Living paycheck to paycheck?

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: dandruff
Nope ... even when earning 600 per month with me and wife to support on it ... only stupid ppl live paycheck to paycheck and only stupid ppl in america are poor ...

did that even cover rent? Im calling shens.

 

[Britboy]

Originally posted by: KEV1N
Rich Dad Poor Dad was pretty bad, I think. I liked Millionnaire Next Door, though-- it totally changed my habits and because of it, I have good savings habits now. In short, if you don't focus on "the bling" you will end up with a hellof a lot more money in your pocket.

Is that written by the guy with the radio show? I listened to it briefly the other day while travelling. He was talking about living on rice and beans until your house was paid off, to pay cash for your cars etcetera.

 

[Toasthead]

thankfully I am not.

 

[dandruff]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: dandruff
Nope ... even when earning 600 per month with me and wife to support on it ... only stupid ppl live paycheck to paycheck and only stupid ppl in america are poor ...

did that even cover rent? Im calling shens.

that was the stipend from Kansas State ... tuition was waived ... lived in a 2 bedrm apt (in a basement) in a little town called Manhattan, KS ..... rent was $250 included every utility ... add $100 for eating out and $150 for groceries ... no car (very small town) ...

after my summer internship ... lifestyle changed ... today we cannot imagine how we used to live like that only 5 yrs ago ....

 

[gigapet]

Originally posted by: dandruff

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: dandruff
Nope ... even when earning 600 per month with me and wife to support on it ... only stupid ppl live paycheck to paycheck and only stupid ppl in america are poor ...

did that even cover rent? Im calling shens.

that was the stipend from Kansas State ... tuition was waived ... lived in a 2 bedrm apt (in a basement) in a little town called Manhattan, KS ..... rent was $250 included every utility ... add $100 for eating out and $150 for groceries ... no car (very small town) ...

after my summer internship ... lifestyle changed ... today we cannot imagine how we used to live like that only 5 yrs ago ....

oh thats not really real life living. College is different, I got by on.....well i have no idea how i got by on my shoestring budget either.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Nope. I could lose my job today and probably float for a year unemployed without too much difficulty. (And not touch my long-term investments.)

 

[Joemonkey]

Yep! I was an idiot in college, and now I'm in debt management having $545 a month going towards stupid credit card debt I accumulated. I still have around $20000 in student loans to pay off too.

If I lost my job, or my wife is out more than 12 weeks with this pregnancy, bankruptcy here we come...

 

[radioouman]

yes

 

[Confused]

I currently am...that's going to change.

I'm changing my car this month, and I'm starting to re-pay a mortgage with 3 months - all my spare cash is going to go into savings - if I become unemployed, then i will be screwed!

I should be getting a payrise come through this month, plus my tax code was wrong (so i had been paying too much tax over the past few months) so that added amount will go straight into savings as I'm currently doing OK without it - and I'll have to stop spending my money on crap like I have been.

 

[Spike]

yes and no for me. We (wife and I) are not living payckeck to paycheck for real expenses. In the 11 months since I graduated I paid all my school loans off, almost have my dad paid off (lent me some money for school), put 15k in savings, bought a house, and have never paid a dime in interest on any credit card (though I use it regulary to get my airline miles, I just pay it off).

The "yes" part for my is my "spending money" as I call it. I give myself x number of dollars a month to spend on fun things like computer parts, dvd's, and other random "toys". This is in addition to vacation money we put aside. I live month to month with this fun money as I can't wait to spend it on new cool things

Now that we have a very large mortgage payment and my wife will be without work for two months (she teaches as the UW as a TA) money will be a little more tight for the next little bit. We won't be able to put as much aside but still won't be hurting. Well, I might be hurting a little as my fun money gets greatly reduced... grrrr....

-spike

 

[Muse]

Never! I've never had what I'd call real job security. For the longest time I could only get crappy jobs with no security that paid very very little. My only obsession (if you could call it that) was to save my money. Most things that I saw for sale were NOT worth the effort I was going through to make the little money I was making. Why then would I be tempted to spend my paycheck? I only paid for necessities, little else. I became very frugal and pared my expenses more and more and managed (at times) to save some money. I allowed myself a few good things, things that weren't cutrate or cheap, things I valued and that I thought were worth spending on to help make living worthwhile. However, I never dreamed of buying any of them on time.

