Feels like it. I’m getting the most pay in my life and 5 years ago it would have been comfortable. Now with the cost of everything I’m just eeking by. Hell I drive a 30 year old car still as I can’t afford a new one or even a newer used one
Motorcycles are much cheaper, easier to maintain, and convenient if you don’t live in a place with snow. If I ever go back to America, I am selling my 20 year old toyota and buying a sensible Honda Motorcycle.
I would totally ride a motorcycle if I wasn’t surrounded by people on their cell phones not staying in their lane.
The bigger danger is people not looking or their brain not working and pulling out directly infront of you.
Unless you live in America, then the biggest dangers by far, accounting for >3/4 accidents are drinking and riding or going into a turn too fast for conditions and eating shit.
Here in vietnam, its probably people with a phone in their hand riding into the back of stuff, then alcohol.
In Cambodia its probably people with shit tires and no helmet lowsiding and getting squished by an oncoming truck or banging their heads.
I’ve been bumped by people doing the no-look-lane change once hard enough to deform my foot peg, as long as you have grip, there is a lot of force trying to keep a moving bike upright.
I actually used to ride believe it or not. But with starting a family and the insane amount of distracted driving here in the US I quit. It’s disturbing to see people with their phone in their hands while driving. Plus I didnt want to leave my family without a father. I loved riding and still miss it
I used to ride, but even bikes are getting quite more expensive, and it’s much dangerous to ride on at least in the US as everyone is driving bigger and bigger vehicles and more distracted as well.
I know Harleys are overpriced, but you can get a brand new cb750 for 7-8K, cheaper most of the world.
What is weird is that much cheaper bikes the third world gets are way more expensive in the US, a XR150L is 3.4K in the US, a CB150 verza has the exact same engine, it’s less than half the price in Indonesia.
Same with the Honda Wave in asia vs Grom in the US, they switch the functional frame/clutch for something “sporty” and just double the price.
you can’t afford a 25K civic or similar?
issue i see with people is they seem to want 50K cars. at least going by the average price of new car purchases, but most car buyers buy like 2x the car they actually need.
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Nope not with kids and a lack of child care. One parent stays at home as their paycheck got devoured by child care and I work. Both of us with degrees in tech too. Once both kids are in school maybe she’ll be able to work part time but obviously someone still has to go pick up the kids. I have zero family support. My parents died of cancer and meth.
I’d love a hybrid civic or corolla. Hybrid mostly to save on gas. I absolutely don’t need a F150 or something
childcare is about 3K a month max in a HCOL. even with 2 kids that’s 6K a month.
if you both have degrees in tech in your 30s, you should both be making like way more than 6k a month. neither parent should stay home, unless it’s a lifestyle choice. i have known a few people who did this. a dual income tech couple should be pulling in well over 200K/yr
and yeah if you are poor because of lifestyle choices… that’s not struggling. that’s you choosing to make less money than you could. or i suppose you could be 24 or something and both be making 60K, but why you had kids so early is against a lifestyle choice and your struggle would again be self-imposed.
and by the sounds of it you very much could afford a cheap least or car payment. a lease on basic hybrid civic is 250/mo or so. sounds you aren’t open to leasing a car though and think you have to purchase it outright.
Got to love when people say 24 is young to have a child and it’s a choice. Not every state allows abortion, and even with birth control and contraception, children occur.
Then the dogshit advice to lease… Sure, it might make sense to some, but it’s almost always a terrible choice.
oh who is forcing people to have children? exactly?
At least in the US the average new car price is now close to $50k. That’s the reason car loans now are going upwards of 7 years. A lot of the car price is more and more expensive safety features being added on cars. Add in, you are quite a lot safer in a modern new car compared to even a 20 year old car.
yes, but all those feature are in 25K cars.
It’s just that people don’t buy those cars, they would rather financially ruin themselves buy 2x the car for the ‘image’ of it. Just like how many people by unreliable, bad MPG, shitty cars, but whine about the cost… because well they ‘have to have a Jeep’. So now they have a 50K car that is going to need $1000s in repairs just to keep it running after a year or two.
