"At the start of 2022, 64% of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck"

[Voldemort86 2259]

6 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

It read to me like telling people who are in bad situations to just go buy another car that gets better gas mileage.  Which seems problematic.  Maybe I'm misinterpreting.  But a poor person stuck with whatever gas guzzling $2k car they happen to have isn't going to run out and buy a Prius. 

 As well, it seems to ignore that consumer goods rise along with the increase in fuel prices.  And typically even when those fuel prices go back down there isn't a corresponding decrease in the price of goods.   

This is all but one piece of the larger puzzle of course.  The thread (and from here on out I'm not really aiming this at you per se) went about as I expected and seized upon all those poors making bad financial decisions while ignoring the astronomical amounts just printed up and given to the already wealthy (see the cares act for but one example).  While the wealth gap gets larger and larger the man in charge has the audacity to say "Americans have to sacrifice."    If only the poor would give up their fancy iphones and that avocado toast.  We have great big safety nets for those rich enough to take advantage of them.  

By the way, we actually don't "have to sacrifice."   They could just as easily give everyone money for gas if they wanted to, but they don't.    Just like they could give us all free health care and education, but they don't.   Or they could quit giving billions to say, Israel, while telling us that we have to sacrifice.  And then us willing guppies say "hey poor people, quit driving as much and shut up."  

Argue about the polls as much as we want, there's a very large amount of folks left behind economically.  Plenty of them with college degrees, btw. 

 

 

And the generations after the millennials have it even worse.  I don't know why I rail about it other than to express frustration I suppose.  

 

 

I think millennials have it the worst because they become of age after 09/11, in the middle of outsourcing at its peak while dubbya was giving companies tax breaks to outsource jobs, and at the beginning of the Great Recession.

id argue the generations after millennials are far enough from the baby boomers that some of them will benefit from inheritances or other such things. They may not have as much competition for jobs because the boomers and millennials were both such huge generations in the work force at the same time and boomers seemingly never wanted to retire. The whole thing just sucked all around for millennials. I can’t imagine the other generations having it worse.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Voldemort86

[Bullneck 18987]

6 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

It read to me like telling people who are in bad situations to just go buy another car that gets better gas mileage.  Which seems problematic.  Maybe I'm misinterpreting.  But a poor person stuck with whatever gas guzzling $2k car they happen to have isn't going to run out and buy a Prius. 

Yes, you are misinterpreting.  

It's possible to buy a $2k car that isn't a gas guzzler.  If you're poor that's the smart move.  Then you don't have to do anything different when gas prices rise, because you've already taken the long term step.  Short term you can drive less.

 

[Mole 4320]

40 something here with a kid still in a car seat. I’ve spent less than 10k total in my life on cars. We may spend a little more on gas than if we had the latest model, and I may have to dump a quart of oil in the cars from time to time, but I can’t even fathom spending the “reasonable” amounts listed here on a car. 
 

The only problem is that the cars are now old enough that the trustworthy shops in my podunk town don’t really want to work on them.

[Francisco 2.0 32342]

Related:

https://www.axios.com/too-much-stuff-self-storage-facilities-c88310e5-69a5-4df9-8f59-08e79d529de0.html

 

Quote

We're filling our lives with so much junk that the U.S. now has more self-storage facilities than McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger Kings, Starbucks and Walmarts combined. That's around 50,000 storage complexes.

Why it matters: We're overstuffed. And all that stuff often brings a lot more stress than joy. 

The big picture: Never in history have so many things been affordable for so many. Never in history has it been easier to swipe a card or click a button and wait for the Amazon truck to arrive. And never in history have Americans had bigger houses — or storage sheds — to keep it all.

 

 

 

Quote

Here's a stunning stat: The U.S. has 3.1% of the world's kids but buys 40% of the world's toys, per Time magazine.

Anthony Graesch, an anthropologist at Connecticut College who studies why we have so much stuff, tells us: "I see the proliferation of self-storage in the United States as the materialization of excessive, unchecked and unsustainable levels of consumption."

He said it's "also the difficulty we experience in easily severing relationships with many of our possessions."

