cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33704049
Wanted to add, “Fuck Cars!!”
Car payments for decades of one’s life are not the way to go.
If you are free of debt and have just $10 in your possession, you are financially ahead of approximately 70% of Americans.
What this article fails to mention is that all houses within 2hrs of the San Francisco Bay Area are close to a million dollars plus at least 1k a month in property taxes. With insufficient public transportation cars are a necessity
Yeah public transit in the bay area is famously trash. You just need one more lane.
Move to sacramento and spend six hours each morning on the commute so you dont have to use amtrak like some cucked little bitch who likes to sleep and read.
oh no. are those poor people ok? they cant budget 150k? i feel really bad for them. is there perhaps a venmo? I make less than 50k, but gosh, i didnt realize they had it so hard.
Amazing. Class war between poor and middleclass while billionaires laugh all the way to their private jet
Only 3 718$ payments left on my car and I paid off 4/5 credit cards. Turned them all off to. Just being slow with my Best Buy credit card.
We don’t make this much but do make enough it seems like we ought to be easily comfortable (two good salaries, cars paid off) but -
How did we get here? Nobody comes out the gate making that much, we each started out making little to nothing, then went to school, had kids, got school debt and a credit card for the monthly deficit, paid off the school debt, the credit card still paying on so long after. It’s still the deficit debt, for emergency situations that come up. I funded HSA so those are not usually medical now but dogs, car repairs, house repairs. We are making progress but it’s dead expensive and slow to do so.
Basically those people making so much and credit card debt may be paying off their path to making so much.
And I know better than to complain, having been in much worse situations.
I find car insurance more outrageous than car payments.
I know this is going to go against the “everything is terrible” narrative. But unpopular opinion - these people are just dumb. If you are making 150k per year and struggling to pay your bills, then that is your own fault. Live somewhere cheaper. Buy a cheaper car and learn to do your own repairs and maintenance. Cook your own food. Dont rack up credit card debt. And dont have kids if you can’t afford them.
I’m sure some people in the comments will all be like “no, no, you dont understand - it’s impossible to save money even at $150k incomes!” Bullshit! There are people who manage to get by on minimum wage. Or on $50k per year. Or hell, on $100k per year. I managed to retire at 31 and never broke the six figure mark. Now, I’m a cheap bastard and basically dedicated my life for 8 years to giving my cubical the middle finger - but if it is possible for me to do that, then yes, it is completely possible for people making $150k to not go deep into debt. It is absurd that I have to not only say this, but defend it against delusional doomers who just want to say that literally everything is hopeless and no one can ever get ahead.
Yeah, no. You know all the brand spanking new lifted pavement-princess pickups you see everywhere? Those were bought on credit. You know how DoorDash and McDonalds continue being profitable despite being absurdly expensive these days? They can do that because people keep paying them! Or the shopping malls that continue churning out shit fast fashion clothing that will disintegrate in 6 hours? Lots of them are packed on the weekends!
Straight up: outside of some very unusual circumstances, if you are bringing in $150k and still can’t keep up with your bills, You. Are. A. Dumbass.
I agree except the reason they are making $150k is because they aren’t living someplace cheaper. Move to cheap rural and there’s no job. Companies are forcing back to office even when it makes no sense.
Our housing shortage is a serious issue, and we should work on resolving it.
But at the same time, this is still not a real reason. After all, many people live in these same places with lower wages and still don’t go into debt.
Again, there are certainly people out there for whom it truly is not their fault. Like, they’re underwater on a house they bought in SF when prices were at their highest and have to stay there to take care of their ailing mother who can only see one specific doctor in the whole country - or whatever. And while these cases are tragic, they are not the majority.
The majority of these cases are going to be people who made a conscious choice to live beyond their means, who are unwilling to tighten their belts and give up their luxurious lifestyles. Yes, there are outliers. But most of these people are, like, suburban moms working as project managers in Omaha who are driving their new Buicks to Starbucks every morning. Sorry, but I don’t have sympathy for these people. Buy a used Toyota and brew your own coffee, it’s not that hard!
I qualified for a needs based preschool for the kid. The cutoff was 11k a month. They consider anything less to be struggling. It seemed laughably high, but it must be based on what they’ve surveyed.
Credit cards and car payments must be part of that. We have neither type of debt and get by with a fraction of that need cap! But the average car I see around here is either a new F150 pickup or a Dodge Charger, neither of which come cheap.
Not to detract from the statement being made but many people will sign away all their money regardless of their income.
Yeah, this seems like part “things are bad” and part “I’m bad with money.”
Uh, if you’re struggling making $150k a year you’re just piss poor at managing money. My wife and I make less than that and have almost paid off everything and we are about to go pay cash for a new vehicle in the $70k range.
Wtf are those goons doing?!?
Yes and no. I lived in the Bay Area of California, 150k salary would not fly in some parts. Fifteen years ago I knew a gal in college that lived in SF, she and 3 others were splitting $5k a month for a pretty standard 3/2 house.
I now live in small town Texas (much happier). For $150k a year I could live like a king.
150k for a family is not that much in california, especially if its two people working for a combined 150k.
Having medical problems. Paying for kids in college. Surviving past financial mistakes they made when they were younger and not as informed.
Or trying to live meagerly in California.
