• momsrock said on Dec 17, 2007....

  Hmmm I can't even really say I've living paycheck to paycheck since I don't have a job...:) But that was my choice... I chose to go back to school.
  

• crybabylu said on Dec 17, 2007....

  My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck.  I am not complaining because that was our choice.  My husband and I are both college graduates, and have spent our lives serving others.  We used our education to help us earn a wage that we could share with the "needy". What extra money we do have goes to help clothe and feed the poor.  We are not being nobel or trying to be "saints" or anything like that, and we don't think we are better or any worse than anyone else just because we have chosen this way of life.

  We just can't stand to see others around us suffering, when we can scrape together money that can feed and clothe and help buy them medicine, etc.  All of our work in this area is completely volunteer.

  The arguments I have stated in some of my posts have nothing to do with my own situation.  Mine was a choice.  I commented the way I have because of what I see going on in countless other lives, who didn't choose to live that way.  Some of them were successful, until they fell ill. 

   Of any that I have defended, none of them are lazy, they have worked hard, but came upon circumstances that were unforseen.  Others, once had companies they had worked from the ground up, and knew some success before, they went "belly up".  Those things do happen in life.  They aren't destitute, but they are now having to live differently than previously.

• SeanRenaud said on Dec 18, 2007....

  Living differently and check to check are different.  The holidays are a rough season for me and my business.  My bussiness is largely depending on people getting hired and honestly retail aside nobody gets hired at this time of year.  And you admit your system is your own choice.
   
  What is paycheck to paycheck anyway?  I must be defining it differently or you and your man are much better people than I can understand.  I mean if one of you were to get into a car accident, or get sick next in January would you be out on the streets in Feb or March?  Cus if not you have savings.  You aren't pay check to pay check,  You simply aren't rich.  I'm not rich but if I take the rest of December off I wont be out on the streets.  I'll simply not be getting much for X-mas.  And there is a difference.

• crybabylu said on Dec 18, 2007....

  No, we won't be out on the streets.  Our needs are simple, we have spent a lifetime "simplifying" our needs.  We live in a modest home.  We call it modest. Depends who you ask.  We own it.  We have health insurance, and full coverage on our two cars. 

   We use the fireplace mostly, but still decided to leave our home when the power went off, because JR has to sleep on a CPat machine for his sleep aphne, and I have to have breathing treatments, so we had to be where there was power.  Our kitchen has an earth stone stove we cook on.  I absolutely love it!   So, our utilties are pretty minimal too. 

   We grow our own vegetables in the summer and can them, and eat very little meat, because it is against my diet.  JR has always preferred vegetables to meat  (except he loves steak!)

  When I say paycheck to paycheck, it pretty much goes by the time we get our next one.  But, I guess now that I think of it, that really isn't what you were referring to, huh?    But, we have learned to live within our means, and i do see some of your point about some people overspending and getting themselves into trouble that way.

• starchini said on Dec 18, 2007....

  I went to college and live paycheck to paycheck.  I also earn minimum wage.  Im on a very tight budget and barely squeak by.  Im young though.  Im not planning on being poor.  Even im capable of saving.  Everyone is.  A dollar here a dollar there.  No matter what you earn you can build a savings account.  Its like your other blog.  I want to save but i dont.  Mostly because at the moment having a beer with my girls is more important than my retirement.  Its all in my grande plan though.  Ill climb my ladder and put more money away.  I do overspend though. 
   
  I think that poor people know its their "fault"...I know i dont "blame" anyone, but me.  But then again i dont think that blame is to be put anywhere.  Im not ashamed of what i do nor am i upset about it. 
   
  That doesnt mean that im not ambitious, it just means that ive learned that if you dive in head first youll bang your head on the cement, but if you climb in youll do what you wanted, maybe slower but you wont have a headache. 
   
  Im 20 sean gimme a break.

• lfbno7 said on Dec 18, 2007....

  If I lived alone I'd be a multi millionaire by now. No exaggeration, just a fact. I'm a saver. I put money aside for my IRA when I was in my 20s, and never stopped. I have no desire for an expensive car, I never liked expensive clothes or jewelry, and I have the Protestant work ethic and sense of responsibility. I'd be sitting on 2 or 3 mill by now.
  
  But when you are supporting a family, the money just doesn't stretch far enough. The supermarket bills seem to be the worst. I don't understand why we're spending so much at the supermarket. The money just fuckin goes. All I know is that I'm going backwards and digging into my life savings a lot lately. I'm also changing dentists because the one I've got is getting way too expensive and I can't afford it.
  
  The only way to make ends meet these days is to have two people both working full time, and my wife just works part time for not much above minimum wage. So many things are out of your control once you take on a wife and a family. You become a spectator to your own fall. You do what you can.
  
  College expenses have kicked my ass too. Can you afford to write out a check for 50 grand? Have a few kids, send them to college, and then see what happens. Just leaves you scratching your fuckin head and wishing you stayed single, particularly since your kids don't appreciate a thing. Well, one of my three kids turned out okay so far. One out of three, not a very good average.
  
  I recommend staying single. If I had my life to do over again, there is no way in hell that I'd marry my present wife, and I hope I'd stay single, period. That way you call the shots in your own life and you determine whether you are making it financially or not, and you don't worry about getting lied to and cheated on, and you don't have ingrate kids, and you don't ever feel stuck in jobs you hate, you are free, like a human being is supposed to live.
  
  Ever since I was married, I felt that I have a duty to make the family a success, stay with them, keep a roof over their head, be there for the long haul, succeed no matter what. What am I, an idiot? I can't help it.

• pickersplock said on Dec 18, 2007....

  No you're not an idiot, leafblower!
  You're a good man!
   
