What happened to 'living within your means'?

[warrior queen]

How many here do that?
By 'living within your means', I mean not overspending or living on credit.
Just about everyone I know has massive debts - credit cards, car loans, hire/purchase debts.
They all have houses full of stuff they don't need or hardly ever use, and are going backwards financially.
I have a major aversion to being in debt - if I can't pay outright, I save untill I can.
If I don't need something I don't buy it.

How does your financial life stack up? Are you living with debt?

 

[bronzeage]

I streamlined my life several years ago and now my only debt is this week's payroll taxes.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Of course. I live in the real world. You do know you'll never be more than what you are now right WQ? You'll never slip back and that's something but you'll never step up.

 

[warrior queen]

Of course. I live in the real world. You do know you'll never be more than what you are now right WQ? You'll never slip back and that's something but you'll never step up.

What do you mean by I'll never step up?
I own everything I have, and I don't need to have more.

 

[butters]

annnndddd yet another thread about how WQ does it best.


oh. boy.

and yes, some of us ARE adults AND live within our means AND are savvy enough to stretch money like a magician.

 

[Sean Renaud]

What do you mean by I'll never step up?
I own everything I have, and I don't need to have more.

Are you wildly rich? Cus if not you can stop pretending now.

 

[Wide_eyed_Indulgence]

I live well within my means. I think women must have economic power, so I made sure I prepared for a good career that would allow me to live life fully engaged and independently.

I feel very sorry for those who struggle, and for many it is not their fault. Wealth keeps moving up and in the hands of a very few -- you know the 1% vs. the 99%. I am a socialist at heart, I think.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I've always been Scottish thrifty. I get lotsa enjoyment from finding real bargains and discovering innovations.

 

[warrior queen]

Are you wildly rich? Cus if not you can stop pretending now.

No, I am not wildly rich.
But nor do I want to be.
As it is right now, I have everything I need.

I don't need a 60 inch tv or a brand new car or linen that costs $250 for one set.
I am happy wih my little tv, my 32 yr old station wagon and my $35/set sheets.
And I have enough put by so that if my fridge breaks down I can go buy another one - without using credit.

I'm not doing 'better' than anyone..... I am just happy with my lot. I really don't understand why people get themselves into massive debt to have better/more/expensive stuff they don't need.

And you didn't answer.... in what way willl I never step up?
Step up to what?

 

[warrior queen]

I've always been Scottish thrifty. I get lotsa enjoyment from finding real bargains and discovering innovations.

I do the same. Very often I'll hunt through thrift stores rather than buy new.

 

[warrior queen]

This thread was prompted by an email I got from a friend.
He had a perfectly good 3-yr old car, but went out and bought an Rspec for $83,000, because he 'liked' it.
Trouble is, he and his wife already have thousands in debt because they buy almost everything on credit - and now have added another $80-odd-thousand on top of that.
And for what? There was nothing wrong with the car they had.

Even if they put everything they earn onto their loans, they're looking at ten years of payments.

 

[Phelia]

Look, I'm not going to pretend that people don't make wildly irresponsible decisions when it comes to the home or car they can afford, and I also have a hard time reconciling when a "poor" person seems to be kitted up with all of the latest electronics, but you can't insinuate that everyone living with debt got there by being an irrational spendthrift. In the US, medical bills for rare conditions or expensive treatments can destroy a family. Is your aversion to debt greater than your aversion to the well-being of one of your family members?

On top of that, being broke is ironically pretty fucking expensive. NSF fees, returned checks, mounting interest charges, etc. Plus, with a fucked credit score, you'll get terrible rates on everything forever. It's not an easy situation to pull yourself out of.

Obviously I advocate fiscal responsibility and accountability, but it's not as easy as "don't buy things." I've never carried debt in my life and am fairly frugal and I still buy things I don't need. That I can afford them doesn't make that okay.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I don't know about Oz, but in the USA "living within your means" went the way of the Dodo around 20 years ago, when consumer credit and easy home equity loans replaced the wage increases that used to let American workers maintain their lifestyle.

 

[warrior queen]

Look, I'm not going to pretend that people don't make wildly irresponsible decisions when it comes to the home or car they can afford, and I also have a hard time reconciling when a "poor" person seems to be kitted up with all of the latest electronics, but you can't insinuate that everyone living with debt got there by being an irrational spendthrift. In the US, medical bills for rare conditions or expensive treatments can destroy a family. Is your aversion to debt greater than your aversion to the well-being of one of your family members?

On top of that, being broke is ironically pretty fucking expensive. NSF fees, returned checks, mounting interest charges, etc. Plus, with a fucked credit score, you'll get terrible rates on everything forever. It's not an easy situation to pull yourself out of.

Obviously I advocate fiscal responsibility and accountability, but it's not as easy as "don't buy things." I've never carried debt in my life and am fairly frugal and I still buy things I don't need. That I can afford them doesn't make that okay.

I get the medical scenario. Of course that would be paramount if it happened to us (unlikely though, as we have a very different healthcare system).
What I don't get is making choices that put a person into massive debt for 'stuff'.

 

[koalabear]

I always pay cash for my guns.

