General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis just infuriates me
Ads on TV about putting enough away for retirement. When you can't earn enough to pay, rent, car repairs, medical, etc and you are expected to save more for retirement. War on the poor....it must be nice to have a home, a car that doesn't need repair every few months, enough to pay a co-pay to see a doctor. The working poor don't need this constant torment on TV
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
I_UndergroundPanther
(13,369 posts)
Wounded Bear
(64,324 posts)
Prairie_Seagull
(4,689 posts)We are just loosing our asses.
Celerity
(54,408 posts)Once labelled as "California's The Clash", The Dils were part of the very first wave of the L.A. punk scene. They formed in Carlsbad in San Diego County before moving first to San Francisco - where bassist Tony Kinman was briefly in The Avengers - then to L.A. In 1977 What? Records released their debut 7" "I Hate The Rich / You're Not Blank". After a two year gap, Chip and Tony Kinman, who were the axis of the trio, returned with a three-sided EP, Made In Canada, which was a far more melodic affair, offering hints at their future as country-punk band Rank & File. They split up in 1980.
Label: Dangerhouse – SLA-268, Dangerhouse – SLA268, Dangerhouse – sla 268
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Solid centre
Country: US
Released: Dec 1977
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk
XanaDUer2
(15,772 posts)I worked full time in a white- collar- but- low- paying career. I see these commercials from Schwab showing customers with retirement accounts for 850,000 dollars. I looked real fast to see the amount. I was curious if they were going to put a balance
WORKING FT 36 YEARS I COULD NOT HAVE A RETIREMENT portfolio like that. Are they crazy? These clients must be high-powered lawyers or surgeons, or something. That ad makes me sick.
Rebl2
(17,742 posts)ads and they annoy me as well. I mute or turn the channel.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)around Christmas time where someone buys their spouse a very expensive car as a gift. The arrogance of the idea of having so much money that you can go out and spend six figures without discussing it with your spouse and have them be thrilled about it just turns my stomach. How many of their viewers can possibly be in that position?
Lonestarblue
(13,480 posts)Living in Texas means living with big trucks—not the ones that construction and other workers use but the ones jacked up on huge tires and usually taking up two parking spaces in crowded parking lots.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)and there's lots of those trucks here. At least most of the ones around here are used for what they were designed for.
By the way, I have a son-in-law who has been selling cars for over 35 years, everything from cheap used cars to Ferraris, and he says he has never seen a car sold under those circumstances. A gift, sure, but not without the spouse knowing about it beforehand.
halfulglas
(1,654 posts)It's not the make, model, color he/she wanted. To those with that amount of household income, if they have no input as to what she/he wanted, this is going to cause a bit of resentment every time they drive the vehicle. Some surprises are great, others not as much, especially when you have your heart set on one thing but someone else chooses something else for you. It's like, all that money but it wasn't what you wanted. (Not happened to me but someone I knew.)
GoodRaisin
(10,922 posts)Only an idiot would need one of those, lol.
NJCher
(43,165 posts)Putting a big bow on an SUV: 
mountain grammy
(29,035 posts)
A HERETIC I AM
(24,876 posts)Watch this and look at the age of this couple and the house they live in and think of this;
WHO can live like that and afford that sort of thing in their 30’s? I’ll tell you who; children of very wealthy parents who have gone to expensive schools and graduated with no student debt and after graduation went straight into high six figure jobs or into their parents business.
The people in this advertisement do NOT reflect even a TINY portion of GMC’s market, yet General Motors aired this ad for a couple years.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)when I made my post.
question everything
(52,134 posts)What size home do you have to accommodate both trucks at an angle, not one behind the other?
SWBTATTReg
(26,257 posts)to be able to live in a place like they do/did (remember, it's just an ad), and have the vehicles that they had parked outside. Talk about fantasy land (as I'm shaking my head).
spooky3
(38,634 posts)I drained $80000 from our joint account to give you a ‘gift.’”
ForgedCrank
(3,096 posts)and was sitting here thinking that even if I did had that kind of cash on hand, my wife wouldn't' be all too happy if I just went and picked out her car for her without asking. She likes to do her own stuff
Caliman73
(11,767 posts)The idea of "Keeping up with the Jones'" is alive and well, and has been for some time. Advertising is about creating reality and having the product "fill that reality".
