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sderk

The gov. shutdown spotlights a bigger issue: 78% of US workers live paycheck to paycheck

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Maybe people should simply get smarter with their money.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-government-shutdown-spotlights-a-bigger-issue-78percent-of-us-workers-live-paycheck-to-paycheck/ar-BBS1cbe?ocid=ientp

 

"Government workers are far from alone in feeling stressed about not getting paid. Nearly 80 percent of American workers (78 percent) say they're living paycheck to paycheck..."

 

"CareerBuilder reports that nearly 10 percent of Americans with salaries of $100,000 or more live paycheck to paycheck as well."

 

If you can't afford it.....Stop having kids. Stop having pets. Stop buying lottery tickets. Stop buying $800 phones. Stop buying drugs. Stop gambling. Stop buying anything at high interest rates. Stop buying new $35,000+ automobiles. Stop taking out loans. Stop running up credit cards. Get a second job. Etc....

 

Start making the saving of your money a priority and be ready for situations in life.

 

My God, now the media wants the Government to worry about the people who are not smart with their money.

 

And I thought after 8 years of Obama everyone in the country was happy and thriving. Obama is still out there running around taking credit for anything he can. Except for things like 78% are still living paycheck to paycheck? Now all of a sudden, there is a problem. :cry:

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Yeah, I am still seeing GS 14's and 15's every day, they are still getting paid....its the lower folks who are living paycheck to paycheck that are taking it on the chin

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I am not affected by this situation

 

I have a hard time feeling bad for folks who will be getting paid eventually for not working.

 

Civilians dont have this luxury

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Nobody making $100K should be living paycheck to paycheck.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if 75% of workers are living paycheck by paycheck. The median household income is around $50-$60k and salaries havent nearly kept pace with inflation.

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I've been in their position before. I knew the risks going into this job.

 

That is why I have enough set aside for 6 months to live at my current life style. I can stretch that to years if I had to.

 

I don't feel bad for federal folks living pay check to pay check. We make plenty.

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I have this discussion with my oldest son (17) just about every day. He has no concept of saving or not spending what you don't have. He thinks that he can get a loan for $25k for a truck when he has no income. He sees those commercials for leasing a car for $299/month with no money down.

 

I have started to educate him on building credit, not spending more than you make, saving some for a rainy day and interest is something you want to earn and not pay. I don't think that many parents taught their kids these lessons. :dunno:

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Nobody making $100K should be living paycheck to paycheck.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if 75% of workers are living paycheck by paycheck. The median household income is around $50-$60k and salaries havent nearly kept pace with inflation.

 

I don't believe that number either

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I lived paycheck to paycheck for a good 12-15 years before I was able to get ahead of things.

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I have started to educate him on building credit, not spending more than you make, saving some for a rainy day and interest is something you want to earn and not pay. I don't think that many parents taught their kids these lessons. :dunno:

This is the truth.

 

They should have a life class in high school. Teach kids about credit scores, budgeting, insurance, etc...

 

 

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to simple life choices.

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This is the truth.

 

They should have a life class in high school. Teach kids about credit scores, budgeting, insurance, etc...

 

 

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to simple life choices.

 

but then where would gender studies be

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but then where would gender studies be

Sunday school :mellow:

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I don't believe that number either

I guess it depends on how you define paycheck to paycheck.

 

If you have a $500/month car payment and the rest of your income goes toward bills is that paycheck to paycheck? What about if you contribute 10% of your salary to your 401(k) but nothing else in savings?

 

Its kind of a vague term.

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This is the truth.

 

They should have a life class in high school. Teach kids about credit scores, budgeting, insurance, etc...

 

 

It's amazing how ignorant people are when it comes to simple life choices.

 

I agree it starts at home, but this would be a fantastic supplement to that. Credit scores is a great example. I know I have a good one, but other than paying my bills on time and not overextending myself, I don't know what affects it. I have heard cancelling credit cards and/or having your credit score run can change it....but I don't know for sure. I am far enough along in life that I don't give a fock, but my kids should probably know this.

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A lot of people are out of touch of reality if they're shocked so many live paycheck-to-paycheck.

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yah I bet its higher

 

Well the article was not talking about government workers. They were talking about all American workers and the number was 78% in a 2017 poll (up from 75%). Here is the press item on the survey that was referenced

 

http://press.careerbuilder.com/2017-08-24-Living-Paycheck-to-Paycheck-is-a-Way-of-Life-for-Majority-of-U-S-Workers-According-to-New-CareerBuilder-Survey

 

 

However, it doesn't really tell us how they asked the question or how they define living paycheck to paycheck. Here is one definition:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/paycheck-to-paycheck.html

 

A term referring to a situation in which an individual must meet all financial obligations with current earnings from one pay cycle to the next. Individuals who live paycheck-to-paycheck typically have no significant liquid assets. This state of financial vulnerability may rapidly lead to insolvency in the event of job loss or unexpected expenses such as medical bills.

