What is Digg?213 Comments
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -6/+102This can mean one of two things: they don't make enough money or they are spending WAYYY too much. Probably the latter.
- silentboom, on 07/25/2008, -8/+52With such easy credit available, savings were never needed. People were saying I can drive a $40,000 car instead of a $10,000 car if you can work out similar payments. They didn;t care that it costs 4 times as much. This was all started at the doorstep of the federal reserve which is an unconstitutonal entity to begin with. They printed and the government spent and now that easy credit will be the noose around the middle class' neck when the inflation makes it so that they cannot come up with the payments and have no savings to ride it out. Then their houses lose 25-50% of their value and they walk away from their mortgage because it's not worth it to continue paying. People on fixed incomes like the elderly are suffering the worst as prices rise due to inflation which is the dollar falling, just another tax. People's salaries never keep up with inflation, especially in a time like now when businesses are struggling. Not alot of people are going to get a raise that will compensate for inflation. Instead they are trying to keep their jobs.
- cavie2002, on 07/25/2008, -3/+45Let them eat cake
- newsboys, on 07/25/2008, -2/+41Our generation is one that only knows how to spend money - one of instant gratification. No one understands how to save anymore.
- bflfab, on 07/25/2008, -6/+45Don't worry, the government can get more from the money tree!! That and those of us who actually have been responsible will me made to bail everyone else out.
- deathfix, on 07/25/2008, -3/+33Probably both.
- levitron, on 07/25/2008, -4/+33It's all in how you live and how you save. I make just over 30k, with 4 kids under 6, and a wife at home, and I always make sure I have at least 8k in some sort of savings at any time. No cable, no satellite, 1 cell phone (emergency pay as you go), one vehicle (used), CRT TV, etc.
Sure, I want all that cool stuff, but being financially secure is more important now. I'll get it later. For now, I'll sate my tech hunger by reading all about it on Digg... - nonsequitor, on 07/25/2008, -1/+30Its my understanding that once you start investing, you should keep 2 months reserves in an easily accessable no penalty account (ie Liquid). Beyond that is what you invest in the market, and pick stocks that reflect the amount of risk you are willing to bear, diversified across many sectors. And of course you should make the max contribution to your retirement account which your employer will match up to.
Failing that, you should pay off your revolving accounts first, while staying current on your installment accounts. Once you have your credit cards completely paid off, then work on saving. If you can't pay off a credit card in 3 months, you should cut the card up and not get a replacement until the balance is gone. And of course finally, if your revolving account balances are beyond your means to pay off quickly, take out a loan, pay them off, and close the accounts.
Anyone living paycheck to paycheck needs to sit down and figure out how to break the cycle, either by modulating their spending, or their habits. If you eat every meal at a restaurant, drink $4 coffees daily, and spend all your discretionary income on toys, you may need to reassess your financial goals. - inactive, on 07/25/2008, -4/+33***** when I get a ten day cushion ahead of me that's a good day.
- yotomote, on 07/25/2008, -3/+314 kids in 6 years? you know im all for saving too but condoms are cheap
- juankovo, on 07/25/2008, -4/+23I thought the stimulus checks were such a great idea here in the United States that I've written to my congressmen recommending that a new stimulus check is issued every month. I figure that $1000 per month is a fair deal.
Socialism is on its way to the U.S. of A.! - inactive, on 07/25/2008, -4/+21Tips for those who are illiterate or "don't read no articles good":
1) This article is about England, they don't have money trees, stimulus checks or dollars there.
2) The Digg picture might have clued you in, it has the word centre spelled in the queens English. You can type that in Microsoft Word if you really have no idea how its spelled in America.
3) Don't be stupid.
That is all. - Simus, on 07/25/2008, -7/+2311 days? Lrn2Ramen.
