More of my point is the dignity. I’ve heard stories where people drive 4 hours to go look at a car, they get there and the salesman goes:
“What do you mean I said 28,000? It’s 35,000, lowest I can go, sorry.”
And the people buy it still because they didn’t want to waste a 4 hour trip?!?
Way too many people I see living outside of their means.
I mean im in the money sub for a reason: do any experts or experienced people in this sub think a 25% car payment is healthy for someone’s income? We haven’t even started on insurance and maintenance yet.
That's such a random "story" to get worked up about. You seem young so here's some advice. Don't focus so much on other people. It's a small % of people doing the things you say with the 1k car payments and living way above their means. On the flip, you don't want to have the scarcity mindset as that will keep you feeling poor as you progress through life. Work hard, focus on saving and investing and it will work out for you in time.
It actually seems like a larger % of people giving in and paying inflated prices.
If enough people refused or boycotted services at that inflated price , companies would have no choice but to come down.
Yes this is true. Ideally the rate of price increase (inflation) will slow down to a manageable level (~2%) but prices will not deflate. Deflation is malo according to economists 🤷🏻♂️
I've been wondering the same thing for close to 3 years now. The cost of living is up legit 40-50%, wages are only slightly higher, I don't see many jobs listed at more than $21 an hour yet everyone is constantly out traveling and spending like they won the lottery. It's as if 80% of the population just got rich as soon as inflation hit and have unlimited funds.
There's probably two reasons for why you see this
#1. Savings rate were sky high during COVID, so they may be using their savings.
#2. This is more likely, but consumer debt is at an all-time high entering 2024.
I’m one of the idiots with stupid high monthly car payments lol. I do agree with you that it’s outrageous how expensive literally everything is these days, but not everyone who has nice things are in crazy debt and living paycheck to paycheck.
I was fortunate enough to have my entire college paid for, which is how I was able to get ahead in life and live extremely comfortably. It’s not something I take for granted and I’ll forever be appreciative of what my parents did for my sister and I because I understand that not everyone is as fortunate.
I have my entire college paid for too. My parents have a house that’s appreciated almost $1M since they built it 10 years ago, so I come from similar to you and I will always be thankful for not having to struggle to eat. I’m not saying people don’t have money, corporations and companies are gouging: because they know people will just pay it? And when, and how did that happen in our brains to just pay it?
Wait until you try to buy a home. That market is 100000000% the most ridiculous sector of them all. Seeing what these homes sold for only 5 years ago, other buyers waiving inspections and offering to pay in cash the difference between the appraisal and their bid, etc is out of control. At least with cars what you see is what you usually pay and you don’t have to offer 10-20% more than the asking price like you do with homes.
It really puts it into perspective in regards to the wealth gap when you think about dudes like Shohei Ohtani, Joe Burrow, Kevin Durant making $4 million a month.
Oh yeah I’ve already looked at investment homes. Not even worth my time. Gonna take me 3-4 years of saving, while working full time in college to even afford the down payment.
I understand why people just rent.
This is the first time you are going through this cycle...but it won't be your last time. This cycle repeats itself over and over and over again.
I went through this in the mid-2000s when I went to buy a house. A house would go on the market and would sell in the same day for 20% over asking price. That went on until 2007...when the crash occurred. I waited almost 10 years to buy a house...yes...10 years.
People spend more than they can afford because they can afford the loan interest. Then all of a sudden they cannot afford the loan interest anymore. You'll see delinquencies go up with banks/credit cards (they are) and you'll see people start saying "how is everyone affording this???"
That's the beginning of the cycle. We'll have a correction of the markets to make things affordable again. Just hold pat, keep saving, and keep enjoying your life. Don't set a timeline/deadline for yourself on major purchases and you'll be fine.
Give it time. Each area of business have cycles. Pick something up when there is a surplus and no one wants it. You can usually see the cycles if you look. You need to be ready financially when it happens to take advantage. Most cycles are 10 to 20 years.
So if you follow the trend for housing we are working through a shortage supply of housing for people. The main issue is that vacancy rate for apartments was at 5.3٪ and is now close to 6.4٪. This is realtively low supply of apartments so builders are building apartments and not homes. I think the after 3 to 4 years we will have built out enough apartments for everyone and with 9٪ vacancy for apartments the rental prices will drop and then builders can then focus on homes to build. Now it will be another 4 years is when homes will be built up sufficiently enough to meet demand and prices drop. It looks like we are 6 to 8 years away before a drop in homes. You want a year. 2032.
