# Surprised at how little savings Americans have



## rkunsaw (Oct 5, 2016)

Percentage of residents with $0 saved: 33%

Percentage of residents with less than $1,000 saved: 69%

It’s not surprising that one in three Californians has $0 saved. It’s the No. 2 state where residents are most likely to live paycheck to paycheck.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/pers...te/ss-BBwkRoR?li=BBnbfcP&ocid=HPCDHP#image=52


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## Knight (Oct 5, 2016)

Reaction UH OK. 
Not having savings when so many have jobs now and the recession over with a booming economy doesn't make sense does it? What's going to happen later when that large percentage of people with only $1000.00 use that up and have to depend on Soc. Sec. 
The CBO projects the deficit to rise in the not to distant future, is it possible those financial analysts have figured out that lower paying service jobs, part time counted as employed, won't be able to pay for the debt now at 20 trillion and climbing?


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## Buckeye (Oct 5, 2016)

I'm not surprised.


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## Don M. (Oct 5, 2016)

The kids probably got tired of hearing me tell them to save for their retirements....but now that they are getting close, they are singing a different tune, and looking forward to enjoying their retirements.  Now, I'm working on irritating the Grandkids, and harping at them to put a percentage of their income aside for when they get old.  The government Will Not be able to take care of everyone Forever.  SSID is almost out of funds,...Medicare will be in trouble within the next decade, and SS may not be around for much more than the Boomer generation.....unless there are Major changes made, Soon.  But, with the mentality in Washington...always putting things off until they become a Crisis, I often wonder what our society is going to look like by 2050.


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## Bobw235 (Oct 5, 2016)

My wife and I were diligent savers from the moment we got married in our early 20s and thank goodness we were. While I suppose one can always wish for more savings, we did pretty well, blessed by good jobs and lived a pretty modest lifestyle. All that work paid off in allowing us to retire early. I know our son will never have that feeling unless he hits the lottery or inherits from us. I look at my younger brother, who in his early 50s is nowhere near ready to retire, especially with two kids that suffer from development disorders. He always did pretty well with salary, but savings were often hard to come by. I worry for him down the road.


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 5, 2016)

The thing that scares me is that the politicians can pander to the 69% and convince them that the other 31% should pay their way in life.


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## Butterfly (Oct 5, 2016)

I know two types of non-savers.  There are those who should/could but don't, and those who really can't, with lousy paying jobs (sometimes two or more) that either barely make ends meet, or the ends don't meet at all. The latter are often already at or below the poverty line and have no way to save without taking food off the table.  Those are the really sad ones.


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## Carla (Oct 5, 2016)

Bobw235 said:


> My wife and I were diligent savers from the moment we got married in our early 20s and thank goodness we were. While I suppose one can always wish for more savings, we did pretty well, blessed by good jobs and lived a pretty modest lifestyle. All that work paid off in allowing us to retire early. I know our son will never have that feeling unless he hits the lottery or inherits from us. I look at my younger brother, who in his early 50s is nowhere near ready to retire, especially with two kids that suffer from development disorders. He always did pretty well with salary, but savings were often hard to come by. I worry for him down the road.



Before credit cards, people used to save for things, at least I did. When an appliance or something of that nature needed to be replaced, a lot of stores offered financing or payment plans. We managed money a lot differently and often, did without until we could afford it. Things are very different today--now we buy things and pay later. I guess it is a matter of priorities in some cases. However, healthcare is a major expense and reason for some people to go into debt or even bankruptcies. I have three grandchildren that have life long health issues so I do understand this. I think the economy has improved to a point but there are still people trying to rebuild after a loss of a home or job. Savings may be the last thing on the mind of someone struggling.

Something that really bothers me is that pensions seem to be disappearing. What are future generations going to live on in retirement? If SS is not for there for them and they haven't been able to save, what then? Even if someone is able to save some money, could that possibly be enough? To read where so many people don't even have $1000 saved, I just wonder where future generations are going to end up as they age. Scary.


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## Knight (Oct 5, 2016)

Do you think  those that have planned well are going to rise to the level of those that politicians claim aren't paying their fair share?  

Reading the other comments about the potential loss of Medicare and Soc. Sec.  I think those that planned, saved and have a comfortable lifestyle will look like wealthy people do now to those that either didn't or couldn't save for their retirement. 

 Is it reasonable to think that when really strapped to pay the interest on the national debt & support the 69% you mentioned,  the government won't look at those that planned and have money.