- visca, on 07/25/2008, -0/+16Whenever I go to an ATM machine, I am always completely baffled when I see other people's receipts laying around, always with somewhere around $54, $20, -$10, -$100 as the balance of their chequing and savings accounts. It's a sad state of affairs when the average bank account appears to have around $30 in it.
So much for an emergency fund. - krazykrazz, on 07/25/2008, -5/+18This is troubling... don't people have retirement savings they could tap into early in case of an emergency?
- krnldmp, on 07/25/2008, -0/+13Let me tell you how you're stupid.
The vast majority of work in the world is not worth $20 an hour. and if people stopped doing that work, YOU'D be *****. - twoboxen, on 07/25/2008, -4/+16But cable and internet are NEEDS. Trust me.
- AmusedToDeath, on 07/25/2008, -1/+13When you consider what you save on daycare, gas, lunches out, etc. if one parent stays at home, it's actually not as hard as you think. If my wife went back to work right now at her old job, 70-80% of her salary would go to gas and daycare. Added to that, are the much more valuable intangibles that come with having a parent "free" all the time. I never have to take time off to take my son to the doctor or programs unless I just want to. He gets to go to the park or out for ice cream with mommy in the middle of the day "just because". My wife also says she feels much more satisfied raising our son than working at a rat race job.
- silentboom, on 07/25/2008, -4/+15Just their 401k's which got hit hard in the market. Now I've heard that some 401k providers are offering 401k debit cards. Lend yourself your future. Go ahead...take it out of your retirement to pay for what the government is doing to us....lol. We get screwed because we don't understand what they are doing to us.
- mizike, on 07/25/2008, -0/+11And that's in Britain, imagine what it's like in the US where common accidents can result in complete financial ruin ("it sucks that you got hit by that car, but don't worry, we'll fix you up for the low, low, price of all your earthly possessions as your insurance company has denied coverage")
- bacon_skoda, on 07/25/2008, -1/+11I need that $99 unlimited plan so i can take that telephone survey.
- BlackJackJester, on 07/25/2008, -5/+14If the release of the iPhone has told us anything, it's that this is true. Millions are willing to spend $200-$600 on a phone, with a plan that costs upwards of $2000/year, instead of a landline for $15/month - or if you need a cell phone, free phone and $30-$50/mo, or even a pay-as-you-go phone. You can do without cable TV if you have internet, as most shows are online anyway. Lay off the A/C and you're going to save a lot on electricity.
- Buzzbean, on 07/25/2008, -1/+10The trick is to start early. If a teenager is taught to automatically save 20% or more of their income before even touching it for anything else, that is the level of income they will be used to spending. I learned this lesson much later than my teens but now I'm used to living on 54% of my gross income. I know I'll be able to retire living at least as well as I do now, plus if I have an emergency expense, I don't need to haul out the credit card to pay for it. Every pay raise, I'm putting a bigger percent into savings. Anyone can do it and everyone should do it. You can start like this:
The next time you get a raise, automatically put 50% of that raise into savings of some sort. Do the same with every single raise you get from now on. Get just a 2% raise? Put half of it into savings. You won't miss what you're not giving yourself. Get a nice big 20% raise? Fantastic! Put half of it into savings and you're well on your way to living securely. It will take you a few years to get a really good cushion going but that's better than never getting it. - lonehunter01, on 07/25/2008, -0/+9If by 'retirement savings' you mean 'scratch offs,' then yes.
- bigbill780, on 07/25/2008, -1/+10I think its funny how people think their cars are assets when they are usually their biggest liabilities. Its the same reason I don't really feel bad for everyone losing houses they could never afford in the first place... and yes I will be taking advantage of the low house prices in about a year.
- GovernmentsGun, on 07/25/2008, -4/+12And cell phones that have +$30 a month texting bills.
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -8/+16yeah, reminds of the poor couple I saw on the subway last week. 2 small screaming kids and they had obviously just bought a big crappy off-brand 40 inch HDTV ... and they we dressed in rags, practically. To top it all off, their kids were eating McDonald's. I felt sorry for them for being so stupid but I suppose some rich jerk could look down on me for not starting an IRA when I was 15 years old or something so-- what can you do?
