Posts by GrreatTeacher

44

The Poor the Wealthy and the Middle Class

by Simon in

the poor spendthe middle-class savethe wealthy invest.

the unique circumstances of the lockdown and stimulus checks has highlighted these differences in stark ways.. on one hand, you have jumps in sales and valuation of companies like foot locker and nike, as people spend their "free" government money on sneakers.

they blow it on useless tat.

GrreatTeacher

I didn't get a personal finance class until college. It was an elective I chose and was very useful.

At the high school level, the closest I've seen is an elective class labeled something like "Living on your Own," but this was directed to the lower half of the intelligence spectrum and was not very comprehensive.

I guess it is expected that the upper half of the intelligence spectrum will get the information about exponential growth in mathematics class and extrapolate to personal finance from there.

But, yeah, either have family who can teach you or get it in university is about how it stands right now. That doesn't help the half that probably needs it the most.

44

The Poor the Wealthy and the Middle Class

by Simon in

the poor spendthe middle-class savethe wealthy invest.

the unique circumstances of the lockdown and stimulus checks has highlighted these differences in stark ways.. on one hand, you have jumps in sales and valuation of companies like foot locker and nike, as people spend their "free" government money on sneakers.

they blow it on useless tat.

GrreatTeacher

Also, I read a study a few years ago that found money does indeed buy happiness, but only up to $75,000 annually. After that, happiness doesn't increase at all with additional income.

I'll have to see if I can find it now.

44

The Poor the Wealthy and the Middle Class

by Simon in

the poor spendthe middle-class savethe wealthy invest.

the unique circumstances of the lockdown and stimulus checks has highlighted these differences in stark ways.. on one hand, you have jumps in sales and valuation of companies like foot locker and nike, as people spend their "free" government money on sneakers.

they blow it on useless tat.

GrreatTeacher

Our friends thought we were crazy when we put $250 a month away for retirement when we were in our early twenties. As a consequence, we didn't always have spare cash to do the fun stuff like concerts or trips with them.

And we were the first to have bought a house out of our friend group. I was 21 and my husband was 24. I found a first time buyers' program with hardly any money down required. My first mortgage payment was actually a few bucks less than my rent had been! We told our friends and some of them took our advice and bought homes as well. Never really learned whether anybody took our saving for retirement advice, and whoever said it's hard to imagine the power of compound interest if the rewards are 20 years away absolutely hit the nail on the head!

So, hang out with people who are doing well financially and you will pick up some good information! Hang around people who are living the life you want.

Also, personal finance has never been part of the high school curriculum, even though it should be! You have to be rabidly curious. I was 20 years old hanging out at the public library reading Forbes magazine. It did NOT make me cool. Not like all those kids going to concerts on the weekend. But, damn it, we're crossing the 50 hurdle and are looking good for retirement. We're on our 2nd house. We have a college aged son and should have college expenses (mine included! Thanks JWs for my late college experience!) and our house paid off well in time for retirement at 62 or 65. We should be able to reduce expenses and so our net retirement income should be about the same as our current income.

Get a finance guy if you don't splurge on anything else. The younger you do it the better.

24

The left keeps topping its self on crazy

by mickbobcat in

https://youtu.be/ffmhcph_ops.

GrreatTeacher

Just because you don't understand what non sequitur means doesn't mean I used it in error.

Carry on folks. Have a lovely Halloween. May your pillowcases be overstuffed with full sized chocolate bars and your sugar coma be short!

24

The left keeps topping its self on crazy

by mickbobcat in

https://youtu.be/ffmhcph_ops.

GrreatTeacher

Non sequitur

24

The left keeps topping its self on crazy

by mickbobcat in

https://youtu.be/ffmhcph_ops.

GrreatTeacher

Red herring. Nobody votes for a political party based on their party platform from 150 years ago.

24

The left keeps topping its self on crazy

by mickbobcat in

https://youtu.be/ffmhcph_ops.

GrreatTeacher

Actually a political party meeting gives you pretty much the bald truth. They'll not only talk about what they believe, but their plan to win votes and beat the opposition. They talk strategy.

They don't have to lie to get people in the door or keep them there. Only the most committed bother to get involved at that level. So, that is THE place to get the dirty on them. They're laying out their political ambitions and calculations right there.

By contrast, never assume signs or bill boards or door to door canvassers are telling the whole truth because they want your personal vote. Party meetings are there to plan to get ALL the votes! That's where you'll really get the goods.

35

JWs who are now paying the price of following the cult.

by mickbobcat in

my in-laws are two such people.

people who pioneered and did not work and try to save, instead they made just enough to get by and waited for the end to come.

now my mil is in palliative care and the state is paying for her keep, my fil lives in a dilapidated home and can not keep it up.

GrreatTeacher

My brother in law, never a JW, has never bothered to buy health insurance. Brilliant dude, but never successful and couldn't justify the expense.

Just got a call yesterday that he was rushed to the Emergency Room. He was feverish and vomiting. Come to find out that he had ignored his diabetes, got an infection in his foot and once part of his toe died and fell off and he was nearly septic, he went to the ER. Transferred by ambulance to another hospital where he is on IV antibiotics and they're trying to save his toe. Once you hit 50, you HAVE to take care of your health.

My husband's union negotiates healthcare. Until about 5 or 6 years ago, it was at no cost, but now we pay about $240 a month for a Cadillac plan for a family. It sounds like you are in a trades union multipayor plan which I am also familiar with because my husband worked out of a local union for his apprenticeship for the first 7 years of his career. However, my husband works for a large company now that is multistate, though each state has its own bargaining unit and contract.

My BIL had the option of purchasing crappy medical insurance for much more money. He chose not to buy it and won that gamble for many years. God knows how much this will cost, likely tens of thousands, and how long it will take to pay back. He was supposed to start a new job Monday. Who knows if they'll hold the job for him or not?

So, I have an uneasy relationship with GoFundMe for healthcare expenses. I feel terrible that even people who pay for good insurance sometimes get hit with big expenses for big illnesses. Get cancer, and even with good insurance, you're out big bucks. Hell, my husband just had shoulder surgery this year and we hit our annual out of pocket maximum at $1850 and that was a big hit! There are crappy plans with $10,000 out of pocket maximums! But, the other part of me thinks that people really need to negotiate better healthcare as part of their employment contracts when they get hired. Most people don't even bother to sign employment contracts and work at will. It's a precarious position to accept. So, I don't usually donate to healthcare GoFundMe's.

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