Why is it so hard for people to manage their money?

[willzway26]

One things that was big for me was the way I looked at my bank account.

Like when I used to look at it, I looked at it as how much money I had to SPEND till I got to 0

Now I look at it as how much money I HAVE

Just because I have a certain amount of money in my pocket, doesn't have to mean that's all I have to SPEND.  I don't have to spend any of it if I don't want to, that's a choice. 

Like if I have 10 dollars in my pocket and it's lunchtime, that doesn't have to mean I have a 10 dollar budget for lunch.  I could use 7 for lunch if I wanted to.  No one is putting a gun to my head saying I have to spend the whole 10 dollars.  I can have 7 dollars to spend, keep 3 for whatever, and use self control.

That concept right there changed the way I look at money A LOT

 

[willzway26]

And if you really wanna understand how to make money work for you, read The Richest Man in Babylon.  Its only like 8 dollars and you can get it anywhere that sells books

 

[Majorbread]

Direct Deposit straight to the savings/investment account so you dont een have a chance to spend it

 

[Deleted member 72674]

 
My household income was 180K last year and things weren't that easy. I live in the NYC metro area BTW.

 

[Mark Antony]

My household income was 180K last year and things weren't that easy. I live in the NYC metro area BTW.

As wild as that sounds I understand it, people from other areas looking at you crazy. That NYC six figure family broke.

 

[Chiron]

I can't speak for everyone else but I never spend what I don't have...

EXCEPT these student loans man! I got 25k and probably another 6k I'm gonna need to get that piece of paper. I already hate the feeling even though the finance people are always saying "oh thats good debt"

Im not pulling in enough to make a dent in them but as soon as I can make 40-70k I'm living meager and getting all that gone. Student loan debt already outpaced credit card debt and it's really sad that the government is throwing unsuspecting kids into the lions den of debt. They give out these loans like candy with no consideration of major or job prospects. Quite frankly if they want to give someone 190k in debt to go to med school. They could give someone 190k to start a business and it would probably get off the ground if they had decent business sense and management skills already.

My roommate is terrible at managing money imo. Everything's paid but he stretches himself to the last dollar every month. Mostly because of his truck note that is more than our rent, but he does love his truck so I don't know maybe it's worth it if you got what you want. My problem is I ALWAYS want more. I want the best I can get. When shoes release I end up buying them. I still wear shoes from 6 years ago so presumably I'm not going to wear out 20+ pairs of new shoes in the next 10 years but its almost a reflex at this point. 

 

[blastercombo]

I know how to and that's ALL I care about.

 

[you go boy]

forgot to add that the more money you make your lifestyle will change... and thats why its never enough when it comes to money...

 

[meast]

I'm probably the most financially responsible out of my group of friends. My dad is a HUGE financial guy and making sure our family is set up of the future.

He came to the US with nothing and just made sure he wouldn't let that happen anymore. So being financially responsible in my family is pretty much a requirement.

I try to tell my friends to start on their 401Ks and all that boring stuff but they are too busy buying the newest things or newest car.

Meanwhile, I'm still driving my 01' Accord with 167K miles. Love it cause it is my first car. I can only tell my friends so much as to what they could be doing with their money. I contribute to my investments and retirement funds so I don't have to kill myself when I'm older.

 

[blastercombo]

forgot to add that the more money you make your lifestyle will change... and thats why its never enough when it comes to money...

I'm proof that not always true. I'm not rich but after finding my career and having a stable job that payed me a lot more than my college jobs I've actually saved more money than before.

 

[OG44NJ]

As wild as that sounds I understand it, people from other areas looking at you crazy. That NYC six figure family broke.

A four person family living in NJ needs on average between 64K and 74K annually to meet basic needs.

Source:  http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/RCL2013.pdf 

 

[SHERLOCK87]

When you plan on saving for a house/ condo, putting away money is actually easy.

It's the people without long/ short term goals that have a problem managing their money.

 

[slicknick951]

As wild as that sounds I understand it, people from other areas looking at you crazy. That NYC six figure family broke.

A four person family living in NJ needs on average between 64K and 74K annually to meet basic needs.

Source: http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/RCL2013.pdf 

Living in NJ is diff then living in New york. Apples and oranges

 

[OG44NJ]

Living in NJ is diff then living in New york. Apples and oranges

 

[americangenius]

I'm probably the most financially responsible out of my group of friends. My dad is a HUGE financial guy and making sure our family is set up of the future.

He came to the US with nothing and just made sure he wouldn't let that happen anymore. So being financially responsible in my family is pretty much a requirement.

I try to tell my friends to start on their 401Ks and all that boring stuff but they are too busy buying the newest things or newest car.

Meanwhile, I'm still driving my 01' Accord with 167K miles. Love it cause it is my first car. I can only tell my friends so much as to what they could be doing with their money. I contribute to my investments and retirement funds so I don't have to kill myself when I'm older.

I feel like that is also an extreme. 60 yr olds with money would trade it all to be 20/30 again. Never understood the save it all for retirement mentality.

The best philosophy is to generate more money IMO. The problem is when people want things that they aren't making enough money to buy.

Also spend money on things that you truly want, not just to impress others. Its OK to buy a few things just because you think it would make you look cool, but there's no need to buy Armani suits because you make a certain amount of money(unless you really are a suit fan).

 

[meast]

I feel like that is also an extreme. 60 yr olds with money would trade it all to be 20/30 again. Never understood the save it all for retirement mentality.

The best philosophy is to generate more money IMO. The problem is when people want things that they aren't making enough money to buy.

Also spend money on things that you truly want, not just to impress others. Its OK to buy a few things just because you think it would make you look cool, but there's no need to buy Armani suits because you make a certain amount of money(unless you really are a suit fan).

I get what you're saying. I'm not saving everything and spending all my money only in retirements. I meant it in a way where you can save some for retirement while still enjoying the money you have and generating more money. I just said that they should start looking into some retirement opportunities.

 

[americangenius]

I get what you're saying. I'm not saving everything and spending all my money only in retirements. I meant it in a way where you can save some for retirement while still enjoying the money you have and generating more money. I just said that they should start looking into some retirement opportunities.

I agree, many people are uninformed about retirement vehicles. Too often you see people working into their 70s out of necessity.

 

[dman14]

When you plan on saving for a house/ condo, putting away money is actually easy.

It's the people without long/ short term goals that have a problem managing their money.

this a SN i havent seen in a minute

 

[3am scholar]

They lack the knowledge.

 

[moe fab]

"Only the ones that never had gon' get it n act a fool wit it"

But in all seriousness, a lot of people mimic what they see in Pop Culture. On TV, you see people with gaudy jewelry, flashy cars, n expensive clothes. That then leads them to believe that this is how they need to live in order to feel some sort of validation. When in reality, most people don't have the means to live that lifestyle. Because they don't have the means, they usually ask themselves which is more important, n unfortunately more times than not they end up spending their money on frivolous items n end up burying themselves in debt. It also has nothing to do with SES, because people of all walks of life can find themselves in debt. I can honestly say I do this a lot. It's like when I have money, it's a countdown til' I'm broke. Word to Chris Rock.

 

[RickBlast]

whats do you all think about spending money on "experiences" vs materialism. "Experiences" being traveling, classes etc. things that are not tangible?

They say purchasing experiences makes one happier than purchasing objects

 

[nom de guerre]

some good points in this thread

 

[Deleted member 72674]

 

[fdub]

some good points in this thread

I agree! I'm definitely taking notes...

 

[superantigen]

It's so much easier for me to "manage" my money when there's plenty of it. When I'm broke, it's a struggle.

Kinda weird.



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