The only times I've lived paycheck to paycheck were when I was dirt poor with nothing. There was one week when I had maybe $2 to my name and it was in my pocket. But I didn't spend a cent of it.

As time has gone on I've become even more disinclined to ever live paycheck to paycheck. It's completely anathema.

Edit: BTW, I don't owe ANYBODY a red cent!

 

[Blazin Trav]

Anyone else? Muse that was a great response.

 

[Vic]

No.

 

[Albis]

i'm doing alright. but could always do better

 

[BillyBatson]

actually right now i am living on my savings though i have an interview on tuesday YAY!

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Back when I was making 300 every two weeks, hell yes.

LITTLE TIP: Put away a hundred or so every month.
Hide it somewhere. A savings account you never use.
EVENTUALLY you will get used to not having it and your lifestyle will change accordingly. You wont miss it. But when you get to be 60 or 65, youll have this hidden stash to dip into.

(Note: it can be anything. Not just a savings account. Just make sure it is low-risk.)

And DONT TOUCH IT. If you ever read "Rich dad, Poor dad" the author says "lower and middle class call it 'dipping into my savings'. Upper class call it 'being stupid'."

If you dip into it every time you need some cash, you wont have much when you retire.

Do you mean a 401-K?

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Blazin Trav

Originally posted by: jadinolf
Paycheck?

My last paycheck was on Sep 3, 1993.

How is that possible?

That's when I retired.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: kt
Do you mean a 401-K?

It really doesnt matter, just so long as you cant or wont touch it.
I put a big chunk into a CD. Its realiable, I cant mess with the money, and you actually get reasonable interest if you put in a lot for a longer period (two years).

Anything thats is low-risk is good provided you have either the discipline to leave it alone, or the foresight to invest in something you cant access.

P.S. Thats why checking and saving accounts suck. Its not the interest rate, its having easily retrieved money.

 

[DainBramaged]

Absolutely.

 

[Looney]

No, and i'm amazed at the number of people that do.

 

[alkemyst]

There are many people that actually are that don't realize they are.

That is the danger. Many are quite comfortable, but extended. Once that paycheck never comes that 2 weeks is a painful recovery...most aren't getting an equal job in less than 3 months (I think that the stat now here, took me about 4 months, but I turned down jobs that paid well, but were not what I wanted).

Going 4 months was hard, but I was able to pull it off. Near the end I was worried if I'd have to jump into something.

 

[bmacd]

i'm behind paycheck to paycheck

-=bmacd=-

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
There are many people that actually are that don't realize they are.

That is the danger. Many are quite comfortable, but extended. Once that paycheck never comes that 2 weeks is a painful recovery...most aren't getting an equal job in less than 3 months (I think that the stat now here, took me about 4 months, but I turned down jobs that paid well, but were not what I wanted).

Going 4 months was hard, but I was able to pull it off. Near the end I was worried if I'd have to jump into something.

The definition isn't so clear cut. We don't live paycheck to paycheck in the way that if one of them disappeared we'd be screwed, but of course if one of us lost our job we'd do immediate cutbacks, as anybody should if their income falls in half.

Being laid off is character building. The earlier in one's life it occurs the better. I was lucky enough to encounter it at 21 and it's formed my financial outlook on life for the better, and in a big way. I have more discipline than I ever did, or most ever do. If you're 40 and learning, it's a much harder less to incorporate into your life.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: m2kewl
not me

some of my friends do, some have a house, kids, couple of beamers, some just drink their paychecks away every night

Lets say I make 15-20 take home pay after taxes an hour

I buy 7 cases of beer for the week, 144 beers, so i can drink about 20 a day for a week.


7 * 11 = $77 dollars

Out of a 40hr work week that would be 4 hrs of working to get drunk off my ass each night


So I think a lot of people are losing more money buying lottery tickets or paying on a mucho expensive car they dont need.

 

[squeeg22]

I'm usually on the conservative side when it comes to money/retirement, so I've made it a point to max out 401K every paycheck. My theory is that if I never "see" the money, I'm not tempted to spend it. I only consider my take home pay when deciding what and when to purchase items. If I can't afford mortgage, car payments, student loans and other living expenses post 401K contributions, then I need to cut back on my frivilous spending. Also, I try to sock away a couple of extra dollars on top of the 401K just in case.