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## Butterfly (Oct 5, 2016)

Knight said:


> Reaction UH OK.
> Not having savings when so many have jobs now and the recession over with a booming economy doesn't make sense does it? What's going to happen later when that large percentage of people with only $1000.00 use that up and have to depend on Soc. Sec.
> The CBO projects the deficit to rise in the not to distant future, is it possible those financial analysts have figured out that lower paying service jobs, part time counted as employed, won't be able to pay for the debt now at 20 trillion and climbing?



I disagree that the economy is "booming."  Prices of goods are rising and wages (for those who HAVE wages) are not.  Many do have jobs, but many do not.  Many have just given up and quit looking for work.  Educated people are working at crap jobs just to have a paycheck.  Jobs and factories are moving overseas faster than ever.  I personally know several people who have lost jobs because of this, and can't find other jobs with anywhere near the same wages.  Healthcare is ridiculously expensive. 

Booming economy?  I don't think so.

At least in my neck of the woods, I most certainly would not describe the economy as "booming."


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## fureverywhere (Oct 5, 2016)

Okay in Americka as of the mid-eighties. Big corporate hiring part time with no benefits. If you were hired prior you will have to fight for your remaining rights. Best buddy hired by Kings supermarket maybe 83 ? Had to fight like a mofo.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 5, 2016)

We both worked steady and got in overtime when we could and saved for an early retirement since we were first married.  Luckily we haven't had any large medical bills or anything major to deplete our savings, and we never had kids so that helped.  If we can't afford to pay off the credit card in full, we don't buy the item until we can, that's how we handled plastic.

I do feel for the folks who can't get a decent paying job where they live and have kids to support or medical bills.  The costs of products in the stores, utilities and other services are super inflated, they'll charge what they think people will pay and they get rich while the middle class blue collar working man pays the price.  Seems like there's never-ending increases in the monthly bills.  Tough for some people to make ends meet, that's for sure.


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## QuickSilver (Oct 6, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> I know two types of non-savers.  There are those who should/could but don't, and those who really can't, with lousy paying jobs (sometimes two or more) that either barely make ends meet, or the ends don't meet at all. The latter are often already at or below the poverty line and have no way to save without taking food off the table.  Those are the really sad ones.




I find it sad that this is not realized by some.  Sure.. there are those who squander money.  However, for everyone of those I'd venture to guess there are 10 that simply had too much week left after the paycheck.  Those stuck in lousy jobs.  Those with medical bills or family situations that required all their money.. those who became injured or disabled and unable to work.   It's always so easy to be smug and say.. "I did it".... I saved money"  and pretend that somehow everyone could.  I have lots of money..  I saved most of it... but I was lucky to be able to.   I am not so short sighted and self absorbed that I believe everyone is able to do so.


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## Knight (Oct 6, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> I disagree that the economy is "booming."  Prices of goods are rising and wages (for those who HAVE wages) are not.  Many do have jobs, but many do not.  Many have just given up and quit looking for work.  Educated people are working at crap jobs just to have a paycheck.  Jobs and factories are moving overseas faster than ever.  I personally know several people who have lost jobs because of this, and can't find other jobs with anywhere near the same wages.  Healthcare is ridiculously expensive.
> 
> .
> 
> ...



If that is true then why would continuing the A C A and wanting to allow 65,000 more Syrians be allowed to enter America? Not to mention the more recent  thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrant children and or whole illegal families being cared for when  what you post paints a different picture that what the Obama administration and democrats do? 

It can't be both ways


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## Butterfly (Oct 6, 2016)

Knight said:


> If that is true then why would continuing the A C A and wanting to allow 65,000 more Syrians be allowed to enter America? Not to mention the more recent  thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrant children and or whole illegal families being cared for when  what you post paints a different picture that what the Obama administration and democrats do?
> 
> It can't be both ways





No, it can't.  The truth is that are deeply in debt; we cannot afford all those refugees; we cannot even take care of our own poor and disabled.  I don't know where you live or if you are in the US or somewhere else.  If you are in the US, go downtown at night and see how many people are sleeping under bridges and in parks.  Look on the internet and see how many of our US veterans are living in poverty; see what our national debt is.  Inner cities are self-destructing -- look at what happened to Detroit when the auto manufacturers pulled out.  Look at our unemployment rate.

Some people look at this through rose colored glasses, but the truth is that we are like a person who is living on credit cards to the point where now we cannot afford the payments.

