I read that half of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This sounds crazy to me. I understand that poverty exists, but the idea that an adult with a job doesn’t even have that amount saved up seems really strange.
What’s your relationship or philosophy with money? What do you credit for your financial success, or alternatively, what do you blame for your failures?
For the extra brave ones: how much savings do you have, and what are you planning to do with them?
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I was right on the edge of being able to pay rent on time, for the first time in six months.
Then a family member arrived in town and has been staying with me. His other option is staying on the street or in a shelter, both options of which make his health issues worse. This has disrupted my sleep and psychological rest, resulting in me being able to work less.
Also, I got rear ended while stopped at a red light last week, giving me a concussion. This has also reduced the amount I can work.
I’m extremely worried about my financial status. I cannot cover the expenses I have, let alone any unexpected new expenses.
I’m squarely on the road to being homeless, unless a miracle happens.
They release data for stuff like this. Currently 46% can cover a cost of $2K or more with just savings. 57% for $1K or more.
Not sure if youre only asking Americans, but in case this is for everyone:
I’m doing pretty well.
Could probably scrape by for a year if my wife and I both lost our jobs.Mainly lucked into success:
My boss from a summer job when I was in college knew the boss of an internship I was applying for, and put in a good word for me.
They hired me upon graduation, but went under shortly after, however a large company was on a hiring spree right at that time and I landed a job there with a hefty pay bump.
Then I got laid off there right as a local startup was on a hiring spree to increase their valuation because they were looking to be acquired by a major high-tech company, and they hired me, again with a hefty pay bump.
They got acquired, and I started working on a team based on San Francisco. Because wages here were so much lower than the bay area, they were throwing raises at me because it was pennies to them.
I’ve been there for over 10 years.As long as AI doesn’t make my job redundant, I’ll be good for the foreseeable future.
What’s your relationship or philosophy with money?
A life-changing shift to my approach has been to worry about absolute amounts rather than percentages. Saving $10 on a $20 item feels great but ultimately is the same thing as saving $10 on a $500 item (which feels like nothing).
I grew up lower middle class: never had to worry about not having a roof over my head, but there were times we were somewhat food insecure, and spending money on leisure/entertainment or anything unnecessary for survival was a foreign concept until I got to high school and some my parents’ career moves paid off and put us in upper middle class. It took them a good 10+ years before they could relax a little bit and feel secure with their money, though, and that was as much driven by the fact that their kids were adults who had moved out.
So life has been about deciding which of my parents’ frugal attitudes and approaches to money to keep and which to discard.
Things I decided not to adopt:
- I slowly learned to stop caring as much about wasted food. Food is just cheaper now compared to when I was growing up (even if the last 5 years has shown an uptick), and as a society we have more issues with obesity than hunger, so cleaning off a plate seems like it doesn’t actually do that much good.
- My time is worth something to me. I will gladly pay the few dollars here and there for convenience.
- I’m glad I ignored my parents advice to buy a home as soon as I could and build equity or whatever. I rented and it worked out great for me, giving me the flexibility to make changes at different stages of my life.
Things I kept:
- Life is uncertain. Always be prepared with whatever you can accumulate for financial resilience: cash, other property, lines of credit, marketable job skills, literal insurance policies, etc. Don’t underestimate the importance of personal relationships, whether it’s “credit” from friends and family who can help you out of a bind, colleagues who can refer work to you, bosses who will fight for your career, etc.
- Develop your career. Education and credentials are important early on, and up-to-date skills and a good understanding of the landscape in your field (both in the type of job and the type of industry you work in), plus solid relationships with people, can help you know when switching jobs is right for you.
Things I had to learn on my own:
- Life is unfair. Many types of unfairness are systematic. So why not position yourself to where the unfairness works in your favor, if available?
- Higher income makes it easier to survive mistakes on the spending side. To flip around Ben Franklin’s quote, a penny earned is a penny saved.
- Know yourself and your own laziness. Set up automatic functions wherever possible: automatic bill pay, automatic savings, automatic investments, etc. Steer away from any strategy that requires active management, and towards strategies that tend towards a set it and forget it philosophy.
I’ve also made a shitload of mistakes, some of them pretty costly, especially back in my 20’s:
- Paid probably thousands in credit card interest in my early 20’s chasing lifestyle bullshit.
- Paid thousands in unnecessary car loan interest in my mid 20’s by getting suckered by a dealer.
- Paid hundreds, maybe thousands, in late fees and interest from forgetting deadlines to pay shit I actually already had the money on hand for.
I’m rich now, most of it from luck (especially timing), much of it from personal relationships (good family, good marriage, good friends), some of it from actual effort (good grades from a good law school), and some of it from conscious decisions to steer towards my strengths and away from my weaknesses (lazy but smart, prototypical “gifted” slacker with undiagnosed ADHD).
It took a while to get here, though, and I was financially insecure well into my 30’s. Sorta figured shit out then, and then married someone who complements me pretty well on these things, and covers my blind spots.
