What is Digg?510 Comments
- smashblu, on 07/01/2009, -22/+316Credit card: Don't buy what you can't afford.
College: It's called community college and not going out of state to an expensive college.
Car: Buy a car you can afford, preferably with cash.
Taxes: Getting in debt for taxes? You're doing it wrong.
Marriage: If you have to get married you don't have to go all out. Use common sense.
Mortgage: A house is an investment. Also if you pay more a month towards principle on your mortgage, the interest paid goes down a lot.
I'd also like to add that you should be saving money in some sort of long term investment during this time. Something like an IRA or UL policy. If you have a 401k at your job, you should fund it to whatever they match since it's free money and can always be rolled over once you leave. This is all common sense people. Being in a "debt prison" is all up to the individual, no more of the this blame game. - dpbBryan, on 07/01/2009, -3/+218How would an 18-year-old make $23,000 a year?
- CaptainJapan, on 07/01/2009, -1/+185Wait, I'm suppose to have an annual income of $56,000 at this point... *****.
- danthek54, on 07/01/2009, -22/+146ok time for the alternative...
18 no college...annual income ~15k but hey no student loans
24 no car...annual income ~15k who needs a car these days?
26 no mortgage...woo i can live in a...box?
debt propels us to enjoy a much higher standard of living, w/o loans we can't get most of the ***** we take for granted...and i'm sorry but living like a broke ass bohemian sleeping in a park or a hostel is not how i want to spend my 20s, rather have a degree so i can make more money, get a nice car because unfortunately that's how many girls judge a guy, and shocker own a house, because id rather pay down a loan than piss my money in the wind by renting - cersad, on 07/01/2009, -8/+122Buried as inaccurate. Everyone knows the woman's family is supposed to pay for the wedding.
- monkeyrun, on 07/01/2009, -0/+66lol I like how that guy bought a bride.
- drunkenvthokie, on 07/01/2009, -3/+68Well stop buying things on debt if you cannot handle it... Just because our government does it, does not make it a good idea for personal finances as well. People spend money that they don't have simply because they believe they are entitled to things. If those people get into financial trouble they have one person to blame. I do without a ton of things I would LOVE to have but that's because I enjoy having a positive balance in my bank account.
- timpoke8, on 07/01/2009, -4/+64I'll get dugg down...but Obama made it pretty ***** clear during the election that he planned on enacting government provided healthcare and he promised a stimulus plan. Both of those cost money. Both require deficit spending in short term. Both hope to stimulate the economy and pay themselves off in the future. I don't know if it will work. But that is exactly what Obama talked about during the election. Everyone had the chance to think about the merits of Keynesian during the election. It should not be a surprise that Obama is spending money now.
- wolfing, on 07/01/2009, -1/+57dugg for putting the wife on top of the 'debt' bar
- DeskFlyer, on 07/01/2009, -1/+54If I'm supposed to be making $77,000 a year at this point in time, then I must say that I have definitely failed at life.
- kingmanic, on 07/01/2009, -4/+49* Chart applies only if you are stupid
- Crazyredivan, on 07/01/2009, -16/+59You know what? I have to disagree with you. I did 2 years of Community College, then transferred to a cheaper in-state school (and worked while taking classes) and commuted, but I still have loans. My parents never saved for me to go to college (they couldn't have if they wanted to). I'm the first in my family to go to college. THAT is supposed to be the American Dream- a better life for your children. I did not take high-interest rate loans, I'm paying them all on time. As is my husband.
We just got married...but up to that point, my husband had no job for 7 months...none. He was too qualified or under qualified. Now, we each have decent-paying jobs and after rent, loans, and the few credit cards we have (that we had to live on...it was either that or not eat while he wasn't working), we can't even figure out how to start saving for a house. I'm talking a little row home in the city, not a McMansion.
It really irks me to keep seeing people post "it's not that hard to stay our of debt" or "it's your own fault." It is hard to stay out of debt and it is not everyone's fault. We didn't buy houses outside our means, get expensive cars, charge huge wardrobes to our credit cards. We are a young couple trying to make it, and this graph speaks volumes towards the up-hill climb we have.
Nothing personal, but it just frustrates me to see comments that lump everyone in financial straits together.
(Oh, and I put $ into my 401K too.) - MeatMountain, on 07/01/2009, -1/+41I can think of a way...
- elchispito, on 07/01/2009, -5/+45The real question is: why are student loans and mortgages lumped in with junk debt like credit cards?