We can't, by any stretch, afford to take in all those immigrants and refugees when we can't even take care of our own poor and our disabled veterans, and a lot of other things.


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## garyt1957 (Oct 13, 2016)

Butterfly said:


> I disagree that the economy is "booming."  Prices of goods are rising and wages (for those who HAVE wages) are not.  Many do have jobs, but many do not.  Many have just given up and quit looking for work.  Educated people are working at crap jobs just to have a paycheck.  Jobs and factories are moving overseas faster than ever.  I personally know several people who have lost jobs because of this, and can't find other jobs with anywhere near the same wages.  Healthcare is ridiculously expensive.
> 
> Booming economy?  I don't think so.
> 
> At least in my neck of the woods, I most certainly would not describe the economy as "booming."



Agreed. By no measure can the economy be considered "booming". That's just silly. It's been growing, but at a slow rate. Which may not even be a bad thing, but no way is it booming.


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## Lethe200 (Oct 13, 2016)

You see around you, but not necessarily across the entire country. I live in the SF Bay Area and yes, we are booming. CA by GDP is the sixth largest country IN THE WORLD. 

Do we have homeless? Yes, because poverty has many causes, most of which aren't being holistically addressed by any government, Repub or Dem. The original increase in homelessness in CA happened when Reagan shut down 90% of the "halfway houses" because "local governments should have the freedom to address the problem directly". 

Well, they didn't, and homelessness became a way of life for most of the mentally ill. I have relatives who have schizophrenia or are manic-depressive, and let me tell you, it isn't easy to get them to take their medication. But without it, they really cannot cope with life. My relatives are lucky; they have enough family to grit their teeth and help them out. But many mentally ill do not.

With the majority of the world in recession or nearly so, the US is not going to see a booming domestic economy. We are doing extremely well as we are; most countries are in worse shape. Would you rather be Italian?  or Greek? or Brazilian? I doubt it. The French, Germans, English, Japanese and Chinese all are facing serious issues.

The ACA is an unwieldy mess that voters created via the politicians they elected. They let themselves be influenced by misleading soundbites, so why should anyone complain that "ACA doesn't work." Of course it doesn't - it needs to work like Medicare, automatic enrollment of as many as possible. 

Otherwise, actuarially IT WILL NEVER WORK. Financial risk has to be spread around as large a pool as possible. It's like income taxes, folks - if you don't have an even playing field for everyone to make them contribute, then the ones who are paying have to pay more to make up for those who profit but don't pay.

As for US debt, it's never been as doomsday as people claim. This isn't like charge card debt. The US actually owes most of its debt to itself, via the Treasury. Other debt needs politicos to have some backbone to raise taxes. SocSec, for example, needs to take off the salary earnings cap so that high-earners pay more of their share. 

Deficit #s are overblown to use as soundbites to scare voters. It's similar to the scare articles about 'China suddenly recalling US debt' which are just puffery. China has no reason to cut its own throat by doing so. They are buying less debt for a couple of reasons - for one, they don't own enough gold per percentage to hold in their reserves (most countries hold at least 3-6%; China has less than 2% in gold. The US doesn't release their figures but a rough approximation is *63-75%* of our reserves are in gold). For another, the Treasury hasn't had to pay much interest thanks to the mess the European Central Bank made with the euro; foreign debt holders can find higher rates elsewhere (with commensurately higher risk).

Immigrants are a net gain to the economy. That's been shown in numerous studies, and we've certainly seen it in our state. 

And of course, when you get right down to it, we are *all* immigrants, even if my family did arrive here back in the 1880's.


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## Buckeye (Oct 13, 2016)

Lethe200 said:


> {snip} And of course, when you get right down to it, we are *all* immigrants, even if my family did arrive here back in the 1880's.



Nope.  im·mi·grant
ˈiməɡrənt/
_noun_
noun: *immigrant*; plural noun: *immigrants*


a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

I didn't move here. I was born here, so I am not an immigrant, and neither are you.


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## Capt Lightning (Oct 14, 2016)

I tried without much success to find savings data for the UK.  Best I could find is that  adults in the UK have average savings of 21% of the median UK salary.  This comes to around £5500.  Hard to translate into dollars at present, but lets say $7000.


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## OneEyedDiva (Oct 15, 2016)

You are so right Butterfly! I feel bad for people in that situation...doing their best but it's still not good enough.