 

 

 

 

[Texas Jeff 1932]

A monthly bus pass is only ~$40.

And when you get on the bus, a lot of times you have it to yourself, which is nice…. ;-)

I’m not buying that energy costs are too high until I see folks on the bus. The cost in time to take the bus is higher that the cost of gas for most people, unless you live and work really close to stops with a direct bus.

[Dahobbs 17447]

15 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

I don’t understand people who spend almost as much on their cars as they do housing.  They’ll end up living in that car one day.  Also DAHobbs, it would take you 11 years at that gas savings to make up the price difference on those vehicles.  I reckon you would say fuck it, and buy a new Yukon at some point during those 11 years.  If so, more power to you, that’s your choice.   Most people pay way too much for cars though.  

You're not including repairs. The used car at 50k miles is going to require a big ticket repair at some point. The new car is going to be under warranty. And if you're buying another car within 11 years, you probably ain't serious about saving money anyway.

At any rate, I think people misunderstood my point or I expressed it poorly. I agree a lot of people spend too much on cars and get more than they can afford. But like a lot of things, the price of cars have increased a lot especially in the last couple of years. A minivan and a Camry could easily be right around 100k after taxes. We aren't talking about families stretching to get a couple of Land Rovers or Porches. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13414]

In talking with friends about family members, you might be surprised about the number adults that constantly hit up their parents for help with rent, car payments, utility bills, etc. The fallback plan of not earning enough income is your parents social security check.

I would guess almost every family has someone that does this. And for wealthier families, it’s probably not about helping with a car payment but helping with a 300k house down payment so they can get that 1.5m house. Don’t worry mom and dad, we can afford the payments just not the down payment. 

[StassneyHorn 6540]

11 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

In talking with friends about family members, you might be surprised about the number adults that constantly hit up their parents for help with rent, car payments, utility bills, etc. The fallback plan of not earning enough income is your parents social security check.

 

Thread has come full circle. When your parents go to trade in their lightly used cars for a new one, convince them to just give it to junior at 16.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11810]

44 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

You're not including repairs. The used car at 50k miles is going to require a big ticket repair at some point. The new car is going to be under warranty. And if you're buying another car within 11 years, you probably ain't serious about saving money anyway.

At any rate, I think people misunderstood my point or I expressed it poorly. I agree a lot of people spend too much on cars and get more than they can afford. But like a lot of things, the price of cars have increased a lot especially in the last couple of years. A minivan and a Camry could easily be right around 100k after taxes. We aren't talking about families stretching to get a couple of Land Rovers or Porches. 

That's fair.  And I also didn't consider someone who has more than 2 kids requiring car seats, your seating options are limited if that's the case.  I only had 2 so didn't have that issue.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

4 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

That's fair.  And I also didn't consider someone who has more than 2 kids requiring car seats, your seating options are limited if that's the case.  I only had 2 so didn't have that issue.

We've been there, and it is doable (five in a CRV), but it's not for everybody I suppose. Later it sure was eye-opening for the oldest when encountering a prima donna room-mate in the dorms and those get along to survive skills came into play.

[Dahobbs 17447]

31 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

That's fair.  And I also didn't consider someone who has more than 2 kids requiring car seats, your seating options are limited if that's the case.  I only had 2 so didn't have that issue.

Yeah, three kids and two dogs here. It is tough. 

22 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

We've been there, and it is doable (five in a CRV), but it's not for everybody I suppose. Later it sure was eye-opening for the oldest when encountering a prima donna room-mate in the dorms and those get along to survive skills came into play.

The issue for us has been that a lot of the smaller SUVs aren't wide enough to fit 3 car seats across in the middle row. And the midsize SUVs with 3 rows leave essentially no cargo room (which is really problematic if you need to fit stuff like a double stroller), so those weren't really an option either.  I ended up buying the Diono car seats that are designed to fit three across. But even with that, we still can't take the kids and the dogs on trips together since having the dogs means no room for luggage/strollers. And, right now, used cars are sometimes more expensive than their new counterparts, so its really difficult to find something that works. 