Car ads in the 1930's and 40's were typically about the specifications of the vehicle. When advertising became a true industry, then we started seeing the ads selling a "lifestyle" or image rather than a vehicle. If you wanted to be cool, you bought the Ford Mustang. If you wanted to be a "Red blooded American" you bought the Oldsmobile.
Also, if you aren't in that position right now, there are thousands of credit cards, loans, and other financing options that you can choose until you see better times.
This is capitalism.
Delarage
(2,597 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)Hilarious. 
question everything
(52,134 posts)
JanLip
(862 posts)Just hate these commercials at Christmas!! This is hilarious. Thanks for posting it. Made my day 
spooky3
(38,634 posts)Was given a BMW because a bow flew off his house and landed on his son’s BMW? As if he wouldn’t know the moment he opened the car door that it was used, or wonder how the son’s family was going to get home?
dickthegrouch
(4,528 posts)That's the bit I hate because you add on another 200 for insurance, and save $500 for each light bulb that needs replacing, but requires half the car to be dismantled to achieve it, and you're out a LOT more than the "Only" amount that most of us couldn't afford in the first place.
DENVERPOPS
(13,003 posts)the dealer maintainence that isn't covered by warranty, at highly exaggerated, rip off rates.
Here's a story.....I take my Ford Truck into a Ford dealer, Freeway Ford here in Denver) because my private mechanic was out of town......
It needed a small sensor, two screws, fifteen minute job. The part from their parts department over the counter was 39 bucks.
They charged me 100 for the diagnostics, which weren't needed because the problem was obvious what it was that was wrong.
They charged me 60 bucks for the part, and 300 labor..............
I talked to my mechanic when he got back into town, I told him the prices, and he said hold on. He went to his computer, checked on my vehicle, and the part they replaced was under warranty. I wrote Ford in Detroit, sent them a copy of the dealer invoice. I put a handwritten UNDER WARRANTY????? on it.
Three days later I got a full refund from Ford Corporate.
Then, the same exact thing happened to me with my wife's VOLVO, to the tune of 2600 dollars.......Richenbach Volvo, here in Denver told me it wasn't under warranty......My Mechanic friend looked it up and told me it most certainly was. I sent off a copy of the receipt to Volvo America with the UNDER WARRANTY???? And got a check for the full amount.
I gotta believe that because the Manufacturer doesn't pay them much for a warranty repair that they submit the warranty claim, tell the customer it isn't under warranty, and double dip by sending the manufacture a bill, and also billing the customer.
The car dealerships that I have dealt with, for the most part, are corrupt as hell. A guy who worked for one of the manufacturers once joked that they should sell the cars at cost, because where they make big money is in the maintenance/service Dept......He also told me that the "Service Writer" at the dealership gets a commission on the extras he sells, even ones that are not needed.....
Pinback
(13,600 posts)
question everything
(52,134 posts)GMC I think. Both were in their huge driveway side by side.
Even if both were on loans, the size of the driveway was that of a McMansion if not larger.
(I once complained about this ad on these paged and someone tried to tell me that it was not a big deal..)
TheProle
(3,982 posts)
Auggie
(33,150 posts)
BamaRefugee
(3,884 posts)"Most folks who HAVE TO buy these lower level used cars wind up with a decision in the first 2 months...Do I get the car fixed and running or do I make the payment? They usually can't do both."
'MURICA!
NBachers
(19,438 posts)“Sit down with our planners for the truth about retirement.”
XanaDUer2
(15,772 posts)I'm sitting here hoping to have SS and a small pension. Being told Ill need 2 million dollars to retire
sybylla
(8,655 posts)They were claiming you were going to need a million by the time you retired and the only way to get there was to start at age 24. Of course, you also needed the 10% interest rates that they were paying on certificates of deposit in 1984 to get there.
Our retirement accounts invested in the markets have suffered setback after setback with every crash and are just barely making up for it by the next crash.
We make pretty decent money and we're still going to be lucky to have half that. And that's only because one of us has a job with a pension.
