I don't know who Frank is, but he'd better stay away from my backside.
It ain't how much you make, it's how much you keep.
It ain't how much you make, it's how much you keep.
If you make under $57,343, you're frankly screwed
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P134742.asp?GT1=7392
How will younger generations be able to start out when they don't have the money to do it? I just found this article interesting.
A visit to the glitzy section of any city in America will give you the idea that we don't know what to do with all the money we have. You get the same impression at any high-end mall in suburbia.
In fact, income thins out pretty quickly. According to the most recent (2003) IRS statistics on tax returns, households needed at least $295,495 to be in the top 1%, $130,080 to be in the top 5%, $94,891 to be in the top 10% and $57,343 to enter the top 25%.
Yes, you read that right. If your household income is over $57,343, you're well toward the front of the line when the checks are handed out. If your income is below $29,019, you sink into the bottom 50%.
Train wreck
Increasingly, those in the bottom 75% -- households with incomes below $57,343 -- are starting to look like a long, slow train wreck. Without recognition of the problem, the entire country could find itself in dire straits pretty quickly.
Let me show you why.
In the 10 years from 1993 to 2003, income has continued to concentrate. While the bottom 50% of earners had 14.92% of income in '93, they had 13.99% in '03. Similarly, the top 25% have enjoyed an increased share of total income, rising from 62.45% in '93 to 64.86% in '03. This is pretty much what you'd expect over a period of rapid change. Those with leverage increase their incomes. Those without leverage don't.
Over this period the dividing line income for the bottom 50% has risen from $21,179 to $29,019, rising 4.3% a year. Had the income line risen only with inflation it would have risen to $26,504. And that's an important fact: Even the bottom of the income scale has gained some purchasing power over the period -- about $2,515 (see table below).
Combine that additional income with recent low interest rates on home mortgages, a period of weak-to-declining rents for apartments, a multitude of low-interest and no-interest offers from stores and car manufacturers, and the people who do a lot of the heavy lifting in our society have been getting along.
Better to be on top
Those with earning power have done a lot better than just get along. Earners at the top 1% line have gained $63,040 in purchasing power. Earners at the top 10% line have gained $12,198 in purchasing power, while seeing the portion of income they spend on income taxes decline from 20.2% to 18.5%. Earners at the top 25% line have gained $5,570 in purchasing power.
How will younger generations be able to start out when they don't have the money to do it? I just found this article interesting.
A visit to the glitzy section of any city in America will give you the idea that we don't know what to do with all the money we have. You get the same impression at any high-end mall in suburbia.
In fact, income thins out pretty quickly. According to the most recent (2003) IRS statistics on tax returns, households needed at least $295,495 to be in the top 1%, $130,080 to be in the top 5%, $94,891 to be in the top 10% and $57,343 to enter the top 25%.
Yes, you read that right. If your household income is over $57,343, you're well toward the front of the line when the checks are handed out. If your income is below $29,019, you sink into the bottom 50%.
Train wreck
Increasingly, those in the bottom 75% -- households with incomes below $57,343 -- are starting to look like a long, slow train wreck. Without recognition of the problem, the entire country could find itself in dire straits pretty quickly.
Let me show you why.
In the 10 years from 1993 to 2003, income has continued to concentrate. While the bottom 50% of earners had 14.92% of income in '93, they had 13.99% in '03. Similarly, the top 25% have enjoyed an increased share of total income, rising from 62.45% in '93 to 64.86% in '03. This is pretty much what you'd expect over a period of rapid change. Those with leverage increase their incomes. Those without leverage don't.
Over this period the dividing line income for the bottom 50% has risen from $21,179 to $29,019, rising 4.3% a year. Had the income line risen only with inflation it would have risen to $26,504. And that's an important fact: Even the bottom of the income scale has gained some purchasing power over the period -- about $2,515 (see table below).
Combine that additional income with recent low interest rates on home mortgages, a period of weak-to-declining rents for apartments, a multitude of low-interest and no-interest offers from stores and car manufacturers, and the people who do a lot of the heavy lifting in our society have been getting along.
Better to be on top
Those with earning power have done a lot better than just get along. Earners at the top 1% line have gained $63,040 in purchasing power. Earners at the top 10% line have gained $12,198 in purchasing power, while seeing the portion of income they spend on income taxes decline from 20.2% to 18.5%. Earners at the top 25% line have gained $5,570 in purchasing power.
1 - 20 of 44 Posts
:yeah:
I used to make much more money as an investment banker but I spent MUCH more money living the lifestyle. I learned my lesson. Now I do what I love, make much less, but actually keep/save much more!
I used to make much more money as an investment banker but I spent MUCH more money living the lifestyle. I learned my lesson. Now I do what I love, make much less, but actually keep/save much more!
Exactly. People in this country (for the most part) have TERRIBLE saving habbits, but I guess when you have things like credit cards and you can get anything instantly without having to pay actual *money* for it...well...:lildevil:It ain't how much you make, it's how much you keep.
