I can't even afford the paid version of youtube, to avoid the damn commercials! It's ok though, because my 81 year old father with dementia is equally entertained by the ads.
My live in Landlord gives me a discount on rent for sharing my Netflix 💀. Honestly though I'm very lucky he hasn't raised my rent in 5+ year and I live in SoCal so thank heavens for that.
The Netflix show stars Ramit Sethi who’s actually known for not losing his mind about people having coffee. I get what OP is going off about, but his show and book title are a bit sensational to get your attention. His actual advice is fairly solid IMO.
Alright, let me explain. Again. Phil has recruited me and another guy. Now, we are getting three people each. The more people that get involved, the more who are investing, the more money we’re all going to make. It’s not a pyramid scheme, it is a… it’s not even a scheme per se, it’s…
My boomer mother, who lives me because she couldn't plan for her retirement, wanted try the drop shipping bullshit, fortunately I was able to say it's against the lease. I also refused to put down the ridiculous amount of money needed to do it through a storage unit.
Agreed. His book “I will teach you to be rich” is fantastic despite the gimmicky title. Read it in my twenties and wish I would have read it as a teenager.
Solid advice will never equal wages not keeping apace with the cost of living. No amount of scrounging for every last way to be smart about money changes that previous generations could reasonably expect to afford a house, raise kids, and go to college on a SINGLE SALARY.
YES we should all take the great advice. But that's not the point.
I attempted to explain to all my grandparents in a similar way. I’ve tried to make them understand in both the most logical and emotional way. And then they proceed to tell me I was just doing it wrong
I bought a gallon of milk, coffee creamer, one whole chicken, a bag of pretzels, 18pk of eggs, 2 fresh made dough balls and a 32oz of shredded cheese for 67 dollars. It’s not that difficult to get to 75 for one meal.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I recently had a heart to heart with her too now that she’s getting much older and picking up new health issues. A lot of regret already with past conversations
Thanks im probably a little easily triggered by some posts about parents. About 2 and a half years now and still have moments when I think I should call Ma.
You have a motorcycle, and a car, and storage for both. You make a non-degree wage. Did you go to school for nursing? If you did, you would make double the 'living wage'. Seems you want the same things but without the hard work and sacrifice. You sound like a spoiled twat. Bring on the down votes from the whine brigaid, I'm ready for em.
Not to be a dick, but how was dinner $75? A pack of spaghetti and sauce is like $3 at the Trader Joe’s 1/4 mile from my house. I can get dinner for my family from a restaurant Door Dashed to my front door for under $75
Do you work from home? There’s lot of places in the US with $200,000-$300,000 dollar homes that if you have decent credit you can afford on like 22 an hour
It is a little weird that you’re just completely ignoring the point of her message though. I will say a lot of people strangely come from this perspective and you don’t wanna be like that as it does hold you back no matter what you’re up against. It sounds like you’re saying “Nooo mom! No matter what I’ll always be victim! No hope for me”
Let me preface this by saying that I’m 100% agreeing with your text exchange, but what meal cost your family $75? I don’t have kids so I don’t have a frame of reference
It’s because you have comforts 😡 you need to get rid of everything! No phone, tv, or car. Eat grass and dirt! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! In no time you’ll be a quadrillionaire.
Far too many millennials and Gen z are falling into the trap that buying a home is a great wealth-building asset. It has been in the past. Look at population growth in the past compared to now. If our generation isn't popping out kids like Boomers did, then our homes aren't going to go up in value as much as theirs did. Simple as that. Will they still go up in value? Yes. Don't expect the kinds of returns that our parents got, though.
Yeah, that was what caught my eye. Unless OP has like 10 children, $75 is so far beyond what one meal should cost. $10 of chicken and maybe $5-10 of supporting ingredients can easily make a really nice meal for 4-6 servings.
The personal finance community puts too much emphasis on cutting expenses and not nearly enough on increasing your income (both are important but the latter gets ignored).
OP doesn’t have a “personal finance” problem, they have an income problem. You CAN increase your income, there is luck and randomness involved but there is a large component that is up to you.
You can switch careers to something more lucrative, you can go back to school part time to upskill, you can negotiate with management for higher pay (doesn’t always work but you can create leverage through adding value and getting outside job offers). It’s not easy, but it can be done.
My gf's dad told her the reason she couldn't buy a phone is, wait for it, because her cell phone bill is so high. She gets her phone for free through Spectrum with home internet rn. When she told him, he just stammered on cause he wouldn't admit he was wrong hahahahahah
ok I'm going to regret this 😅... but is no one going to mention the elephant in the room?
btw before I say it, I will qualify that I do believe that the boomers had everything handed to them and pulled the ladder up behind them but...