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## OneEyedDiva (Oct 15, 2016)

Sounds like me with my son Don M.  Now that he's nearing 50, he finally gets it. I've talked to my grandchildren the same as you. From the 27 year old down to the 13 year old.  I'll give the 11 year old a year or two more. I tell them to aim for 20% of what they earn. Ig: If you make a dollar, act like you only made 80 cents and put the rest away (the younger ones get this). But it's better to sock away even more I told them. I'm hoping to leave something behind for my son and grandchildren. The longer I live, the healthier the inheritance will be (though I'm not "rich").  But my plan is to continue to save and invest throughout my life. Only an extended stay in a nursing home or some catastrophe will derail that plan.


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## Lethe200 (Jul 16, 2017)

Hoot N Annie said:


> Nope.  im·mi·grant
> ˈiməɡrənt/
> _noun_
> noun: *immigrant*; plural noun: *immigrants*
> ...



Yes, but if a stranger was looking at you and then looked at me - I'd be willing to bet they would consider ME the immigrant. That's just the way it is. I've had any number of people remark, "Gee, you speak such good English! Where are you from?"

Me: "Chicago, IL."


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## Myquest55 (Jul 18, 2017)

Graduating college in the late 1970's it has been hard to find jobs and stay employed. Even my husband, USNavy nuclear trained has had to take "temp jobs" until the next permanent position opened up.  We have moved around the country to stay employed.   Several of my classmates have struggled, over the years, as jobs disappeared, layoffs have been common and families still needed to survive.  Its not that we didn't want to save - just has been a challenge to do so.  ...and who wants to put $$ in a savings account that pays little or no interest??  The gov't doesn't make it easy.

We have been lucky to have some inheritance.  We were able to pay off some bills and quickly invested the rest with retirement in mind.  Not everyone is that blessed.  One great aunt left some $$ to our boys and all three managed to make it through college without significant debt.  We have life insurance that will, hopefully, help them over some bumps in the road.


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## farmchild (Jul 18, 2017)

Hi everyone - I'm just throwing in some thoughts here, I certainly don't have an answer for the "current state of affairs"...but here goes.  I was born in 1946 and raised by parents, and grandparents, who had lived through the depression.  All hard working folks who were "careful" with money and unless it was an emergency did not buy anything "on time".  So I benefited greatly from what they had experienced during that very difficult time in the 30's.  They modeled for me attitudes about money that have served me all through my life.

Today's kids (my grandchildren) and their parents (my children) have never had to live, for the most part, through real deprivation.  They are not BAD people, they simply have not had the experience of being denied, with the exception of food and shelter, ANYTHING they thought they ought to have.  Why should they when they have a fistful of credit cards?  We, the older generation, can try and talk to them about this, about saving for a 'rainy day', about the quicksand of debt, about the pitfalls of spending money that you haven't even earned yet...but even though they may love us our "cautionary tales" are so far removed from THEIR reality that they cannot take them seriously.

What to do?  I wish I knew.  Perhaps our school systems should include classes on money management, simple budgeting and how to get out of debt.  Take examples from Susie Ormand's books and set up hypothetical financial disaster scenarios for them to solve; set up INCOME against Obligations (mortgage/rent, food, car loan, gas, medical and vehicle insurance costs, ...all the daily operating expenses that are IMPOSED on us.  Beyond these costs, the only things that are OPTIONAL, are the EXTRA expense we impose on ourselves by using CREDIT CARDS.  

There's a whole generation and that generation's children who have been seduced by irresponsible credit practices.  Talk to them about this!  There will actually be a few who will listen and understand what a serious impact mishandling money can have on their future.  The others won't get it until the bank forecloses, the car is repossessed and some of those ALLURING credit cards are cancelled.  

One of my favorite lines from George Carlin is...." YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING - WHERE WOULD YOU PUT IT?"


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## HiDesertHal (Jul 18, 2017)

During my 36 years in the Aerospace business, I always had the company (Douglas, McDonnell-Douglas, and Boeing) take out the *maximum* from my pay for savings, which at the start was 14 %, which was partially matched. I soon wanted more put aside, so *I personally increased it* to 20% total.   

During my entire 36 years of employment, I* never touched *my savings account, which continued growing through contributions  and compounding interest.

And during this  time, thanks to a good-paying skilled technical position, I lived well, buying a new car every few years, etc.

So when it came time to retire in 1998, I needed a moving van to take home the pile of dough I had accumulated in my savings account during those 36 years!