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I agree it starts at home, but this would be a fantastic supplement to that. Credit scores is a great example. I know I have a good one, but other than paying my bills on time and not overextending myself, I don't know what affects it. I have heard cancelling credit cards and/or having your credit score run can change it....but I don't know for sure. I am far enough along in life that I don't give a fock, but my kids should probably know this.

Sign up for Credit Karma.

 

 

They track your credit score monthly and you can see why it changes from month to month. I've seen a 10 point swing in a single month solely due to the balance reported by my credit card company. They base it on the percentage of credit used vs. total credit limit. It's quite a bit of bullshat as I pay it off each month.

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Sign up for Credit Karma.

 

 

They track your credit score monthly and you can see why it changes from month to month. I've seen a 10 point swing in a single month solely due to the balance reported by my credit card company. They base it on the percentage of credit used vs. total credit limit. It's quite a bit of bullshat as I pay it off each month.

 

I can get my FICO score directly from AMEX. I can pull it up on my mobile app and it shows trends.

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Sign up for Credit Karma.

 

 

They track your credit score monthly and you can see why it changes from month to month. I've seen a 10 point swing in a single month solely due to the balance reported by my credit card company. They base it on the percentage of credit used vs. total credit limit. It's quite a bit of bullshat as I pay it off each month.

I signed up for this a couple years ago. You are right. They don't look at the amount due dates, just the amount. I pay of my card every few days and I still see fluctuation from time to time. My score is high so I don't monitor that much really, just out of curiosity to see if I can get it to 850 just for fun. But I realized that if you cancel a credit card and get a new one for whatever reason (maybe you like the points structure better), your credit number of years history gets nailed.

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They think they can afford to live paycheck to paycheck because they have a great pension and no chance of being fired. The entire country will be like this when the Dems get their Guarantee Jobs for Everyone passed after they regain power.

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They track your credit score monthly and you can see why it changes from month to month. I've seen a 10 point swing in a single month solely due to the balance reported by my credit card company. They base it on the percentage of credit used vs. total credit limit. It's quite a bit of bullshat as I pay it off each month.

I have CK and WalletHub.

 

One month I didn't use my Discover card at all, my score dropped 17 pts! :mad: It went back up next month after I used it again, but I flipped out for a few weeks.

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I have CK and WalletHub.

 

One month I didn't use my Discover card at all, my score dropped 17 pts! :mad: It went back up next month after I used it again, but I flipped out for a few weeks.

And that is why it's so much bullshat. Say you shopped your auto insurance that month, the rate would have been higher because your insurance score (which mirrors your credit score) would have been lower also. They need to fix how they calculate theses phony numbers.

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There is radio program hosted by a guy named Dave Ramsey who preaches 0 credit score is best. He is an "only buy what you can pay for in the present" except for when buying a home preacher. I don't necessarily buy into the 0 credit score philosophy, but everything else he talks about, I'm all in.

 

His biggest theme is getting and staying out of debt. Basically, if you have a lot of debt, your main priority in life, outside of food, shelter, and transportation to and from work, is to eliminate debt. Live on "rice and beans, beans and rice." attitude. People who buy into his multiple steps of how to approach financial freedom often call into his show and they do a "We're debt free!" bit where they tell their stories of what they make, how much debt they had, and how they got through it. And then, they yell "We're debt free!!". Sounds corny, but you hear some pretty cool stories from everyday people. Some really sad ones too unfortunately.

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I can get my FICO score directly from AMEX. I can pull it up on my mobile app and it shows trends.

I have the same service from my cc company.

 

Sign up for Credit Karma.

 

 

They track your credit score monthly and you can see why it changes from month to month. I've seen a 10 point swing in a single month solely due to the balance reported by my credit card company. They base it on the percentage of credit used vs. total credit limit. It's quite a bit of bullshat as I pay it off each month.

This is a good idea. I signed up for it a few years ago. I can also get my FICO scores from my cc company when I login online.

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80% living paycheck to paycheck sounds about right. A quick search says TSA employees can start off at salaries as low as $29k.

 

I essentially lived paycheck to paycheck for many years when I made between $30k-$45k a year. I could save hard and start to get ahead at times, but then all it took was a few instances of car trouble and it was back to square one. And of course, people making less drive older and cheaper cars, so they are more likely to have such issues hit them, and thats just an example about how its difficult to get on the right side of it.....One of the things I am most greatful for is to not be in that situation anymore. It always felt like The Sword of Damocles and added a lot of worry to life.