When the stock market rallied on the loss of reproductive rights for women, I took my IRA out of the stock market and put it in CDs. I will never drop another dime into the stock market. For the last six months, my gamble has out-performed my spouses accounts in the market. I doubt that will last, but I will not ever have any more losses.
Diraven
(1,898 posts)And if you happen to live more than 20 years or develop any major medical problems then you'll still die in poverty.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)Sky Jewels
(9,148 posts)to buy loved ones cars with giant bows on top for Christmas. 
panader0
(25,816 posts)are serviced regularly, 15 acres paid off long ago. My GF pays the cable/phone/ internet package and I pay
everything else. Medical is free because I'm considered so poor. That's a big one (AHCCCS) in Az. I didn't
even have to apply. Land taxes are my biggest bill. Grow my own, have a garden, etc.
patphil
(9,068 posts)Taking away Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid would impoverish millions, and kill tens of thousands each year.
This scheme is nothing less than mass murder, sanitized by law.
Note: My car is a 2007 Honda Accord with 235,000 miles on it. Still runs good, but needs regular care. No way I can afford to replace it at today's prices.
NBachers
(19,438 posts)around. Decent used cars cost more now than they did when they were brand new! I sunk money into bringing my Focus back and took it to the dealership last Friday to see what else it needed. They couldn't find anything that needed fixing! So I'm sticking with my Focus. Good size, 5-speed, and never burns a drop of oil. No one wants the catalytic converter, and if some knucklehead tries to carjack me, they're too stupid to know how to drive a stick shift anyway. No reason to go out and buy a "target" car.
DENVERPOPS
(13,003 posts)is that you will start having problems finding parts. The car companies only have to make parts for ten years...........
I have a popular 90's vehicle and have to search junk yards to see if I can find a part when it needs repair...........
NBachers
(19,438 posts)I_UndergroundPanther
(13,369 posts)See disabled people as "useless eaters"and they'd like to kill us ,you know the national debt.
slightlv
(7,790 posts)I live now in absolute panic the repubs (or now, their judges) are going to find a way to take away SS and Medicare. Not only is it taking care of hubby and me, but it, along with help from us, still takes care of my Mom, too. Triple worry. My sister, who teaches, is desperately looking forward to getting out of the career field and retiring and is becoming more and more despondent because of what the repubs are doing both to the field and to social security in general. What they're doing -right now- to the mental health of thousands, if not millions, of us is criminal. How many elderly suicides will be committed because of them? I know I sometimes skate on the edge of suicide ideation simply because I can't stand the panic attacks. And I'm already on "happy pills!"
Both of us had to take early Social Security... hubby because his DoD contract ended early and there was nothing else forthcoming, and at his age there was nothing else he could get, other than dishwashing. But get this... that job was 45 minutes away with a staggered day. They wanted him a few hours in the morning and a few hours late in the afternoon. The commuting would have eaten up any money he made working! And it wouldn't have covered the wear and tear on the car.
My job ended up being changed from contractor to GS. At first I was happy. More security, I thought. But the hit in pay was horrible. I lost 2/3 of my salary, and starting with Bush the junior all security started slipping away. Finally diagnosed with Lupus and Fibromyalgia and under a Director who believed one wasn't working unless one's butt was in a seat in the office, and not having an office manager who would fight for me, even though every bit of work I did was on WiFi whether I was in the office or at home, I couldn't even work a 2-day telecommute to accommodate my disability and was forced into early retirement. Luckily, I retired with early Social Security and a (small) annuity from DoD. As smart as I thought I was, I still got tricked into Medicare Advantage, tho. So far, it hasn't been as bad as it could have been... or might become, I fear.
I look at these commercials and cringe. I see my daughter... a single mother of three boys... she works DoD and is only working as a G7. She freelances online as a Fivverr and makes pretty good money doing it. She's smart as a whip. But she also works herself to death. She manages her money pretty well in the present, no idea really what she puts away for the future. I do know she lives life for the present pretty damned well. But I can't blame her. I didn't get her much of a fun life growing up. Money was always too short when she was growing up. We barely had enough for basics. A lot of months when she was really young, the extra went for a "fun meal" from McDonalds and that was the end of the money. She tries to give her kids what I couldn't give her... concerts, VR, games, experiences, etc. I can't blame her. But I do worry what will happen to her as she gets older. At some point I need to sit down and have "the talk" with her, I guess. (smile) I worry she still thinks (horrors) that there's still a knight out there that will rescue her from all the bad things the future could hold. While it used to be true, it no longer holds that two can live as cheaply as one any longer. Especially when she's still paying on student loans (even tho she's got the "been forgiven" letter) that no one recognizes yet.