For the extra brave ones: how much savings do you have, and what are you planning to do with them?
I have some savings, and it’s an emergency fund. It’s representing 1-2 months of typical spending, that could be stretched to 3-4 months if I needed to stop the frivolous spending. But I have credit beyond that, and less liquid assets I’d be able to tap into if I were facing a longer term issue.
But I’m not saving for any particular thing other than retirement. If things accumulate and grow, great. I’ll make a judgment call on when to retire based on how I feel and how much I have and what I want to do. I anticipate my wife and I will probably want to retire in our early 60’s, based on our anticipated career trajectories and the ages of our children.
Really interesting read. Thanks for the response.
Why do you only have a few months’ worth of savings despite considering yourself rich? Or are you just speaking about cash reserves?
Or are you just speaking about cash reserves?
Yes. Cash reserves are like unused RAM to me: I have it, so I might as well put it to work. If it turns out I need it somewhere else, I can always go rearrange things to make that possible.
Realistically, I think I’m rich because my wife and I both have strong ability to command high salaries, switch jobs, etc., even in a pretty severe downturn. The main things that might tank the value of that expected future cash flow are disability or death, and we at least insure against those.
We also only need one of our two incomes to support our lifestyle, so we have a certain resilience that just comes from having that buffer. At our current ages, we also already have substantial retirement savings, so we have some resilience there, too.
Ever read Miller’s Death of a Salesman? well it’s almost like that, but without any insurance.
I have $15k liquid savings and another $50k I could pull from my Roth IRA in a dire emergency. It’s not as much as I’d like, but I’d be ok if I lost my job. I live in a HCOL area so it doesn’t last as long as you’d think.
I make a good wage, but I work my ass off for it. I credit my financial success largely to luck, my work ethic, and the great state of California. 10 years ago I was making $20k a year, now it’s close to $200k. The main difference was I moved to California. No college degree, blue collar job. Skilled labor. I took jobs with companies that would train me, took promotions, and job hopped a lot.
I pay a ton of taxes and I’m happy to. I’m giving back to the community that enabled my success. If anything, I should be paying more taxes. I do donate about $80 a month to various causes, mostly carbon capture to eliminate my personal carbon footprint, because the environment is very important to me and I like to feel I’m not part of the problem.
I still have $20k in debt, on credit cards but at a promo 2% interest. I hope to pay it off in 2 years.
My philosophy with money is honesty not very healthy in some respects. I’ve been chasing dollars for years, to the complete atrophy of my social life. I’ve been pouring money into my retirement and have about $300k saved up in 401ks and IRAs. I also send a ton of money to my parents who are still stuck in the poor Southern state I grew up in.
In my next phase of my career I hope to transition to a job that will keep the same wage but give me a better work/life balance. I work 60 hours a week, add commute time and it’s 75 hours a week.
I’m also fucking sick of working with all dudes. The trades are overwhelmingly male. I can go weeks without even talking to a woman.
I’m in my mid 30s. I came to California homeless in a beat up '92 coupe with $30 in my pocket. I’m the poster child for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, so listen to me when I say I would not be where I am without the support of a pro-worker government and a huge dose of luck. Taxes are good. Unions are good. Worker protections are good. Even with all that, I am an outlier. We (the fortunate) need to do more to help others.
I have a decent amount of money in a 401K that I can’t touch, and some stocks I bought during a time when I fell into a bunch of money, but an unexpected $1000 would not be possible. I’m a 42 year old married man with 5 kids and a full time job at a small college.
I should be doing better than this.
With 5 kids, I’d say you’re doing alright. Kids are so damn expensive.
I can lose my job for a year and be ok. I’d probably cut back on some expenses, but it would probably be ok.
Great job! How did you get to where you are?
First, I chose a college degree that would lead to a career which would pay well out of college. I picked a more expensive college than I should have, but it was worth it and they gave me some scholarships.
Second, I lived under my means for the first few years. I made it a goal to build up at least three months’ salary as backup in savings. I’ve rented, but only in places with rent control, so my rent doesn’t increase drastically per year.
Third, after having a growing nest egg, I starting putting money towards my non-federal student debt to get rid of that payment, especially when I was working additional hours at work. I was able to pay off my 30 year loans in 10 years. After I paid that off, all the money I used for student debt went into my 401(k) and other investments.
Pretty traditional route, but it’s traditional because it works.
Yeah. I think one thing I need to note is that I used debt as a tool.
There has only been a handful of times I paid interest on a credit card as I’ve treated it like spending cash.
I had college debt, but that’s because I had a plan for college going into it and kept the plan. The increase in wages paid for the debt payments.
I’ve bought new cars, but I buy cars way under my means and with the near zero interest rates that manufacturers use to get sales. Then, after I pay off the car, the payment goes into savings until I need a new car.
Debt requires self control, but it can be a good tool when used well.
Live below my means, invest the rest.