Has the guy who made the graph never heard of equity, or ROI? Did he subtract money saved on rent from the mortgage debt? - cersad, on 07/01/2009, -1/+40To be fair, if you already have debt at 18 chances are your parents didn't teach you money management while you were still under their wing (this is especially true of the wealthier classes that more frequently attend college).
- ygeoff419, on 07/01/2009, -12/+502009 is my last year as a dem, I will choose no party over the other at this point. All of them lie, none of them really care about me or my family.
NEVER TRUST A POLITICIAN! - alanocu, on 07/01/2009, -72/+110So, how is that stimulus working out for us? I can tell you that a fug-ugly pair of $540.00 sneakers are not in my budget this year.
When we criticize the President for his liberal agenda, his supporters (when not bashing Bush) will remind us that the Democrat had won the election last fall and therefore was entitled to enact his agenda. What they don’t tell you is the number of people who took the Democratic candidate at his word that he would bring fiscal discipline to the our nation’s capital, given the Democrat’s repeated promise of a “net spending cut.”
That is, the Democrat won a convincing majority last fall not by focusing on the big-spending, large government agenda which has defined his first five months in office, but by appealing to voters and promising to be a responsible, a prudent steward of our nation’s finance.
Top that onto Cap & Trade, the taxes we're paying, going to pay, and will be passing down to our future generations, it's not only safe to say that Democrats are liars, but they don't care that we know it. - cnot3, on 07/01/2009, -2/+37I can think of three ways and they all involve anal fisting.
- biw314, on 07/01/2009, -0/+34This is stupid. I am in my mid-thirties, make less than 40k a year, have a wife, support 4 kids, a house, a dog, a cat and 3 fish. We have a newer minvan and i have no debt. I don't have any stupid bills like $100 for a cell or cable but we are very happy and comfortable. I paid off my house in 11 years.
- wolfing, on 07/01/2009, -0/+33I'm 40 and I was supposed to be getting 70+ by 30... pfft! I guess that's a bar for a New Yorker
- MaxxusFlamus, on 07/01/2009, -5/+35if you used a condom you could've paid it off in half that time.
- FuzzyBunny, on 07/01/2009, -2/+32It's an interesting graphic, it really is. Unfortunately it's also very misleading. It's expressing income, a measure of rate ($/year in this case) against accumulated debt, an absolute measurement (simply $) on the same axis. A more accurate graph would express essentially the integral of income against accumulated debt (or the derivative of the debt vs income). Not saying that debt isn't a problem in our country, just that this graph overstates it quite a bit.
- RicardoWilliams, on 07/01/2009, -5/+33the saddest part about this bar graph is the reality of the debt starting at such a young age =(
- JFitzpatrick, on 07/01/2009, -3/+29Get a job paying 11-12 an hour and work a regular work week?
- Whitecoolie, on 07/01/2009, -11/+35So, with our debt skyrocketing and inflation approaching, how in the world are we supposed to start planning for retirement? With all of this bad news, I feel like we are heading towards a doomsday scenario. Hopefully in two-three years all of this is done with and we are in happy and good times again.
http://digg.com/business_finance/Is_Investing_in_t ... - fahrvergnuugen, on 07/01/2009, -2/+26Throwing the mortage in there isn't exactly fair. Mortgages aren't considered to be bad the way normal consumer debt is. A mortgage is "good" debt, because your house will retain value and hopefully appreciate over time.
That $100 pair of sneakers you put on your credit card or $25,000 loan you took out for a car are "bad" because your paying interest on an item whose value is depreciating very rapidly. How much are those sneakers worth after you wear them out of the store? How about the car you just drove off the lot?
Keep the total of your consumer debt (credit cards, car loans, etc) under 15% of your take home salary and you will be fine. - TheNik, on 07/01/2009, -3/+25It's not the taxing and spending I have a problem with... it's the taxing and spending and getting nothing in return.
***** it. - ghatid, on 07/01/2009, -2/+24I don't think debt is a form of slavery unless you let it use you. I think of debt as a tool...I use it like the bitch it is.
- inactive, on 07/01/2009, -2/+24this infographic was *****.
- lilmentor3, on 07/01/2009, -1/+22what the *****? where is medical bills???????????????????????????
- inactive, on 07/01/2009, -0/+21A house should NOT be considered an Investment. That is part of the problem w/ people speculating home prices out west. A home should be a place where you can retain what you put in, where after 15-30 years, you no longer have to make payments. Maybe an investment for your future, but not an investment where you are looking to turn around in 5 years and make 20%.
- Crazyredivan, on 07/01/2009, -0/+21Me too...I was surprised by that. Can I use the graph as a bargaining chip when I do my annual evaluation?
