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Post by Emilio Estevez on Dec 27, 2010 14:45:54 GMT -5
My buddy has been complaining about being broke for the last year or so. It had gotten to the point where a few months ago he actually asked me to borrow money (I didn't lend him any, cause I've learned from experience that that's nothing but trouble).
Anyways, this kid lives paycheck to paycheck and barely makes enough to cover his rent and food, let alone any other expenses.
This weekend the kid won our Fantasy Football league, and won the payout of $960. I send him a congratulatory text last night, as I was genuinely happy for him. I mean, for a dude living paycheck to paycheck, an extra grand can really come in handy.
He responds to my text and says, "Thx man! Tomorrow morn I'm going to Best Buy to buy an HDTV and a PS3 I've been wanting! Can't wait!"
Now, it's not my place to say anything, but why in the hell would someone who's living paycheck to paycheck blow a wad of cash on frivolous stuff like that? Is it just me, or do people like this boggle any of you as well?
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Dec 27, 2010 14:49:30 GMT -5
There's actually a psychological reason for it. People that go from having practically no money to any kind of substantial sum will usually(note that, there are exceptions) blow it relatively quickly, because they have no real concept of it running out as quick as it tends to do. Granted, I know 960 bucks isn't a fortune or anything, but if he's used to barely scraping by, he probably thinks it will last him a lot longer than it really will.
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Post by willywonka666 on Dec 27, 2010 14:50:08 GMT -5
Sadly no. I mean yea it's f***ed up, but there are a LOT of people like this and they continue to make mistakes until something strikes a chord. Just a matter of if/when. hopefully he'll realize this soon, before he really digs himself a hole so deep that he can't get out.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2010 14:51:17 GMT -5
Poor people have a harder time understanding the value of saving and investing. When you live pay check to paycheck - its hard to see past this month so why not go for immediate gratification.
I'm not generalizing - there've been studies done, but I'm too lazy to find them.
Its along the same lines of how you'll see expensive rims/steroes in crappy cars. Or increased levels of alcoholism and drug use in lower income neighborhoods.
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Dec 27, 2010 14:55:33 GMT -5
I'm the same sort of irresponsible financial trainwreck, so I kind of understand why someone does this.
Basically, they get to thinking, "This may be the only time I'll ever have the money in hand to do something/acquire something that I want, so I'm going to do it." Yes, they know in the back of their head that they should be finding a way to save or invest every last cent they have, but the lingering doubt that they'll ever be holding onto enough money again in their life wins out.
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Post by @TenaciousBe on Dec 27, 2010 14:55:56 GMT -5
Oh yeah... my ex-roommate (and lead singer in my band) is the same way. Been on unemployment for months, pretty much scrapes by, but when he has a few extra dollars on hand, he's buying up CDs or DVDs or XBox games before he actually pays back his old debt to get his guitars out of hock or, y'know, putting anything away for a day in the future when he'll be scraping by again. Or, God forbid, saving money to get a new car since his last vehicle took a big steaming dump all over itself and he now borrows my car every day while I'm sleeping in the day (as I work nights). The car thing is starting to REALLY irk me, but the dude is one of my best friends. What am I supposed to say?
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Dec 27, 2010 15:00:53 GMT -5
Oh yeah... my ex-roommate (and lead singer in my band) is the same way. Been on unemployment for months, pretty much scrapes by, but when he has a few extra dollars on hand, he's buying up CDs or DVDs or XBox games before he actually pays back his old debt to get his guitars out of hock or, y'know, putting anything away for a day in the future when he'll be scraping by again. Or, God forbid, saving money to get a new car since his last vehicle took a big steaming dump all over itself and he now borrows my car every day while I'm sleeping in the day (as I work nights). The car thing is starting to REALLY irk me, but the dude is one of my best friends. What am I supposed to say? Most financial planners would tell you to tell him "GET THE F*** OUT OF MY LIFE BEFORE YOU RUIN MY CREDIT RATING!".
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Post by percymania on Dec 27, 2010 15:06:48 GMT -5
Sadly no. I mean yea it's f***ed up, but there are a LOT of people like this and they continue to make mistakes until something strikes a chord. Just a matter of if/when. hopefully he'll realize this soon, before he really digs himself a hole so deep that he can't get out. Actually, there's A LOT of people who never grow out of this mindset. As soon as they get just a little bit of extra money, they feel the need to spend it because they feel like they've been deprived of nice things all their lives. It's usually because of their own failure to save and invest money, but it's a cycle they can never seem to get out of. They spend most of their time wishing they had money, so as soon as they get it they want to spend it. My best friend is in his mid-30s who is the exact same person OP described. I love him to death, but he can't manage his money for nothing. He's always broke. Anytime he gets a little extra cash, he blows it because it seems he only knows what it's like to not have money. Putting money away for a rainy day he just can't do. It's always raining in his world. It's weird.
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Post by salsashark on Dec 27, 2010 15:09:20 GMT -5
A good friend of mine does just this. He's in his mid-twenties, lives with his dad in a comfortable suburban home, and is perpetually out of a job and/or money. When he does run into money, he blows it immediately on CDs or DVDs, and he thus has an insanely huge collection. (Both are in the thousands.) Meanwhile, he doesn't have $10 for a concert I want to go to with him and he occasionally has trouble buying lunch (even if his dad will ultimately look out for him). It's absurd and infuriates me to no extent.