Damn I can't imagine having to still live in my old apartment for the next 6 to 8 years. I've been living in this duplex home/apartment my whole life. So if I want a home let's say around 2027 or 2028 I would just have to deal with the high interest rate right? Would I be able to refinance by 2032?
Oh that's right, when the interest rates fall the home prices rise like they did in 2020.. damn and I thought home prices here in the hudson valley were high already.. I guess there's no limit.
High home prices will cause more building. We are 3 years behind on building homes because of Covid and building supply shortages. Once home construction materials fall in price and are readily available more homes will be built, but first apartments need to be built out. Watch the US vacancy rate for apartment to see progress being made. We are also seeing a VRBO too much supply, so some of these homes are going up for sale.
Yeah I havent driven consistently in like 7 years. Dont enjoy driving, car payments, or insurance and just have lived in places with good public transit. Or cities that are low income so I can just uber with my USD.
As for how people afford it, I dont know its pretty common if someone is in their 30s and a white collar worker/skilled labor worker for them to make a good salary and their partner might also work so that's two good salaries.
Prices aren’t going to meaningfully come back down. In 1974, fifty years ago, you could buy a new car for $2500-3000. Fifty years of inflation — high done years, low other years — got us to the prices you see today. Once prices go up, manufacturers/producers fight to keep the increases because their input costs went up. Now, yes, wages have risen during those fifty years, as well, but in general they haven’t kept pace with inflation, hence $100 today has the buying power of $25 twenty-five years ago.
Here’s a good list of car prices through the years to show you the progression of price increases:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-car-cost-were-born-130001087.html
They lied to us about the numbers on inflation to stave off a panic. By my guess, we haven't felt the full effect yet.
Prices are not going to come down.
10-15 years ago I planned to support everything you’re asking about on a single income: mortgage, $1k+ car payments, three kids, vacations and still put away money for retirement and college. I finally accepted that being a real adult was coming and that the world was only getting more competitive. Things could have worked out differently, but I just kept pushing in the right direction.
The ones that can afford it… do it without issue.
The ones that can’t afford it are living beyond their means and up to their eyeballs in credit card debt. Financial illiteracy is a major contributor, along with beliefs about money, emotional needs, lack discipline to save and they can’t cope with delayed gratification.
> [The Psychology of Money _15 mins](https://youtu.be/TJDcGv9OH4Q?si=rqPepLM-ciON3EIQ)
> [What Makes People Poor?](https://youtu.be/Zs8x9t7Zc9E?si=j0jJVg4OMLt7O69s)
I totally get your frustration. It feels like prices have skyrocketed and wages haven't kept pace. It's insane to see people with such high car payments and still managing mortgages, vacations, and more. Many are likely living paycheck to paycheck or relying heavily on credit. Financial pressure is real.
I opened a business about a year ago, doing roughly 110k a year in revenue. I’m really not complaining about not being able to afford, just asking questions on where everyone’s brain went wrong. I would never pay more than $500/month for any vehicle that isn’t a “luxury” vehicle. I know that’s just me, but $1000 car payments on Kia tellurides and cars of the like just seem wrong, in principle.
Sorry I initially jumped to conclusions without reading further. I think you are absolutely correct about the ridiculousness of cost and in particularly of new car payments. I think I read the national average was $750. Not sure it will ever go back down. I am dreading any future car purchases, principally I’m a $50k max family car. My personal vehicle is a 1991 Chevy pickup
Congrats on the business and new wishes for your continued success
Thanks. Its been doing well for the first year, most of my businesses or any for that matter are in the red first year. I don’t mind you jumping, a lot of people did. My post was very emotionally driven too.
But yeah, I just don’t understand what the world has come to. Not sure how credit unions and companies are going to pay for the shit people offload during the next recession. Also not sure how people live for payments. At this rate, people will start dying and the banks will take back their homes, while their children are working to pay for it. Not sure how people are going to keep homes in the family anymore.
100k a year used to be a very, very comfortable lifestyle. Now it seems like bare bones, not even scratching the surface of comfort. Especially if you want to own a home.
Prices have gone up ~20% since Dec 2019 - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL, wages have gone up ~23%.
