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Americans are abysmally stupid when it comes to finances.
Maybe instead of teaching high school kids how to put condoms on bananas we should be teaching them finance.
Its not just Americans.
I was a stock broker in Canada shortly after I left university. I was shocked at how little people saved. I remember having a conversation with this couple in their mid-50s who had $9000 in the bank, and they wanted me to turn that into enough for them to retire on. Stunning.
Stock brokers are likely the reason the couple only had $9000. I save like crazy & like everyone I know lost a mint in the stock market. I am down over $250,000 buying stocks that nearly bankrupted me. I now short the markets at key intervals & buy real assets & have never had my assets make me more, inflation & tax free to boot. Once people figure out the system is rigged & stop playing the game they make real wealth. Smart people finally get off the work hard, pay taxes, & save only to loose value tread mill.
Americans are abysmally stupid when it comes to finances.
Maybe instead of teaching high school kids how to put condoms on bananas we should be teaching them finance.
Oh what conceited blame the victim bullshit, Skull.
You're a better person than that quip indicates..
If people never make enough money to save it for their retirements and so forth, then guess what?
They don't.
It isn't like they don't KNOW how to save, they just don't make enough TO SAVE.
The median per worker income in this nation is about between $20K-something and $30K-something in the USA depending on what state you live in.
source
Median household fell to $50,303 last year, from $52,163 in 2007. In 1998, median income was $51,295. All these numbers are adjusted for inflation.
source
YOU try saving for a rainy day with that level of income.
Unless you've got some kind of financial ace-in-the-hole, you're not going to be saving for a rainy day, either, making that kind of money.
I think I'm pretty financially secure. I have $87.93 in savings spread out between four different banks in case one of them happens to fail. I also have $13.87 in a sock hidden under my bed. In case of an emergency, I usually carry at least $4.00 on my person at all times. You just never know when fate will jump in and demand you need some cash.
See, if you'd given your money to me, you'd be up 30% since 2007!
The couple hadn't used a broker yet. It was the early 90s.
I do understand your frustration though. I don't think the financial industry always serves its clients well. I talk to brokers, and they tell me that a lot of their retail clientele sold in 2008 at a deep loss and did not come back into the market to profit from the rebound.
True.
Funny but is it only people who were in the finance business for a period in their lives that save?
My wife and i are compulsive savers and i see none of our friends saving. I hate when people ask me advice when they know I used to be a financial adviser. I no longer give any advice because it has actually created friction between some of my friends and me.
I've found that it's easier to ask a client or friend if his wife is good in bed than it is to have an honest dialogue about their finances.
How do you save for retirement on 43,000 a year?
True.
Funny but is it only people who were in the finance business for a period in their lives that save?
My wife and i are compulsive savers and i see none of our friends saving. I hate when people ask me advice when they know I used to be a financial adviser. I no longer give any advice because it has actually created friction between some of my friends and me.
I've found that it's easier to ask a client or friend if his wife is good in bed than it is to have an honest dialogue about their finances.
We save quite a bit as well. Our friends who are driving around in new cars every two years don't get why we have older cars. I just smile and say "they're paid for".
It helps to have been raised in a large family without much money. It makes it more natural to live below one's means and save for the future.
How do you save for retirement on 43,000 a year?
Depends on where you live.
And how you live.
Purchased status and self esteem are expensive and leave you empty.
True.
Funny but is it only people who were in the finance business for a period in their lives that save?
My wife and i are compulsive savers and i see none of our friends saving. I hate when people ask me advice when they know I used to be a financial adviser. I no longer give any advice because it has actually created friction between some of my friends and me.
I've found that it's easier to ask a client or friend if his wife is good in bed than it is to have an honest dialogue about their finances.
We save quite a bit as well. Our friends who are driving around in new cars every two years don't get why we have older cars. I just smile and say "they're paid for".
It helps to have been raised in a large family without much money. It makes it more natural to live below one's means and save for the future.
I no longer give any advice because it has actually created friction between some of my friends and me.
I've found that it's easier to ask a client or friend if his wife is good in bed than it is to have an honest dialogue about their finances.
That is so funny and sad at the same time.
Same here boody.
It is actually a more comfortable life to live without things you dont really need. So many nowdays dont know the differance between want and need.
Purchased status and self esteem are expensive and leave you empty.
Indeed.
I like what Dave Ramsey says: Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else.
The peace of mind of no or low debt with money in the bank is quite lovely.
How do you save for retirement on 43,000 a year?
Purchased status and self esteem are expensive and leave you empty.
Indeed.
I like what Dave Ramsey says: Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else.
The peace of mind of no or low debt with money in the bank is quite lovely.
Nothing feels as good as money in the bank.
And here I was thinking I was the wife/mom of your average American family. Boy was I mistaken!No savings, no retirement account, no this, no that..
Yet, the average American family seems to have 2-3 mortgages on ther house, has an ATV, big screen TVs, takes vacations every 6 months, throws parties, and has not a care in the world.
Coincidence?
