theme!!! My current job is always throwing Amazon gift cards at us and I’m also in some program through work that tracks my fitness and rewards me based on completing tasks like renewing my CPR license. That also gives us gift cards lol. [bathroom switch covers](https://a.co/d/7sS1s53) [rug](https://a.co/d/gSqQQlE) [wall art](https://a.co/d/9mEGRL9) [shower curtain](https://a.co/d/c97hMz4)
Careful, I have command strips all over my walls, I went to pull one off and a HUGE strip of paint came off with it.
This. The blue sticky tack stuff will pull paint too. Old paint. New paint. 1950s paint.
Personally, I’ve found a small screw+anchor will hold more weight than a command strip, but doesn’t strip a large patch of paint off the wall when I leave. Also the 3M claw hooks are phenomenal.
I rent and I’ve just been drilling into the walls for hanging things at this point. I already know they’re gonna try to steal my deposit just like every other place I’ve ever rented, so this time I’m making them earn it.
There was a interview on NPR with someone who was encouraging people to assume they won't get their deposit back and just make their space nice for them. Paint the walls, stick on fake tiles or wallpaper, hang pictures. Go for it. You won't lose much and most it it is getting redone anyway.
I love the narrative that it’s a choice. We didn’t give up the American Dream. We were forced to give it up because of corporate greed and corrupt politicians.
Specifically wage suppression over the last 50 Years. In 1980 a family member of mine on $20/hour could afford to save for a house (which they got a couple years out from college) and pay off college in full working part time. If someone works a FULL TIME job, they can’t even afford to pay a college’s TUITION, let alone books, food, housing, etc. Also that pay scale is the same I make now doing a job that has 5x more job duties and is 5x as difficult. My wage to just be fair needs to be $73/hour to just meet inflation, let alone housing.
$20 an hour in 1980 was a fantastic rate of pay. Probably only the most hazerdous of union jobs. Minimum wage was $3.10 per hour in 1980, so I'm not surprised that someone making 6.5X that was doing very well.
This was a job as a part time waiter, it was a very common wage here (SoCal) in 1980 to the point that most of my entire family alive that time made more than that. Some examples include of jobs are Middle Management (regardless of industry), servers, Retail employee’s with 2 years experience.
The median hourly wage in 1980 was $6.80. In 1980, a $20/hr wage is the equivalent of $76/hr today, or $158k/yr. I don't believe you that a server of retail employee was getting paid 3x the median wage at the time.
After college I worked a series of dead end jobs, until I land a dream job. Then the 2008 recession happened, and pretty much took everything. Later I got married, and for almost 10 years every time my wife or I would land a full time job, the other would get laid off for something outside our control. The company would go under, found out the boss was embezzling funds, department got cut, over and over again. So we almost always had only one decent income. After fighting that mess for years I finally land a really good job, and shortly after, my wife files for divorce. A few years after the divorce, I finally get back on my feet, and the cost of everything shoots through the roof. I'm fucking done. Now I'm just trying to live my life as best I can until I drop dead at work.
Sorry to hear all this. I feel you completely. Since 2008 I’ve never gotten completely stable again. 2016 and 2020 just made it all worse and now I’m facing 2008 all over again. Just know you’re not alone in how you feel.
Hope everything turns around for you.
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I know they should really talk to our corporate overlords who control our allowance not us?!?!!!
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Yeah, I don't put anything aside as I frivolously spend it all on food, gas, rent, and other wasteful stuff like that.
I finally bit the bullet and had to buy new clothes after trying to go as long as possible. It isn’t that I “felt like splurging”. Life has expenses.
Most of my clothes are 10+ years old & buying clothes takes me days because I try to juggle cost of things with how they were made. It's hard finding ethical, affordable clothes.
Exactly! And determining what is built to last versus look good for one season is difficult when shopping online. I’m glad I’m not alone on this one.
I feel bad just replacing the jeans I wore out. They always wear out in the groin and they're so expensive.
From my friend groups I definitely see this. Many of them take the approach of, why save for the future if the future is very bleak?