Connecting this to the topic of the thread, I see how easy it is even for those making decent money to get budget constrained. You reach a little here for a more comfortable car, a little there for a larger house or one closer to work, and suddenly the room in your budget evaporates. The recent rise in the cost of groceries only exacerbates the problem.  

[F250 28691]

10 hours ago, Mole said:

40 something here with a kid still in a car seat. I’ve spent less than 10k total in my life on cars. We may spend a little more on gas than if we had the latest model, and I may have to dump a quart of oil in the cars from time to time, but I can’t even fathom spending the “reasonable” amounts listed here on a car. 
 

The only problem is that the cars are now old enough that the trustworthy shops in my podunk town don’t really want to work on them.

40 years old and you have spent less than $10k on cars your entire life?

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13414]

1 hour ago, Dahobbs said:

A minivan and a Camry could easily be right around 100k after taxes. We aren't talking about families stretching to get a couple of Land Rovers or Porches. 

Many on this board have professional jobs and their incomes have somewhat kept up with inflation and/or they're at the point in their career where their income progression outpaces inflation due to promotion, skill increases, or jumping companies. Dropping 100K for 2 vehicles is somewhat affordable compared to dropping 70K 10 years ago. Or whatever it was then.

But take the lower-than-average income earner. They have fewer income growth options. I'm not saying society should solve that for them, but it's a reality that they can easily fall into the paycheck to paycheck cycle. And it can become society's problem when we have more and more people that cannot take care of themselves later in life.

[Captainant 27464]

4 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

But take the lower-than-average income earner. They have fewer income growth options. I'm not saying society should solve that for them, but it's a reality that they can easily fall into the paycheck to paycheck cycle. And it can become society's problem when we have more and more people that cannot take care of themselves later in life.

sounds like they just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and inherit some generational wealth like the rest of police society

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

13 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Yeah, three kids and two dogs here. It is tough. 

The issue for us has been that a lot of the smaller SUVs aren't wide enough to fit 3 car seats across in the middle row. And the midsize SUVs with 3 rows leave essentially no cargo room (which is really problematic if you need to fit stuff like a double stroller), so those weren't really an option either.  I ended up buying the Diono car seats that are designed to fit three across. But even with that, we still can't take the kids and the dogs on trips together since having the dogs means no room for luggage/strollers. And, right now, used cars are sometimes more expensive than their new counterparts, so its really difficult to find something that works. 

Connecting this to the topic of the thread, I see how easy it is even for those making decent money to get budget constrained. You reach a little here for a more comfortable car, a little there for a larger house or one closer to work, and suddenly the room in your budget evaporates. The recent rise in the cost of groceries only exacerbates the problem.  

Oh, definitely agree, we didn't have some of the same circumstances you've had with respect to animals, etc. and we had to be pretty thoughtful regarding what was essential cargo when we were traveling out of state to visit family but it sure added to the family stories. One trip I thought my husband was going to give us an Oregon Trail experience where we left items by the side of the road after one of the children was fussing with the other about something. Note: pull the batteries out of the plush animal that makes the same noise over and over again prior to packing it.

 

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

6 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

But take the lower-than-average income earner. They have fewer income growth options. I'm not saying society should solve that for them, but it's a reality that they can easily fall into the paycheck to paycheck cycle. And it can become society's problem when we have more and more people that cannot take care of themselves later in life.

This is what I notice more. When there is an issue, (and they do seem to come in threes) the issue itself compounds the expenses due to the work arounds necessary to solve the problem.

[Immaculate Vibes 114]

4 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Yeah, three kids and two dogs here. It is tough. 

The issue for us has been that a lot of the smaller SUVs aren't wide enough to fit 3 car seats across in the middle row. And the midsize SUVs with 3 rows leave essentially no cargo room (which is really problematic if you need to fit stuff like a double stroller), so those weren't really an option either.  I ended up buying the Diono car seats that are designed to fit three across. But even with that, we still can't take the kids and the dogs on trips together since having the dogs means no room for luggage/strollers. And, right now, used cars are sometimes more expensive than their new counterparts, so its really difficult to find something that works. 

