Is everyone’s money real tight right now?

[41mag]

Don't know what company but a friend of mine founded/ owned FEI Group or something like that. He was a big player in the flooring world.

She works for Space Flooring….used to be CISU back in the day - down off Marietta Blvd/ Atlanta Rd……inside the perimeter?
Been with them over 25yrs -ish …… something along those lines anyway.

They sell the installation materials and some tile ….mostly like pad, tack strip, glues, base, etc., etc.,

 

[beaver]

Zero debt here...house & vehicles are paid.
Comfortable monthly income...only bills are utilities & insurances.
Been retired 10+ yrs...well traveled...generally eat out 4-5 times /week.

Same here

 

[CAMSDADDY]

Same here

I’d like to get here one day. Just wish I would have started earlier and had someone give me direction

 

[1gunsnotenough]

I’d like to get here one day. Just wish I would have started earlier and had someone give me direction

One of the problems I see around me is people don't teach their kids to handle money. Mine didn't but we didn't have much to handle then anyway. I had to learn the hard way. My son's 20. Most of his life I taught him and showed him how use money. He has two trucks paid for. Works two jobs. Is a volunteer fire fighter and has two savings account and a checking account with several thousand dollars in them. And is working towards building a house. Please teach your kids to handle money. It will make they're life better. They'll figure out the birds and the bees by themselves.

 

[GFB]

One of the problems I see around me is people don't teach their kids to handle money. Mine didn't but we didn't have much to handle then anyway. I had to learn the hard way. My son's 20. Most of his life I taught him and showed him how use money. He has two trucks paid for. Works two jobs. Is a volunteer fire fighter and has two savings account and a checking account with several thousand dollars in them. And is working towards building a house. Please teach your kids to handle money. It will make they're life better. They'll figure out the birds and the bees by themselves.

There are all kinds of rules of thumb to guesstimate how much a person can afford, including for rent or car payments or what have you. It seems like so many of these are out the window anymore as people often voluntarily take on expenses they just can't afford. Many recent college grads have an expectation of buying a car straight away that costs more than any vehicle I've ever purchased and I'm more established and probably have a higher income than most people at that age. It's a crazy world these days.

 

[BHPSteel]

There are all kinds of rules of thumb to guesstimate how much a person can afford, including for rent or car payments or what have you. It seems like so many of these are out the window anymore as people often voluntarily take on expenses they just can't afford. Many recent college grads have an expectation of buying a car straight away that costs more than any vehicle I've ever purchased and I'm more established and probably have a higher income than most people at that age. It's a crazy world these days.

Well, to be fair, for many, their primary introduction to debt is their stdent loan. A huge pile of debt that they may not even have been pressured to make one repayment on yet. If that's what you think owing money looks like, why the hell not take out a note on a 60k car?

 

[beaver]

 

[mfoster]

"Americans’ total credit card balance is $986 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2022’s record number, leaving the balance the highest since the New York Fed began tracking in 1999."

2024 Credit Card Debt Statistics | LendingTree

Americans’ total credit card balance is $1.129 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

www.lendingtree.com

I think people are living off them and just don’t care.anything so they can keep up with the Jones

 

[Realtor]

I’d like to get here one day. Just wish I would have started earlier and had someone give me direction

You wouldn’t have listened
I tell my friends all the time to start Roth IRAs or even 401ks and no one listens to me
Even when I show them the potential MILLIONS they won’t have by not starting
I think everyone thinks they will hit the lottery eventually
I automatically put away 10% of every pay check into 401k
My company matches 3%
Same with my wife
They also provide a pension
Then we both max out our Roth IRAs every year.. that’s another roughly 10k per year thrown in.
This is my safety net of retirement … AKA - if I **** everything else up… at least I will have it

 

[Beulah Land]

Do y’all also feel like everyone is gripping their cash real tight right now and not wanting to spend it?

Have to. Everything is going up except pay.