A friend and I were talking the other day about baby stuff and work and finances came up. It's interesting how we generally do not have any clue about the financial situations of those around us. We can guess and speculate and judge but for the most part we really don't know.
My friend was mentioning that her husband and herself are quite bad with money. They make a decent income but they don't pay any attention to what's coming in and what's going out (oh how I remember those days). It's hard for me to imagine it now... not knowing how much is going where, ever, yikes! They haven't started thinking about saving or retirement. I believe she said they have some debt they need to get rid of (geesh, who doesn't). Well she also mentioned that her sister and brother in law have always been in a bad way with money as well. They're both employed full time and both make over $20 an hour BUT they're loaded with debt, never have enough money, and have struggled over money for their entire marriage. (oh, and her sister is a financial adviser of sorts) Turns our my friends mom has always been really bad with money. My mom is bad with money. Several other relatives are bad with money. The list goes on...
I mentioned that the main problem my husband and I had is that we always looked at money with a "we work, we should be able to spend" mentality. I think ALOT of people feel this way. There really isn't an I've taken in "this much" so now I can spend "this much" cause and effect reality in how we're all spending our money. I think the US government is the perfect reflection of how MANY in our society live their lives financially. "If I want it I should be able to have it!" Swipe.
It really doesn't matter what your income is if you're constantly spending blindly you're going to end up in the hole. I hate the hole! Oh, how I'm trying to get out of the hole. I think we'd all be surprised at how many others in our lives are living in their own holes right along side of ours.
The Joneses really are broke aren't they.
I agree completely! I am also always surprised at people who are in the hole but aren't doing anything to get out of the hole. My husband and I are in debt, but we are doing everything we can to get out of it. I am always shocked by people who are in debt and don't really care. I can't understand that mentality.
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to always say when you see someone that you think has so much more than you to never believe that you won't meet them coming back the other direction. I have found this is true. People I used to be so jealous of are actually worse off than me.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%...early in my marriage, hubby and I thought that our financial situation was because we didn't make enough...once we both started earning good money, we STILL had issues with money! We once thought that once we started making "real" money, that we would never worry again. Unfortunately, as our income grew, so did our spending. It's truly not about how much you make or spend...it's all about how much you SAVE!
ReplyDeleteI could've written this post myself! People around us often look down at us for trying to live frugally and save but every single one of them has debt, and some are good twenty years older than us!
ReplyDeleteI hate "the hole" too! Well put! I need to get better at tracking what I'm spending though, which I guess is a habit.
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