 

All of that is to say, I understand that its often very difficult to get out of that situation and I feel for many of those people. But yes, there are also lots of people that bring it upon themselves, whom its a bit harder to feel bad for.

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A lot of people are out of touch of reality if they're shocked so many live paycheck-to-paycheck.

This is the geek club dude.....

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A lot of people are out of touch of reality if they're shocked so many live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Yep. Most working stiffs live that way or damned close to it.

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Gonna have to take a % point or two off that, since we now have an additional 800,000 people living no paycheck to no paycheck. Thanks Trump.

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Gonna have to take a % point or two off that, since we now have an additional 800,000 people living no paycheck to no paycheck. Thanks Trump.

I've never felt sorry for federal employees.

 

 

I still don't. :dunno:

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I've never felt sorry for federal employees.

 

 

I still don't. :dunno:

Me neither.

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There is radio program hosted by a guy named Dave Ramsey who preaches 0 credit score is best. He is an "only buy what you can pay for in the present" except for when buying a home preacher. I don't necessarily buy into the 0 credit score philosophy, but everything else he talks about, I'm all in.

 

His biggest theme is getting and staying out of debt. Basically, if you have a lot of debt, your main priority in life, outside of food, shelter, and transportation to and from work, is to eliminate debt. Live on "rice and beans, beans and rice." attitude. People who buy into his multiple steps of how to approach financial freedom often call into his show and they do a "We're debt free!" bit where they tell their stories of what they make, how much debt they had, and how they got through it. And then, they yell "We're debt free!!". Sounds corny, but you hear some pretty cool stories from everyday people. Some really sad ones too unfortunately.

This is great advice for 99% of the people out there.

 

The other 1% if you're smart and know how to use credit to your advantage it can be a very powerful tool.

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I like how Trump shut the government down, so the Trumpers immediately start dumping on federal workers and people who live paycheck to paycheck to make Trumps tantrum look better. These guys really go the extra mile for the Orange Messiah.

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it's crazy how many people i see who i know don't have sh;t walking around with latest cell phones and nice cars. their kids have latest iphones. i know because my daughter gets pissed she doesn't. these phones and cell plans are probably like $300+ a month. it's focking amazing.

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This is great advice for 99% of the people out there.

 

The other 1% if you're smart and know how to use credit to your advantage it can be a very powerful tool.

For sure. His audience is mostly people who are in financial trouble of their own doing. Which is a pretty big audience. I remember a girl calling in crying because she went to an expensive school to become a social worker. She was saying she was over $120,000 in debt and only making about $36,000 a year. She was upset her parents let her do that. And that she loved her work but didn't see much hope in sight.

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I like how Trump shut the government down, so the Trumpers immediately start dumping on federal workers and people who live paycheck to paycheck to make Trumps tantrum look better. These guys really go the extra mile for the Orange Messiah.

 

1/3 of them being veterans. Why do they hate the people who fought for our freedom?

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For sure. His audience is mostly people who are in financial trouble of their own doing. Which is a pretty big audience. I remember a girl calling in crying because she went to an expensive school to become a social worker. She was saying she was over $120,000 in debt and only making about $36,000 a year. She was upset her parents let her do that. And that she loved her work but didn't see much hope in sight.

Funny she blames her parents.

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There is radio program hosted by a guy named Dave Ramsey who preaches 0 credit score is best. He is an "only buy what you can pay for in the present" except for when buying a home preacher. I don't necessarily buy into the 0 credit score philosophy, but everything else he talks about, I'm all in.

 

His biggest theme is getting and staying out of debt. Basically, if you have a lot of debt, your main priority in life, outside of food, shelter, and transportation to and from work, is to eliminate debt. Live on "rice and beans, beans and rice." attitude. People who buy into his multiple steps of how to approach financial freedom often call into his show and they do a "We're debt free!" bit where they tell their stories of what they make, how much debt they had, and how they got through it. And then, they yell "We're debt free!!". Sounds corny, but you hear some pretty cool stories from everyday people. Some really sad ones too unfortunately.

 

Ramsey's audience is people who can't manage their finances. And his advice is great for that audience. I wouldn't recommend his principles for anyone who is a little more financially savvy.

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Ramsey's audience is people who can't manage their finances. And his advice is great for that audience. I wouldn't recommend his principles for anyone who is a little more financially savvy.

Absolutely. He does get people on that have pretty intense financial questions that don't involve debt. The guy is pretty smart all around.

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