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b-boy bouiebaisse@jbouie.bsky.social |
can i also say that i think “paycheck to paycheck” is a strange measure of financial precarity? like we are quite comfortable but if i were to not get my next paycheck it would be a problem!
33 replies 36 reposts 535 likes
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Marv
@marvinbutters.bsky.social
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It's the same move as when people switch mid-conversation to the Marxist meaning of 'working class' Either it's functionally meaningless in this context or it doesn't mean that, gotta pick one.
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Brad Westness
@brad.westness.cc
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I've always thought "I'm on a fixed income!" was funny for the same reason. Like I get the intent but isn't every salaried employee on a fixed income
1 replies 0 reposts 7 likes
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PoundingThePodium
@poundingthepodium.bsky.social
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Didn't use to be, back when Americans had savings.
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Daniel Gilmore
@gilmored85.bsky.social
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"Most people eat meal to meal"
0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Franklin D. Roosefella
@roosefella.bsky.social
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I think it means a lack of savings that can cover expenses in case of unemeployment. 401Ks can be drawn against, so "after 401K contributions" invalidates the "paycheck to paycheck"
1 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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Jacco Hupkens
@jaccohupkens.bsky.social
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I always understood this to mean 'every month almost nothing is left, so even one missed paycheck would be a problem'. That's precarity, right? If you have savings or some kind of buffer, it's less stressful.
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John
@jcasey.bsky.social
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My personal reading of “paycheck to paycheck” is there’s no room for error. Even when I’m careful, I can’t save for a rainy day because all my paycheck goes to immediate concerns.
0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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George Pearkes
@peark.es
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It’s also strange how people equate savings (both house and retirement) as a cost rather than as wealth-building. It’s a very different category of outlay!
2 replies 1 reposts 18 likes
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b-boy bouiebaisse
@jbouie.bsky.social
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you could say, in fact, that we live “paycheck to paycheck” in that we depend on a steady stream of income to meet our various obligations
29 replies 17 reposts 433 likes
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Pete Fuller
@petefullerga.bsky.social
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If you have a moderately funded 401k are you technically paycheck to paycheck? It would be a major issue to lose my income right now but would be several months before savings (intended for retirement but usable) would be exhausted.
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Jay Frosting 🧁
@jayfrosting.net
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I always thought "paycheck to paycheck" meant if you miss one paycheck, you won't be able to pay rent.
1 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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@green496.bsky.social
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Another problem is that these paycheck to paycheck surveys don’t have standard definitions of what they mean, so the results are meaningless for comparison.
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Ryan Cavanaugh
@searyanc.dev
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It's not really a useful category if the complement of it is "able to immediately retire"
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@surfingthepast.bsky.social
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Doesn't everyone who works for a living and isn't independently wealthy live by the paycheck? There is conflation between those who don't have an emergency fund in their bank account and those who literally have to spend every paycheck and can save nothing.
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Julian Sanchez
@normative.bsky.social
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How much of a problem, though? Like, presumably you’d have to dip into savings you don’t want to touch before retirement, but I’m assuming you would be able to retain housing and food even if your income stopped for a few months.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Anton J Pierce
@antonjpierce.bsky.social
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I would also say that over a third of Americans at $250K are unnecessarily over-extending themselves (houses bigger than they need, cars WAY bigger/more expensive than they need, etc). And those are not things they can quickly shed if things go south. $1000/month car payments are just stupid.
1 replies 0 reposts 8 likes
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Mark Shatraw
@markshatraw.bsky.social
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It's a little weird, for sure, but I think there's a difference between "I miss this paycheck and I'm not going to Disney" and "I miss this paycheck and I'm not eating."
0 replies 0 reposts 7 likes
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@thiccbutts55.bsky.social
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Useless phrase tbh. Find the able to cover a moderate expense thing more informative
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Nick Lloyd
@nicklloyd.bsky.social
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This exactly. Almost everyone lives “paycheck to paycheck” because it’s natural to adjust our lifestyle based on our income. No one gets a raise and thinks, “I guess I’ll just let that money sit dormant in my checking account”.
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Matt Baldwin
@thisbrokenwheel.bsky.social
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Same, my employer is switching payroll providers next month, and because of the scheduling gap I’m only getting one paycheck in July. Budgeting has been a headache!
1 replies 0 reposts 3 likes
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Rsquared
@rsquared.bsky.social
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At an old job there was a payroll fuckup and direct deposits didn't hit Friday morning. It got fixed quickly, but for many of my co-workers it was an immediate crisis whereas I had enough liquid savings to cover a short delay. That's what I think about for "paycheck to paycheck"
0 replies 0 reposts 14 likes
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@shishishibumi.bsky.social
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"If I spend all of my very large paycheck on things I do not require to literally live including building wealth, boy do I not have a lot of money left!" is always very silly. That being said, I think "I'm doing very well, but I feel scared still" shows our society works for no one
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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🚲
@bicycle.bsky.social
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going to throw the wikitionary definition into the mix so people in your mentions can debate whether this applies to them
1 replies 0 reposts 8 likes
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Finnydotca
@finnydotca.bsky.social
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I’m not sure what people mean by the phrase now, but we used to mean that your money was actually depleted by the time you got paid again.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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LurkyMcLurk
@lurkymclurk.bsky.social
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Wealthier people can tap into Credit Cards, Helocs, bank of mom and dad, and at worst their 401k. Poor people have maybe the first at terrible interest rates
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Karl Magnacca
@kmagnacca.bsky.social
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I think it’s more about the people who complain of not having any money left at the end of the month or being able to afford to go out to eat despite making $200k, and it turns out their budget includes $3k/mo to a retirement savings account. Yes that’s good, but it’s not living on the edge!
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Derek Vandivere
@dersk.bsky.social
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Standard financial advice (at least when I started my career in the early 90s) was to have 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses in a pretty liquid form. Just looked up what most Americans actually have in savings - frightening!
www.forbes.com/advisor/bank...
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Vituperative Erb
@vituperativeerb.bsky.social
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“After savings and consumption I have no money left”
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@wombative.bsky.social
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Many people make a conscious decision to live paycheck to paycheck. They are deliberately maxing out various forms of tax deferred savings and maintain relatively small amounts of (very) liquid assets. This is a deliberate choice. Probably a good one. But it is not without risk.
1 replies 0 reposts 5 likes
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Joad The Wet Sprocket
@joadsprocket.bsky.social
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I suppose I could enjoy a burn-down period thanks to the retirement fund at this point, but the recurring expenses get paid from the recurring income. Would be an issue!
0 replies 0 reposts 5 likes
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Chase Burke
@cburke.bsky.social
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That 401k can be borrowed against in an emergency. Same with whole life insurance policies. The only way at 250k one is paycheck to paycheck is if they basically don't save or don't use any financial technologies. Just spending every cent before it even hits your bank account.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Sean Skunk-Cabbage ⚓
@moldybasil.bsky.social
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Of course I live paycheck to paycheck I have to pay for housing and also eat. Combined that's more than one paycheck!
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Erik
@erik45824291.bsky.social
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Would it really be a problem? Even if you don’t have savings, surely you have access to credit to float you. Worse case you probably have a 401k that you can withdraw in an emergency? Living paycheck to paycheck for middle class people is still way less risky than for low income folks.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes