Like somebody explain it to me pls
Wednesday, 12 Mar 2025
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They bought their house 10 years ago so their mortage is half your rent.
Realistically speaking, their spouse/partner is working full time too. I was married to a sheet metal mechanic. He had a really nice truck because I, his wife at the time, made 6X his salary. You never know what people have going on financially.
Have you tried doing side hustles, like drugs or OnlyFans?
Money management and living within or below your means.
Because high school doesn’t teach you how to become a responsible adult, knowledgeable about essential things like mortgages, interest rates, investing, etc. So your colleagues are either older or their parents were more proactive in their education.
Avocado toast and lattes is what I heard.
Well, they’re not buying weed every two days
2 incomes
Debt. The average person you see with nice cars and a big home are drowning in debt and barely keeping their heads above it. I worked for a repo company for a summer when I graduated high school.
Poor financial discipline.
I didn’t realize this until I actually met people further outside my normal circle, but simply….
Some people adult better than others.
(Adjective as a verb on purpose)
Self discipline, prioritization, organization. If you want to enough, you can do it. Kids might have a bunkbed, use patched up hand-me-downs/second hand clothes, and you have to say no to them all the damned time because you can’t afford to buy them the latest thing, or fast food. Also have to say no to yourself all the damned time for the same reason.
Also to add, the social pressure was different back in the day, in that you were looked at worse if you didn’t have a family, than if you had a family and struggled to provide luxuries and niceties. As long as the kids had a home, clothes and were fed, you were doing good enough. Oh and you could let them do their own thing much more so you didn’t have to stay ontop of them 100%.
Now people don’t care if you have a family or not, but they will judge you harshly for not providing your kids with a picture-perfect setup where you’re a neglectful parent if you let your kid walk to and from school by themselves.
Dual Income
Or even more lucrative…
DINK: Dual Income No Kids
Or the best…
DINK-WAD
Dual Income No Kids-With A Dog
Cook
I used to feel this way. I work at a place that pays and treats me pretty well. I’m not wealthy or anything, but I get paid enough to survive and the way we’re treated is a massive perk for me. But I couldn’t figure out how people were surviving with just that income.
Then slowly over years I learned that most people have some secondary income. Second job, a spouse that works too or a side hustle like DoorDash. I’m able to pay my rent and my bills more or less on time every month, and I can feed myself in an apartment by myself. For me that’s a big accomplishment.
damn I wonder if there’s two incomes
Spouse earning significantly more.
Or they’re under a mountain of debt that’s about to collapse on them 🙋🏻♂️
“Oh right, I’m terrible with money.”
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Pic unrelated.
They were born earlier than you, you fucked up
They don’t , it’s called credit cards
It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you spend. A dollar saved is approx $1.35 made and you did nothing to earn it except go without something you probably didn’t need.
I’m the guy with the family of 4 at my job. I picked my career path by googling “highest paying job with a 2 year degree”. Then, I have switched jobs 3 times in 6 years to increase my salary by 70%. We also bought our house prior to COVID and refinanced to lock in an interest rate of 2.5%. we don’t have any student loans, and only 1 car payment.
We also just don’t spend a lot of money. We thrift most of our clothes, and buy a lot of items we need off of bidfta/Facebook marketplace. We only buy dinner maybe 1-3 times a month. I pack my lunch every day, and I don’t eat breakfast. For grocery shopping we go to Aldi, Walmart, and Krogers to get the cheapest items we can. For entertainment we use public broadcast TV, or we ask for annual passes to the zoo, museum, or other attractions as Christmas/birthday gifts. I take kids bike riding or to the local parks to play.
Sometimes it’s really not the income, it’s the expenses. Being thrifty and living simply can help.
Wife inherited her childhood home when her step father passed away some time ago. Both of the mortgages on the house total $850/month which includes homeowner’s insurance.
Central California.
As someone who grew up in the 80s in a working class family I think people expect their money to do different things now. My dad worked for the local DPW and my mom drove a school bus and we could afford a house and we took vacations every summer.
BUT, my parents didn’t have hobbies. They made a lot of personal sacrifices to give us a good childhood.
I empathize with younger families, I feel for young co workers who stress about money and being able to afford a home.
But at the same time, man do some folks have expensive hobbies. I had a guy in my office complain last week about how he can’t afford to take his family on a vacation. And about how much easier it was 40 years ago to afford things.
I asked him how much his PC cost him as he talks about gaming on it a lot. He looked at me and said, “Three thousand dollars.”
I said, “Brother, that’s a family vacation.”
Is it benefits?
I believe that the number one thing I like about being gay is that I am not expected to have children. I wouldn’t anyway since I am honestly too selfish and can not afford myself(also I don’t have the patience). Plus, being introverted helps me cope.
it Ain’t easy being cheesy
Massive debt
If you own a house and have a semi-decent income, you can get all kinds of loans, and lots of credit cards. If you are willing to live on the edge of bankruptcy, you can play a shell game for DECADES.
This, in fact, is how most of the so-called middle-class lives in the United States. And a lot of the world.
My coworker got 20k back in taxes for having 3 kids. We are basically subsidizing for them to have a family, thats why. I think that’s a good thing for society and our nation, but at the same time it doesn’t seem fair to single people.
We cannot
If i had to start over at 18, I would save more money. not by putting it in a bank account. no but by figuring out ways not to spend it. the first time i realized this was with my phone. I was spending 180 a month on my phone plan. and i jumped to a 25 a month provider. and that changed me and and awoke some financial stuff in me.
A penny saved is a penny earned
The story about a poor man buy $25 boots every year vs the rich man buying $100 boots once is true. some people just cant read the text that’s not there and cant figure out how to save the $100. its hard and you need to sacrifice things.
but take what i say with a grain of salt, because i know my perception is warped. I had a lot of help from my mom who long story short won a small lotto (200kish) which changed our lives.
Either massive debt or debt free.
Financial wisdom takes longer to get for some, including me. Its not just ‘live within your means’. Everything is expensive, and it helps to really pay attention to what you’re buying, where it is, and if it could be cheaper.
Having partner can make this easier and its also cheaper, especially if you’re both working. Its much tougher to finance one person alone than it is to finance two+ people sharing everything.
Oh, I know exactly why I can’t. My fatass keeps spending money on games and food.
Private burrito taxi + government subsidies
Probably eating at home more aka my problem
They eat at home.
Dual income? Adult kids?
We don’t
It’s budgeting and not spending on ANYTHING brand name or new. If you did it too, you’d feel like a millionaire
Tax credits hit a little different for people with kids. My sister has 4 and she got almost 15k tax return 🤷♂️
Dual income and better financial habits. And getting into the housing market 2020 or earlier