I would be willing to bet that the majority of the negative wealth households have never bothered to work up a balance-sheet of their net worth, whereas the higher net worth households are more likely to so.
Asig,
You should have stopped at…” Have never bothered to work”.
yahsure
August 5, 2016 4:39 pm
A women i work with says she will buy a new truck and doesn’t care that it costs 58.000 dollars.
I think she makes 12.00 an hour. Everyone is in debt over their head.
wip
August 5, 2016 5:43 pm
I highly doubt it’s only 14%.
What percentage of people can’t cover a $400 emergency?
Hell, wip. Who even thinks that a $400 outlay constitutes an emergency? I would have thought so in 1968 when I was a teenager making $85 a week, but….damn.
Yeah, Rocky. You get it. I decided a long time ago that if I had to be a wage slave in order to keep paying for things on credit, I may as well be dead. It’s just stupid to me to become indebted in order to to have new toys instead of buying what I can pay for and making do with what I can buy for cash.
Instead of a new $40k pickup truck and being saddled with payments for 6 years, I bought a 1968 F250 Camper Special for $800 and started fixing it. 18 years later, I still have it and still drive it whenever I need to use a truck. I buy used cars for cash and drive them until it doesn’t make sense to keep fixing them.
My little place, 40+ acres out in the boonies, is paid for and my nearest neighbors are at least a mile from my house. For someone to build a house or anything else in sight of my house, they would have to buy the land from me.
I have every power tool I need, many bought used but all paid for in cash. I use my tools to do things for my family and to maintain and improve my property instead of paying contractors for repairs and remodeling. Vacations, for me, are weekends spent traveling to pow wows and other sales venues where I vend and make enough in sales to cover expenses, make a small profit, and meet new people while reconnecting with old friends.
Life entails work, but I’m happier working for myself and doing only what makes sense to me. I couldn’t do that while being shackled by debt. Holding a job and using debt is like riding a unicycle; stop pedaling and you crash. Living within my means is more like riding a bicycle; I have to pedal, and it’s uphill sometimes, but I get to coast a little.
If my wife ever kicks me out I’m coming to live with you. 🙂
I look at debt the same way I look at fire. You can use it to cook and nourish or you can burn your house down with it.
I’ve used it on and off for most of my life and these days primarily for business. It’s risk but it’s calculated and since my assets outweigh my liabilities by a pretty good margin and since my penchant for risk is not terribly high these days I don’t worry about the mortgage anymore. That is… until Mrs. Marion decides she wants a bigger house. In which case I’m definitely moving in with you.
As I’ve gotten older I am far less consumed with having ‘stuff’ (in fact aside from my guns and the SUV I use to go hunting/camping in there is very little I feel attached to). The only thing I would appreciate more of is land because it represents food security. But that means taking on more debt. I’m finally to the stage where I own the most important thing of all – my time. Debt put’s a claim on that. Not sure it’s something I’m willing to give up.
Boat Guy
August 5, 2016 7:57 pm
And this is a surprise another large percentage couldn’t raise a $1,000.00 without selling something and another percentage could not cough up $400.00 . No wonder when a majority of the jobs available don’t pay shit and then you have an influx of illegals pulling jobs out of the system ya ya no American will do that job that cheap bla bla bla remember the low paid masses reach a boiling point and eventually boom they explode on mass and the privleged groups well sooner or later they eat your god dam asses so be ready because when this shit hits the fan this time only God will help those in site to have blame cast on them good bad or indifferent bye bye yes could be me being eaten such is life
General
August 5, 2016 9:48 pm
Most people are stupid. While partly that is not their fault, since the financial system is a fraud, they refuse to learn. Most people still make bad decisions, even when given the truth on a silver platter. It is complete irrational to pay even 30k for a car on basically a minimum wage income. I have a six figure income and still drive a 2002 Honda Accord in order to keep my expenses down.
I would be willing to bet that the majority of the negative wealth households have never bothered to work up a balance-sheet of their net worth, whereas the higher net worth households are more likely to so.