Connecting this to the topic of the thread, I see how easy it is even for those making decent money to get budget constrained. You reach a little here for a more comfortable car, a little there for a larger house or one closer to work, and suddenly the room in your budget evaporates. The recent rise in the cost of groceries only exacerbates the problem.  

The jump to 3 kids is a big deal. You need a bigger car. As they get bigger and you need bucket seats in the middle row and you’re looking at either minivans or large suvs like Yukons or escalades. I guess the cheapest route would be a used minivan, but new anything is gonna cost you at that size. 
 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13414]

8 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

This is what I notice more. When there is an issue, (and they do seem to come in threes) the issue itself compounds the expenses due to the work arounds necessary to solve the problem.

Yep, and while it's not in every situation, there are many that fall into the payday loan traps that effectively guarantee to ruin someone financially, or require someone to get assistance from family/friends to get out of it.

It's disgusting how our state leaders only blame the borrowers and not the lenders of payday loans.

[Dahobbs 17447]

16 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Many on this board have professional jobs and their incomes have somewhat kept up with inflation and/or they're at the point in their career where their income progression outpaces inflation due to promotion, skill increases, or jumping companies. Dropping 100K for 2 vehicles is somewhat affordable compared to dropping 70K 10 years ago. Or whatever it was then.

But take the lower-than-average income earner. They have fewer income growth options. I'm not saying society should solve that for them, but it's a reality that they can easily fall into the paycheck to paycheck cycle. And it can become society's problem when we have more and more people that cannot take care of themselves later in life.

Yeah, that was my point. And it is easy to fall in the cycle even if you're a slightly above average income earner. And you can fall into that cycle without reaching for extreme luxury purchases. Again, $100k in cars could mean a Camry and Minivan. There are cheaper options for sure, but we aren't talking absurd luxury expenses either. Shit just costs more. 

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

Cartalk not going away.  Some of you are missing the Forest(er) for the trees.  But the attitude of blaming the poor for being as such sure seems typical.

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by MC Fresh Breath

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

[Mole 4320]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

40 years old and you have spent less than $10k on cars your entire life?

 

That’s not far from the truth. I wish I could say that I’ve invested most of the savings, but it’s mostly wrapped up in musical instruments. The musician joke about driving $5000 worth of equipment in a $500 car to a $50 gig hits pretty close to home.

I will say that when we take a long road trip, we’ll rent a car. That’s at most a few hundred bucks maybe twice a year, so still cheaper than a nice new car. I’ve also always tried to live close to work.

[Beau Vine 54003]

3 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

At any rate, I think people misunderstood my point or I expressed it poorly. I agree a lot of people spend too much on cars and get more than they can afford. But like a lot of things, the price of cars have increased a lot especially in the last couple of years. A minivan and a Camry could easily be right around 100k after taxes. We aren't talking about families stretching to get a couple of Land Rovers or Porches. 

I think we understand your point, but you seem to have no grasp of prices or mathematics or something.  A brand new Honda Odyssey (minivan) starts at $33K.  A brand new Camry starts at $25,400.  Put those together and you're at $58K.  Let's throw on 10% taxes and you're at $64K, which again is 36% under $100K!

 

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

Quote

 

ECONOMY
Inflation rose 7.9% in February, as food and energy costs push prices to highest in more than 40 years
PUBLISHED THU, MAR 10 20228:31 AM ESTUPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

• The consumer price index for February rose 7.9% from a year ago, the highest level since January 1982.
• Excluding food and energy, both of which moved sharply higher during the month, core inflation still rose 6.4%, in line with expectations but the highest since August 1982.
• Gas, groceries and shelter were the biggest contributors to the CPI gain. Auto prices eased.
• Worker paychecks fell further behind, as inflation-adjusted earnings dropped 0.8% in February, contributing to a 2.6% decline over the past year.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/10/cpi-inflation-february-2022-.html

 

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19151]

19 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Also, what this guy said. “The average new car price” of $47k referenced above is for Dallas $30k millionaires.   Ain’t nobody needs a car that costs that much, except to assuage their tiny penis.  I have a nice 4x4 truck with less than 30k miles I paid $28k for.   