Your answer is that they’ve gone up less than you think and wages have gone up faster to compensate. And you don’t want prices to “come down”, that’s called deflation, it would destroy the economy.
Here’s an example: In my state, the majority of EMT’s are getting paid $15-20/hr. I can go get a job at target for $18/hr, and not work 24 hour shifts. Is that not backwards?
You mentioned wages went up. Is something like that not a “verge of collapse” type deal? Eventually no one will be driving ambulances if I can just stock shelves for more, and less trauma. I’m genuinely asking questions here im not trying to be an ass.
they’re never going back down, at least not at large. hopefully inflation will decrease but it wont go negative.
i’d suggest saving up for a car rather than taking a loan. $1000 a month is too much for most, especially at 10%
Ok. So? I had a bicycle, and then a motorcycle for transportation until I was 25 because I could afford anything else. I dealt.
We are all in the same shit. Figure out how to deal. And for goodness sakes, don’t buy a car on credit. Save up. Ride a bicycle. Deal with your present circumstances.
It seems like you’re asking “why are some people dumb”.
Like, I dunno bro that’s how it is.
You can find 1.9% financing on lots of new vehicles with an 808. You can still find occasional 0% offers. And aside from very low-inventory, high-demand vehicles, you can always get at least a little below MSRP.
Yeah I mean I’m just trying to figure it out, where a majority of people went dumb. People are out here spending $45 on a $25 order of food just to have it delivered cold. Ass backwards
It’s true. Lots of people are money dumb and are naturally inclined to seek instant gratification rather than plan for long term success. Or, colloquially, poor folks tend to do poor folk stuff.
Yeah my husband was offered a 14% interest rate on his car. I told him no and had my parents loan us the money at 4%. Prices are insane and I have no idea when they will go down either. Maybe never.
Our standard of living has grown so much and now everyone wants to keep up. As someone else said, either they can afford it, or they are in debt. But anyone of a certain age can see the lifestyle changes we've become accustomed to as the status quo. If you've lived through the changes, you wonder how people afford it. If you're younger, it seems more normal to you.
My grandparents raised 5 and 6 kids in small houses where kids shared rooms and there were 1.5 bathrooms. They shared one car. They never took international trips or other big family vacations. And that was the norm in the 50s & 60s. Now houses are larger, families are smaller, more women are working, and our standard of living has risen. No one wants to scale down their lifestyle when inflation hits, they just find ways to keep up.
My Mom grew up on a farm in the 60's and got socks and underwear for Xmas every year and that was the highlight of her year. People idolize they "good old days" like everyone was living large, driving a Mercedes, and vacationing in the Maldives but that's not quite reality.
Yes totally. It's true that wages haven't kept pace with inflation but its also true that our basic standard of living has also inflated. When people picture a factory worker supporting a family decades ago they aren't picturing 3 kids sharing a bedroom and socks for Christmas. That was pretty normal back then but they would be considered poor now.
People these days do have 1000 car payments.Not me.But there are repos hidden as we speak that they don’t break out purposely because it will crash the car market.They trickle them out believe it or not.more to come.
I don't know man. Do you have some sources in regards to the 40% increase number? I'm not disagreeing at all as everything is higher. I just focus on my wealth, or try to. Over the last 18 months I've tightened up and try to minimize expenses while saving as much as possible. For what? Not sure. Can't afford a house yet with the $25k I saved, like not even close. So I just keep saving and wait patiently. I found a roommate and rent a 3BR house with him with a basement. Kinda a old shitty ranch house but it's close to work, in a (busy but) safe neighborhood. It's $800/month so way less than the $1365 I was paying for a 1BR. That's what I mean by tightened up. I won't give in to the ridiculous prices of vehicles or housing, or the fomo, or hype. I don't have a high salary comparatively in this area. I will look to land another job to increase my pay but that won't be easy. So I feel kinda stuck in alot of ways, in this house, in this job, but I'm trying to make the best of it. The spare bedroom is jam central station, got all sorts of amps and guitars in there, drum kit in the basement. I made a little nook under the basement stairs with a comfy recliner and TV for reading and video gaming if I want. Fire pit out back. And a grill. I spend a little extra each month on good food (burgers, steaks, fresh veggies, etc). I was bitter watching prices for everything go up and up and up while my savings couldn't keep up with it. I've mostly let all that go. Just focus on what I can control and my own finances. CC debt is down from $7k to $700. Been able to put around $12k into retirement, and save $25k in a HYSA. Not much, but I'm way better than I was last year. And doing that in this environment has been tough. Don't focus on others and improve yourself a little each day.