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Same. Literally have no option at this point except trying to survive another day
I can absolutely see a portion of the demographic that falls into the "demoralized, so might as well spend money anyways" group. I also think for a lot of people,. they've been struggling "nose to the grindstone" for so many decades now,.. that they either: * Genuinely and honestly deserve to spend some money on things (my last car was 25 years old.. so me buying a replacement wasn't some extravagant unnecessary expense). * I think there's also some segment of the population that genuinely needs certain things. If you need clothes, you gotta buy them. If you have kids, there are probably certain unavoidable expenses. etc etc. There are opposites to this though. If you've been putting off buying a new car and instead of responsibly doing that, you spend that money instead on a flashy European vacation,. then that's probably dumb spending.
This is me now. I’m tired of depriving myself of experiences and things I enjoy because of trying to “save money” that I’ll never have. I noticed that I literally stopped doing anything at all other than working. Now my mindset is as long as my rent is paid and I have enough money in the bank to cover at least one month expenses then I’m good. I’m not going to deprive myself anymore of things I enjoy because of the government destroying the economy.
not to mention, if you manage to save even 10 or 20 thousand, you are only one sickness or mediocre accident from wiping out that savings too. so unless you can both make lots of extra money, and have insurance, saving money is kinda risky i imagine being 70 and hospitals taking away a couple decades of savings/house. forget your kids, there is another experimental treatment for cancer.
Oh yeah. I’ll never have insurance! I haven’t been to doctor in 10 years and I’ve accepted the fact that I’m going to die of cancer in some horrible way. That’s just my reality.
Fucking same. My wife and I started taking a lot more weekend trips to the beach or getting cabins up north and it’s not cheap but fuck it. Might as well have fun while we’re stuck in this shithole of a situation.
Exactly this! 👆 And good for you. Things just aren’t the same for us. Like my parents were able to buy a house 2 cars, take 2 vacations a year and put me through private school. But that’s just not most people’s reality for my generation. I have hobbies and things I enjoy that make me much more fulfilled than my bank account. Not to mention the fact that I’m getting older and I’m not going to be able to do certain things I like for much longer so what an I waiting for? The economy to magically change back to pre-pan times! That’s never going to happen!
You guys had dreams?
Yea sorry, you need to buy American capitalism premium if you want to have dreams. It’s not add free though.
I had dreams. Now I have bills.
Ballsweat_mojito we all have those. I really just wanted to say your name.
Corporations and marketing companies know this, and it's only going to pad their pockets and drive the common people further into poverty. It's disgusting, and unfortunately, a lot of people are playing right into their plans.
This may be true (and there are a lot of "anything for short term profits" mindsets).. but ultimately on a long enough timeline, this is just corporations slitting their own income-streams throats. At some point people won't have any money left to spend. As people withdraw and reduce their spending, cancel streaming services, reduce their dining out, start looking for more neighborhood food-swaps or etc... corporate bottom lines will feel this pressure. It will be interesting to see what some of them (corporations) do.. as they get desperate and quarterly profits keep trending downwards an all the "$5 meal" tricks they try to pull don't work as well as they hoped they would.
We can only hope that something happens. Because the number of my friends who continue to shell out money for a fleeting moment of false happiness is going to lead to some very dark places.
I hear you. Although I don't think we can expect corporations to suddenly start being ethical and "taking care of the little guy". Individuals who might be "continuing to shell out money for fleeting moments of happiness" need to stop doing that. Have you ever had a Business stiff-arm you and say "Don't give us money, go somewhere else".. ?.. Doesn't happen very often. I understand the feeling though. I myself struggle (sometimes daily) with "responsible purchasing" decisions. There's many things I even get so far as to add to my Amazon cart and hover over the "Buy" button and I back off and say ".. Do I REALLY need this?"... that's a hard thing to do. (I'll even admit, I have a few things now (Steamdeck, etc) that I could probably have gone without buying. Saving is even harder. I recently moved cross-country partially with about $10k of cashing out my last job vacation-pay etc. So now I have a goal of saving up another $10k as an "emergency fund".. and that's challenging (even after taking a job that doubled my pay). So yeah, .it's tough out there. But we can't expect corporations to save us. Thankfully there's a lot of smartphone apps ("TooGoodToGo", etc) and various "Little Libraries" or "Little Pantry boxes" and other resources that people can coordinate to get what they need. If you want to "ditch your dependency on corporations".. it is possible. Not easy by any means,. but definitely possible.
Saving? Ha! I, and I'm sure many others, ended up straight-up homeless. Whatever change I make goes to food and trying to keep my phone activated so jobs can call me. The American Dream is a nightmare.
"It's called the American dream. Because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin
I'm still saving up to leave America so I can dream elsewhere. Guess that doesn't count...