He has one other habit: when he gets a new job, he thinks about it in big picture terms versus the small picture. (ie: "I will make $20,000 a year," not "I will make $10 or whatever an hour.") He also leaves/loses his jobs fast, which makes this big picture thinking weirder. It's a strange lack of discipline.
Anyone know someone like the person in my situation (especially the second thing)?
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Post by i.Sarita.com on Dec 27, 2010 15:18:50 GMT -5
There is a reason he has no savings and lives pay check to pay check as it is.
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Post by chunkylover53 on Dec 27, 2010 15:23:22 GMT -5
What I find worse is people who claim to have money, but when its time to pay up, they don't have it with them. Am I the only one who comes across those people?
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Post by Glitch on Dec 27, 2010 15:24:33 GMT -5
Very easy. Because people are stupid and don't think ahead of time. I know quite a few people who could make good use of money that is squandered away. Some of them make more money than me,(mostly because I can only find temporary work) but they are always in money trouble.
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Post by Red Impact on Dec 27, 2010 15:30:04 GMT -5
IT's the same reason people who win the lottery tend to lose it quickly. As others have said, people who don't have a lot of money have a hard visualizing how quickly it can run out.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 27, 2010 16:03:52 GMT -5
Sounds a lot like my mom. Whenever I have some extra cash on me, she'll ask to borrow it at every opportunity she gets and blows it on pain pills and beer.
And whenever I try to tell her no and that I'd like to save some money, she guilt trips me, calls me stingy, and generally throws a fit.
So, yeah...
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percymania
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Post by percymania on Dec 27, 2010 16:42:18 GMT -5
A good friend of mine does just this. He's in his mid-twenties, lives with his dad in a comfortable suburban home, and is perpetually out of a job and/or money. When he does run into money, he blows it immediately on CDs or DVDs, and he thus has an insanely huge collection. (Both are in the thousands.) Meanwhile, he doesn't have $10 for a concert I want to go to with him and he occasionally has trouble buying lunch (even if his dad will ultimately look out for him). It's absurd and infuriates me to no extent. He has one other habit: when he gets a new job, he thinks about it in big picture terms versus the small picture. (ie: "I will make $20,000 a year," not "I will make $10 or whatever an hour.") He also leaves/loses his jobs fast, which makes this big picture thinking weirder. It's a strange lack of discipline. Anyone know someone like the person in my situation (especially the second thing)? Kind of in the same boat... I have a lot of friends who tend to exaggerate their pay by going by potential earnings rather than actual earnings. This is typical of people who work in sales and get paid commission. They'll claim they can make $60,000 (or something) a year, but in reality they aren't even making half of that. They'll never admit that they are barely making anything and instead focus on what the job recruiter promised them they could make.
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Post by who throws a shoe?! on Dec 27, 2010 21:07:39 GMT -5
My buddy has been complaining about being broke for the last year or so. It had gotten to the point where a few months ago he actually asked me to borrow money (I didn't lend him any, cause I've learned from experience that that's nothing but trouble).Anyways, this kid lives paycheck to paycheck and barely makes enough to cover his rent and food, let alone any other expenses. This weekend the kid won our Fantasy Football league, and won the payout of $960. I send him a congratulatory text last night, as I was genuinely happy for him. I mean, for a dude living paycheck to paycheck, an extra grand can really come in handy. He responds to my text and says, "Thx man! Tomorrow morn I'm going to Best Buy to buy an HDTV and a PS3 I've been wanting! Can't wait!"
Now, it's not my place to say anything, but why in the hell would someone who's living paycheck to paycheck blow a wad of cash on frivolous stuff like that? Is it just me, or do people like this boggle any of you as well? Maybe he's buying those things because he knows he would never be able to afford them in normal circumstances? It might just be that to him he'd rather spend it all on things he is going to get use out of rather than just having it sitting in a bank account just to be pissed away over the course of a few months.
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Post by bob on Dec 27, 2010 21:27:49 GMT -5
I gotta be honest if I was your buddy I would spend abut $100 on stuff I want but save the rest for rent etc.
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Post by Predator McBroski on Dec 27, 2010 21:57:45 GMT -5
Sounds a lot like my mom. Whenever I have some extra cash on me, she'll ask to borrow it at every opportunity she gets and blows it on pain pills and beer. And whenever I try to tell her no and that I'd like to save some money, she guilt trips me, calls me stingy, and generally throws a fit. So, yeah... Nice. Taking money from your kid.
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Post by A Dubya (El Hombre Muerto) on Dec 28, 2010 1:38:54 GMT -5
I'm the same sort of irresponsible financial trainwreck, so I kind of understand why someone does this. Basically, they get to thinking, "This may be the only time I'll ever have the money in hand to do something/acquire something that I want, so I'm going to do it." Yes, they know in the back of their head that they should be finding a way to save or invest every last cent they have, but the lingering doubt that they'll ever be holding onto enough money again in their life wins out. Very well said. I agree, and have been there.
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Post by slasher911 on Dec 28, 2010 3:17:33 GMT -5
Oh hell, I do the same thing. I ate nothing but tortilla wraps filled with unmelted mozzarella cheese for 3 weeks last year because I spent all of my money on Winter Classic tickets.
....Totally worth it, by the way.
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