One man’s “nice” may be another man’s dank ass hooptie. Also, when did you buy this vehicle?  Odds are not in the last year or so. 

[F250 28691]

29 minutes ago, Mole said:

The musician joke about driving $5000 worth of equipment in a $500 car to a $50 gig hits pretty close to home.

I've known a couple of these people. Knew a guy that would tow a little trailer full of band equipment with his beat up El Camino. The equipment was definitely worth more than his ride.

 

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

I think the number of people actually being paid minimum wage is pretty low. Even so, why the hell haven't Dems pushed through a standalone minimum wage increase? Seems like it would be the easiest thing to do and a big win on the board... and *crickets*

[Dahobbs 17447]

9 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

I think we understand your point, but you seem to have no grasp of prices or mathematics or something.  A brand new Honda Odyssey (minivan) starts at $33K.  A brand new Camry starts at $25,400.  Put those together and you're at $58K.  Let's throw on 10% taxes and you're at $64K, which again is 36% under $100K!

 

Clearly you do not otherwise you wouldn't be such a dick about it. Yes, those are the base models cost. Most people aren't going to buy the barest of bones cars. 

Honda Odyssey 2022, EX-L (mid grade package) is $40,935 after destination fees through Honda's website, although you'll be pretty lucky to find a dealership willing to sell one for MSRP. Add taxes of 6.25% and you're now at 43,493. Add title and you're hitting $45k. Get XSE Hybrid Camry and you're looking at $32,920. Add tax and title and you're at 36k. That's 81k for non top of the line vehicles. Go just a bit higher up the rung or add a few options for both of them and you'll hit $90k. 

Is that the wisest financial purchase for many families? No. Is it a completely crazy expense for a family to buy nicely equipped minivan and family sedan? I don't think so. A lot of families are going to be in that position. Again, we aren't talking about someone wasting money on a 100k Land Rover. It's easy to find two new non-luxury cars that are going to add up to $100k. 

Honestly, what exactly is your point? Poor people are evil and to blame for their own problems? 

My point is shit costs more than it use to. Even without spending money on super luxury purchases, a family can get in the position of being paycheck to paycheck quite easily. Car prices, both new and used, are up an absurd amount over the last 5 years.  The average new car price was $33k in 2016. It has increased $15k in 5 years. That is fucking crazy and is going to squeeze families. 

 

[Captainant 27464]

29 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I think the number of people actually being paid minimum wage is pretty low. Even so, why the hell haven't Dems pushed through a standalone minimum wage increase? Seems like it would be the easiest thing to do and a big win on the board... and *crickets*

[TurkeyChew 383]

4 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

Thread has come full circle. When your parents go to trade in their lightly used cars for a new one, convince them to just give it to junior at 16.

I have actually debated selling/trading in my truck for not quite what I paid for it 4 years ago, but then you have to buy something inflated, or just keep not having a car payment and giving this truck to my son when he's 16 in a few years.

I got an email this week that I wasn't chosen in the 2022 lottery for the F-150 Lightning (they had tons of deposits) and that I can likely buy a 2023 at the earliest.

[TurkeyChew 383]

When it comes to gas, what are we really talking about? An extra $40-50 bucks a month, maybe? First, I don't believe anyone who posts on this messageboard really cares or feels the impact of an extra $50 a month in a surge expense unless you are an OCD psychopath.

I assume there are those who are barely hanging on where $50 a month will crater their whole lives (e.g. below poverty level types) and for those folks, I'm sorry. If you can't change consumption behaviors to move around $50 (e.g. cut out some nights out or eating out or whatever) then you have much bigger problems than gas going for $3 to $5 a gallon and should be getting aid from enablement programs the government offers tomorrow, if you aren't already.

For everyone in the lower middle class and above, everyone is having to pay more equally. Equality is good.

Edited March 10, 2022 by TurkeyChew

[Fudge Nuggets 19151]

46 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I think the number of people actually being paid minimum wage is pretty low. Even so, why the hell haven't Dems pushed through a standalone minimum wage increase? Seems like it would be the easiest thing to do and a big win on the board... and *crickets*

Have you heard of these two cunts?