Asig,
You should have stopped at…” Have never bothered to work”.
A women i work with says she will buy a new truck and doesn’t care that it costs 58.000 dollars.
I think she makes 12.00 an hour. Everyone is in debt over their head.
I highly doubt it’s only 14%.
What percentage of people can’t cover a $400 emergency?
Hell, wip. Who even thinks that a $400 outlay constitutes an emergency? I would have thought so in 1968 when I was a teenager making $85 a week, but….damn.
Wip,
Not too long ago I saw an article (i believe on tbp) about if you had $10, you were more wealthy than 40% of Americans.
I have no mortgage,no car loan, no credit cards, no income tax refund, no Medicare, no SS, no Medicaid, (sigh)…… I have no life, I suppose.
Ed,
Just a conservative and responsible life.
Yeah, Rocky. You get it. I decided a long time ago that if I had to be a wage slave in order to keep paying for things on credit, I may as well be dead. It’s just stupid to me to become indebted in order to to have new toys instead of buying what I can pay for and making do with what I can buy for cash.
Instead of a new $40k pickup truck and being saddled with payments for 6 years, I bought a 1968 F250 Camper Special for $800 and started fixing it. 18 years later, I still have it and still drive it whenever I need to use a truck. I buy used cars for cash and drive them until it doesn’t make sense to keep fixing them.
My little place, 40+ acres out in the boonies, is paid for and my nearest neighbors are at least a mile from my house. For someone to build a house or anything else in sight of my house, they would have to buy the land from me.
I have every power tool I need, many bought used but all paid for in cash. I use my tools to do things for my family and to maintain and improve my property instead of paying contractors for repairs and remodeling. Vacations, for me, are weekends spent traveling to pow wows and other sales venues where I vend and make enough in sales to cover expenses, make a small profit, and meet new people while reconnecting with old friends.
Life entails work, but I’m happier working for myself and doing only what makes sense to me. I couldn’t do that while being shackled by debt. Holding a job and using debt is like riding a unicycle; stop pedaling and you crash. Living within my means is more like riding a bicycle; I have to pedal, and it’s uphill sometimes, but I get to coast a little.
Good post Ed.
If my wife ever kicks me out I’m coming to live with you. 🙂
I look at debt the same way I look at fire. You can use it to cook and nourish or you can burn your house down with it.
I’ve used it on and off for most of my life and these days primarily for business. It’s risk but it’s calculated and since my assets outweigh my liabilities by a pretty good margin and since my penchant for risk is not terribly high these days I don’t worry about the mortgage anymore. That is… until Mrs. Marion decides she wants a bigger house. In which case I’m definitely moving in with you.
As I’ve gotten older I am far less consumed with having ‘stuff’ (in fact aside from my guns and the SUV I use to go hunting/camping in there is very little I feel attached to). The only thing I would appreciate more of is land because it represents food security. But that means taking on more debt. I’m finally to the stage where I own the most important thing of all – my time. Debt put’s a claim on that. Not sure it’s something I’m willing to give up.
And this is a surprise another large percentage couldn’t raise a $1,000.00 without selling something and another percentage could not cough up $400.00 . No wonder when a majority of the jobs available don’t pay shit and then you have an influx of illegals pulling jobs out of the system ya ya no American will do that job that cheap bla bla bla remember the low paid masses reach a boiling point and eventually boom they explode on mass and the privleged groups well sooner or later they eat your god dam asses so be ready because when this shit hits the fan this time only God will help those in site to have blame cast on them good bad or indifferent bye bye yes could be me being eaten such is life
Most people are stupid. While partly that is not their fault, since the financial system is a fraud, they refuse to learn. Most people still make bad decisions, even when given the truth on a silver platter. It is complete irrational to pay even 30k for a car on basically a minimum wage income. I have a six figure income and still drive a 2002 Honda Accord in order to keep my expenses down.
General,
You live a conservative and responsible life.