Quote:
Originally Posted by calgaryblood
Way to throw everyone in the same category. "Like CP", what does this even mean? There were 9 total replies before you chimed in, and not all were harsh. Glad you could make a statement for an entire board with that.
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We are like 80 posts in now and a vast majority of them are still just people piling on with reasons they are so good with money and everyone else is so bad. It's a theme that pops up pretty regularly and even is a CP mini-meme that often is used as a joke in other threads.
OT - I obviously have a different view as I am in the states, but I think there are lots of things that get overlooked when we are too busy trying to throw others under the bus for poor financial decisions...
One that was touched on a bit but I think is important is that renting has become such a bad option these days. Rent prices are through the roof in most larger cities and make it that much harder to save for a down payment. Sure you can always get roomates and tiny apartments, but there are significant sacrifices that are made to rent that make buying a reasonable alternative when the cost if often equivalent or lower.
Another one that I was happy to see some responses on was the ability for laid off workers to get random low laying jobs. As someone that tried that, I can say it is harder than it looks. My wife and I moved to South Carolina 6 years ago and I gave up my job so we could move and she could start our career. But because I wanted to get working and making money, I was applying for anything. I applied at grocery stores, banks, home improvement stores, etc. And I often didn't even get a call. I was college educated with many years of white collar experience. I did get a couple interviews at a bank for a teller position but the manager was worried I would leave if I found something better so he went with someone else. I ended up working at Best Buy for a few months before I was able to get on with a company as a business analyst. Things worked out for us, but the point is that sometimes jobs are hard to come by even when people are willing to go for less pay and less prestige than they are used to.
Another factor is day care. I never realized just how expensive day cares can be. I thought that it would just be in home care or independent facilities that would be high, but in our area, even the large scale 'factory' places are costly. We currently pay $200/week for our son to be in a daycare that is not even that great. When we have our second child in the coming weeks, we are actually considering switching to an in home nanny because the cost difference for day care is similar. Our day care expenses for 2 children is about to eclipse our mortgage as the largest single monthly expense. While lower income folks often get subsidized rates, it still makes any situation with children much more complicated. Especially if you are talking about the lower wage jobs that people are supposed to be taking to make ends meet.
Anywho, I've rambled too long. I look forward to seeing what others think.