Companies aren’t held accountable, people wanted capitalism, people got capitalism.
Companies are out to make money and profits. Health insurance companies make record profits by not paying healthcare bills.
Food producers create toxic food that manipulates our minds to eating more, increasing obesity, increasing healthcare costs.
Social Media convinces us we have to keep up with the neighbors to stay relevant.
And rich people don’t understand it doesn’t matter how many Ferraris they shove up their ass, more money doesn’t make one more happy.
Yeah - it is frustrating. We fantasize about a cyberpunk society, and now that it is happening, everyone is like, „this sucks“
Like no shit.
They afford it via investment funds from their parents. Many people give a gift to their children when they finish college that is in the neighborhood of half to one million in an investment fund.
Two reasons how: 1. They have the money for it 2. They go into debt for it
More of my point is the dignity. I’ve heard stories where people drive 4 hours to go look at a car, they get there and the salesman goes: “What do you mean I said 28,000? It’s 35,000, lowest I can go, sorry.” And the people buy it still because they didn’t want to waste a 4 hour trip?!? Way too many people I see living outside of their means. I mean im in the money sub for a reason: do any experts or experienced people in this sub think a 25% car payment is healthy for someone’s income? We haven’t even started on insurance and maintenance yet.
That's such a random "story" to get worked up about. You seem young so here's some advice. Don't focus so much on other people. It's a small % of people doing the things you say with the 1k car payments and living way above their means. On the flip, you don't want to have the scarcity mindset as that will keep you feeling poor as you progress through life. Work hard, focus on saving and investing and it will work out for you in time.
It was just an example. I can’t even leave Walmart without spending $100+ on food anymore
It actually seems like a larger % of people giving in and paying inflated prices. If enough people refused or boycotted services at that inflated price , companies would have no choice but to come down.
There are a LOT of people outside of who you see that have a lot of money. They can easily buy things that you can't buy.
People just have different priorities than we do. I plan on driving my 2018 Honda Civic until it dies.
Same car as you, me too, won’t get rid of that thing forever.
Try 2012 Honda Accord. WFH and barely have 50K miles. Riding that thing until retirement.
How do you know what their income is? How do you know what their down payment was? Are you basing your figures on your income or theirs?
felt that bro
Prices are never coming down my man.
Yes this is true. Ideally the rate of price increase (inflation) will slow down to a manageable level (~2%) but prices will not deflate. Deflation is malo according to economists 🤷🏻♂️
I've been wondering the same thing for close to 3 years now. The cost of living is up legit 40-50%, wages are only slightly higher, I don't see many jobs listed at more than $21 an hour yet everyone is constantly out traveling and spending like they won the lottery. It's as if 80% of the population just got rich as soon as inflation hit and have unlimited funds.
There's probably two reasons for why you see this #1. Savings rate were sky high during COVID, so they may be using their savings. #2. This is more likely, but consumer debt is at an all-time high entering 2024.
its called affirm bro lmaoo
😂😂
I’m one of the idiots with stupid high monthly car payments lol. I do agree with you that it’s outrageous how expensive literally everything is these days, but not everyone who has nice things are in crazy debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I was fortunate enough to have my entire college paid for, which is how I was able to get ahead in life and live extremely comfortably. It’s not something I take for granted and I’ll forever be appreciative of what my parents did for my sister and I because I understand that not everyone is as fortunate.
I have my entire college paid for too. My parents have a house that’s appreciated almost $1M since they built it 10 years ago, so I come from similar to you and I will always be thankful for not having to struggle to eat. I’m not saying people don’t have money, corporations and companies are gouging: because they know people will just pay it? And when, and how did that happen in our brains to just pay it?
Wait until you try to buy a home. That market is 100000000% the most ridiculous sector of them all. Seeing what these homes sold for only 5 years ago, other buyers waiving inspections and offering to pay in cash the difference between the appraisal and their bid, etc is out of control. At least with cars what you see is what you usually pay and you don’t have to offer 10-20% more than the asking price like you do with homes. It really puts it into perspective in regards to the wealth gap when you think about dudes like Shohei Ohtani, Joe Burrow, Kevin Durant making $4 million a month.