 

 

[Guest]

Have either Manchin or Sinema mentioned anything about the minimum wage? I haven't heard anyone even mention it at all from either party.

[fattyflattie 4636]

7 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

When it comes to gas, what are we really talking about? An extra $40-50 bucks a month, maybe?

I’m not in the group that will be affected in my overall life (high prices usually work better in my professional life) but tomorrow will be my third tank this week at ~105-115/per.  About $70/week delta from mid Feb.  That $300 a month can affect those, as stated up thread, that have less leverage to ask for COLA, or just can’t eat it.   Wife doesn’t drive much anymore but her Yukon would not be kind for me right now.  
 

4 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

That's fair.  And I also didn't consider someone who has more than 2 kids requiring car seats, your seating options are limited if that's the case.  I only had 2 so didn't have that issue.

3 definitely changes the game. And, the damn things are so big now because they want you to keep the kids in them until they’re 10 or whatever.  Both of our Yukon’s barely fit the seats right, not like old school square body burbans at all.  And when they’re young and facing backwards, you can forget about any recline.  Family vehicle my ass. 
 

 

[Okie State 3788]

I'm not as worried about the increase to my monthly gas bill as I am the ripple effects through everything else. We're already seeing out of control inflation and this will just make it worse.

[TurkeyChew 383]

30 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

I’m not in the group that will be affected in my overall life (high prices usually work better in my professional life) but tomorrow will be my third tank this week at ~105-115/per.  About $70/week delta from mid Feb.  That $300 a month can affect those, as stated up thread, that have less leverage to ask for COLA, or just can’t eat it.   Wife doesn’t drive much anymore but her Yukon would not be kind for me right now.  
 

3 definitely changes the game. And, the damn things are so big now because they want you to keep the kids in them until they’re 10 or whatever.  Both of our Yukon’s barely fit the seats right, not like old school square body burbans at all.  And when they’re young and facing backwards, you can forget about any recline.  Family vehicle my ass. 
 

 

Gotcha, maybe I'm misjudging how much most people drive. I go through a full tank maybe 2x a month (30 days), and a lot of times I'd say 1x. So I probably average 1.5x full tank a month. I filled up last week and it was $90, up from $70.

[Biff Tannen 45497]

14 hours ago, Mole said:

40 something here with a kid still in a car seat. I’ve spent less than 10k total in my life on cars. We may spend a little more on gas than if we had the latest model, and I may have to dump a quart of oil in the cars from time to time, but I can’t even fathom spending the “reasonable” amounts listed here on a car. 
 

The only problem is that the cars are now old enough that the trustworthy shops in my podunk town don’t really want to work on them.

You driving a Power Wheels or what?  Not sure that's street legal.

[fattyflattie 4636]

1 minute ago, TurkeyChew said:

Gotcha, maybe I'm misjudging how much most people drive. I go through a full tank maybe 2x a month (30 days), and a lot of times I'd say 1x. So I probably average 1.5x full tank a month. I filled up last week and it was $90, up from $70.

@Okie State nailed it, it affects everything. 

I wouldn't say you misjudged, it's all over the place.  But the most I've had to travel was 55k miles one year.  My lowest year has been somewhere around 14k. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13414]

1 hour ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

It's cruel that our leader refuse to tie minimum wage to inflation or CPI. But they do tie other benefits to CPI (or whichever index) for SS.  And yes, maybe the # of people on minimum wage is relatively low but raising (or in theory lowering) the minimum wage every year, has an impact on higher-than-minimum wage jobs.

I also understand that there are some that don't believe in a minimum wage. At least one person here as argued that if someone is worth $1/hr, then they should only receive $1.

[Bullneck 18987]

3 hours ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

The jump to 3 kids is a big deal. You need a bigger car. As they get bigger and you need bucket seats in the middle row and you’re looking at either minivans or large suvs like Yukons or escalades. I guess the cheapest route would be a used minivan, but new anything is gonna cost you at that size. 
 