- cheddaro, on 07/01/2009, -0/+20That is the real American dream. To have your house paid off and to be debt free. Congratulations!
Some people spend as much on their TV as I did on my car, and then as much as on their car as some people do on their house. And then they wonder why they are in debt.
You have the right idea. - realeskimopimp, on 07/01/2009, -5/+25Be a good america. Go to work, pay your debt and don't ask questions.
- inactive, on 07/01/2009, -11/+31HOW'S YOUR AMERICAN DREAM?
In the United States we promote the "American Dream" --a marketing scheme-- because it keeps the tax machine going. People fall for this "American Dream" bullcrap and they fall into the trap. They fund a huge war machine, keep the rich filthy rich, the same political parties in power, and all is well. Keep your eyes closed and keep dreaming the American Dream. Sleep you silly sheep...sleep and dream the American Dream...then get slaughtered - xenuxenuts, on 07/01/2009, -1/+20illegally?
- Colecoman1982, on 07/01/2009, -0/+19There's a lot wrong with this diagram. For instance, man degrees (especially post-grad) would give you a dept load much higher than the diagram suggests when compared to the $40k income for that age. Also, at $56k the 26 year old guy hasn't even jumped into a new tax bracket so why are taxes such an issue? Has he just not bothered to pay them? If that's the case, wouldn't that just be his stupidity. I understand that kids cost money, and that the ceremony can get expensive if the parents aren't helping, but shouldn't the wife's income be considered in this math? Lastly, assuming he purchased a reasonably home, it would be more interesting to have a corresponding pillar next to the red one that showed all the money he would have spent had he continued to rent.
- PowderedToasty, on 07/01/2009, -3/+21I'm 28 and have a good job and absolutely no debt, is this chart really an average American experience? I'm not even sure this is a fair representation of the situation. If you buy a house and owe $300,000 over 30 years for it, it's not really fair to put that huge amount of debt up against your annual salary as a comparison.
- planetfour, on 07/01/2009, -3/+21There are lots of people without mortgages over 26, and are there by choice.
Oh, and I'm not typing from inside a box. - sugablonde, on 07/01/2009, -1/+18"It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it".
-- George Carlin - ygeoff419, on 07/01/2009, -15/+31Rofl! "rather have a degree so i can make more money, get a nice car because unfortunately that's how many girls judge a guy" guess thats true if you only want materialistic bitches.
If a person can only be happy with a fancy car, a 300K home and a college degree that put u another 50k in debt, then by all means go for it!
That way when you lose your job because some recent college grad will do it cheaper I can by your house when you go into foreclosure!
Skipping college is fine as long as you train in a trade, but then it means you have to really work and use your hands instead of sitting in your cramped little cubicle.
Debt is just another form of slavery.
BTW, thank you to everyone who took out mortgages they could not afford, my wife and I are moving into our new foreclosure score august 1st! - jdames1980, on 07/01/2009, -0/+16Somebody needs to control their wedding expenses. Holy *****, the wedding expenses cost a third of his mortgage!
- tsotha, on 07/01/2009, -0/+16You always do, one way or another.
- smashblu, on 07/01/2009, -6/+22I generalize because I'm making a comment to everyone.
- braveheart007, on 07/01/2009, -5/+20I still can't understand why America hasn't kept up the wages with the cost of living. This is one major reason we face such a situation with debt
- spickly, on 07/01/2009, -0/+15i think that's what makes this even more depressing. at 25 i'm not making anywhere near what i "should" be making, and yet am still poised for all the ***** debt.
- GroundLifter, on 07/01/2009, -1/+16Where are people getting all these high paying jobs? If I was making $77k a year, as well as my supposed wife, I'm pretty sure I could afford a house.
- Qumahlin, on 07/01/2009, -0/+14While i made quite a bit more when I was 18, your average 18 year old will not be making 23k a year.
A minimum wage job also does not pay 23k a year. Even if the minimum wage were $10 /hour you would still take home less than 20K a year after taxes if you were working a normal 40 hour week. - daballs, on 07/01/2009, -0/+14Hey guys, I didn’t have any debt while under Bush and don't plant to start while under Obama.
I might not have the nicest house or car, but I do have a balanced budget.
It’s all about personal responsibility and living within your means. - PlanckTime, on 07/01/2009, -0/+14Our debt now is from after WWII. That's two or three generations back for the young adults in America today and the thing is still growing. Add in the fact that things like Social Security and medicare/Medicaid are going to keep growing every year and you make it impossible to actually get out from under it given the current system.
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