I paid half in cash for my retirement home, and financed the other half through a new 30-year conventional mortage.

But I didn't feel like paying on a mortgage for 30 years, so by paying *double and triple* toward the Principal, I managed to retire the mortgage in 12 years, thus saving 18 years of interest.

I'm no financial investment genius, but I have a comfortable sum in the Bank, no Mortgage, paid cash for my new 2012 car, am in great health, and enjoy an adequate Aerospace Pension plus Socialized Security! (Thanks, FDR!)

So I continue to smile at my own fortune and feel sorry for those who didn't make plans *early* in their working careers.

HiDesertHal


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## Shalimar (Jul 18, 2017)

Wonderful Hal. You certainly planned well. However, not everyone, no matter how frugal they may have been is able to do as you have done.


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## HiDesertHal (Jul 18, 2017)

I supose that's true, Shalimar, but there are still those who* force themselves* into a meager retirement by over-spending during their working years.

HDH


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## helenbacque (Jul 18, 2017)

At one time people planned for their retirement but that thinking became old fashioned.  Credit was used for a house mortgage and a car loan.  Everything else was bought when we had the cash to pay for it.   Then it became  "If I can charge it, why wait?"   We're seeing the fruits of that thinking now.

Most of my working years were spent self-employed and working very hard but retirement was always in the back of my mind.  Frugal living was a habit then as it is now.  I had the nice houses and big cars but only when I could afford them.   I retired debt-free and continue to be, 30 years later at age 84.  Money I earned and invested years ago still supports me.  I believe it will last.  

 I wish our government had run the financial side of America as I ran the financial side of my own life.


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## Don M. (Jul 18, 2017)

helenbacque said:


> I wish our government had run the financial side of America as I ran the financial side of my own life.



For Sure!  I would love to see our nation pass a Balanced Budget Amendment...stating that the government cannot spend one dollar, unless it also creates the means to generate that dollar.  The sole exceptions might be a natural disaster, or another nation attacking us.  For everything else, they can raise taxes, or whatever, to fund whatever program they pass.  If our government had to behave like a responsible individual, we wouldn't have half our current problems.  

I think the last time we paid a nickel in interest was about 1985, when we made our last house payment.  Since then, we pay for something as we buy it, or when the bill arrives.  We keep 3 or 4 credit cards active, but just use them as a convenience, rather than carrying a wad of cash around.  When the bill arrives, we mail a check within a couple of days.  Our Discover Card notes our Credit Score every month, and it bounces between 815 and 835...I don't know what it would take to get a perfect 850.  

Somewhere around age 30, we began to get our financial house in order, and recognized that we, too, would someday get old...and Not to count on anyone but ourselves, if we wanted to insure a decent lifestyle.  That's the lesson our parents pounded into us, and I am glad they did.


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## Butterfly (Jul 18, 2017)

farmchild said:


> Hi everyone - I'm just throwing in some thoughts here, I certainly don't have an answer for the "current state of affairs"...but here goes.  I was born in 1946 and raised by parents, and grandparents, who had lived through the depression.  All hard working folks who were "careful" with money and unless it was an emergency did not buy anything "on time".  So I benefited greatly from what they had experienced during that very difficult time in the 30's.  They modeled for me attitudes about money that have served me all through my life.
> 
> Today's kids (my grandchildren) and their parents (my children) have never had to live, for the most part, through real deprivation.  They are not BAD people, they simply have not had the experience of being denied, with the exception of food and shelter, ANYTHING they thought they ought to have.  Why should they when they have a fistful of credit cards?  We, the older generation, can try and talk to them about this, about saving for a 'rainy day', about the quicksand of debt, about the pitfalls of spending money that you haven't even earned yet...but even though they may love us our "cautionary tales" are so far removed from THEIR reality that they cannot take them seriously.
> 
> ...



There's a lot of truth in what you say.  I was born in the same year as you, and my parents and grandparents had lived through the depression too, and they took management of money and resources very seriously, as they had seen up close and personal just how quickly life can fall apart.

They preached several things to us, which sunk in to me, and I'm grateful they did.  Among other things, they were:

1.    Be grateful for what you have and take care of it.

2.    Know clearly the difference between what you need and what you want.

3.    Live within your means and know realistically what "your means" means.   Don't buy stuff you can't afford to pay for.  If you need a new refrigerator, fine; but you don't "need" the one with all the bells and whistles and that is beyond your budget.  Same with cars and everything else.  Beware of status symbol purchasing; don't buy stuff to impress others.

