Are American's Living Above their Means?

It's an expectation of instant gratification. People have to have the best of everything, and they have to have it NOW. When's the last time you heard of anyone "waiting for it to go on sale"? When's the last time you heard "I'm saving up for..."? When's the last time you heard a parent tell a child to wait for Christmas or birthday for that toy or game or electronics?

world laughs at america. dumbest shitts on earth.

That is true. I have a tendency to buy things for my kids without making them wait. They are very instant gratification.

One thing that is different than when I was a child, we used to go for vacations. They weren't extravagant. We usually went to Oklahoma or Silver Dollar City. We would try to go on the cheap and the whole thing was put on dad's credit card. My husband and I cannot afford vacations at all. We haven't been able to do so for years. That is a change since my dad. But when we were kids, you could get a job at Beechcraft or Boeing or Cessna and now, you can't get hired in the aircraft industry unless you are an engineer. They just aren't hiring.

Things have changed.

Not all of us are stupid. But a lot are and they unfortunately give the smarter ones a bad name.

I think people in other countries save more than Americans. Didn't Bush beg Americans to start saving, I think in the same speech where he said small business was the backbone of the country?

No, I believe it is something else. People are not aware that there is any other way than credit, buy now, everyone has it, why not me. Young people, at least.


Tell them about the freedom of being without debt and without junk that is worthless in a few years.

Tell them you can buy a smaller house and pay it down in 15 years.

Tell them they do NOT have to go to college unless they need to. A somewhat less classy job without any college debt is not a bad idea at all.


Great thread.

Last Edited by beeches on 06/09/2014 04:12 PM

We made the mistake of using the British model of management and industrial relations, which is adversarial. We made the added mistake of following hardcore neo-liberal economics and neo-cons who pushed it. We would have been much wiser to have taken a leaf from the Germans and Japanese. They weren't stupid enough to eat themselves alive.

I lived in Germany for a decade. If you didn't have the cash, you did not buy it.

People living in small apartments and houses do not need to spend a year's salary to furnish it.

You can do without a car very nicely, too.

All that rubbed off on me. Give me my American yard, land, and freedom -
but I am now permanently cautious with money!

Bush told people to go out,spend, and consume! The U.S. has been a consumer driven economy for a long time now, this is possible because we have the world's reserve currency.

It's hard to compare western European countries and the U.S., for one thing the U.S. is huge in and of itself, the U.S. has abundant natural resources, is for all intents and purposes energy independent (if it chooses to be), the U.S. has a huge internal domestic market. None of the Western Euro countries and U.K. have that. The U.S. also has plenty of land-real estate, it's not remotely as densely populated as the U.K. and Western Europe except for certain regions, notably the northeast. It's not difficult to see how the car became so dominant in the U.S.

Globalization and de-industrialization has been disasterous for the U.S. and others. So called free trade likewise.

I voted Yes, but I'd say that the same applies to most of Europe and quite a few other places. It's gonna get ugly...

Let's hope so!

Consume, consume, consume.

It drives the economy!

Isn't it obvious? We have been for over 40 years.

[link to usdebtclock.org]

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I read on motley fool last week that 90% of new car loans today are sub-prime. What do you think?

and then ship out or automate of all of the manufacturing in the name of saving effort/time, inflate the cost of higher education to unsurmountable levels, dumb down the education system academically and for everyday life (grunt work). Add to that "new" products that are far less effecient and worse for you mentally, physically and spiritually.

you have an elite in financial, advertising religious and ,yes, local/state/federal government that are pushing their own constant need for "more" and will do anything to achieve their own wants. Damn the consequences to their fellow citizens and in some cases their own families/friends.

I've seen this coming since the late 70's.

May the Heavenly Father have mercy on us

I work for a financial institution and I see this all the time. And it isn't just the lower income folks either. I see people making good money and they are broke before the month is over and paying the stupid tax (nsf fees).

And it's not uncommon to see people with 7 year vehicle notes. That is just abominable, the vehicle will be falling apart by the time you pay it off.

You are living above your means if you believe in what the bankers tell you.

The thing is, if someone is so cash-strapped they have to take out a loan for 7 yrs., there stands a good chance they'll default long before the note is paid.

Don't worry please ignore compound interest, contraction of the money supply, taxes and devaluation of your dollar.
All of that is your fault.
Love,
the banker

It's because you don't know how to use the apostrophe.

Why did you use the term "American's" and not "Mean's?"

Is it just arbitrary?

Sometimes, just throw one in behind an "s" and other times, not?

Shouldn't be an apostrophe anywhere near that thread title!

Like America cares what you think?

i don't even want to know my friend's finances anymore. it is always too shocking.

Everything I buy comes from Goodwill or Salvation Army. Even shoes.

Normally when people insult others, they make sure their spelling and grammar are above reproach and they form sentences which contain more than four words. Your post merely makes you look foolish.

The only people who believe americans are living above their means or are over developed are the globalist and internationalists who seek our wealth to enrich them.

I remember back when I graduated from college and moved to Philadelphia to elope with my husband (of 30 years). I left my old car home and he had an old hand-me-down from his parents, which is what all the kids drove back in those days. Well, his car totally died and here we were in a big city with no wheels. So, we had to go out and purchase a new car. We got the cheapest new car we could get, which was a Ford Escort without A/C. We borrowed money from his parents on a 3-year loan and paid it back within a year or two.

I've personally never heard of a seven-year loan, but I can imagine young people who don't have great-paying jobs having to take out a five-year loan (perhaps even a seven-year loan). It keeps the payments low when you are strapped during the month. The trick is to pay it back early and rather than taking vacations, placing that money into the car payment.

I'm not sure about the car falling apart by the end of seven years. If you only drive it 10 or 12K miles, you will still have way under 100K by the time you have it paid off. I'm certainly no expert in cars, but we've always driven our vehicles for 150K or more and kept them about ten years. We aren't poor, either, making salaries which place us securely into upper middle class (top 5% with money in savings). I personally can't see why anyone would get rid of a car before it is worn out OR not pay extra on a loan to pay it off early. Neither makes sense to me.

That's a fact ! The wise who warned all are greatly out numbered

It's an individual thing. I'm a saver. My ex got us in $29,000 in credit card debt in 2 years. I'm debt free again.

I voted yes, but that doesn't apply to everyone. There are a lot of people out here working their asses off. I work 50 to 55 hours a week, then go home and take care of all the animals. Nobody owes me anything, and I owe nobody. I have worked for everything I have. My whole family is that way. We never look for a hand-out. We may not have all the shit that some people collect, but we have enough. I respect people that work for what they have, and I'm disgusted by those that don't.