many Americans are the worst with money...this is a crisis in the US

they make the most and still cant save....put a person from any 3rd world (india, pakistan, china) and they can live 100 years off 1 year of their salary
they should be talking about her crazy expenses on dumb cars, clothes and uneccessary vacation expenses

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/03/27/foodbank.family/index.html

how the fack do ppl work all their lives and 2months of being laid off they have to goto a FOOD BANK after making 70k! i know ppl that make 30K and have 2 kids and got laid off for 1 year and still dont need to go to a food bank...these ppl are absolute idiots

 

"She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month"

You get what you earn.

 

Damn man, in my country, $70K is just a dream for the normal/average person. I mean, we have 70K in like... 20 years. Or worse. So even starving americans have a better quality life than rich people in my country

 

I'm usually the first when it goes to bash the americans, but this statement is a bit too harsh.

Problem is that you can not really compare life in 2nd and 3rd world countries with 1st world. I am from 1st world and my wife from 2nd world. She now earns around 60k per year. More than she ever had in her home country where she was also "middle class". But she always cries when all mandatory costs are taken from her earnings.
Many things that were almost free in her country cost real money here.

Also in America there is not much of social security (that's a historical thing I guess). In Germany when you loose your job, the unemployment insurance usually pays 12 months 60-67% of your last earnings. Dunno how this is in the US, but I guess you are much worse there.
Now if you have some long-term obligations - like mortgage for your house - and loose your job and can not find a new one quick, your money burns really fast. Esp. interest rates for mortage are a big risk if you don't have a fixed rate. We pay 5.2% for the next 25 years, but this will never change, so these costs can be calculated long before. In the US flexible rates seem more common. Nice if you have 1%. Hell if they rise to 4%!

 

yea but after 2 months, U WUDNT GOTO A FOOD BANK and have 0 savings!

 

Because everyone needs their very own McMansion, McCedes, and they love to eat their McCuisine on McCruises.

 

"Mercedes Benz"

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town ?
I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town ?

Everybody!
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends,
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

That’s it!​

By JANIS JOPLIN
Link to Janis performing the song here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-GFqhCq2HA

For those who don't fully understand its meaning:

Joplin wrote "Mercedes Benz" together with the poet Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth, as a social commentary on how people relate happiness to money and material possessions. In the song she asks God to give her the things she has "earned". The song was recorded in one-take​

 

Some people just spend more than they make and never have any money. The cost in the US is high and no one talks about that either. Health insurance for 2 people in some states is over $1200 a month.

 

No. Because there is unemployment insurance here. And when this runs out, the government pays your rent (up to a certain amount) and you also get money for living. But when you have a mortage for your house, most likely your bank will cancel your credit. House will be sold, but the money will not be enough to pay pack the credit. This means that you still owe money to the bank. And because you can not pay anything back, your debts increase from year to year. So even after you get back into a job, you most likely don't have a house, but still need to pay for it. Plus you need to pay your then landlord. And buy something to eat. And pay for electricity (30 US-cent per kWh) and for heating and for water and for waste disposal and for telephone and for TV (yes, yes. Here in Germany we even have to pay for non pay-TV!) and and and and.

BTW, my wife never saved money in her home country. Not because she was not able to, but because she did not want to. She (and most other people there) simply mistrusted her goverment and preferred to spend what she got rather than to risk it loosing because of inflation or whatever.

 

Rent and property taxes are real high on the US coasts. A small two bedroom apartment 650-750 sq ft costs around $1200 a month and sometimes heat is not included. Car insurance can cost between $2000-$4000 and medical costs are sky high. Someone making 50k gross will have a hard time making ends meet.

 

Another example of high US costs.

For my infant son, I pay $350 / month in health insurance. On top of that, I pay $30 co-pay for each appointment and also for have to pay for many of the vaccines he gets. That alone comes to around $5,000 per year.

Oh yeah, premium gas where I live is already at $4.29/gallon. (no, I don't use premium)

 

$2500 interest only mortgage is "living over your head". That's her problem. Her unemployment benefits are 2k a month for 6 months and she should be able to get by on that.

 

Why not buy a smaller house there some of your payments actually go to the principle of the house. People lived an over extended life style and they have to come back to reality.

 

I wish I was better with my money

 

This is a very, and I mean very accurate view of the USA, our poorest people would be considered rich in some countries. The problem is very bad with the current youth who have everything given to them. I have seen the parking lot at a local high school and the amount of new cars (given by parents in 99% of the cases) is incredible. Some kids drive SUV's to school.

These kids think that they are in the poor house if they had to have an imitation Ipod or an older cell phone. So many of this generation of kids will probably see hilary as the answer because she promotes socialism, so they will continue to get what they want without working for it.

Shoot a kid can just act like he has an emotional problem, get on SS, get medical mj and do nothing and get paid.....

 

It's better if you can afford all those. Having a SUV in Romania for a kid is not possible for ordinary people. Hardly is possible for a family which has some good income.

Given the fact that here having 1000-1500 euros/month is considered high life, well... it's not so high. Many of our prices are higher than in California.

Consider that a 3 bedroom apartment in a good area is about 200.000 euros. Where the hell should we have all those money? And "good area" here is not such a "good area" compared with places with the same price in US.
1 (just one!) litre (quart) of gas here is about $1.5...

That's why 70K/year is just a dream. There, is a regular/medium salary. Here, you're considered damn rich with all those money.

That's the difference between a 3rd world country and a 1st one.

 

Interest-only mortgages = the most moronic financial move known to man.

 

I agree, would have probably been better off renting? I don't get it.