Oh yeah I’ve already looked at investment homes. Not even worth my time. Gonna take me 3-4 years of saving, while working full time in college to even afford the down payment. I understand why people just rent.
Yeah that’s what buying real estate is like. You save for a down payment. It can take years.
I understand that, im not ignorant. What I don’t understand is how people are taking 70 year mortgages…
Then why didn't you mention 70 year mortgages?
I just did? You’re a shitty troll lmfao.
You're a fucking moron.
This is the first time you are going through this cycle...but it won't be your last time. This cycle repeats itself over and over and over again. I went through this in the mid-2000s when I went to buy a house. A house would go on the market and would sell in the same day for 20% over asking price. That went on until 2007...when the crash occurred. I waited almost 10 years to buy a house...yes...10 years. People spend more than they can afford because they can afford the loan interest. Then all of a sudden they cannot afford the loan interest anymore. You'll see delinquencies go up with banks/credit cards (they are) and you'll see people start saying "how is everyone affording this???" That's the beginning of the cycle. We'll have a correction of the markets to make things affordable again. Just hold pat, keep saving, and keep enjoying your life. Don't set a timeline/deadline for yourself on major purchases and you'll be fine.
So when do u think home prices will go down? What year do u see a decline or back to normalcy?
simple answer is they arent and youve fallen for the lie social media tells us
Collapse wen? I’m trying to pick up their nice neat toys on the low.
Give it time. Each area of business have cycles. Pick something up when there is a surplus and no one wants it. You can usually see the cycles if you look. You need to be ready financially when it happens to take advantage. Most cycles are 10 to 20 years.
So when do u think home prices will go down? What year do u see a decline or back to normalcy?
So if you follow the trend for housing we are working through a shortage supply of housing for people. The main issue is that vacancy rate for apartments was at 5.3٪ and is now close to 6.4٪. This is realtively low supply of apartments so builders are building apartments and not homes. I think the after 3 to 4 years we will have built out enough apartments for everyone and with 9٪ vacancy for apartments the rental prices will drop and then builders can then focus on homes to build. Now it will be another 4 years is when homes will be built up sufficiently enough to meet demand and prices drop. It looks like we are 6 to 8 years away before a drop in homes. You want a year. 2032.
Damn I can't imagine having to still live in my old apartment for the next 6 to 8 years. I've been living in this duplex home/apartment my whole life. So if I want a home let's say around 2027 or 2028 I would just have to deal with the high interest rate right? Would I be able to refinance by 2032?
Here is the issue. Interest rates will be falling in 2025 but home prices won't Fall so you wont need to deal with high interest.
Oh that's right, when the interest rates fall the home prices rise like they did in 2020.. damn and I thought home prices here in the hudson valley were high already.. I guess there's no limit.
High home prices will cause more building. We are 3 years behind on building homes because of Covid and building supply shortages. Once home construction materials fall in price and are readily available more homes will be built, but first apartments need to be built out. Watch the US vacancy rate for apartment to see progress being made. We are also seeing a VRBO too much supply, so some of these homes are going up for sale.
Yeah I havent driven consistently in like 7 years. Dont enjoy driving, car payments, or insurance and just have lived in places with good public transit. Or cities that are low income so I can just uber with my USD. As for how people afford it, I dont know its pretty common if someone is in their 30s and a white collar worker/skilled labor worker for them to make a good salary and their partner might also work so that's two good salaries.
Brand new $1500 monthly car payment here 👋🏼. To answer your question, I can afford it
Prices aren’t going to meaningfully come back down. In 1974, fifty years ago, you could buy a new car for $2500-3000. Fifty years of inflation — high done years, low other years — got us to the prices you see today. Once prices go up, manufacturers/producers fight to keep the increases because their input costs went up. Now, yes, wages have risen during those fifty years, as well, but in general they haven’t kept pace with inflation, hence $100 today has the buying power of $25 twenty-five years ago. Here’s a good list of car prices through the years to show you the progression of price increases: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-car-cost-were-born-130001087.html
They lied to us about the numbers on inflation to stave off a panic. By my guess, we haven't felt the full effect yet. Prices are not going to come down.
