Sadly, Americans are groomed at a young age to dive deep into debt early in life. It has become normalized for most of the population to carry some form of debt (credit cards and student loans are popular choices).
Most people don’t even bother making a budget — a task that only needs to be done once a month, and is easier now than ever, thanks to technology.
I have, I mean you kinda HAVE to budget what little you bring in to ensure you don’t end up on the streets. and it’s not even about saving. saving was just a pipe dream. budgeting was just to ensure rent got paid, bills were paid, and I was able to eat sometimes.
I know people who make 6 figures and can’t/won’t budget and most live paycheque to paycheque or are absolutely broke just before their next direct deposit. I worked with a guy that made 6 figures and all the time just before payday he’d bum me for cigarettes or ask if I could buy him a coffee or a sandwich cause he had NOTHING. And this was a guy that would always have the latest tech shit, videogames on day one of release - like all of them, nice clothes, etc. just spend, spend, spend.
I’ve known more people who SHOULD be well off that don’t budget and are constantly broke than people who make minimum wage and are surviving.
THIS. It’s not only about income; it’s income minus expenses.
Budgeting was probably the most important financial tool/skill when I was living in poverty. And now that I’m in a more comfortable financial position, I still value budgeting quite a lot. It’s great for preventing more money from creating more problems.
this is it pretty much. personal responsibility when it comes to this line of discourse is mostly just a myth. people are often not really responsible for the majority of their own live’s outcomes, let alone those most disadvantaged. people get deeply offended at the idea they’re not, in reality, some superman personally championing every single successful thing they’re in the vicinity of.
i wish this culture would go away of blaming everyone individually for problems that are almost entirely systemic.
it seems really obvious when you think about it even just a little bit that your future is mostly written by those around you, not yourself. you have a certain freedom of metered and realistic choice, but no freedom of will. couldn’t just will yourself out of a bad situation or to fly, it takes more pieces than that.
I mean, to reduce your losses? I’ve had a budget balance out red, compared my options and been incredibly lucky. I would not have been quite as lucky if I’d just said ‘fuck it’ and zero’d out the balance.
Billionaires shouldn’t exist, social support structures should be stronger, I have only succeeded based on community and relationships… But you gotta try at least.
…You assume that I haven’t? I originally had to learn to budget when I was making less than minimum wage, to avoid homelessness. Budgeting can be even more important with less money.
You can’t budget your way out of poverty. If income doesn’t cover base survival, you simply are fucked.
There are surely people out there whose failure to plan has put them into a horrible and avoidable situation. But there are many more who make good choices and still end up horribly in debt. And for them, what’s the point? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Most people don’t even bother making a budget — a task that only needs to be done once a month, and is easier now than ever, thanks to technology.
Avoidable debt and spending beyond means are one thing, but budgeting only helps so much when the cost of essential goods has skyrocketed, rent is out of control, and pay is all but stagnant. I applaud the sound financial advice of making a simple personal budget, but the problem is (for most people) far, far greater than credit card debt at the stage people are BNPL groceries…
It has become normalized for most of the population to carry some form of debt.
Not just normalized, Required. Credit scores aren’t based on how likely you are to pay off a loan, but on how likely you are to make the creditor money. If you take out loans and pay them off ahead of schedule, it will fuck with your credit. If you close an old credit card after you pay it off, it will fuck up your credit.
Want a house? You better have 400k cash laying around, or have been paying interest on cards and loans for 10 years to establish a good credit score. Want a decent apartment? They check your credit score too! Did I mention that every single job I’ve applied for has run a credit check on me?
FYI, Equifax leaked literally everyone’s personal info after collecting it and selling it without consent. They still operate as one of the major credit score providers.
Sadly, Americans are groomed at a young age to dive deep into debt early in life. It has become normalized for most of the population to carry some form of debt (credit cards and student loans are popular choices).
Most people don’t even bother making a budget — a task that only needs to be done once a month, and is easier now than ever, thanks to technology.
Try and make a budget for minimum wage. Many people can’t afford to live even meagerly.
Why bother budgeting if you’re just going to lose anyway?
I have, I mean you kinda HAVE to budget what little you bring in to ensure you don’t end up on the streets. and it’s not even about saving. saving was just a pipe dream. budgeting was just to ensure rent got paid, bills were paid, and I was able to eat sometimes.
I know people who make 6 figures and can’t/won’t budget and most live paycheque to paycheque or are absolutely broke just before their next direct deposit. I worked with a guy that made 6 figures and all the time just before payday he’d bum me for cigarettes or ask if I could buy him a coffee or a sandwich cause he had NOTHING. And this was a guy that would always have the latest tech shit, videogames on day one of release - like all of them, nice clothes, etc. just spend, spend, spend.
I’ve known more people who SHOULD be well off that don’t budget and are constantly broke than people who make minimum wage and are surviving.
Budget? You pay what bills are most important now, and just buy the cheapest food possible. That’s all there is to it :/
In that case, a monthly budget is even more important – and might be pretty simple
THIS. It’s not only about income; it’s income minus expenses.
Budgeting was probably the most important financial tool/skill when I was living in poverty. And now that I’m in a more comfortable financial position, I still value budgeting quite a lot. It’s great for preventing more money from creating more problems.
this is it pretty much. personal responsibility when it comes to this line of discourse is mostly just a myth. people are often not really responsible for the majority of their own live’s outcomes, let alone those most disadvantaged. people get deeply offended at the idea they’re not, in reality, some superman personally championing every single successful thing they’re in the vicinity of.
i wish this culture would go away of blaming everyone individually for problems that are almost entirely systemic.
it seems really obvious when you think about it even just a little bit that your future is mostly written by those around you, not yourself. you have a certain freedom of metered and realistic choice, but no freedom of will. couldn’t just will yourself out of a bad situation or to fly, it takes more pieces than that.
Self fulfilling profecy
I mean, to reduce your losses? I’ve had a budget balance out red, compared my options and been incredibly lucky. I would not have been quite as lucky if I’d just said ‘fuck it’ and zero’d out the balance.
Billionaires shouldn’t exist, social support structures should be stronger, I have only succeeded based on community and relationships… But you gotta try at least.
…You assume that I haven’t? I originally had to learn to budget when I was making less than minimum wage, to avoid homelessness. Budgeting can be even more important with less money.
You can’t budget your way out of poverty. If income doesn’t cover base survival, you simply are fucked.
There are surely people out there whose failure to plan has put them into a horrible and avoidable situation. But there are many more who make good choices and still end up horribly in debt. And for them, what’s the point? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Avoidable debt and spending beyond means are one thing, but budgeting only helps so much when the cost of essential goods has skyrocketed, rent is out of control, and pay is all but stagnant. I applaud the sound financial advice of making a simple personal budget, but the problem is (for most people) far, far greater than credit card debt at the stage people are BNPL groceries…
Not just normalized, Required. Credit scores aren’t based on how likely you are to pay off a loan, but on how likely you are to make the creditor money. If you take out loans and pay them off ahead of schedule, it will fuck with your credit. If you close an old credit card after you pay it off, it will fuck up your credit.
Want a house? You better have 400k cash laying around, or have been paying interest on cards and loans for 10 years to establish a good credit score. Want a decent apartment? They check your credit score too! Did I mention that every single job I’ve applied for has run a credit check on me?
FYI, Equifax leaked literally everyone’s personal info after collecting it and selling it without consent. They still operate as one of the major credit score providers.