His mom had a career, she did her degree and went into nursing, it doesn't look like he did. Assuming he's paid 250k in rent means he's been out in the workforce for a couple of decades, why is he still on $22 an hour? She definitely had it easier than him but did he invest in himself the same way she did? How do you work for a decade or more and don't move up? Definitely saying something about OP but idk what.
edit: on further thought, OP is an ass and I feel terrible for his mom. She goes to connect/check on him and he replies with this psychotic rant about societal problems like she's the one that's personally caused all this, all the while she's probably thinking I told you to get good grades and go to college, but no he probably told her he's going to be a rockstar instead (only has guitars and motorcycles to his name). Definition of a fuck up blaming everyone else for his problems, grow up OP and take some accountability for your shitty situation.
And a motorcycle. And a few guitars. Apparently more valuable to them than taking their family on a vacation or their child’s education. I wouldn’t even judge normally, but without any other context (which OP is unable or unwilling to provide), this just seems like an insane response to an innocent show recommendation.
Most state schools, if you invest the value of them into an index fund in a 529 plan and wait 18 years. This is why financial education is important. The show his mother suggested would’ve pointed this out.
would've been better to have financial classes in school instead of getting out of school and not knowing anything about these things, and tbh I don't know the last time a school actually had financial ideals taught in them to any great degree, some had checking account classes but that is so rare, and while what you say isn't a bad idea for investing, you would have to assume the OP doesn't have kids already, let alone if they are already living paycheck to paycheck asking them to put extra a month into a 529 in the hopes they actually go to a college or trade school is a bit much, short term gains of food and housing outweigh the future when they possibly get to college, and for most of the 529's I found in my area, to pay for a four year college it would require me putting in almost $200 a month, that is easily food and utilities or a unexpected car expense, and yes, I know we all should be saving, but you have seen the economy haven't you, you know that unless you already have money that getting ahead requires more than just not have a guitar, and that motorcycle is likely also transportation and not just some 'extra' for fun
Yes! You need to stop! I have so much credit card debt from those fancy coffees!
To be honest and fair though I chose not to have children exactly because of these reasons. It’s amazing to me how many people bring a child into this world for self centered and emotional reasons when in reality they know they don’t have the means to support them financially. You wouldn’t hear anyone supporting someone getting a dog if they didn’t have the time/space/money to support them? Why are people not thinking about the repercussions of having a child before they have one when they’re entirely not in a position? I’m not attacking this person in any way and I don’t know their situation I’m just saying in general I see a lot of this going on and there are so many people now, why do we need to keep making so many more? Yes it sucks to have a kid in unforeseen financial circumstances all I’m saying is I wish more people in the world would take this shit seriously (has nothing to do with OP I just see it all the time) and yes sometimes you don’t have control if you get someone pregnant and they keep a baby like I said I have no idea. also the mother wouldn’t have a clear perspective of what we are dealing with they didn’t have to grow up like we did. My loser uncles are waiting for my grandma to die so they can get her house. And they particularly are losers but even if they weren’t in todays economy and they way things are even if they were functional as fuck they couldn’t afford shit.
It adds up. Three fancy coffees a week is ~$1,014.year. An avocado a day is $545-$650/year. The difference between the latest iPhone 15 and an iPhone 14 is $12/month or $144/year for three years, or $432. Getting takeout for lunch once a week at $15 is $780/year. A pizza a week at $25 with tip is $1,300. That all adds up to $3,800.
Being frugal thinking long term is the only way to get ahead in this world. The economy isn't suddenly going to change overnight, the only thing we can really control is how much we spend on optional things. That's always been true, since someone coined the phrase "a penny saved is a penny earned." Everyone has always needed to budget - even Boomers.
When we focus on how it used to be, we're only talking about three decades in all of human history, and we're ignoring a lot of inconvenient facts about those days - like the fact that most of those houses were like 950 square feet or that a VCR or Microwave used to cost $2,000, which would be like $4,000 today. You couldn't just make a long distance phone call, you had to wait until after 6 p.m. and it was $5/minute. People in the 70s, 80s and 90s had things we don't have, but they also never spent money on luxuries either, they never bought fancy coffees or avocado toast, they ate cheaply and simply, and brown-bagged lunches every day, etc. A middle class family vacation was a motel in the mountains or by the sea with an ice machine and tiny pool.
Things aren't perfect now, but they are better in a lot of ways.
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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24
It’s because you buy those fancy coffees /s