Community Chat

[esmerelda]

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@Anonymous032819 wrote:

"People should have 6 - 8 months worth of money saved for emergencies" .

Here is the cold, hard un-sugarcoated truth, since that's what people want to hear.

A lot of people CAN'T save up that kind of money, because they don't have it in the first place!

When you are starting off living paycheck to paycheck, and barely making ends meet, you don't have the luxury (and yes, that's exactly what it is. A luxury) to save 6 - 8 months worth.

And do not feed me that line of b.s. where "if there's a will, there's a way" .

You wanted the truth to not be sugarcoated?

There's your un-sugarcoated truth.

And if someone can't see that, then maybe they need to come down off of that ivory tower that they've been living in, and mingle with us "peasants" , for a little bit of a reality check.

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@Anonymous032819 Everybody can save something.   10%… 5%… 1%… your change at the end of the day.  Everybody...something.  And it grows. Nobody starts out with a 6- or 8-month cushion. 

[DottieBlue]

Just can't save any money?  Granted, there are some very, very low income people who can only get by paycheck to paycheck because of their extremely low-paying jobs.

BUT, there are plenty of others who only THINK that way.  These are the people who believe they MUST have the $1,000 iphone, buy $6.00 coffees at Starbucks every day, have a $400.00 a month cable bill,  go out to lunch every day, buy a brand new car every few years, go on nice vacations every year, belong to an athletic club, etc. etc. etc.  

Many people could "tighten their belts" for a couple of years by cancelling their club memberships and cable TV, forego "fancy" vacations and have simpler vacations instead, and stop buying Starbucks coffee, could pack their own lunch, use a simple cellphone that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, drive their car for 7-8 years instead of 4 or 5.  You get the idea.

Then put the money in a savings account instead.  I recommend a Credit Union instead of outrageously-for-profit banks.

People would be amazed at how much money they fritter away every day/week/month.  And they'd be just as surprised and pleased when they see their growing savings account.  People wouldn't feel so stressed if they built a "rainy day fund" for themselves and their family.  It is possible.  Start with baby steps.

JMO.

[teganslaw]

Credit Unions are much better than banks. There are less or no fees for checking accounts, they have high interest savings, and no  otherhidden fees that banks charge. I would never go back to a regular bank.

[Bhvbum]

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@esmerelda wrote:

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@Bhvbum wrote:

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@Kachina624 wrote:

I don't know when this woman made her prediction but a global pandemic has been predicted for years and years.  It's unlikely she was the first.

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Garrett graduated with honors University of California, Santa Cruz, where she received a B.S. in biology in 1975.  She attended graduate school in the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology at University of California, Berkeley and did research at Stanford University with Leonard Herzenberg during her PhD studies.

She is highly regarded as a expert on Pandemics and along with many scientists, predicted this Pandemic.  That is why there was a Pandemic Team set up in the WH and also there was a Pandemic Playbook for this very circumstance.

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@Bhvbum  Wait. What exactly did/does she have to do with the WH pandemic team and playbook?  Are you saying these things are in place because of her 1994 “prediction”?

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Garrett is, a highly regarded medical expert and sceintist who has been a great source of info on what is going on with the Pandemic.  Garrett with many scientists, predicted this Pandemic.  Garrett was part of a sceintific team that in 2014 recommended the US set up a permanent Pandemic Command inside the WH National Security Council (NSC) and another in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and both were set up. 

In May 2018, the NSC’s entire global health Pandemic security unit was shut down, The month before, the NSA head shut down the DHS Pandemic counterpart, along with that team. The current new Pandemic team was hastely set up again this March.

[Spurt]

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@suzyQ3 wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

Well before you take to heart any "prophecies" or "predictions" from this scientist......Interesting info from a Scientfic Journal---National Center For Biotechnology Information--

It is currently impossible to predict the emergence of a future pandemic other than to strongly suspect that one will eventually occur, or to predict when or where a future pandemic will occur, what subtype it will be, and what degree of morbidity and mortality it will produce.

To me its like saying....hey I know there will be hurricanes in Florida, but when, how many, and how severe one can only estimate and guess....To me that sums up these predictions by Laurie Garrett....

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@Spurt, "other than to strongly suspect that will eventually occur." That's exactly what she and others in the field have been warning us about for quite some time now.

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@suzyQ3 

Without specific facts and surety all she is doing is creating panic and overreaction and fear.....  To use my analogy, every year hurricane season starts in June, so do those that live in Florida start to panic in June and start to prepare for a hurricane that may or may not come, or do they wait until its a definite fact and a hurricane is imminent and then take definite action---start to board up, stock up, and travel to a safer place....its the later not the former...There's a fine line between being prepared and OVER-REACTING which starts the fear, the panicing, and the hoarding!!! 

@homedecor1   You live in Florida, to help with my analogy what do you do????.....Do you plan in June at the start of hurricane season, or wait to see what actually happens???

[depglass]

I thought Suze Orman said a couple of years cushion.  Good luck with that one.

[Spurt]

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@DottieBlue wrote:

Just can't save any money?  Granted, there are some very, very low income people who can only get by paycheck to paycheck because of their extremely low-paying jobs.

BUT, there are plenty of others who only THINK that way.  These are the people who believe they MUST have the $1,000 iphone, buy $6.00 coffees at Starbucks every day, have a $400.00 a month cable bill,  go out to lunch every day, buy a brand new car every few years, go on nice vacations every year, belong to an athletic club, etc. etc. etc.  

