I get that. But I stand by the fact that the majority of those struggling brought it on themselves. They spend every dollar and more. There have never been more jobs available that allow flexibility. People can pick up extra income working weekends or side gigs, but they would rather go out with friends or spend time at their hobby. Work/life balance has become an excuse for sticking a hand out. If you didn't have several months of savings for times like these, then you were spending more than you should. Where there is a will, there is a way. It does not mean that it wont be hard, but there are plenty of folks that work 80+ hours a week to have the things they want. There are areas of the country that make living much, much more affordable. Community college and trade schools often make far more sense than going to a large university where tuitions and rents are high. We all have a choice on how to make ends meet. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice the "things" in life that kill our finances. The best things in life are not always things. We got by on Ramen noodles and grilled cheese sandwiches for several years and our kids thrived. We drove vehicles with over 100k miles on them and did not care what the neighbors thought. We learned carpentry skills and did our own remodels etc. All the while, we put away 5$, $10, whatever we could each week. That become a very large number over 30+ years. Our current society is one of instant gratification and it comes with a hefty price.
That and zero work ethics. Young people are not taught work ethics it started when my kids were in T ball. Everyone gets a trophy.BS. Now it permeates almost everything. No tests ,no achievement awards, no honors. How dare this society reward football, basketball, baseball professional teams. Just think about that for just a moment
I see this too for my kid's generation. Renting a lake lot for summertime fun. Going on 3 different big vacations a year shortly after finishing college. One vacation with their spouse. One hubby vacation with his friends. One wifey vacation with her friends. Buying a 3/4 ton truck just to pull a new boat/pontoon to the lake lot 3 months out of the year. Buying sleds, utv or an atv for weekend fun. The amount of money they throw away on fun just starting out is almost insane to me. None of it is owned because everything is a loan, credit card payment or rented. Now throw in house payments/rent, new cars, kids, grocery and utility bills. Granted the job pay is much better now than when I started my family, but the cost of living was much cheaper for me back then. Course my idea of a vacation is spending a week or two with the wife redoing something in the house or a big yard project that benefits us. To the wife and I, if you want something, you save up and pay for it. That way it is yours and you don't waste money paying interest.
First thing we taught the kids NEVER HOLD CREDIT CARD DEBT. If you use your card check your ledger, another thing we taught them, to make sure the money is there . Keep a billing ledger .
"We got by on Ramen noodles and grilled cheese sandwiches for several years and our kids thrived. We drove vehicles with over 100k miles on them and did not care what the neighbors thought. We learned carpentry skills and did our own remodels etc. All the while, we put away 5$, $10, whatever we could each week. That become a very large number over 30+ years. " yep, and I still do and I walked uphill into the wind to and from school also () .... O'Biden brought on the high inflation, the high gas prices, etc. , the problems that exist today...I still believe under Trump, those problems of today would not have happened. .. sure, there will always be glitches, but the libs/dems/socialists always seem to f-up a good thing because they WANT this country to fail/collapse ... many of todays 'youngsters' have no idea what sacrifice and 'work' is all about ... hell, 60%+ of todays youth cant even qualify for the military, they are fat and are pussies to put it bluntly, an article said, many are worried about getting 'hurt', and those that do want to join wont because of the ignorant 'woke' policies they have today .. ... we are so screwed, esp if conservatives cant take back the POTUS seat and both houses of congress ...
Don’t have any debt other than the house. I could not work for a couple of years. BUT I worked hard for that. I don’t want to give it all up to inflation!! I need that for retirement! Pinch pennies now so I don’t run out and get in a bad situation. Vacations are canceled until inflation is under control. My job is secure. Not worried but my dollars are worth less now than any time in my life time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Unfortunately Trump started the inflation by giving away free money during Covid . Democrats have taken that to a uncontrollable level. You cannot simply give money away and print more. It don’t work that way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My buddy complains NON STOP about how he’s hurting financially and can’t do xyz…..BUT I offer to pay him cash hourly to help me on installs and he “doesn’t have time” or “has stuff to do”… I work 6days a week sometimes 7, I told him well if you want the extra cash I have work anytime. He never calls, but continues to complain. I have zero tolerance for that mentality and I refuse to listen to it.
Not true that it started under Trump, per se. The economic cycle is roughly 7 years. The most recent of recognition was the financial crisis in 2008...yes, there was an idiosyncratic event that coincided, based in mortgage and derivatives along with fraud. 2000-1 dot com bubble before that.. The Fed started aggressively screwing with both the money supply and balance sheet from that point. But it really wouldn't have mattrred. Trump did have the pandemic, which (IMHO) exacerbated the economic condition, global supply chain, debt and once more the Fed screwing with the balance sheet. But like 2008, it was inevitable. Trumps America first philosophy and the push for energy independence under his admin may have delayed the inevitable, for a short time. But the PPP was a cluster that had folk sucking the teet of the Federsl got and running up the tab 7T. The Biden admin and other stupidity (by both parties, more by dems) has exacerbated the condition the past couple years. And the recession (2q of falling GDP) was squarely during Bidens admin...recall the hoopla about, 'well, it's not really a recession'... PS the failure of SVB also under the Biden admin...
All valid points. I feel strongly that free money given out was the catalyst that broke the camels back. . . Without Covid and 4 more years of Trump do you think we would still be in recession with sky high inflation? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wrt the recession, to a great degree, it wouldn't have mattered who was in office. However, how long it takes to right the economy, does depend on both the Executive and Legislative branches. Don't conflate the growing debt, the result of the PPP and other programs, with the recession. They aren't tightly coupled...so long as the gov credit rating doesn't decline and Govco can pay on its paper. Do worry about the recession. Rates will go higher, more job losses will occur. Also, be concerned about what happens with SVB, it's depositors, who is stick with their debt, and the risk of contagion... The Fed gov does have to stop spending our $ like drunken sailors...this is both parties, and requires the President to take the lead as most agency spend is under their authority.
It we just look at numbers for the engery independent myth, we use more oil than we produce per day, and have for a very long time. Under the last 3 president oil production has increased 5 million barrles, 1 million and 3 million, but that’s a sham of a number due to demand going down for COVID. So Obama era crushed trumps Also if Trump really wanted to help American oil industry he would have not flooded the market in 2017-18 with Saudi and Iran oil. When he did the most trump thing ever and told the Saudi to increase production because he was going to sanction Iran, which they did and then he did not sanction Iran oil and prices dropped over 30%. Fyi that hurts American oil production. Trump is smart and know the American public really does not care about the American oil industry, they care about cheaper gas. I agree with the the inflation started in 2008. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
