I think most of them wing it

More than the need, I think its curiosity as to why you don't have 5k or whatever sitting around even just by accident. Are you purposely spending every cent you make? Do you need to make more to comfortably live your current lifestyle? Only saving in retirement accounts and spending the rest etc?

The whitest of white people problems.

I have a house payment which eats up one of my bi-weekly paychecks. I put 12% in a 401k and I get 20% of my salary in a one time bonus. So my paychecks during the year aren't overflowing to begin with. The rest I tend to spend on stuff like trips, camera equipment, home improvements, going out to eat.

I'm trying to think of a really dumb purchase I've made recently. The only one I regret is a $300 special camera backpack that I don't think I'm ever going to use. I did get a DUI a couple years ago that all told, with damage to my car from hitting a curb, cost about $20k. So that set me back for a couple years.

Bottom line is if I have money easily available it tends to get spent.

SuperPAC donation.

Seems like a leak to keep that much in cash. I usually have ~4k for bills and minor emergencies, credit cards for bigger emergencies, and put the excess in investments. If I get kidnapped by Colombian drug lords or whatever, I can cash out the investments.

Seems reasonable but I think the point of the original article was that a large percentage of even middle-class people don't even have $400 for an emergency - whether in a checking/savings account, or in other investments.

Using a credit card doesn't really count as "having the money" - it's still a loan.

There is a lot of financial illiteracy itt. Spending slightly less than you make and having some savings is not some terrible hardship that makes your life suck. At least if you earn a decent paycheck. Plenty of people with some savings still go on vacations, have nice cars, go out to eat, etc.

If you carry a balance on a credit card you are setting money on fire, plain and simple. Since money is just an exchange mechanism for your hours spent working, you are essentially working extra hours for zero pay in order to cover the interest.

If you're not wealthy enough to own a home, there's not a lot of surprise thousand dollar expenses that you're going to run into.

I'm not at all fiscally responsible (in terms of attempts to save and spending intelligently, but I do track what I spend), but this is not hard in the least. Maybe 20 minutes of work like once.

It's like you're in some weird bizzaro world where bills (save medical stuff- which makes no ****ing sense) don't come in pretty consistent patterns.

You mean, aside from vehicle repairs, seasonal fluctuations in energy bills, medical emergencies, travel costs to visit a dying relative, etc.?

Yeah, those lucky duck poors living in someone else's rental property sure do have the uncomplicated lives.

With the exception of auto repair, none of those strikes me as "multiple thousands of dollars" worth of unanticipated expenses. Bobman was talking about being unable to fathom not having a 5-8k safety net. I think that's a pretty big jump past what you'd want to have saved to cover the things you mention.

Not sure how you go "lucky duck poors" or "uncomplicated lives" out of my post at all.

Found your problem right here.

Cool lecture. Sounds like you should have no problem when President Clinton raises your taxes next year.

If you're talking to Inso, I'd say that pointing out that spending 50% of your income on housing is a problem is one of his more reasonable takes.

How is seasonal fluctuations in energy bills an unexpected 4-figure expense? Admittedly i don't know many middle classers but don't their hovels have windows? Or calendars?

In the statement you made, you said "surprise thousand dollar expenses," which I took to mean "$1,000."


It was the assumption that people who aren't homeowners shouldn't expect to face an unanticipated or unpredictable expense which could wipe them out.

I mean the first winter my best friend spent in his new to him but old as hell house their energy bill was maybe $300 more than they had expected after a life of apartments and townhomes. That's far from the only story I've heard like that. I was taken by surprise by the size of my bill once I stopped living in tiny studios. So I super buy it as a surprise expense, just not to that degree.

This thread needs Henry17

Gotcha.

I've had a decent chunk of my own savings wiped out by medical expenses in recent years. Believe me, I know.

It's just that home ownership is the most common reasons you'd get hit with the surprise 4k bill. (I guess auto as well, but it's different because you're not obligated to drop 4K to fix/replace your car when ****ty beater options are available, you're typically going to have to fix the hole in your roof).

The first $450 gas/electric bill after moving in to our tiny 1200 sqft first home was a real eye opener. When we lived in an apartment, it rarely topped $100.

I've accepted it now as part of life.

In the past year, we've had two units charged for bed bug removal. It runs ~$1300. That would certainly be a nasty hit if you're living paycheck to paycheck in an $800 apartment.

It also wouldn't hurt the situation if the cat had an 'accident' imo.

The big variability is probably credit card bills. If you're spending on different cards for cash back reasons or just spending more than usual in a month, you can have a pretty big draft on a day when you usually don't have much going out. It just seems stressful to potentially overdraft if you forgot about something.

Oh yeah that was the WOAT.

I just refied and put about $50k towards equity (my regular bonus + one-time mega bonus at my company). So it's $600 lower now, which will help.

I'm definitely better off having money tied up in illiquid stuff like 401k and home equity. If not I end up drunkenly contributing to a Ted Cruz super pac Any new extra money will go towards extra home payments.

Yeah maybe don't live in a arctic hellscape.

It really isn't, it's basically equally true at almost all income levels unless you are on welfare or something. I get that unplanned events occur and that those disproportionately impact lower income people but in reality it is usually the case that this month is about the same as last month which is about the same as next month. It really seems like you should probably rein in your spending or something. Without knowing anything you probably have too much house, eat out too much, whatever.