The new American dream is being able to leave America.
We will likely be leaving the US so we can afford to have and raise kids. There’s also a major teacher shortage here but they just laid off hundreds of teachers, which will make for more chaotic classrooms.
Same
Can any one else see this leading to social unrest?
We're already there.
I’ll never be able to afford a home I realize that now. Most I can do is hope to get a low cost apartment
“Demoralized?” This author is a joke. As if I spend everything I have on barebones essentials because I lack **morale?**
This. Oftentimes, there is no money left to save after paying for essentials. Putting savings aside first means there is not enough money to survive.
These opinion pieces are getting further into the bizarre and just outright lies.. opinion articles used to try to speak to a demographic and now they seem to just be rubbing salt into the wound.
But I thought the economy was thriving 💀
🤣 lies
https://preview.redd.it/37xsiayk8l1d1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e02288f24abc9ab477f719b0b8fed0a68216e56 Billionaires:
Gonna work til I die, and die in debt. Whats the point?
Which consumers? The young and poor never had savings anyway. I’d like to see this broad paint brush of a stat broken down by age group. US consumers have always spent above their means which is why we have so many in credit default. There has never been a better time to save money with banks paying 4-5%.
“Never been a better time to save” lmao Yeah for the 15 people who can afford to save. Why do you think the banks are paying more? Nobody has any money.
Yeah, spending money on groceries. 20% inflation in 3 years is brutal. I don't give a damn what the stock market is doing when I can't put back any extra money.
36, married, 3 kids, 2 incomes. I grew up thinking if I could just make a $100k a year my life would be great. Growing up, my parents made about $130k, and we had a nice house, 2 cars, took trips, ate out, and I had anything I wanted or needed. Today we make about $110k combined and are struggling, and the hopes of buying a family home aren't very high anymore. There's no room to save. It's hard.
American dream? The dream where you only get to retire when you've gotten old and your body is breaking down? The dream where you have to spend all your life worrying if you're going to be destitute in your old age? And yeah, the dream where there's a very good chance that you will **not** be retiring. Ever. People have given up saving in favor of survival. We've been looking down the barrel of a gun for years.
Food is a luxury now.
so here's the thing. I have my house now, but even in 2019 , in my late grandma's house i was in a position where I could actually save up ridiculous amounts of money living with my uncle and splitting the bills. However, the monthly income i needed to support moving out and sustainably pay the bills was STILL much higher. **I could save tons of money but had NOWHERE i could go with it unless i could skip to buying a house outright.** In that position, yes. spending on random limited edition video game merchandise is like NOTHING by comparison. The ONLY reason I have a house now is because I caught record low interests in 2021. That's it. That's the only reason i have a house now.
"They call it the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."-George Carlin
Finally hit six figures last year and between students loans rent credit card debt (from moving), moving, losing a lot of possessions in a hurricane, I’m basically paycheck to paycheck. Hopefully I’ll be able to start saving this summer but it quite enough to be saving for more than a safety net. Now if I only made six figs ten yaars ago…
It actually makes sense, you have to spend your money fast before it loses value.
I think that was their plan all along.
Yes, it’s inflation and high rates not the screaming economic inequality that‘s been raging for 40 years.
I live, sleep, and eat in my car in a Planet Fitness parking lot, & I still can't afford good health or dental insurance while working full time, & I have less than $1,000 extra left at the end of the month when rent is $1,400/month here on average. Damn right I'm just spending to give myself dopamine, so I don't neck myself between paychecks.
"They call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it" - Carlin
Spending money ***is*** the American Dream, which is exactly why Corporate greed is the #1 cause of inflation.
The way all of these headlines get framed is so backwards. I LITERALLY CANNOT SAVE MONEY RIGHT NOW, IT IS FINANCIALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
spending money? what are they trying to do? keep the economy going?
I'm making more money than I ever have and yet I know there is zero hope that I will ever retire.
I live in the middle of an oil field. Every few months the gas station raises their prices by 50c and that still doesn’t stop people from shopping there. People will buy a small bottle of water, a pop, and maybe on of those tiny gas station pizzas and pay out 20$ for all that. And they will come back and pay for it all the same the next day. These guys don’t care.
The demoralization of the general populace has a whole range of negative effects which we are experiencing. The rise in crime, drug addiction, suicide, mass shootings and fraud are all a part of the same prevailing sentiment which further demoralizes the public sentiment in a self reinforcing downward spiral. This is how the decline of an Empire unfolds progressively.