I see the commercials on TV and they just bring up all the injustice in America to me. They don't remind me of the American Dream. They bring up the American Nightmare. They bring up all the horrors of American Laissez-faire Capitalism that buries everyone but the ultra rich. It screams I've got mine and you'll never have yours.
In my better hours, it reminds me I've got more than they have in the number of friends and the love that surrounds us than they'll ever have in the big houses and huge trucks that they surround themselves with. In my worst hours, it fills me with depression and makes me feel like I failed the people I love the most by not giving them what I wanted them to have, what I felt like they needed. In my very worse hours, it leads to panic for the future, thanks to the repubs and their hopes and dreams for a very Ayn Randian future.
BigmanPigman
(55,137 posts)Evolve Dammit
(21,777 posts)Beastly Boy
(13,283 posts)When I see what you have described, I just smell a rat. No one in their right mind who has a million to manage for retirement would follow the advice of these losers, and they know it. Their aim is to make the majority who can only dream of retiring feel guilty enough to entrust these crooks with their meager savings in hopes, or more accurately dreams, to improve their lot somehow. At a hefty fee, of course, which the regular Joes can hardly afford.
If you pay attention, the articles or TV programs like this give you a reference to a specific money manager or a group of money managers. It goes without saying that anyone who has millionaires for clients doesn't have to resort to this kind of self-promotion.
It's like ambulance chasing lawyers. If you are any good, you don't do it.
Wednesdays
(22,603 posts)my grandfather had $250k in savings (worth several million in today's money). When he died in 1988, it was down to $50,000...thanks to these "financial advisors."
BigmanPigman
(55,137 posts)than my neighbors, friends and family when none of them got a CA refund/support for low to middle incomes and I did. I thought they made more from investments, spouses, double and triple dipping pensions, etc. Meanwhile I am sitting here inside an apt in San Diego and it is 62 degrees inside and I can't afford the heat (I wear double layers from literally my head to my toes). I could never eat out or travel, even before Covid, due to the costs. My careers both were lowing paying and every cent I saved could be lost due to my healthcare.
On the bright side, I have learned to live frugally and most people have no idea how to save wasted food, recycle clothes, plastic, foil, etc and this helps the planet. I don't have to learn how to live without eating out during Covid since I never could anyway. People would recycle more if they HAD to, not WANT to, like during the Great Depression.
TygrBright
(21,362 posts)Not just 'big houses' but hillsides covered with vast lots containing a 10,000 square foot house with a 4-car garage and a pool and an in-law cottage, row upon row of them. And then you go over a hill and the next one has more of the same but with pseudo-Tudor faux beams instead of pseudo-Spanish wrought iron.
WTAF? Hundreds of them. Development after development... who are all these people and where do they work? How do they afford a place like that?
amazedly,
Bright
CTyankee
(68,202 posts)retirement plans for members. Many workers have permanent damage to their bodies for their labor intensive jobs over the years. When they are old and infirm they need the retirement funds their union negotiated for them.
I have known people active in their union's negotiation with management and they are relentless and good. I admire their work immensely.
halfulglas
(1,654 posts)But I come from a steelworker's family. My grandfather worked in a steel mill for almost 50 years. (Part of that time he was cheated out of years' worth of time toward pension because they "lost the records due to fire" from his early years with the company.) Hell, yeah, I believe in unions. More people would have died in the mills than happened if not for the unions.
Yes, unfortunately, sometimes union leaders have been corrupt, but it's up to the members to hold the leaders responsible and so many union members don't take any interest in the union other than to pay their dues. Some can't even bother to vote on new contracts. And sometimes unions have made bad decisions in pushing things in D.C. thinking it would benefit them that were disastrous in the long run. (Like in the 70s when the unions joined the auto companies in pressuring Washington to ease and delay the miles per gallon requirement regs delaying and delaying the inevitable while the auto companies whined about retooling to smaller cars and better milage as the more gas efficient German Volkswagen and Japanese cars made huge inroads in car sales to the American middle and lower classes.) OMG that was a long sentence. Sorry. The point I was trying to make was that sometimes union officials made the wrong decisions settling for what they thought was OK when they should have pushed to what would better for both the worker and the country.