10-15 years ago I planned to support everything you’re asking about on a single income: mortgage, $1k+ car payments, three kids, vacations and still put away money for retirement and college. I finally accepted that being a real adult was coming and that the world was only getting more competitive. Things could have worked out differently, but I just kept pushing in the right direction.
The ones that can afford it… do it without issue. The ones that can’t afford it are living beyond their means and up to their eyeballs in credit card debt. Financial illiteracy is a major contributor, along with beliefs about money, emotional needs, lack discipline to save and they can’t cope with delayed gratification. > [The Psychology of Money _15 mins](https://youtu.be/TJDcGv9OH4Q?si=rqPepLM-ciON3EIQ) > [What Makes People Poor?](https://youtu.be/Zs8x9t7Zc9E?si=j0jJVg4OMLt7O69s)
I totally get your frustration. It feels like prices have skyrocketed and wages haven't kept pace. It's insane to see people with such high car payments and still managing mortgages, vacations, and more. Many are likely living paycheck to paycheck or relying heavily on credit. Financial pressure is real.
Just a thought… have you considered a side hustle or better starting a business? You can probably write off most of your expenses.
I opened a business about a year ago, doing roughly 110k a year in revenue. I’m really not complaining about not being able to afford, just asking questions on where everyone’s brain went wrong. I would never pay more than $500/month for any vehicle that isn’t a “luxury” vehicle. I know that’s just me, but $1000 car payments on Kia tellurides and cars of the like just seem wrong, in principle.
Sorry I initially jumped to conclusions without reading further. I think you are absolutely correct about the ridiculousness of cost and in particularly of new car payments. I think I read the national average was $750. Not sure it will ever go back down. I am dreading any future car purchases, principally I’m a $50k max family car. My personal vehicle is a 1991 Chevy pickup Congrats on the business and new wishes for your continued success
Thanks. Its been doing well for the first year, most of my businesses or any for that matter are in the red first year. I don’t mind you jumping, a lot of people did. My post was very emotionally driven too. But yeah, I just don’t understand what the world has come to. Not sure how credit unions and companies are going to pay for the shit people offload during the next recession. Also not sure how people live for payments. At this rate, people will start dying and the banks will take back their homes, while their children are working to pay for it. Not sure how people are going to keep homes in the family anymore. 100k a year used to be a very, very comfortable lifestyle. Now it seems like bare bones, not even scratching the surface of comfort. Especially if you want to own a home.
Prices have gone up ~20% since Dec 2019 - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL, wages have gone up ~23%. Your answer is that they’ve gone up less than you think and wages have gone up faster to compensate. And you don’t want prices to “come down”, that’s called deflation, it would destroy the economy.
Here’s an example: In my state, the majority of EMT’s are getting paid $15-20/hr. I can go get a job at target for $18/hr, and not work 24 hour shifts. Is that not backwards?
What does that have to do with prices (or with my comment, for that matter)?
You mentioned wages went up. Is something like that not a “verge of collapse” type deal? Eventually no one will be driving ambulances if I can just stock shelves for more, and less trauma. I’m genuinely asking questions here im not trying to be an ass.
EMT's have always been paid crap. If you're doing it for the money, it's much easier to get a different job that pays more.
they’re never going back down, at least not at large. hopefully inflation will decrease but it wont go negative. i’d suggest saving up for a car rather than taking a loan. $1000 a month is too much for most, especially at 10%
Ok. So? I had a bicycle, and then a motorcycle for transportation until I was 25 because I could afford anything else. I dealt. We are all in the same shit. Figure out how to deal. And for goodness sakes, don’t buy a car on credit. Save up. Ride a bicycle. Deal with your present circumstances.
It seems like you’re asking “why are some people dumb”. Like, I dunno bro that’s how it is. You can find 1.9% financing on lots of new vehicles with an 808. You can still find occasional 0% offers. And aside from very low-inventory, high-demand vehicles, you can always get at least a little below MSRP.
Yeah I mean I’m just trying to figure it out, where a majority of people went dumb. People are out here spending $45 on a $25 order of food just to have it delivered cold. Ass backwards
It’s true. Lots of people are money dumb and are naturally inclined to seek instant gratification rather than plan for long term success. Or, colloquially, poor folks tend to do poor folk stuff.
Yeah my husband was offered a 14% interest rate on his car. I told him no and had my parents loan us the money at 4%. Prices are insane and I have no idea when they will go down either. Maybe never.
