Why don't Americans save?

Isn’t it amazing how much technology and innovation we have, yet it’s this hard to get ahead?

Did anybody see the front page of the business section of the Washington Post today? It pretty much talked about several people who were needing to get second jobs to just keep up with the bills and provide a cushion in case they got laid off. Like me, they are also wondering why they keep working harder and harder, but their paychecks stay the same and the cost of living goes up and up. Maybe they’re Communists too.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/03/AR2009010300057.html

 

If you make so little money, I'm sure you could easily qualify for financial aid if you go to college. Become a nurse or something. In 2-years you'll be making at least 40k.

Delivering/making pizzas was never considered skilled labor.

 

Sanybestdog,

First let me say that I empathize with you to some degree. It can be very difficult and challenging to find whatever it is that you are best suited for in the workplace.

From reading your posts, you seem like a well intentioned guy, but I can assure you that ONLY YOU will be able to fix your situation and figure out how to get ahead in this world.

In my opinion, it sounds like sales isn't your thing (the insurance thing). Don't get down on yourself, as it's not for everyone. I'm in sales and it is extremely difficult and stressful. I've been lucky enough to make a good living through sales, but I hate it at times. With that said, regardless of what you're selling, if you didn't sell any insurance policies in 6 months, your probably not cut out for sales.

As you know delivering pizza, simply won't pay the bills if that's your primary income. That is a fine job for someone who is supplementing their income or a student, etc, but for most adults, that don't want to live in their parents basement their entire life, it won't get you ahead.

I think you clearly need to get enrolled in some sort of educational program to pick up some additional skills. Plumbing, electrical, construction contractors have the ability to earn a lot of money, so you may consider those. In fact, the sky is the limit, for those that possess those skills and have some good business savy. If you can market those skills and you're dependable, you can do very well in those arenas. It sounds however, that marketing isn't your strong suite though, as you seem to have a very hard time marketing yourself well enough to find jobs, other than pizza, etc.

As someone else pointed out, healthcare is another field that is growing (meaning jobs are being created everyday) and there are many positions within healthcare that pay well. Most of the positions that pay well, will require some additional training. I had a buddy that became a respiratory therapist, which paid fairly well and he didn't have to work that hard. Typically I think he worked 3 12-hour shifts/week and was paid full time (benny's etc). There are dozens of techincian jobs in varius areas of hospitals and healthc clinics.

Another option mentioned is the military. They will pay you and you receive training for post-military while your on the job. In fact, you don't even need to go full time with the mililtary as they need reservists as well.

Restaurant management is another option. Why don't you work your way up the chain? Please don't give any excuses, as I've seen if for my own eyes, that you can become a millionare, simply by working your ass off in the restaurant industry. My dad, was out of work after he quit his job in law enforcement due to a conflict with his superior. He had a family, bills to pay, no college degree, or any other training. But, he didn't sit around and complain, ask for handouts, etc. Instead, he started out as an assistant for a burger chain. Not exactly an impressive job is it? But he worked his ass off, and moved up very quickly, eventually managing 70 restaurants for a major chain. He started 20-some years ago and now he owns his own multi-million dollar restaurant and is in negotiations to buy a second. By the way, you don't have to be "wall street" talented to do that, but you do have to work hard. When I say work hard, as you probably know, to make it in that business, 70-80hr work weeks are the norm.

The point that I'm making (and others have made) is there is an almost unending list of ways for you to be successful, financially in the US. This truly is the "land of opportunity".

It's your job though, to go out and figure it out and do it. The goverment cannot and will not help you, regardless of what they promise, or how badly you pretend that the US could become a communist/socialist utopia.

Best of luck.

 

After reading the entire thread, I have to admit Sandy, that you sound extremely negative and depressed. I don't want to kick you when you're down, but you need a more positive, can-do attitude. I know that sounds a little corny (it does to me too), but good God, every piece of advice that other posters gave, you responded with an excuse or reason why you couldn't do it.

I think before anything changes for you, you are going to have to figure out a way to reverse that menatility. If you go through life with a "pitty party" attitude, and keep coming up with reasons why you can't get ahead, YOU WON'T GET AHEAD.

I really do hope that you take these past two post constructively, as I am not trying to be a dick. I just think that I've seen too many of my friends and others in your age range that have become successful, to believe that you cannot make it in this country.

It's all out there for you, but you'll never get any of it, with your current attitude.

That's the big take away, in my opinion, is that you must change your mentality, before anything happens positively.