  In our family Mr. Plock is the big saver and I am the bill payer.
  He will save, save, save, much to my consternation; because I don't like carrying debt of any kind.
  Somehow it works with us, we make a pretty good team.
   
  We are quite comfortable, but he still thinks we're destitute!
  Go figure!
  It's probably all mindset.

• PsychoDramaQueen said on Dec 18, 2007....

  good post!

  i am a single mom who at the moment does not work outside the home due to medical issues (chronic depression etc) I am very blessed in that my ex is timely with his alimony and child support. that being said, there is no money for extras, and there are times that I wish there was more money left at the end of the month rather than vice versa. The children are all growing and most of my money goes on rent and food. We dont live a life of luxury but we are not on the poverty line either. I try every month to put money away, even if its only 20 dollars. My bills are all up to date, and i am paying down the credit cards. Emergencies come up and that always stresses me, b/c who has extras for that? I budget wisely, i allow myself one or two minor splurges a month so that i feel that i am spoiling myself and am not tempted to blow 500 bucks on a new item for my wardrobe or the home or something. it all has to do with attitude. One needs to know how much one has to spend, and not spend above that. it is simple discipline.

  PDQ

• randomsoul said on Dec 18, 2007....

  lfbno7: I swear you sound like my dad. If you told your kids what you told us, they'd be so hurt. Since I think I'm probably closer to their age then yours, let me just say that I appreciate what my dad has done for me. Your 2 kids that haven't met your expectations yet may just be in the same situation as I'm in. Struggling with life, trying to figure out what to do, applying at places for work and still coming back with nothing. They probably appreciate you, and just never learned how to express themselves. I know with the way I was raised I never learned how to express love and appreciation.

• Fallyn said on Dec 18, 2007....

  when i was with my ex. he was making DOUBLE the minimum wage. and i was making slightly less than that.
  
  we were paying for a three bedroom apartment.
  food,
  utilities
  car insurance
  ZERO luxuries.....and when i mean luxuries, i mean things like meals out...ever.....basically anything that wasn't absolutely necessary for survival.
  i went 3 years and never added anything to my wardrobe beyond a pair of gloves in the winter......or anything like that
  we had to resort to public assistance to help with food.
  we didn't posses credit cards, so that wasn't an issue.
  we didn't even have basic health insurance or anything.
  it was truly horrible.
  
  can you suggest to me what it was we were doing that would have prevented us from being broke?
  not having three kids? yeah...that was kind of a dumb one.....i guess that was the mistake.
  i guess we probably should have gone without two cars......but then neither of us could have gotten to work. you could say there is always buses.......but have you ever tried taking three kids on a bus? and the closest one to where their babysitter lived was a mile walk away.
  
  cheaper place? that was the cheapest we could find in the area that we lived. and moving away from there was not an option as that was where we worked.
  
  i know a lot of people who do live far beyond their means.
  credit cards maxed out......cars all tricked out.....closet full of brand new clothes....
  etc. etc.
  i also believe they have no one to blame but themselves.
  
  however i know a whole lot more people who live beyond their means......simply trying not to live in a cardboard box on the street.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• lampshade said on Dec 18, 2007....

  I do pretty well.  I only lived paycheck-to-paycheck for my first paycheck when I started working 4 years ago.  I've saved every month since then.  I invest as much in my 401(k) as my company will match.  I own CD's and stocks and have the rest in a high interest savings account.  What am I saving for?  Honestly I don't know.  Right now I'm hoping to buy a house in a few years, but housing prices are so high here that even with all I've saved, I can barely afford to buy a house.  I'm better off renting for now and saving the rest.
  
  I also spend very little money.  I don't buy much that I don't need.  My parents were always good with money and I definitely learned a lot from them.  I do occasionally buy things just to make me happy, but I can afford to so its no big deal.
  

• SeanRenaud said on Dec 18, 2007....

  Not having three kids when you obviously couldn't afford them would have been a good idea to be perfectly blunt about it.  I mean you have heard of safe sex right?

• lfbno7 said on Dec 18, 2007....

  One of the political proposals I often mention is the 10% pension plan. Instead of social security, which takes nearly 6% from you and about the same from your employer, I would rather see slightly less money going to the program, 10% instead of the current 11 1/2% or so, but have it all come from the employer and have it all put directly into the IRA of every worker. In this way, the government is not on the hook for a penny. The Congress will not be able to get at your money because it is under your control, not theirs. There would be no debate at all about lock boxes or changing the retirement age, or any of that. Most of us would retire as millionnaires, for real. I think it is the way to go, and therefore I have absolutely no hope that our politicians would ever entertain the idea. It is too simple, too direct, and it doesn't allow them to get their hands in our pockets. We ourselves couldn't get at the money until we are about 60 at least, unless we are facing a serious hardship like eviction or foreclosure or medical catastrophe or something. This wouldn't help young people make ends meet but it would SOLVE the problem of elderly people making ends meet. They'd be very well off. Their golden years really would be golden.

• SeanRenaud said on Dec 18, 2007....

  Why can't you put 10% of your paycheck into an IRA on your own without the bussiness's help?  Why get congress involved at all?

• Fallyn said on Dec 18, 2007....

  sean. i was in an abusive relationship. and young. it wasn't the most intelligent thing to do.......but there were reasons.
  so i suppose i would be in a different place if i hadn't had kids. So therefore...my financial situation is all my fault. *shrug*
  

• Fallyn said on Dec 18, 2007....

  i wanted to add......the first one....yes, lack of birth control.....young and stupid.
  the second one i was on birth control
  i have a blood disorder, which was not diagnosed at the time which can render many medications, both prescriptive and over the counter, only marginally effective. which is how i got pregnant while on birth control
  i wasn't diagnosed with this until after i got pregnant with the third, when i got a tubal ligation. i didn't have three children on purpose.
  

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