 

[Phelia]

I don't know about Oz, but in the USA "living within your means" went the way of the Dodo around 20 years ago, when consumer credit and easy home equity loans replaced the wage increases that used to let American workers maintain their lifestyle.

That, too. And after having been accustomed to wage increases that kept pace with cost of living for so long, it's not outrageous that some people would overextend themselves while banking on its return in the future.

When did the upgrade culture kick in, though? These annual new product jizz-fests are pretty wild. Did that start in fashion and apparel?

 

[warrior queen]

I don't know about Oz, but in the USA "living within your means" went the way of the Dodo around 20 years ago, when consumer credit and easy home equity loans replaced the wage increases that used to let American workers maintain their lifestyle.

I am not counting a house loan in this, because having a house is pretty much a case of 'zero-choice' debt.
I don't know anyone that can afford to buy a house outright.
Having said that, a house that you will eventually own is kinda like a savings plan. Rarely will your investment go down.

 

[Squibbs]

How many here do that?
By 'living within your means', I mean not overspending or living on credit.
Just about everyone I know has massive debts - credit cards, car loans, hire/purchase debts.
They all have houses full of stuff they don't need or hardly ever use, and are going backwards financially.
I have a major aversion to being in debt - if I can't pay outright, I save untill I can.
If I don't need something I don't buy it.

How does your financial life stack up? Are you living with debt?

BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A JOB, TWAT.​

 

[BotanyBoy]

I still have 2800 left on the car and I keep 500-800 bucks on the big credit card just to keep paying and running my credit up and I buy gas/food with the other and pay it off each month just to keep it active and happy.

The system is rigged to tempt people into losing their ass's....and the banks giving the credit hope you do exactly that, bite off more than you can chew.

With my credit I could EASILY sink myself into a hole there is no possible way I could EVER get out....just sign here, initial there, there and there.

Nope...eyes wide open baby,

If I'm not paying cash I get real nervous and cheap.

For example, paying extra for a nice new turn key home? NEWP.....that's a "When I win the lotto!!" dream. Otherwise I'm going to look for the big discount that would be worth a whole lot more with a little sweat equity invested. Saving money and or turning profit on others laziness ftw.

 

[rosco rathbone]

That, too. And after having been accustomed to wage increases that kept pace with cost of living for so long, it's not outrageous that some people would overextend themselves while banking on its return in the future.

When did the upgrade culture kick in, though? These annual new product jizz-fests are pretty wild. Did that start in fashion and apparel?

I just read some article, can't remember where, about how the US is now supposely in a car loan bubble. Same as the subprime housing thing, but with nominally expensive new vehicles that the "owners" in theory should never be able to afford.

 

[Phelia]

I get the medical scenario. Of course that would be paramount if it happened to us (unlikely though, as we have a very different healthcare system).
What I don't get is making choices that put a person into massive debt for 'stuff'.

Sure, I agree. That behavior is outside of my reality as well - if I couldn't afford something, as in, if I didn't have that amount of money in my bank account ready to go, I wouldn't buy it (barring a house and maybe a car).

I think it's a blend of entitlement, stupidity, focus on short term over long term, and compulsion. On some level, I'm sure it's a brain thing, like hoarders - maybe a result of being constantly marketed to. Desire just supersedes reason, sometimes.

 

[CandiCame]

My uncle gave me my car. I inherited my land when my great-grandpa died and restored the house. The tribe gave me my computer. The only debt I have is a few student loans BECAUSE I AM REALLY FUCKING SPOILED AND I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. Weren't you on here before bragging about how much money your man makes? When people are broke as shit it's usually because they don't have that financial support system, and it's hard as fuck to make it by on one income. Nobody wants to be in debt, but if you want a house to live in or you want a car to drive, or you want to further your education, you're going to be in debt. And in the US, you need to be in debt, because it's actually worse to have no credit than it is to have bad credit. Buying everything outright fucks you over- my great grandpa drilled that into all of our heads before his death, because he watched it change over his lifetime and it fucked him right over on a lot of things.

 

[CandiCame]

I am not counting a house loan in this, because having a house is pretty much a case of 'zero-choice' debt.
I don't know anyone that can afford to buy a house outright.
Having said that, a house that you will eventually own is kinda like a savings plan. Rarely will your investment go down.

Why, what makes that special?

 

[BotanyBoy]

I just read some article, can't remember where, about how the US is now supposely in a car loan bubble. Same as the subprime housing thing, but with nominally expensive new vehicles that the "owners" in theory should never be able to afford.

35,000 honda civic's....writing is on the wall.

 

[Phelia]

I just read some article, can't remember where, about how the US is now supposely in a car loan bubble. Same as the subprime housing thing, but with nominally expensive new vehicles that the "owners" in theory should never be able to afford.

Cool - I'll keep an eye open. At least with housing, there was the ability to frame it as "an investment." Yes, you're going into massive debt, but only in exchange for something that was equal in value and would likely appreciate. With a car, you know you're not getting back what you paid for it. The Fannie/Freddie piece would be missing, too, so it would be interesting to see what sort of similarities play out. Maybe it's because I'm peripherally involved, but I'm much more nervous about those ridiculous startup valuations.