To further this point, theres a story about a high school algebra teacher. This man taught school for 30+ years - he was very modest - he wore clothes from Wal-Mart, lived in a run-down one-bedroom house in the ghetto. He was very cheap basically, and people thought, oh, he must be so poor. He drove an old chevy Nova too:lildevil:.
Point is, when he died, he left a 1.8 MILLION dollar endowment for his alma mater, the school he got his degree from. All of this money came from his penny pinching over the years. It just goes to show that it's not how much you earn, its how much you SAVE!
I completely agree, many people in this country don't know how to save money. I have 1, just 1 credit card which I only use when I make a large purchase. So many people have went into debt because they charge money they don't accually have and can't pay back.
On another note, he left $1.8 million?!?!?! I could honestly never save my money that well. The main thing I think people should live their retirement years with is this saying, "YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU"! When I'm old and retired, I'm going to spend every last penny since it doesn't do me any good when I'm dead (well, if I have kids they'll get a large portion, but otherwise it's spend, spend, spend
)! I do expect an inheritance from my parents, I don't want some school to get it.
On another note, he left $1.8 million?!?!?! I could honestly never save my money that well. The main thing I think people should live their retirement years with is this saying, "YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU"! When I'm old and retired, I'm going to spend every last penny since it doesn't do me any good when I'm dead (well, if I have kids they'll get a large portion, but otherwise it's spend, spend, spend
)! I do expect an inheritance from my parents, I don't want some school to get it.
i earn below 25k , and have for the past 10 years ...and will continue to do so for the indefinate future regardless of my education .....in todays workplace you have to sweep the floor and clean toilets for 10 years before you can get promoted to slightly above minum wage ...and perhaps get a nice pair of gloves for that toilet brush duty....
but ill have a $36,000 peice of paper on my wall and i wont have to pay back student loans .....ill be able to say i did something else that no one thought i could when i set out to do it ...
i have no income to save , goes right in and right out ...between the car , food and insureance (you see the 17 year old girl on the cell phone thats 3 inches off my bumper pays less per year)....
as for my retirement ....i got it all planned out , ill have my heart attack when im 40 and die ,and be found with a hooker driveing the same 94 deville ...long before i have to worry about retireing....LOL
in other words .....ive got to get my own shop .....
but ill have a $36,000 peice of paper on my wall and i wont have to pay back student loans .....ill be able to say i did something else that no one thought i could when i set out to do it ...
i have no income to save , goes right in and right out ...between the car , food and insureance (you see the 17 year old girl on the cell phone thats 3 inches off my bumper pays less per year)....
as for my retirement ....i got it all planned out , ill have my heart attack when im 40 and die ,and be found with a hooker driveing the same 94 deville ...long before i have to worry about retireing....LOL
in other words .....ive got to get my own shop .....
I wouldn't mind having a 17 year old girl 3 inches off my bumper! As long as her little sister was there too ...:grouphug:Stoneage_Caddy said:...between the car , food and insureance (you see the 17 year old girl on the cell phone thats 3 inches off my bumper pays less per year)....
as for my retirement ....i got it all planned out , ill have my heart attack when im 40 and die ,and be found with a hooker driveing the same 94 deville ...long before i have to worry about retireing....LOL
in other words .....ive got to get my own shop .....
And what's so bad about dying with a hooker in a 94 DeVille?:cloud9:
I don't think credit cards are anything to be shun.
I have 4 of them and I use them to pay for everything.
Since I always pay off everything on time, and never carry a balance, it costs me nothing at all. In fact I get cash back, airline miles, gifts etc.
I think people should exploit these credit cards not be exploited by credit card companies.
I have 4 of them and I use them to pay for everything.
Since I always pay off everything on time, and never carry a balance, it costs me nothing at all. In fact I get cash back, airline miles, gifts etc.
I think people should exploit these credit cards not be exploited by credit card companies.
Damn straight.powerglide said:Since I always pay off everything on time, and never carry a balance, it costs me nothing at all. In fact I get cash back, airline miles, gifts etc.
I think people should exploit these credit cards not be exploited by credit card companies.
That $36000 piece of paper will open many doors for you. Almost regardless of what the degree is in, employers are looking for people with them. The Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has a degree in Music and he has been controlling this economy for over a decade.Stoneage_Caddy said:...and will continue to do so for the indefinate future regardless of my education .....in todays workplace you have to sweep the floor and clean toilets for 10 years before you can get promoted to slightly above minum wage
but ill have a $36,000 peice of paper on my wall and i wont have to pay back student loans
in other words .....ive got to get my own shop .....
Don't sell yourself short or get your degree then sit on it, start applying for jobs, even if you are only slightly qualified. Or as you said, write a business plan and open your own shop.
Don't get just your degree and hang it on the wall - leverage it.
:thepan:
In other words, do you work for your money, or does your money work for you?powerglide said:I don't think credit cards are anything to be shun.
I have 4 of them and I use them to pay for everything.
