Why Do People Struggle Saving Money?

[McAfee]

For someone like me, I can easily go without worthless internet garbage like Amazon and Netflix plus the 100 other subscriptions other people have, and if it were up to me, I would easily spend 100 bucks or less on groceries, yet other members of my family and people on the internet struggle to save money; they claim they binge buy and just need to have Netflix despite the fact FMovie and 123Movie exist, and they just need new shoes they are never going to wear.

So my question is, why do so many people enjoy being broke consoomers?

 

[You're MDNWU]

Because someone else has it.

Because they want it right this instant.

Because they're bored.

Because they're fat.

Because a celebrity or infloooouencer endorsed it.

 

[PFM]

The internet and social media in particular is very very good at honing in on your interests and making you think you need shit that you don't. No longer do they have to rely on commercials to hit certain demographics, now they can get extremely specific.

 

[urr13 account]

In most cases they don't make enough in the first place. They should focusing on making more money first.

 

[mindlessobserver]

In most cases they don't make enough in the first place. They should focusing on making more money first.

This basically. They usually fall into two categories.

The Working Poor/Middle Class (Collectively Worker Class)

or the Dependent Class.

The Dependent class I will touch on just briefly. They get free money from the government and savings are counted against anything they get month to month from the Government. So they have a negative economic incentive that prohibits them from saving and investing. As both will count against their gibs. So what cash they do obtain or earn has to be spent immediately.

The Working Class is a bit more complicated but basically boils down to similar restraints be they Working Poor or Working Middle.

The cost of maintaining the level of comfort to which they are accustomed. That is, the things they value and need. Which are restrained strongly by the cost of things such as the Roof over their heads, the food they buy, and the cost of fuel to get to where they need to be to earn money.

Three of these factors, the Roof, the Food, and the Fuel have exploded in price in the last 30 years. Concurrently, the US Government has removed two from the metric of its analysis on the average year to year inflation. The Food and the Fuel. You would think this was so they can lie about how bad things are, but that is not entirely true. Its because they are legally bound to pay the Dependent Class based upon the average cost of living. The change in Inflation Analysis was done to dodge the legal requirements on the Government for paying its dependents.

Unfortunately, wages have not kept pace with the rate of ACTUAL inflation, through a combination of factors that are way too complicated to go over. At this point getting ahead requires a level of sophisticated knowledge on how the economy, debt, and money velocity works that are beyond most people. TBH, the Dependent Class are responding to the optimum economic incentive. So long as they don't work, they are guaranteed stability at their chosen income level. Which means more and more people will opt to become Government dependents over time.

 

[SCV]

Three of these factors, the Roof, the Food, and the Fuel have exploded in price in the last 30 years. Concurrently, the US Government has removed two from the metric of its analysis on the average year to year inflation. The Food and the Fuel.

Could you give me a source for this and clarify exactly what measurement you're talking about? I ask because I've heard this before but if I go to https://www.bls.gov/cpi/ food is one of the main categories and gas is there under energy -> energy commodities. If there's a particular metric they use for COLA that doesn't include food and fuel I would be very interested to know what it is.

I want my rants about the government be accurate like unemployment numbers not counting people who've been out of work for over 6 months.

 

[lIllllIiiiiLLLLiiiiIIIIll]

So my question is, why do so many people enjoy being broke consoomers?

cuz ur mum's too good but she got that post-COVID pricing on the OPMum-ussy.

 

[mindlessobserver]

I want my rants about the government be accurate like unemployment numbers not counting people who've been out of work for over 6 months.

BLS does track the cost of food. But when the federal reserve issues its core inflation guidance, Food and Fuel are deliberately left out.

The Difference is in the Core Inflation data which determines what the benchmark interest rates should be, as well as how much money needs to be given to the dependent class year on year.

Food and Fuel get bundled into the Consumer Price Index, which does not carry legal authority.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/coreinflation.asp

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Because balancing a budget is hard and depends on cutting yourself of things you feel like you need despite having better cheaper alternatives due to it requiring more effort/time. Food is the most common example with people ordering out or buying frozen/pre-packaged meals for twice the cost of just making it themselves. Entertainment you can just pirate everything or go outside.