I can see the problem

[Bullneck 18987]

29 minutes ago, Okie State said:

I'm not as worried about the increase to my monthly gas bill as I am the ripple effects through everything else. We're already seeing out of control profiteering by oil companies and this will just make it worse.

 

[Immaculate Vibes 114]

30 minutes ago, Okie State said:

I'm not as worried about the increase to my monthly gas bill as I am the ripple effects through everything else. We're already seeing out of control inflation and this will just make it worse.

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13414]

Since this is CR, we can go all CR. Our national leaders need to stop trying to manipulate gasoline prices. Let the market decide. What happened 2 years ago when COVID started and gasoline/oil prices plummeted? Our President at the time begged OPEC to cut oil production for 2 years. Guess what is still in effect? That 2 year agreement to keep production low.

Let the market set energy prices. IF the govt wants to intervene, then give direct handouts to individuals/families.  

[Immaculate Vibes 114]

6 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Since this is CR, we can go all CR. Our national leaders need to stop trying to manipulate gasoline prices. Let the market decide. What happened 2 years ago when COVID started and gasoline/oil prices plummeted? Our President at the time begged OPEC to cut oil production for 2 years. Guess what is still in effect? That 2 year agreement to keep production low.

Let the market set energy prices. IF the govt wants to intervene, then give direct handouts to individuals/families.  

That last part isn’t exactly letting the market decide. It’s inflationary and will help support prices. 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33843]

17 hours ago, Voldemort86 said:

I think millennials have it the worst because they become of age after 09/11, in the middle of outsourcing at its peak while dubbya was giving companies tax breaks to outsource jobs, and at the beginning of the Great Recession.

id argue the generations after millennials are far enough from the baby boomers that some of them will benefit from inheritances or other such things. They may not have as much competition for jobs because the boomers and millennials were both such huge generations in the work force at the same time and boomers seemingly never wanted to retire. The whole thing just sucked all around for millennials. I can’t imagine the other generations having it worse.

Gen X laughs at this premise

[Chewbacca 7730]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:03 PM, TexArcher said:

I'm a financial advisor and I can tell you that I've met quite a few couples who net $15k a month and spend $16k a month, etc.

Boggles the mind, but yeah, it's not uncommon at all.

Good friend of mine confided in me a while back that he and his wife make $250k a year and they have no savings and about $60k in credit card debt.  And their mortgage is less than $2k/month.

[Bullneck 18987]

58 minutes ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

 

Nothing, absolutely nothing in this world matters more than gas prices.  We deserve cheap gas and have the right to kill anyone who denies it to us. 

If oil companies have to make a little extra to make this happen, that's OK.  And if they have to make a lot extra, that's OK too because non-cheap gas is Biden's fault and traitorous.  Oil companies should have license to kill so they can provide cheap gas.  If one country has to destroy another so we can have cheap gas, that's OK, too.  And I don't know about you pussies but I like hot weather.  The hotter the better.  

Edited March 10, 2022 by Bullneck

[Chewbacca 7730]

On 3/9/2022 at 10:21 AM, fattyflattie said:

I get that. I don’t get the ones who also have all 4 of them in private school.  Oof.  

Yep.  Wife's best friend and her husband probably clear ~$200k per year.  We live in probably the best school district in CO and because husband went to private school, both kids are in private school.  They don't know how they are going to pay for college because they burned most of their savings for private school.  Oldest is a senior.  He wants to go to Kansas St, so clearly private school didn't really help there.

[Chewbacca 7730]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:32 AM, StassneyHorn said:

What moron buys a brand new car?

People who prefer their seats to come with zero farts in them.

[Aqua Buddha 14521]

4 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Yep.  Wife's best friend and her husband probably clear ~$200k per year.  We live in probably the best school district in CO and because husband went to private school, both kids are in private school.  They don't know how they are going to pay for college because they burned most of their savings for private school.  Oldest is a senior.  He wants to go to Kansas St, so clearly private school didn't really help there.

I’m stunned at the number of middle class types we’ve run across over the years that feel obligated to send their kids to whatever private school they want.

”Well, they want either TCU or Baylor.”

Tell them no.  State school it is and they pay the difference.