And 99% of people who own Jeeps never offorad them, they’d be better off with a Civic or Corolla, but they can’t get over themselves, they’d rather whine about being poor and broke while paying 4x the cost for a car that they need to.
If you look, there are very few $25k cars these days, hence the comment, the average is $50k for a new car in the US.
there are tons of compact suvs and sedans at that price point. almost every major brand makes them.
the issue is people don’t want them because they are ‘too small’ or ‘don’t feel safe’. they would rather pay 50K for a big ass car and whine about it then buy one that’s half the cost and 2/3 of the size. And almost all of them are just commuting to work in it, they will never ever use the extra space or capacity of the larger vehicle. and if you argue with them and point this out, they will tell you what a stupid ignorant asshole you are and how they ‘need’ a 50K car, and they couldn’t possibly ever buy a shitty small car like a Civic. And most of them will go further be like ‘well i can only afford the 50K car, but I REALLY WANT the 80K car.’ Tons of people buy these 80K 3-row SUVs and whine about how expensive they are, when they absolutely positively have no actual need for a vehicle that large. but psychologically they need it because it’s a status symbol and reflection of their ‘pride and value’ of themselves.
you can get a brand new HRV or Civic for 24-26K, but people refuse to buy those cars, they want the Passport which is 45K to start.
fwiw i drive a 10 year old hatchback and people endless tell me shit like ‘you have no self-respect if you drive such a shitty small car’. and i ask them what car I should get then, and they always say ‘audi/bmw 5/7 series SUV’. Because it’s not about the utility or use, it’s all about the fragile image they are protecting by owning a large expensive vehicle.
Meh, knowing people that have been t-boned and are permanently disabled because they drove too small of cars, the unfortunate reality is newer cars are safer, larger, and you are more likely to survive. They are also more expensive. But hey, when your teenage daughter ends up a paraplegic in your 10 year old hatch back, maybe you will feel something about not buying a safer vehicle. At least you saved a few bucks.
Not everybody.
All of the worst people you know of or can imagine are doing GREAT.
I heard one of their private rape islands got shut down. That had to be inconvenient.
I wouldn’t worry. They’ll have another up and running before too long
I’m doing great.
if I claim I’m doing awful, does that make me a good person all the sudden?
B-> !A != !B -> A
Edit: Don’t post logic equations tired, folks.
It’s just basic logic.
One thing I’ve noticed is that movies and TV shows don’t use exact amounts of money anymore.
‘The Rockford Files’ always talked about Jim’s $200.00 a day fee, and characters would say things like ‘Hey, this is a fifty dollar jacket’ or ‘That house must have cost $100,000.’
The $5.00 milkshake was a big plot point in ‘Pulp Fiction.’
Prices are going up so fast that what was unreasonably expensive when the script was written will be the norm by the time the show gets aired.
I noticed that when watching How I Met Your Mother as a teenager, they almost always avoid naming specific amounts of money. The narrator might replace an amount of money with “crapload” or the characters might show eachother a money offer on a piece of paper. Older shows like All In The Family, made in the 70s, frequently mention specific amounts of money but now, with inflation, those amounts of money sound laughably low. Bread for 11 cents? I always figured modern shows avoid mentioning specific amounts of money to try and keep it timeless so in the future people won’t laugh at what was considered a high or low amount of money at the time
To be fair, they’re trying to make “evergreen” content, meaning it stays funny/meaningful/believable/etc. no matter how far into the future that you watch it.
That wasn’t really a thing until the 90s though. Probably started with The Simpsons
Yeah, shits tight and every institution is in decay. On the other hand it’s only gonna get worse until it gets better, so theres that.
I’m not struggling but damnit i want some fucking slack.
…so youre struggling and you just cant admit it?
…Wot?
I’m good. Though, I feel like I don’t really have the life I expected for my current level of income. Like my parents made a lot less, but had it better.
Even before my unemployment I felt this way. I mean by felt that its just a fact. My father never went to high school. Im not saying did not graduate. Im saying never went. Mom only worked a few part time jobs and never for a need for money. Grew up in a massive 5 bedroom house and we always had 2 or more cars. Dad was a janitor. I have a BS and masters and had changed to IT due to my first career not paying enough and have no kids (I had 6 siblings). One car and two bedroom condo is my max achievement and im running through savings in my 50’s. Oh my dad had multiple pensions and a good amount of retirement savings.