 

[SCV]

BLS does track the cost of food. But when the federal reserve issues its core inflation guidance, Food and Fuel are deliberately left out.

The Difference is in the Core Inflation data which determines what the benchmark interest rates should be, as well as how much money needs to be given to the dependent class year on year.

Food and Fuel get bundled into the Consumer Price Index, which does not carry legal authority.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/coreinflation.asp

So all the inflation calculators online and the rates the news quotes use this "core inflation" metric?

 

[mindlessobserver]

So all the inflation calculators online and the rates the news quotes use this "core inflation" metric?

Yep. Always have.

 

[Chongqing]

Unfortunately, wages have not kept pace with the rate of ACTUAL inflation, through a combination of factors that are way too complicated to go over.

It's just immigration. That's all it is.

If we weren't allowed to import foreign nurses, American nurses would probably have double the average salary that they do now.

The powers that be pretend that this is a complicated, multifaceted, unfixable problem in hopes we never address the real, easily fixable problem.

 

[Fellen]

Either a lack of self-control or fear. If one lacks self-control they'll spend as much as they're getting and not save anything. The one that's afraid is one who doesn't invest and can't grow beyond what their job offers them.

 

[SCV]

Yep. Always have.

So is there a site that does "CPI inflation" instead of "core inflation" ? Is that just shadowstats?

 

[Bloitzhole]

I find an oft overlooked reason is family responsibilities. Close family members who need caretaking after accidents or illness eating either into hours available to generate income, the income itself or both. Even someone with a decent career can hit a wall when you are suddenly dealing with someone who needs round the clock care because fx. a dui retard hit and ran.

I'm sure for many it is a matter of more effective budgeting, less frivolous spending, pursuing different career opportunities outside their comfort zone - things that are fixable. But I am aware of quite a few cases where intelligent people give their all and yet still barely make ends meet, because sometimes life just deals you or those close to you a bad hand.

 

[John Badman]

I was born to suffer and consume.

 

[You're MDNWU]

It's just immigration. That's all it is.

The same people who complain about stagnant wages or how buying a house is impossible always simp for more immigrants (legal or illegal).

They fail to realize that they need a job and are willing to work for less to guarantee it. They need somewhere to stay. They need cars. They need groceries. If illegal, they have no insurance, so whenever they wreck, that's another rate increase. Longer lines at the doctor's office or ER. Larger class sizes for schools.

So on and so on. They affect everything. They don't just magically disappear.

 

[Chongqing]

So on and so on. They affect everything. They don't just magically disappear.

It's insane that so many people can't see this.

 

[NoReturn]

There's a big difference between:

• "I can't save money at all."
• "I can't save enough money to put any aside for emergencies."

and

• "I can't save enough money to put it to work."

In the first category, either your spending is too high or your income is too low, or both.
In the second, you try to save but until you have a big enough pile set aside, any unexpected expense (something breaks, car problems, etc.) can wipe out all your progress. In my experience this is the most disheartening place to be.
In the third, you can save enough to have an emergency fund, but you can't "save" in a way that causes any meaningful change in your life. Maybe you can buy one share of VOO (~$500 at time of writing). That isn't going to feel like much, and it's going to hurt even more if an emergency comes up that wipes out your emergency fund and then you have to sell some stocks and pay taxes on it.

 

[TheDarknessGrows]

If we weren't allowed to import foreign nurses, American nurses would probably have double the average salary that they do now.

Those traveling nurses that are in the "network" do pretty well for themselves. Honestly I think the traveling nurses have irrevocably damaged their field of work.

Not everyone can be a traveler that gets 60 an hour. But they all take the job, let a place train them and then quit once they get their cert, join a network and come back to the same fucking facility the next week with a 120% pay raise. Then the facility ends up with a totally fucked up payroll because finding local nurses is HARD, supplies and maintenance budgets get cut, the non network nurses get demoralized and then your Mom dies because some stressed out single mother no older than 25 with a load of 17 patients and one co-worker (who is on smoke break number 9) didn't look at the bottle and in her stressed state pencil whipped an override on her system and gave the patient the wrong meds.

Ask me why our medical care is so expensive. Those nurses have been on my shit list since long before COVID.