- itsripitsrip, on 07/25/2008, -1/+9I hate the titles that are deceptive like this one.
The title sounds like in 11 days, millions of people may lose all their money. Where truthfully it's just IF they lose their job. Yeah, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR JOB SIMULTANEOUSLY AND GO BANKRUPT. - BlackJackJester, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8@Klinky - almost all (popular) TV shows are hosted online on the networks website for free within a day or two after it plays on TV. Also, TV is a waste of time - your kids might not grow up with ADD if you keep them off the tube.
@tattertech - I saw the line for the iPhone - a good amount of them were wearing shirts of their other respective stores in the same mall. Captain $10/hour shouldn't buy an iPhone. - tattertech, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8How do you know that many of the people who bought the iPhone are financially secure enough to do so?
- theutopian, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8Then obviously you have never been on unemployment. You can't live on it, that even if you can get it. Oftentimes is takes 1 month or more before you start getting it, then by then you've probably got another job.
- mardraum, on 07/25/2008, -0/+7if cable and internet bills were the extent of the average American's financial squanderings then we'd all be a lot better off than we are.
- nathanww, on 07/25/2008, -14/+21Yikes that's scary
Oh wait, it's the Daily Fail. They probably made it up. - Ju1c3, on 07/25/2008, -1/+8but this is just British people.... cuz we KNOW Americans don't do this...
yes that was sarcasm - inactive, on 07/25/2008, -0/+7"We the people" bought into a dream that corp. / gov. already sold to escape all these things !
- xptweakerntn, on 07/25/2008, -0/+7No cable, no satellite, but obviously teh internets?
Unless you are spending company time on Digg, in that case YOU SHALL BE FIRED!
-Your Boss - evilbob333, on 07/25/2008, -1/+8Kick you in the nuts and take it.
- futureisours, on 07/25/2008, -2/+9bahhh i could last months on my credit cards alone!! the answer to this is to apply for lots of credit cards!!!
- skipdog172, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7i think a lot of folks dont understand how much 30k is worth in certain parts of the country compared to others. unless you know where that person lives, them saying they make 30k is hard to compare against.
- perfectrapture, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6Wait wait wait. I think you're saying that people need to be taught to be responsible and to think ahead.
You're a madman! Off to the insane asylum for you! - mrremy, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6Do you think we should tell him the article wasn't about Americans?
- infinitus64, on 07/25/2008, -4/+10that was france and that whole thing was a lie she never really said that.
- Braxo, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5Each week I only put in $150 into my checking account that I use and the rest into savings and stock account. Then throughout the week I use that $150, and if I need to make a bigger purchase I just transfer into it, so my receipts almost always say
- zzz@tkz, on 07/25/2008, -3/+8I heard run on sentences are really cool that's what my friend said at least he is awesome.
- Kumaku, on 07/25/2008, -2/+7Probably a college students account.
- tehknotte, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6Remember when everyone said the Quibbler was nothing but nonsense but only they were printing the truth about Harry Potter.
- kingo123, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6That's actually pretty good advice.
- ExRe, on 07/25/2008, -3/+8Sorry, but all the dumb asses who spent more than they'll make in the next 20 years on a new house and car deserve what ever they get.
- gurudrew, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5The article might be about England, but it holds true on this side of the pond also.
- Auxon, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6Not sure what your intention is by your comment, so to make things clear:
Constitution, Article 1, Section 10, paragraph 1:
"Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility."
President Andrew Jackson commented regarding the Constitutional Convention:
"...It was the purpose of the Convention to establish a currency consisting of the precious metals. These were adopted by a permanent rule excluding the use of a perishable medium of exchange, such as of certain agricultural commodities recognized by the statutes of some States as tender for debts, or the still more pernicious expedient of paper currency." -
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