4.   Know that you might lose your job or become injured and prepare for the interim period until you can find a new job.  NEVER get into debt so that you couldn't pay your bills if you were unemployed for a little while.  Always save for the future and/or that rainy day; rainy days come to everyone.

5.   You have to start at the bottom and move up.  You can't expect to land the perfect job paying you a lot of money right off the bat.  Get some kind of training or education so that you can get a job to start out, and take (and work hard at) a job you're not crazy about when you need one to keep food on the table.  

6.   Be realistic about the costs of what you plan to do.  (I was quite amazed at the cost of insurance when I could finally buy my first car.  I guess I thought you just bought a car and drove it around and that was it.)  

All these things helped me to get through with savings for retirement.  I'm not rich by any means, but I do just fine.  I've never denied myself things I needed to live comfortably (except in some hard times where I tightened my belt), and I'm grateful to my folks for aiming me in the right direction.

I think it would be a wonderful idea if high schools required kids to take a course in responsible money management and taught them the basics about credit, interest, taxes, how to get a job, etc.  It would do a lot more good that some of the fluff courses that are offered nowdays.


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## Camper6 (Jul 18, 2017)

Butterfly said:


> No, it can't.  The truth is that are deeply in debt; we cannot afford all those refugees; we cannot even take care of our own poor and disabled.  I don't know where you live or if you are in the US or somewhere else.  If you are in the US, go downtown at night and see how many people are sleeping under bridges and in parks.  Look on the internet and see how many of our US veterans are living in poverty; see what our national debt is.  Inner cities are self-destructing -- look at what happened to Detroit when the auto manufacturers pulled out.  Look at our unemployment rate.
> 
> Some people look at this through rose colored glasses, but the truth is that we are like a person who is living on credit cards to the point where now we cannot afford the payments.
> 
> We can't, by any stretch, afford to take in all those immigrants and refugees when we can't even take care of our own poor and our disabled veterans, and a lot of other things.



Wow 

A post that finally gets it.  

It's like my wife told me.  How can you look after someone else when you get old and you can't take care of yourself.?

So at least restrict immigration to those who can take care of themselves.

Trump has it right.  We don't need enemies. We need friends.


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 18, 2017)

Butterfly said:


> There's a lot of truth in what you say.  I was born in the same year as you, and my parents and grandparents had lived through the depression too, and they took management of money and resources very seriously, as they had seen up close and personal just how quickly life can fall apart.
> 
> They preached several things to us, which sunk in to me, and I'm grateful they did.  Among other things, they were:
> 
> ...



Great list.

I agree that children should learn to understand what money can and can't do for them.

I believe that if you start saving when you are young you should be able to accumulate sufficient funds to assure a comfortable retirement.  Saving just $20.00/ week and investing it over a 45 year period will net you somewhere around $300,000.00.


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## HiDesertHal (Jul 18, 2017)

Lethe200 said:


> You see around you, but not necessarily across the entire country. I live in the SF Bay Area and yes, we are booming. CA by GDP is the sixth largest country IN THE WORLD.
> 
> Do we have homeless? Yes, because poverty has many causes, most of which aren't being holistically addressed by any government, Repub or Dem. The original increase in homelessness in CA happened when Reagan shut down 90% of the "halfway houses" because "local governments should have the freedom to address the problem directly".
> 
> ...



California is not the 6th largest COUNTRY in the world...it is the 6th largest ECONOMY.

HDH


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## Ed Mashburn (Jul 27, 2017)

Good afternoon to all- My wife and I have a little bit saved, but we don't owe anything except monthly utilities- and insurance premiums. By far, our biggest expense now is insurance. We're OK.
We were both public school teachers, so we knew we wouldn't be able to save a great deal for retirement. That's what teachers do- they work hard and pay their bills.
My parents worked very hard and saved and saved and saved.  They went without sometimes so they could put money away- that's what they did.
My dad died suddenly, and after his final expenses, my mom had quite a little bit saved up.
She went into a nursing home, and within two years of paying for that, she was dead broke.
She lived on another 12 years, but the nursing home let her stay because she signed the old house and all it contained to the nursing home.
That's why I don't worry too much about our small savings accounts.  It really won't make any difference at the end. If we'd saved every penny we ever earned, we still wouldn't have enough money to retire on and live a life.
I'm very grateful for S.S. and teacher retirement accounts.
good day to all- Ed


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