I don’t dress or act like people in my pay range. My house is small and in a quiet neighborhood and cost less than my salary. Car is older but paid off and I know all the quirks and have the toolbox in the back to fix it. It is probably one of the top 5 most reliable cars in history. My work dress shoes are 10 years old and my around the house shoes were new in 2019.
I spend my money where I spend my time. So I have a nice phone, a very nice monitor and mechanical keyboard, and a good computer. And all with the right to repair philosophy. Same for my wife and kids. And also good running shoes, good exercise equipment.
The plan is to get to a point where I can just not work at all and maintain my lifestyle. Three percent rule and all that. And also help launch my kids.
Something about a 25 year roof and a Japanese shit box car in my fortress of solitude.
FWIW I grew up really really really poor like you wouldn’t believe so I’m okay with this.
So I have a nice phone, a very nice monitor and mechanical keyboard, and a good computer. And all with the right to repair philosophy. Same for my wife and kids.
Jeez man, I’m happy for you, but most of us are stuck with stock model bullshit that broke in 2016. Go brag about your consumer friendly right-to-repair family in c/BuyItForLife.
(I kid, of course 😊 Solid approach you have there, smart and sustainable)
All of this is great except the shoes, get some new/better shoes it’s worth it, your body will thank you later.
I grew up upper-middle class and have largely the same philosophy. Always thought my friends’ parents were idiots for buying these gas guzzling Ford/Chevy monstrosities just to haul around 1-2 kids and a dog on occasion. Regular salaried people spending/financing more than half their annual income every few years on cars they don’t need just to keep up with the Joneses who don’t really care in the first place.
I don’t skimp on quality when I buy something, but I only buy what I actually need and if something serves its purpose, I hold onto it for as long as it works. My wife and I do very well now, but aside from living in a fairly nice neighborhood with great public schools and amenities, you wouldn’t think it from the cars we drive and the way we dress.
This is essentially my situation too. I spend quite a bit of money on these small purchases for hobbies. But I’m easily clearing a couple hundred a month to buy stocks, save, do something really stupid, et cetera.
I read that half of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected $1,000 expense.
Without borrowing or selling property, yeah. Not a lot of people have that much liquid cash laying around.
But I wouldn’t assume that this would be some kind of economic devastation. Our whole system revolves around easy credit.
If the unexpected expense is something that can be paid for on a credit card, that 20% interest isn’t exactly ideal but for many people it can be a simple task of buying now and paying it off over 2 or 3 months. For them, $1000 isn’t a lifestyle changing expense.
For others, $1000 might be devastating. It might be the difference between making rent or not, and ultimately lead to eviction and maybe even homelessness.
So liquidity is a different question from financial health or resilience, even if they’re somewhat correlated. There are other metrics out there more directly measuring financial stability or vulnerability.
It comes down to if you rent.
If you have a fixed mortgage, shit gets easier fast. If you rent, any wage increases is often offset by rent increases.
Less people are able to save, because they never get out of those “tough first years” of a mortgage
I have rent control. Buying is the worse financial choice for me.
Renting is such bullshit these days. The payments they ask for rivals mortgage payments from just 15 years ago.
Less than that, especially in areas that used to be cheap.
It took less than 5 years for my decent sized house on almost an acre in a middle sized city to be less than a 2/2 apartment.
It’s fucking insane.
School and medical debt as well… The more you make, the more they take… Always keeping you at barely scraping by
All my jobs have been paycheck-to-paycheck until about 3 years ago. My last job allowed me to save up $24k, but then I lost my job. Now I’m down to $7k and getting worried.
I know the feels, you are not alone
A 200k expense won’t destroy me or lock me out of my house or completely destroy my retirement. No inheritance, went to college, and knew buying a house early was key, saved about 25% income for 3 years to put 45k down on house.
I fall between the government won’t give me SSI because I’m not disabled enough in there fucking eyes. And being disabled and can’t work.
So financially I’m fucked and nothing I can do about it.
Even if I had said It would only be iirc around 800 a month.
It’s part of Amerikkka hidden eugenic programs. (Not verified but living with a disability it sure fuckin feels like it)
Since I left college and started out into the “adult world”, I’ve always spent less than I made, the rest going to savings or investments toward retirement. I accomplish this by “paying myself first”. If I have already saved the money as my first priority, I can’t spend it on things like rent or groceries. So my financial choices are forced to be more conservative by design.
Example: I forget what the max limit to IRAs were at the time (say $5k/yr) but for my first job I set up auto contributions each month and mentally took a $5k/yr salary “cut” for that job. Every time I got a raise, I made sure that at least a portion of that raise went to increasing my savings rate and attempted to avoid lifestyle creep.
Thanks to my savings, I’ve been able to handle some emergencies in cash vs having to utilize debt to cover the expenses. It really is a snowball. I started out small, now my savings is significant compared to my income.
I attribute a lot of my “pay yourself first” approach to reading The Automatic Millionaire, Expanded and Updated: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich early on.