 

sandy,

I was trying to be somewhat helpful by being critical, however you are wrapped up in a self-defeating world view. Let me give you an example:


You say it’s rediclous that people should ask for 30k when they aren’t worth it, but that’s exactly what you got growing up, so why should my generation ask for anything less? Let me explain. In 1975 the minimum wage was $2.10. Now if you simply take that and multiply it by the yearly CPI (which we know is crap and inaccurate) you will find that if minimum wage simply stayed consistent with inflation, it should be approximately $8.83 in 2007. Of course it was $5.85 then. If you take the housing market as a different gauge of inflation you will see that the average home in 1975 was worth $35,300. In 2005 it was worth $214,000. This is just the latest stats I saw on a website. This represents a 606% increase. If you multiply that times $2.10, you will see that if minimum wage was indexed to housing, it should $12.73 in 2007.
Now your son makes $8 an hour. So taking the 2007 minimum wage, Wal-Mart valued him at 36% above minimum wage. So if minimum wage were indexed to the cpi, your son should actually be making $12.08 an hour. If it were to housing then he should actually be making $17.41 an hour. $17.41 times 40 hours a week, times 52 weeks a year = …………. $36,212 a year. FOR WORKING AT WAL- MART! If he had been making $12.08 then it would still be over $25,000 a year. So in affect somebody in 1975 doing the same thing did make 30K a year, not including benefits. So you’re calling me a lazy Communist who thinks he’s owed everything for simply wanting the same thing you had at my age. Still feel the same way?

BTW I love going to Wally World and I wish your son all the best. But don’t blame me if in a few years he comes to you and says he simply can’t get ahead no matter how hard he tries. It’s much harder for our generation.

My whole point was that you could increase your income by simply looking around at places like Wal mart. You can't see it becuase I don't think you want to.

I'm not a boomer, I'm an X'er. All the union jobs were long gone when I came of age and I had a baby boy and wife at age 20, so I don't need lecturing on how hard things can be. Never once did I think that the gov't should get me a job, and I was unemployed for several months in the early 90s.

Your analysis of wages is spurious, housing markets are not uniform for one thing....

They seem to fit in taking all of our other jobs. Why can’t they do our fighting as well, at half the price of course? Think of how much it will save the taxpayer.

Once again you miss the point and create your own strawman to support your belief system. My neighbor employed two teenagers out of high school to do drywall and roofing, they were paid quite well as I recall and he wanted to train them to handle jobsites on their own for something probably in the neighborhood of $20 an hour. They quit because the work was too hard.

The military is another opportunity that many americans simply will not take because of the nature of the work, and most people in the military are not shot at.


I'm done posting here Sandy but one more thing for thought for you: you said Also everything has worth to it.

That's not true, and worth is subjective. Just a few minutes reflection should prove it to yourself. That, along with your stubborn insistence that delivering pizzas ought to be ' a living' and refusal to adapt are killing your chances.

 

but good God, every piece of advice that other posters gave, you responded with an excuse or reason why you couldn't do it.
------------------------

This is a very important point that is pervasive in our society.

People always find a problem with the solution.

Life is a progression of decisions and actions, they may be good or bad but true failure is the result of doing neither.

 

Sandy, here is what I see. You are angry that you can not have enough money with pizza delivery. You make good points that to work hard does not always mean you will make alot of money. So you stay angry because of that, and you dream of ways to change that (like your system for a business where the hard work will be rewarded) Ok, now your energy is going to how get revenge. So if you could make a system of business like you want, and get revenge, what do you need first? (MONEY)
So you know now that pizza is not making money for you, so you have to first think of a way to make money, then the money can go to the revenge business that you dream about. But first you have to make money.
It is like this. Pretend you own a house that worth $2.00. Then all around the house they build business, and that house in the future is not worth what you paid for it. You are angry. Someone comes to you and offer to you $2.00 for your house so they can have the land to build more business. If you take the offer, you will have no loss, and move. If you do not take the offer, then you stay in the house, and in the future the house will be worth less because now, no one wants to buy your house because it is surrounded by business. Even the business people do not want your house anymore because you said no in the past, so they make other plans. So because of your anger of unfair that business build all around you, and you focus on the unfair part and become angry and frustrated, you would not sell your house and go to something better. So yes it is unfair sometimes, but unfair things make you find a better place. But only if you stop being angry.

 

Sandy, I have been following this thread for some time and the only common theme I can determine with regards to your position is that you want the world to fair. Hard fact is Sandy the world is not, I repeat, not fair. It does not even know you exist. It’s nothing personal on its part it just does not care that you or I or any of the other people on this thread exist. Regardless of what you think would be a better system, a more fair system, is irrelevant to the fact that you don’t live in that fantasy, you live in this reality.

It has always been my belief that a person’s happiness is directly correlated to how close his/her perceived reality is to objective reality. When these two diverge reality usually rears its head and slaps you up the side of your head. It’s natures way of telling us “Don’t do that it’s not going to work!” .

You believe that your system would be better on many levels, I get that. Your moaning about the system which is here and now is time and energy wasted. There are whole lists of things that are wrong with this system. At the top of my list is the fiat monetary policy. I can bitch and moan all I like about it but I must find a way to deal with it, mostly protect myself from it by using it to my advantage.

Deal with reality or reality will deal with you.

 

I have come to the obvious conclusion that 'sandydog' is a rouse.

a created entity with "issues" to stir up the elite crew for kicks or for more neofarious goals such as developing fodder for an article. book or project.

seriously, she can't be for real!


surf

 

I hope your right marketsurfer. I have to say however I have actually met people who have these views face to face. After I stopped living in bars I met a lot fewer of them.