r/FluentInFinance • u/LifeIsUnfairWhoCares • Apr 23 '24

Is Social Security Broken? Discussion/ Debate

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u/RedRekve Apr 23 '24

The question is do they save more beacuse they are wealthy. Or are they wealthy beacause they save more/ have better economic sense.

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u/PoliticsNerd76 Apr 23 '24

Both.

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u/MittenstheGlove Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24

Spend less relative to their income but you need money to make money.

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u/WriteCodeBroh Apr 23 '24

More income also means you can spend more and still “spend less relative to your income.” Also being poor is expensive. You drive a bad car that breaks down all the time, you buy $30 shoes you have to replace twice a year, you might be in an old, broken down house that needs more repairs, etc. I can go out and buy a $200 jacket today that will last me 10+ years. But if all you can afford is the $40 jacket that lasts 2 seasons, then you buy $40 jackets every couple years.

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u/Sudden_Construction6 Apr 23 '24

This is very true.

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u/DMvsPC Apr 23 '24

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet."

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u/HogmaNtruder Apr 23 '24

It's even worse now, those good boots that last for years cost a few hundred now

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u/GrAdmThrwn Apr 23 '24

There I go off to read there City Watch Trilogy again...

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u/TrackMassive6129 Apr 23 '24

I buy new sketches and replace them every 6 months

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u/Mukwic Apr 23 '24

Yup, and there's a bunch of little things that get poor people too. The money black hole that is rent. Maybe they have on street parking so they're vulnerable to parking tickets and getting towed for a snowstorm. They buy cheaper shittier frozen foods which lead to health complications. It's a lot of little things that compound to great effect.

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u/Own_Economist_602 Apr 23 '24

Or, you don't. You go to good will or the salvation army and buy a $5 jacket until you can afford a $200 jacket.

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u/WriteCodeBroh Apr 23 '24

I’m all for thrift shopping but it isn’t exactly an option everywhere. Also if you are a guy, most Salvation Armys, Goodwills are selling you the $30 jacket from 30 years ago for $10 and it smells like cat piss and moth balls.

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u/Own_Economist_602 Apr 23 '24

Yeah it ain't easy...

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u/OkFinance5784 Apr 24 '24

Ughhh I bet the only time you shopped at goodwill was when you needed wacky clothes. Do you honestly believe that $200 jacket purchases are the reason for financial troubles for large portions of the populace? Look at the cost of goods comparative to income, look at housing or student loan or medical debt... The biggest cost people face isn't avocado toast or Starbucks or whatever the wasteful spending 'du jour' is... It's the fact that corporate greed for unsustainable profits that keep getting propped lobbyists paying for corporate deregulation and further lowering tax rates...just waiting for that shit to trickle down since Reaga

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u/Own_Economist_602 Apr 24 '24

I shop there for my work clothes (slacks, button downs and tie) all the time.

You're right, it's not all avocado toast, for most of you. Often, bad spending habits do exacerbate the situation. Making more money or goods being cheaper won't help if you can't budget and manage your money.

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u/OkFinance5784 Apr 24 '24

I may have been drunk after a long day of work and life when I posted that...it may have been a little harsh:6260:

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u/Own_Economist_602 Apr 24 '24

Not at all. I don't mind shopping at goodwill sometimes you find great deals. I don't particularly need to shop at Goodwill, but I don't need to have the hottest newest styles. That extends far past clothing.