Nearly half of Americans would have trouble finding $400 to pay for an emergency.

[smilesammich 10,727]

isn't obama rich?

nixon has him beat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth

[Merrytooth 5,748]

not that they can't eat healthy, but eating healthy requires more money and more time (preparation) than cheap quick junk food. there have been plenty of studies done on this and the correlation with america's poorest being fat.

I am amazed by how many instant food products there are in US grocery stores.

I find some of the instant food are not exactly cheap either.

It just make people 'lazy' to cook. Almost everything is microwavable.

I still insist on cooking, even if I come home late.

And one can still buy fresh produce at affordable price or buy produce who are cheaper but same in nutritious value.

Even frozen vegetables are still better than eating junk food.

It is also about shopping smartly.

[smilesammich 10,727]

I am amazed by how many instant food products there are in US grocery stores.

I find some of the instant food are not exactly cheap either.

It just make people 'lazy' to cook. Almost everything is microwavable.

I still insist on cooking, even if I come home late.

And one can still buy fresh produce at affordable price or buy produce who are cheaper but same in nutritious value.

Even frozen vegetables are still better than eating junk food.

It is also about shopping smartly.

that's cool, but certainly you realize that your situation doesn't apply to everyone.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

that's cool, but certainly you realize that your situation doesn't apply to everyone.

[Ban Hammer 12,876]

nixon has him beat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_net_worth

i'm sure nixon makes good use of his money now....

but still, obama would qualify as rich to the average usc.

[Ban Hammer 12,876]

I am amazed by how many instant food products there are in US grocery stores.

I find some of the instant food are not exactly cheap either.

It just make people 'lazy' to cook. Almost everything is microwavable.

I still insist on cooking, even if I come home late.

And one can still buy fresh produce at affordable price or buy produce who are cheaper but same in nutritious value.

Even frozen vegetables are still better than eating junk food.

It is also about shopping smartly.

the food groups are:

- instant

- microwave

- frozen

- takeout

- canned

[Póg mo 1,749]

"To recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less."

Oscar Wilde

[lostinblue 1,989]

"To recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less."

Oscar Wilde

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

― Oscar Wilde,

[smilesammich 10,727]

"To recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less."

Oscar Wilde

yes.yes.yes

[Póg mo 1,749]

http://www.citylab.com/work/2013/08/how-poverty-taxes-brain/6716/

[smilesammich 10,727]

i'm sure nixon makes good use of his money now....

but still, obama would qualify as rich to the average usc.

as does george washington. point being, obama is just as wealthy as any other former president.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

why are you blaming rich people for my debt? first it was obama now 'rich folks".

so i take it you believe america can fix income inequality and alllllll the issues it spawns by teaching the poor to be more responsible with discretionary income that they don't have? okay buddy, i think it might be nap time.

Income equality has been tried. It's called communism. It didn't work out so hot.

I love stupid liberal meaningless buzz words. Income inequality. Lmao

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

"poor people can't eat healthy food" -> I disagree with that.

I agree. What a crock of poo poo.

not that they can't eat healthy, but eating healthy requires more money and more time (preparation) than cheap quick junk food. there have been plenty of studies done on this and the correlation with america's poorest being fat.

Sorry quick junk food ain't cheap. Try again

[smilesammich 10,727]

Income equality has been tried. It's called communism. It didn't work out so hot.

I love stupid liberal meaningless buzz words. Income inequality. Lmao

income inequality isn't liberal or new enough to be a buzz anything. but considering you went straight to communism, all i can do is smh.

Sorry quick junk food ain't cheap. Try again

like i said, plenty of studies out there. care to learn, read up.

[OriZ 3,157]

Read the whole thing.

Good article, but it spends too long drawing the wrong conclusions from the figures it supplies. There are staggering numbers, like a drop in median household worth over ten years from $83k to $50k or whatever it was.

I can't pretend that things are not flat or getting worse for the middle and lower class because they are.

But, the only way to interpret this guy's life is one of stupidity--stupidity he readily admits (e.g. emptying a 401k for a wedding--that's downright pathetic). In fact, he cites 65% of adults financially illiterate. Yet, it takes very little actual work to understand basic finances. If 25% of people making $100-150k cannot even come up with $2k they are the ones to blame. It's like lotto winners who end up bankrupt: simply put money doesn't fix stupid.

Many approach money the same way they do their weight: impulsiveness rules supreme and money/weight is a problem for tomorrow. That's why most half (?) of adults have no meaningful retirement, for example.

It is not a lack of income, it is a lack of financial discipline. Unless you live in the gutter odds are you spend money from time to time on basic entertainment, alcohol, etc. These all add up quickly to the mythical $400.

If you suck with money and make more money you will still suck with it.

I found the correlation between easy credit and the lack of savings/financial security to be very compelling. Studies show that those who use credit cards spend substantially more than if they don't (even if they have the money). In my own life I've found household spending drops precipitously when all expenditures are made with debit cards instead of credit because there is a stronger sense of it being real money.

I think credit to most is like cheap junk food to most. It's a tough influence to fight. I should have way more saved than I do given my income. But, I like to buy @*#&. That is nobody's fault but mine.

You make some good points. I also cannot figure out how you make over 100K and can't come up with 2K. Makes no sense at all - unless you have a huge family and a ton of medical problems. Also, my wife and I own very few credit cards. We mainly do it for the benefits(like mileage with airline cards) rather than the credit. While we're not "cheap" we do try to save wherever we can because to me it is simple - it matters not at all how much money one has - why waste it on things you don't have to? So for instance amazon is huge in our house. For one - we save time and avoid having to deal with too many people this way. We both hate shopping. For two - many things on amazon are cheaper than you would find them at stores. We even order our cat's food off amazon nowadays. Saves the trip to petco and again, it's cheaper. It all adds up. Just the other week we lost a transmission in our car and ended up paying for it all cash(debit) but I could't help but wonder how many people would have to max out a credit card for something like that.

all the jobs in the world won't make a bit of difference if the individual earner can't make enough discretionary income to consume as our economy requires.

That's where it starts though - the fact it is based on consumption to start with is problematic to say the least.

I am amazed by how many instant food products there are in US grocery stores.

I find some of the instant food are not exactly cheap either.

It just make people 'lazy' to cook. Almost everything is microwavable.

I still insist on cooking, even if I come home late.

And one can still buy fresh produce at affordable price or buy produce who are cheaper but same in nutritious value.

Even frozen vegetables are still better than eating junk food.

It is also about shopping smartly.

Completely agree with you AND from REAL experience. Not my own, but my wife's. She's had it rough for a long time and had to raise her kids on very little every month. If she made it work other people can too.

Income equality has been tried. It's called communism. It didn't work out so hot.

I love stupid liberal meaningless buzz words. Income inequality. Lmao

If two of my friends brought two different pizzas over - one pizza had a radius of 5 inches and they offered me half of it, the other pizza had a radius of 50 inches and they offered me a quarter of it, I wonder which one I would pick?

Edited April 22, 2016 by OriZ