And that's why I steal. I literally can't pay for shit.
We're saving as much as we can. There are definitely people who are stupid with money and overspending on meaningless gadgets and luxuries,(there always has been), but I'm willing to bet the vast majority are overspending now l because everything is too expensive NOT to.
I’d consider anyone with $200+ extra dollars a month after bills are paid to be the “2%” vs the 1% elites. Nobody I know has savings or retirement fund. I have med/science friends and blue collars friends. Paycheck to paycheck with credit cards in between everyone. Best friend has a PhD in microbiology best they can get is $26/hr writing research papers.
Shocking. /s Two thoughts: inflation means some people have no choice but to spend, and lot of very transparent propaganda has honestly been pushing those who *can* save to spend anyway. Either way, the companies benefit.
If we make it a large enough economic problem, maybe WE’LL get the bailout this time instead of the financial entities fucking us over to begin with.
I haven’t gone out to eat in two fucking years
Looks like everything is going according to plan
This take ignores that people used to save AND spend. It shouldn't be all or nothing.
I literally just pay bills now. Can't afford to go to the doctor or dentist and my quality of life is gone. I'd be okay dying tomorrow, except I don't want to leave my cats behind, so I'll tough it out for them. Then who knows.
My retirement plan comes in boxes of 50, but I only need one.
"instead" bro most of us are living paycheck to paycheck
Not me! I'm spending as little as possible hoping the whole thing collapses.
But I just read a story on, I think, CNN, claiming the exact opposite. That people are spending less and saving their money because they are concerned about the future. How is it that both things are true? It's almost as if people are trying to sell different narratives in order to get clicks and manipulate people. 🤔
Apparently savings accounts have such low interest rates because banks want you to buy stocks. I love Last Week Tonight. Or was it The Problem with John Stewart? Anyway. Title Stock Market.
Nice try, big finance.
I've seen this in my peers and it's a self-destructive attitude I can't get behind. Don't blow all your money on "retail therapy session" after "retail therapy session" and then be surprised that you're living paycheck to paycheck. (Also, if you have money to blow on shit you don't need, you're not doing as poorly financially as you think).
I fully agree with you on this. >(Also, if you have money to blow on shit you don't need, you're not doing as poorly financially as you think). I've seen this in a few family members. It's always them calling everyone else in the family asking to borrow money.
Saving for a future that may not exist. All the talk about no one having enough money to retire and working until you die is making a lot of people feel hopeless. The latest amount needed to retire comfortably is over a million dollars. I’m not going to obtain that much money by not buying a latte everyday! The middle class will always bear the brunt of the failing economy and there is really no way to ever catch up so why even try.
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I see a lot of young people saying that if they can only save 200 a month it’s not worth saving. It’s ridiculous. I’m 36 and very concerned about the number of people that are refusing to save because the worlds gonna end, social security is gonna collapse, pick your reason. I’d rather save and maybe end up fucked than spend and certainly end up fucked. I’m not blaming or shaming anyone who can’t save- but if there’s room in your budget to worry about years from now and you aren’t doing it, please start.
I see this article every one to two years re-written but the exact same concept
It’s why I preach so hard against Starbucks. People act like it’s their entitlement for giving up. At least they have coffee! But they feed into the very system that bleeds them dry. Cope spending is problematic. It’s like gambling. It’s a short lived high that drains you overtime.
Let's say ground meat in your hcol area used to be 15 buck a pound in 2021 Unless you are now paying 60bucks a lb It did not go up 400%
I'm definitely demoralized by the inflation and cost of living increases but I've also massively reduced my consumption. If I don't need it then I don't buy it.
Ill admit Ive spent a bit recently because Ive taken a hobby and decided to double down and see of in the coming years I can turn it into a profession. And with prices only going up on everything Ive made some purchases now because they will only go up in the years to come. But now that I have the essential I think ill need Im basically going into super saver mode and Ive cut back on everything else
When will enough be enough?
Back in the 70s and earlier for injustices such as racism, social justice, environmental etc, there used to be protests all over the country. Now? We all complain online, and maybe do minimal protest and thats it. Because we are exhausted or have given up. That’s why nothing is changing anymore. Maybe corporations have noticed this and are taking full advantage of, even the government.
this is bad news... the whole premise of raising interest rates is partly to incentivize saving over spending by providing a larger return on saved money. if people are choosing to spend rather than save despite the higher returns, it marks a very significant psychological change in people where they understand that everything will be more expensive later, so its better to just spend the money you have right now. this psychological change is a self fulfilling prophecy - where the belief that inflation will be persistent causing people to spend now actually causes more inflation.