There is also the fact that some of the middle class workers dislike for unions is just pure and simple envy. The feeling of some of them is why should they be so much better off than I am. Again, part of the resentment pushing GOP.
Stargazer99
(3,517 posts)I'd perfer unions over the present system
JanLip
(862 posts)I think of my Mom. Back in the 60’s and 70’s my Mom worked in a factory. There was no Union but she was helping get one in. She worked on an assembly line and during this time she was having female problems. She needed to go to the bathroom more than normal. One day she ask her boss if she could go to bathroom and he told her NO. Well you know the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. My little 4’11” Mom went off on her boss. He took her up to the office where she proceeded to cuss them out but good. Needless to say she was sent home. She had no trouble finding her next job. My Mom was a very strong woman who I admire even though she passed on. She was also a very strong democrat. I sure miss our talks about politics.
hunter
(40,691 posts)... and never see any commercials.
We're not loyal to any particular streaming service. We rotate Netflix, Discovery, Paramount, Disney, etc.
Our television is not hooked up to an antenna, cable, or satellite. We only watch DVDs and commercial free streaming services. Our public library has a large DVD collection and offers access to free streaming services too. I also like to buy DVDs in thrift stores. We have a large DVD collection, hundreds of them.
I've completely lost any tolerance I once had for television commercials.
Over the years my wife has suffered some very serious health issues. We've run COBRA health plans to the bitter end and almost lost our home at one point because we couldn't pay the mortgage. Our pharmacy bills alone those months were greater than our mortgage. We paid the pharmacy bills. That was the immediate life or death problem until we were poor enough for state coverage to kick in. This society really kicks you in the head when you are down.
In a true "first world" country nobody worries about medical bankruptcy, nobody has to fight with health insurance companies when they've got worse horrors to deal with, actual monsters growing in their guts.
At times we were getting medical bills of $10,000 and more, even with insurance. That's where the "retirement funds" went...
Like many U.S. Americans most of our wealth is in our home. We know we are fortunate to have that. Most of the twenty- and thirty-something kids in our family are renters. One of our children is a homeowner. One of our nieces is a contract biologist living in government housing on a former military base. They seem to be doing okay at "building wealth." I worry about the rest of them.
I bought a new car once in the mid 'eighties when I was young and full of myself, a newly minted "professional." I'll never do that again. Fortunately I'm a pretty good mechanic, have some tools, and can afford to drive $1,000 cars. My current ride is a beat up old truck my homeowner kid gave me after my favorite $1,000 car ever was destroyed by a distracted driver while parked in my driveway.
Advertising for cars, pharmaceuticals, health plans, or retirement just makes me angry... I had to shut it off.
BWdem4life
(3,003 posts)
madville
(7,847 posts)I did 20 in the military (get a retirement pension and VA compensation/disability), did 16 as a federal civilian employee and currently work for a large city that has great benefits and a pension. I’ll draw social security whenever I decide to stop working, probably at 65.
It’s a long road to get those retirements and have that security but well worth it. I was broke a lot of those working years but will draw more in cumulative retirement than I ever did make working.
Kaleva
(40,365 posts)
Johnny2X2X
(24,207 posts)Pensions are being phased out, we're about to enter a new era, where people who retire don't have the guaranteed income of a pension, but rather have only 401Ks. It's going to be a disaster. The 401K is a great tool, but it's also way to flexible over your working life. And without unemployment insurance being enough to live on basically anywhere in the US, 401Ks just become an emergency fund for too many people. If you're laid off, and facing a choice of losing the house or dipping into your 401K, you're dipping into your 401K. So, even if you're on target, you're 1 disaster away from using your 401K as your emergency fund.
With that being said though, no one is coming to save you, anything you can save can make a big difference come retirement. $50,000K in a 401K can make a big difference in retirement. Those extra few hundred a month can mean the difference between making it and being homeless.
