General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do you have 1 million saved for retirement? May not be enough. [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)a person can live paycheck to paycheck because they don't have enough money to save.
OR
they can live paycheck to paycheck because they are too undisciplined to save.
You mean that median individual income is $29,000? Because median household income is higher than that.
And I don't find $29,000 to be ridiculously low, and even then 50% of the country is making more than that.
I also don't think the economy is anywhere near "totally" fu$%ed. My own experience with the roaring nineties was not all happiness and joy, but I kinda saved money all through it, even when I was only making $5.40 an hour.
I have never lived paycheck to paycheck. I would NOT do it. I would probably freak out if I did not have some kind of safety net - a personal one to fall back on. I would cut expenses to the bone until I had one. Even if that meant living without the internet.
Most Americans seem to prefer spending their money to saving it though.
Maybe they are the smart ones. It seems likely to me that I will die with money in the bank. That is, money that I worked for, but never got to spend or enjoy.