Sounds like he had a union job and/or worked for govt. Like a janitor in a school district.
yeah but the bs janitor jobs were not such a thing back then to. LIke being a janitor at abbot in the 70’s was non union and non government but nice. Janitors were in house and part of the company and not part of a service.
I feel this. I love modestly but my parents had it worse so we didn’t do much either. What gets me is the amount of people who are reaping the benefits of generational wealth which I think is the only reason my peers are affording the lives they have.
It’s part of why I associate most with immigrants. They understand the struggle more than people who look like me.
I have an Indian coworker who lives with her husband and child in a 1 bedroom apartment and she’s the single breadwinner and struggles hard. I admire her more than anyone else in my office.
I sure get that. My dad did 80 hours of trade school in turn late 90s and turned out a six figure job with one day off a week and it was plenty. I do better now than we did then, but it took a PhD and like 17 years of work. Consequently I’m an older dad, but I guess it is what it is.
Nah, I’m doing just fine. I have a steady job, frugal lifestyle and quite substantial savings/investments for someone my age. I could live for years without income.
what field are you in, if you don’t mind me asking?
Self-employed general contractor.
Same.
Also self employed. Got plenty of work lined up, savings, pension, cheap mortgage.
Each year looks a little better than the last one.
I think part of the reason it seems everyone is struggling is because of two reasons.
One, lots of people are struggling. Two, no one wants to hear from the few who aren’t.
How does one get a pension when self employed?
Sign up with a pension company and pay money into it like any other monthly bill.
I’m in the UK so might be different elsewhere.
no one wants to hear from the few who aren’t.
How is that making everyone struggle?
It doesn’t.
It makes it seem like everyone is struggling coz you don’t hear from anyone else.
Without income id be fucked but at the same time kind of like you I have the equity locked away. I could as of now move back to a small town mortgage free. I choose not to because I need to milk the system as much as I can before I parachute back to nowhere.
Not just financially, also mentally and emotionally!
We don’t generally have to worry where our next meal is coming from, but there is little to no wiggle room after that. Savings? Lol. Investments? See savings. No vacations. No subscriptions. Just rent, food, and bills. We’re one unexpected large expense away from homelessness at any given time. But we do have the essentials covered.
Financially, no. Emotionally, fuck yeah.
Same. Im at the point fortunately where by pocketbook can still stretch farther than my ability to deal with this bullshittery. I will live. But I’m pissed about it. And my heart goes out to those that can’t. I don’t have a solution but I hope we fix it soon.
As lower income households struggle to afford Walmart, Walmart is growing in popularity with higher income households seeking out sales.
“Walmart posts worst comparable sales performance in six years”
Well, might go hungry for a while if I need any clothes or whatnot. Trying to juggle side jobs to make it livable, and treat credit card with caution.
Microbiologist, Russia
Good luck, take care
We’ll see brighter days indeed!
I have been rather fortunate, and well paid (~$120K after taxes and savings). Even 3 years ago, I didn’t have to think about money day to day. I was brought up with a very modest lifestyle, so the things that feel extravagent to me were affordable in that context.
Today my wife and I eat out less, shop for groceries differently, and plan things that used to be a small purchase more carefully. It’s not a struggle in the important senses, but I have a clear feeling of “it’s going to get worse”, and I want to make lifestyle adjustments ahead of that rather than falling behind it.
I’m not, have a pretty high double income. But, a lot of my friends are. I’m starting to notice things getting more expensive, but I was pissed off before that.
I don’t have to be struggling myself to be upset at how things are going. I guess not everybody is like that.
My situation exactly. I get pissed off thinking about how unaffordable everything is for the majority of people right now.
Oh, come, everyone. Come see the Moral Man who was so Righteous and Moral that he spent half his response on telling us all how Virtuous he is, and indeed already was, before it was even cool.
/s
We’re by no means struggling relative to what many are going through right now, but we definitely already lost multiple safety-nets in a very brief amount of time under Trump’s 2nd term.