I also think we need to do a better job of educating the public on Social Security. Too many people have no idea what their benefit will be or that it's directly tied to how much they pay in. I know people who have worked 1099 for too long and didn't pay into social security because of it, they're basically looking at the minimum.
And I've been there, I know how hard it is to save, but you have to scratch and claw to get $2000 at least into your savings account, you can't afford not to. $2K lets you absorb a ton of immediate emergencies that you'd otherwise go into credit card debt to handle.
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)I worked for a company that not only provided a pension but put money in a401k for me. Because of them, I was able to buy a house, and now with that equity I got from selling it, the401k, and the pension, plus SS, I have a comfortable retirement. If I'd worked somewhere else, I'd have had to work until I dropped dead at my desk. I have to be careful with money, but I'm secure.
I worked there 22 years and still wasn't one of the old timers. No one left that company. It can be done for employees.
Johnny2X2X
(24,207 posts)Been here 11 years this Spring, I missed the pension program by 1 year, but their 401K is pretty generous with matching my 8% with 7%. Borrowed out of my 401K for a down payment on my home, but it's doing quite well right now and I have about 17 years until retirement so I'm going to see some good gains. Roth IRA is just started because I want to put away more than 8% of my own income.
And I'm keenly aware of what my social security benefit will be when I retire. And honestly, no matter how good my investments are doing, I will still rely on social security for enough income to maintain the life style I have while working.
And like a lot of people, my retirement plan is based on a paid for house, I'm on track for that by paying extra principal every month. Every dollar you pay in principal now is $2 you don't pay at the end. Have about $150K in equity right now. If for some reason I don't get it paid off before I retire I can afford the payments or just downsize and pay cash for a place with the equity I'll have.
But here's the thing, I am still not as secure as I'd like to be and that's still a lot more secure than 80% of the middle class feels. And to get to this spot I had to get advanced degrees that allowed my income to be high enough to get ahead of things. I'd have little no shot at being in this spot with a household income near to the median income for my area. I'm no study in discipline, make a lot of the same poor choices as others, but things are a lot easier when your income is double the average. It's a lot easier to say that I stuck to a budget and was disciplined when my mortgage payment represents 13% of my gross monthly income than when my rent took up 40% of my gross monthly income.
And here's the big problem, a comfortable retirement is a huge part of the American Dream, and it's not attainable to most anymore. I can't say to people, oh hey, just go out and get an engineering degree BS and then get a Masters on top of it, all your problems will be solved then. That's not realistic for most people. And that's why we vote Democrat, to help fight for the middle class, so that the American Dream can once again be the norm for working people. I am scared for so many friends and family who are basically just praying they die early for retirement, it shouldn't be this way in the richest country in human history.
inthewind21
(4,616 posts)That ship sailed long ago.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(28,493 posts)absolutely MUST have that car, that vacation, that jewelry, the very latest smart phone and so on.
I likewise don't have a regular TV and do all of my watching on various streaming services. I have no intention of ever going back to regular TV. I also have zero patience for the commercials the very rare times I'm around a TV.
inthewind21
(4,616 posts)those who let them "convince" . I've never bought anything based on an add of any kind. Be it mass mail, tv or radio. Know why mass marketing exists? Because it works.
Initech
(108,783 posts)And Elon Musk lost $200 billion just so he could be a right wing shit poster. It's way past time to start making the billionaires and mega corporations of this country pay their fair share. 
RobinA
(10,478 posts)the working poor. I am not poor and make a somewhat decent salary finally at the age of 65. I am single. My salary was crap until I was in my late 50's. I can't afford a house, I do have a decent car, and I can afford to do some things I want to do. I even save money. But could I have saved enough to fund retirement? No way. My solution was to get a job with a defined benefit plan in enough time to vest and build up a decent pension. My feeling is that unless you are Bill Gates or don't mind living in a tent after retirement, the average person cannot save their way to retirement. I probably could have saved decently for retirement if I had done absolutely nothing my entire life, cereal for dinner, library books, cheap cat food, no vacations, no hobbies, etc. But then you die at 60 and your heirs get the money you never spent.