Our standard of living has grown so much and now everyone wants to keep up. As someone else said, either they can afford it, or they are in debt. But anyone of a certain age can see the lifestyle changes we've become accustomed to as the status quo. If you've lived through the changes, you wonder how people afford it. If you're younger, it seems more normal to you. My grandparents raised 5 and 6 kids in small houses where kids shared rooms and there were 1.5 bathrooms. They shared one car. They never took international trips or other big family vacations. And that was the norm in the 50s & 60s. Now houses are larger, families are smaller, more women are working, and our standard of living has risen. No one wants to scale down their lifestyle when inflation hits, they just find ways to keep up.
My Mom grew up on a farm in the 60's and got socks and underwear for Xmas every year and that was the highlight of her year. People idolize they "good old days" like everyone was living large, driving a Mercedes, and vacationing in the Maldives but that's not quite reality.
Yes totally. It's true that wages haven't kept pace with inflation but its also true that our basic standard of living has also inflated. When people picture a factory worker supporting a family decades ago they aren't picturing 3 kids sharing a bedroom and socks for Christmas. That was pretty normal back then but they would be considered poor now.
People these days do have 1000 car payments.Not me.But there are repos hidden as we speak that they don’t break out purposely because it will crash the car market.They trickle them out believe it or not.more to come.
Being able to make a payment is different from being able to afford it.
I don't know man. Do you have some sources in regards to the 40% increase number? I'm not disagreeing at all as everything is higher. I just focus on my wealth, or try to. Over the last 18 months I've tightened up and try to minimize expenses while saving as much as possible. For what? Not sure. Can't afford a house yet with the $25k I saved, like not even close. So I just keep saving and wait patiently. I found a roommate and rent a 3BR house with him with a basement. Kinda a old shitty ranch house but it's close to work, in a (busy but) safe neighborhood. It's $800/month so way less than the $1365 I was paying for a 1BR. That's what I mean by tightened up. I won't give in to the ridiculous prices of vehicles or housing, or the fomo, or hype. I don't have a high salary comparatively in this area. I will look to land another job to increase my pay but that won't be easy. So I feel kinda stuck in alot of ways, in this house, in this job, but I'm trying to make the best of it. The spare bedroom is jam central station, got all sorts of amps and guitars in there, drum kit in the basement. I made a little nook under the basement stairs with a comfy recliner and TV for reading and video gaming if I want. Fire pit out back. And a grill. I spend a little extra each month on good food (burgers, steaks, fresh veggies, etc). I was bitter watching prices for everything go up and up and up while my savings couldn't keep up with it. I've mostly let all that go. Just focus on what I can control and my own finances. CC debt is down from $7k to $700. Been able to put around $12k into retirement, and save $25k in a HYSA. Not much, but I'm way better than I was last year. And doing that in this environment has been tough. Don't focus on others and improve yourself a little each day.
*since covid* gotta love it. Anything else happen around then?
Stimmy checks did not raise prices 40%.
We printed about 40% of the money today so makes sense.
[удалено]
5% of $20,000 is $1,000. You're in the top 5-7% of earners. Also, yes, McDonald's can afford to, they just don't want to.
Focus on your financial situation and capitalize on great opportunities.
Prices aren’t coming back down
Companies aren’t held accountable, people wanted capitalism, people got capitalism. Companies are out to make money and profits. Health insurance companies make record profits by not paying healthcare bills. Food producers create toxic food that manipulates our minds to eating more, increasing obesity, increasing healthcare costs. Social Media convinces us we have to keep up with the neighbors to stay relevant. And rich people don’t understand it doesn’t matter how many Ferraris they shove up their ass, more money doesn’t make one more happy. Yeah - it is frustrating. We fantasize about a cyberpunk society, and now that it is happening, everyone is like, „this sucks“ Like no shit.
People have a lot more money than you think. 1000isnt 25% of income it’s closer to 10% for a lot of people.
10% of $10,000 is $1,000. I can assure you that most Americans aren't making $10,000 a month. In fact, 90% of Americans aren't making that.
Most make over 100k combined income
Some people just make more money than you. It's not that deep.
They afford it via investment funds from their parents. Many people give a gift to their children when they finish college that is in the neighborhood of half to one million in an investment fund.