I really wish I could just opt out of social security and save the money on my own. It's the biggest ponzi scheme ever. I wouldn't mind opting out of unemployment either.
Once you factor in 2 or 3 kids a month @ $1200 a piece, dropping back to 1 income makes a lot of sense. (At least for the 3 years or so that day care is needed)
Once you factor in 2 or 3 kids a month @ $1200 a piece, dropping back to 1 income makes a lot of sense. (At least for the 3 years or so that day care is needed)
Great. Some people just don't get the fact that shit happens I guess. Shit you can't control. I'm glad everything is working out for you and bhanson. Unfortunately for most people its not so perfect or we would all be talking about how the average american is sitting on a fortune.
This thread has officially made me jealous of DINKs. I can't even imagine how much money I would have....dear god.
Dual incomes and the middle class spending themselves into lives of debt screwed things up for the rest of "normal" people. When more families went dual income there was a huge boost in available money. What happened? House prices went up because people were willing to spend more. Sizes went up. With sizes went cost and taxes and shit to fill them. Then since two people were working they needed two cars now. And it's just been a game of escalation since then. The middle class leveraged their future savings for current luxury. We've become dependent on premium services and luxury items and blow excess cash on that instead of plunking away for the future. We screwed up house prices pretty good, car prices are out of control, and take a look at how much people spend on "utilities" like cable internet, cell phones, and satellite TV.
Until people stop shoveling money into these things and placing value on long term saving, we'll never right the ship.
lol you do live in a fairy tail land. What if my xyz family member dies in a horrific car accident....am I going to see their kids(my blood family) goto state care and be apart of the abusive foster system? Hell no.
LIFE HAPPENS AND ITS NOT ALWAYS A CHOICE.
Well yes, but I'm not dumb.That's just the thing though...is that for most people it didn't get them much farther. Maybe a little bigger house, a little nicer car, a few upgraded services and nights out on the town. But they didn't use it to improve their overall financial security.
Yes they have more money...but they just spend it on shit that really doesn't do much for them.
It makes a lot more sense than people realize for a lot of couples. For some, you'll drop into a lower tax bracket, and reduced expenses and lowered tax bill will more than make up for the loss of income. We're single income, and love the lifestyle - no worrying who's going to leave work if the kids are sick, no waking the kids up early to rush them off to daycare at 6AM, etc. It's so much less stress, the income loss wasn't nearly as bad as we thought. Plus, we're actually raising our own kids, which is a plus.
While I mostly agree with you, you make it seem like households went dual income just for shits and giggles. They were forced to because wage increases were not matching cost of living.
Well duh. Most people are not raising other people's kids because they died of some tragic accident.
Most people can't even afford their own kids. You're trying to shoehorn one situation to the majority when in reality the majority are making stupid decisions.
WELL DUH YOUR MISSING THE POINT. Life happens man. Shit happens that you can't necessarily control. If its not one thing its another. Maybe you didn't inherit some kids you hadn't planned but maybe you were nailed from behind in a car accident and have required ridiculous medical expenses and the insurance companies are in a pissing match and you are stuck with the bills. Who fucking knows. Shit happens. Its not all peaches and cream for everyone. Now we have 10%-20% of americans unemployed that aren't saving a damn thing and thats not going to change for at least 5 years. So sucks for them I guess cuz its their fault right.
Yeah, shit happens in life that puts you in impossible situations.
The thing is, people do a pretty good job of putting themselves there without anything catastrophic happening. That's the point.
yeah never argued that, some people are reckless and stupid. But its not everyone.
how are some of the younger people saving so well? do you not have school loans that need to be paid back ?
I don't have any debt, no. Scholarships covered the majority of my education. That wouldn't have affected my 401k though, maybe my personal savings by a thousand or two to this point.how are some of the younger people saving so well? do you not have school loans that need to be paid back ?
That isn't the case anymore. What is the rate of return for someone who invested in the market 10 years ago today?The historic average rate of return on the market is much higher. It's a conservative assumption.
That isn't the case anymore. What is the rate of return for someone who invested in the market 10 years ago today?
I'm only harping on this issue because my wife and I are sitting on some cash and I would love to have a place to invest it for a guaranteed 5% return.
10 years is too short a time to judge the historic rate of return of the market. However, pick any 30 year time period (gasp, less than the amount of time most people work before retirement) and you'll find the the annual rate of return during that period is greater than 5%. For some, much greater.That isn't the case anymore. What is the rate of return for someone who invested in the market 10 years ago today?
I'm only harping on this issue because my wife and I are sitting on some cash and I would love to have a place to invest it for a guaranteed 5% return.
Not near me, I keep looking, because I would easily qualify for one of those. We are closing in on 40K and can put away an additional 25K/yr. Just sitting in shitty savings accounts because it isn't even worth it to move to CDs.How much cash? There are rewards checking accounts that offer 4-5% guaranteed, but generally they only offer that rate up to like $25K. It just requires that you use your debit card 10-15 times a month, which is pretty easy to do.
That's fine if I want to time travel back 30 years and invest but I have my doubts that people investing today will see the same ruturns in 30 years.10 years is too short a time to judge the historic rate of return of the market. However, pick any 30 year time period (gasp, less than the amount of time most people work before retirement) and you'll find the the annual rate of return during that period is greater than 5%. For some, much greater.