Many people could "tighten their belts" for a couple of years by cancelling their club memberships and cable TV, forego "fancy" vacations and have simpler vacations instead, and stop buying Starbucks coffee, could pack their own lunch, use a simple cellphone that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, drive their car for 7-8 years instead of 4 or 5.  You get the idea.

Then put the money in a savings account instead.  I recommend a Credit Union instead of outrageously-for-profit banks.

People would be amazed at how much money they fritter away every day/week/month.  And they'd be just as surprised and pleased when they see their growing savings account.  People wouldn't feel so stressed if they built a "rainy day fund" for themselves and their family.  It is possible.  Start with baby steps.

JMO.

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@DottieBlue 

I agree there are people that fritter money away or live "close to the edge", buy that bigger house, or more expensive car instead of making more affordable choices....They live the life of riley and go into debt to do it.....And how about those still burdened with paying back those student loans....

But on the other hand some live in places where their economy is struggling, the jobs that are offered are either part-time or don't pay much in salary, nor do they provide benefits, so in addition to struggling with a low salary they also have to pay for medical insurance on their own now which is quite expensive (Calling it The Affordable Care Act is quite amusing)--- a friend and her husband pay $800 a month just for that---then there's their mortgage, car insurance, home insurance, utilities (have you seen Texas energy bills in the summer???), property taxes, and food---all of which keep going up in price....Even the frugal struggle in some parts of our nation....

And then there's still another side....people do have to have a bit of fun in life to make it all worthwhile....I remember my mom's cousin---The Queen Of Frugal-- telling me...."well you can buy that bottle of nail polish, or you can put that money in a savings account and build that money up".....But the problem with that is some that scrimp and save and put it all away...they might die young and didnt get a chance to really enjoy life (she was 49 when she died, she should have bought the nail polishy once in awhile)....OR...."Uncle Sam" takes most of it away in the form of taxes...

Just playing devils advocate.....people need to use common sense and have a sensible budget.......its a balance....and tough to do in this day and age in some economies...  

[Anonymous032819]

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@DottieBlue wrote:

Just can't save any money?  Granted, there are some very, very low income people who can only get by paycheck to paycheck because of their extremely low-paying jobs.

BUT, there are plenty of others who only THINK that way.  These are the people who believe they MUST have the $1,000 iphone, buy $6.00 coffees at Starbucks every day, have a $400.00 a month cable bill,  go out to lunch every day, buy a brand new car every few years, go on nice vacations every year, belong to an athletic club, etc. etc. etc.  

Many people could "tighten their belts" for a couple of years by cancelling their club memberships and cable TV, forego "fancy" vacations and have simpler vacations instead, and stop buying Starbucks coffee, could pack their own lunch, use a simple cellphone that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, drive their car for 7-8 years instead of 4 or 5.  You get the idea.

Then put the money in a savings account instead.  I recommend a Credit Union instead of outrageously-for-profit banks.

People would be amazed at how much money they fritter away every day/week/month.  And they'd be just as surprised and pleased when they see their growing savings account.  People wouldn't feel so stressed if they built a "rainy day fund" for themselves and their family.  It is possible.  Start with baby steps.

JMO.

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And that is where you are wrong.

There are people struggling to make ends meet.

They do NOT buy their coffee at Starbucks, they make their own at home.

They don't go on vacations, because they can't afford to. They take "staycations" instead.

They DON'T buy the latest and fanciest phone, they make do with the simplest phone around.

As for cable, if they have it at all, it is basic.

No, HBO, no Showtime, no Netflix, no Hulu, just basic.

And when they shop for food, they are not  buying the most expensive steaks, and everything else.

They buy generic.

Gym memberships?

Their "gym" is doing exercises at home.

As for their vehicle, they drive an old beater.

Where does their money go?

It goes to rent/mortgage, water, heat and lights, buying food, and other monthly bills.

Expenses have gone up, while wages have stagnated.

So for a lot of people it is difficult to save, if not impossible.

This is the disconnect that a lot of people have between the misconception of "they're spending their money wrong, and just cut out fancy vacations,coffee, memberships, etc" and the reality that a lot of people face in a daily basis.

[on the bay]

@Anonymous032819 -

I think unless people are in that situation or know people who are, they just don't get it and/or have no intention of getting it becaue it just doesn't affect their world.

They can't understand that minumum wage jobs do not cover rent, electricity, medical (who many can't afford any plans at all, much less going to the doctor), food, clothing,etc. things needed for life,

even while perhaps working 2 jobs.

The haves and the have nots and "never the twain shall meet."

Two different worlds and so many with no intention of understanding it.

[Alison Wonderland]

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@SuhseK wrote:

She speaks her truth!

Is there good on focusing, on the darkest of possible scenarios?

Hole up In our corners and dwell on worst case scenarios?

I don't see it! 

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I think there's a difference between understanding and acknowledging versus dwelling. The other extreme is living in a fantasyland of denial, which is what I see a lot of people doing.

This is the truth I understand and acknowledge while I also deal with it and move forward through it. I don't dwell on it, but I'm also not making travel plans for the summer or fall. I'm in a Facebook group about Disneyland and see a lot of people talking about trips planned for August or who are not trying to book trips for next year. I know Carnival Cruises plans to set sail in August and bookings are up 600% from last month and 200% over from last August. I'm definitely not planning a cruise right now.