So I agree, those ads make me mad and promulgate the fiction that Joe Middle Class can save for a nice retirement.
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)And I remember when conservatives insisted Social Security was on its death bed. They said people would need to "make other plans.". What the F other plans were they going to make?
leftyladyfrommo
(20,005 posts)into savings. Better yet just eat every other day.
wryter2000
(47,940 posts)So you can work three jobs.
airplaneman
(1,386 posts)a 401 account
a HSA account
a IRA account
a Christmas saving account
a emergency account
a kids college account for each kid
a new car account
a home repair account
a vacation account
and don't forget to have a Jumbo CD too
What are you doing with all your extra money ???
-Airplane
airplaneman
(1,386 posts)Quanto Magnus
(1,347 posts)after receiving a quote for $18000 to fix my sewer line....
There have been more of them on TV lately too it seems...
Midnight Writer
(25,410 posts)on the meager survivor benefits from her husband's Social Security.
He smirked and drawled "You just need to go out and find yourself a rich husband."
Republican humor.
GoodRaisin
(10,922 posts)How about the “easy one day shower” commercials? “Call today and we’ll give you 50% off and a lifetime warranty”.
Un huh, 50% of what? 50% of whatever number we decide to try to rip you off for. And good luck finding them after you’ve made 5 years of “easy affordable payments” with the shower walls starting to bow out at the seams. These people are targeting idiots.
I haven’t been served an Arby’s roast beef sandwich as big as the one on the TV commercial since 1965.
Those beautiful cars will be back to the dealer multiple times to fix all the stuff inside that doesn’t work. GM must have a record number of vehicles on the road with one headlight out. Unbelievable bad quality that never gets fixed.
Lies, lies, and more lies.
Fortunately I can still afford a DVR to fast forward through most of these lying assholes. I don’t want any of their shit.
XanaDUer2
(15,772 posts)Arbys sandwiches, even in the 70s. Just the regular one.
They've stopped selling potato cakes, and now have shitty fries
MissB
(16,344 posts)and stop getting Starbucks coffee and stop eating avocado toast, you'll be able to retire.
Of course that is sarcasm.
I've been fortunate in life, but not so much that I don't recall how poor I was growing up or as a young adult.
There's no magic wand. Putting in hard work isn't the end-all-be-all solution either. Lots of time it is just sheer luck. So far, I've been lucky. Will it continue? who knows.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Well, for the torment,
Whatever you do, may I suggest you not walk through a typical middle class shopping mall? You may not make it out before the torment of seeing what crowds of people are doing with their disposable income overwhelms you. It'll be beyond constant.
Don't even look into all the chain restaurants and fast food joints full of families dropping outrageous sums each month to avoid cooking for themselves. For your mental health.
Close your eyes when driving past new subdivisions of any size homes.
Blind your mind to how people who could drive an old car for 20 years instead buy or lease a new one every 2-5 years because of warped standards of what's appropriate for people like them.
Just don't think about how Americans spent $10.6 BILLION on Halloween last fall. Most of the junk went to Goodwill or landfills afterward, NOT saved to be reused next fall -- when the total will be even higher.
And, of course, Turn. Off. The. TV.
After all, most Americans report they're doing okay to very well economically. They have at least some discretionary income to blow. And many have a lot! But almost all could be doing a lot better about saving for retirement. The ads are for the majority of Americans, who really should notice.
For maybe a consoling thought for some (?), after decades of working and wasting many people will end up retiring essentially on Social Security anyway. Talk about social equalizing -- they'll be living on the same sort of income as those who never had extra money to waste, or lost it to medical bills, or thought they couldn't save. (Btw, it's doable -- my husband and I can attest because we don't touch our modest savings and live off our checks. It's overall the happiest period of most people's lives since childhood, not because of retirement savings and expensive entertainments, but because of all the emotional benefits and free time of this relaxed, mostly stress-free stage.)
honest.abe
(9,238 posts)Good grief. Many dont even have 401ks and most that do have very little saved up. Most of us are just trying to survive day to day.
ForgedCrank
(3,096 posts)ads on TV for things that I cannot afford. In fact, most things on TV I see are for things I can't afford.
It doesn't piss me off, I just can't afford that stuff meaning that the commercial isn't intended for me.