Since I always pay off everything on time, and never carry a balance, it costs me nothing at all. In fact I get cash back, airline miles, gifts etc.
I think people should exploit these credit cards not be exploited by credit card companies.
Most people don't have the discipline to handle four credit cards.
Exactly! Use them to your advantage ...... the secret, however, is to pay the balance off everytime. By doing this, you are taking advantage of a 30-45 day grace period. Also, use the incentives - in my case, my last two car purchases were reduced by about $4,000.00 due to my GMCard rebates! And I didn't pay a dime in interest!powerglide said:I don't think credit cards are anything to be shun.
I have 4 of them and I use them to pay for everything.
Since I always pay off everything on time, and never carry a balance, it costs me nothing at all. In fact I get cash back, airline miles, gifts etc.
I think people should exploit these credit cards not be exploited by credit card companies.
Credit cards are like very sharp, multi-edged knives. If handled properly and wisely, they can be very useful tools. If mishandled, they can bleed you dry.
Best to start with a butter knife and move up slowly.
Best to start with a butter knife and move up slowly.
That's huge. My father-in-law did that too.NIK said:Exactly! Use them to your advantage ...... the secret, however, is to pay the balance off everytime. By doing this, you are taking advantage of a 30-45 day grace period. Also, use the incentives - in my case, my last two car purchases were reduced by about $4,000.00 due to my GMCard rebates! And I didn't pay a dime in interest!
But you MUST pay off the balance every month. People don't realize how much more they're paying for things that they carry on credit cards. A $1500 television might end up costing you over $2000.
I dont posses any credit cards. My wife had one, but she got rid of it, we didnt need it. I pay for everything cash, if i cant afford it, i dont buy it, its how ive always worked. Even when i was young and working for my uncle, driving limos, i saved money i didnt spend. I had a new car yearly (sometimes two) and I had a small house with my first wife, i got my share of it, and bught a slightly bigger house with my current wife. We lived there for some time, then moved a few times with our son, then moved to where we are now, we are nicely settled here. I have never wanted credit. There would be too much temptation to buy things i dont need. ( i can afford to now, but in the past i couldnt, and if i had palstic money i would of i know it)
Automatically, every time i get paid i put 25% of it into a mid interest account, it should pay me a very handsome sum when i do retire.
The younger generation (my son's gen) spend money on cards like its going out of fashion. He restrains this to some extent, since his University fund has beenpaid for by my mother, and he holds down a job too, regardless of this, he does not earn enough as a student to afford a place of his own.........
When i was his age, everything WAS cheaper, regardless of what people say, i earned a good income when i was driving limos, and i was also at university...
Automatically, every time i get paid i put 25% of it into a mid interest account, it should pay me a very handsome sum when i do retire.
The younger generation (my son's gen) spend money on cards like its going out of fashion. He restrains this to some extent, since his University fund has beenpaid for by my mother, and he holds down a job too, regardless of this, he does not earn enough as a student to afford a place of his own.........
When i was his age, everything WAS cheaper, regardless of what people say, i earned a good income when i was driving limos, and i was also at university...
StoneAge,Stoneage_Caddy said:i earn below 25k , and have for the past 10 years ...and will continue to do so for the indefinate future regardless of my education .....in todays workplace you have to sweep the floor and clean toilets for 10 years before you can get promoted to slightly above minum wage ...and perhaps get a nice pair of gloves for that toilet brush duty....
but ill have a $36,000 peice of paper on my wall and i wont have to pay back student loans .....ill be able to say i did something else that no one thought i could when i set out to do it ...
have no income to save , goes right in and right out ...between the car , food and insureance (you see the 17 year old girl on the cell phone thats 3 inches off my bumper pays less per year)....
as for my retirement ....i got it all planned out , ill have my heart attack when im 40 and die ,and be found with a hooker driveing the same 94 deville ...long before i have to worry about retireing....LOL
in other words .....ive got to get my own shop .....
You sound like another Manic Monday.(Know who discovered the Bangles)
Opportunities are there if you're willing to work in areas where you might not see an interest. For the last 30 years I've been manufacturing carboard partition for inside of boxes. Boring as hell.. but it provides me with a good life style.
Edit: I just read your profile and now know why you are poor. That will change!!
LOL! Sorry, no offense at all but it just sounds funny when you put it like that!RobertCTS said:For the last 30 years I've been manufacturing carboard partition for inside of boxes. Boring as hell.. but it provides me with a good life style.
Hell, I know for a fact that these types of 'boring' businesses are some of the best.
(Peter Lynch's investment rule #something)
They say money talks. All mine says is "good-bye."
Here's the secret side of the success..just about everything manufactured today gets put into a cardbord box with cardboard inner-packaging. There has alway been a good market for the damn stuff!:yup:powerglide said:LOL! Sorry, no offense at all but it just sounds funny when you put it like that!
Hell, I know for a fact that these types of 'boring' businesses are some of the best.
(Peter Lynch's investment rule #something)
1 - 20 of 44 Posts
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