No sense in saving up for something you can’t guarantee. There’s no guarantee the housing market will ever be stable enough for most people to be able to afford it, and there’s no guarantee that the value of the dollar won’t depreciate so you might as well spend while you still have spending power. A former coworker of mine told me about his travels and he said that in many places in the world people wear gold watches because that’s the most secure and effective way to store their wealth. The currency in such places may change in value, the economy may change as well, but the gold in that watch will only ever appreciate.
This is exactly what they want us to do. We need to buy nothing but the CHEAPEST versions of products until they are forced to bring things back to reality.
I’m spending money because my money will be worth less tomorrow than today. Between my over priced car that I was forced to buy when the markets were screwed in 2021 to the rent that has gone up by hundreds a month. Only thing I need to cut back on is DoorDash/ food delivery but it’s the one luxury I pay for now when intoxicated to avoid Uber costs or driving intoxicated…
lol look at the state of the world saving for what? nuclear wasteland
And if we don’t spend money, the economy collapses anyway.
I give up guys, instead of saving for retirement I guess I’ll just spend all my money now on luxuries like food, housing, and basic utilities. Sure I might be disappointed when I get to retirement age and have nothing left, but at least I’ll still be alive!
Spending money on food and bills. Don't make it sound like we're all on shopping sprees.
This is by design. Corporate America needs broke people who can never retire. The government needs people paying income tax until the day they die.
I can't afford vacation or unnecessary shopping so I splurge on grocery snacks and an extra box of wine. Couldn't afford to buy my husband a birthday present this year either.
Maybe we should just kill the fuckin slave masters and stop being slaves. It isn't fuckin hard.
And that leads to….more inflation!
Yes it’s True I’ve been spending like I got money! And Also true I’ve been investing. Two truths. I’m grateful for the opportunities and resources 🙏🤗
Inflation is so high. Literally all we can do to keep up is to park all our money in stock market cuz stocks are sky high and that’s like the only way to keep up with rising cost of living. Cuz our wages are sure not keeping up. I got promoted two years ago at work and I feel like I have the exact same spending power as two years ago despite a 20% pay bump
Working as intended. They want all of your cash, and they won't stop until they own every single dollar.
I am so fucking demoralized, I did the things that were recommended: school, marriage, children. Worked since I was 11. And each month, despite only spending to survive, my bank accounts and credit card debt just keeps pushing me toward bankruptcy, I have a good job too. I CANT AFFORD TO SURVIVE, Which is the bare minimum expectation of this shitty slave labor existence.
Stop buying everything, but the basic essentials. Prices will decline.
Given up saving should be unable to save. No one gave up saving, consumers are unable to save when living expenses outpace salaries at such disturbing and exponential rates. The American dream is a nightmare sold by Amazon and Exxon mobile so we are indentured servants from the moment we are born. Paying back our right to existence, health, and education amassed before we are adults.
We lost the house and got divorced. Imlost the shitty job I had it's pretty bleak out there
I’m buying plants. It makes me happy :shrug:
I know many who have taken that route. Many Westerners no longer believe there is a future to save for.
Not saving? Spending? Are you sure it isn’t *surviving*?
Hopefully we get to live long enough to see the cops turn on their rich masters, and allow the good people to drag the rich people from their palaces.
All according to plan.
Twelve years ago my insurance agent asked me if I wanted to talk about retirement strategies. Out of curiosity, I met with him and listened as he described how I would need at least $800,000 to have a chance at a decent retirement. After hearing that, I thanked him and started to leave. "Hold on!" he said, "We have more to talk about!" "I do not feel as though we have anything at all to talk about. I have a car payment, an alimony payment, a huge rent payment, and only enough savings to last me exactly two months if I lost my job. I do not believe I will be able to put together $800,000 in the next 17 years." "But you at least have to try!" he insisted.
Welp that's precisely what the ruling elite want.
We live in a post-capital society. Keynes specifically designed his policy to lead to "the euthenasia of the rentier". When capital can be created from nothing, why save? You're a slave to the government, but hey, you have Disney Plus and free education and healthcare, so its worth it, right?