The Official "Making America Great Again" Thread

[kalm]

We have one car payment of $300 and that's only because I got 0.9% financing
My PITI is under $2000
We eat out an average of 2x a week, but one of those is usually carry out
No way we spend that on entertainment per week
Zero revolving debt for over 20 years

However, I estimate that we've spent over $450,000 after tax dollars on tuition on two kids.

Excellent..!
Interesting to note - these couples that fall in this category
Tend to max their credit because everybody will give them max credit

It's a trap
and they end up buried
with a house that was 20% more expensive than they should have purchased but were approved for
two cars that's 50% more expensive than they should have purchased but were approved for



throw in a boat and a motorcycle and bingo...

Bingo is cheap entertainment.

[CAA Flagship]

Excellent..!
Interesting to note - these couples that fall in this category
Tend to max their credit because everybody will give them max credit

It's a trap
and they end up buried
with a house that was 20% more expensive than they should have purchased but were approved for
two cars that's 50% more expensive than they should have purchased but were approved for



throw in a boat and a motorcycle and bingo...

Bingo is cheap entertainment.

Depends.
















Don't forget your Depends.

[kalm]

That’s their own stupid fault.

come on, klammy, you're smarter than that. There's not a single thing on that list that's an essential. Not one.

I’m smarter than that but...obviously not everyone is, which is my point. Not to mention, if we all decided to live like Chizzy there’s a crap ton of businesses and a few industries that would be in trouble.

Why do you think Bush urged everyone to keep shopping after 9/11?

[Chizzang]

come on, klammy, you're smarter than that. There's not a single thing on that list that's an essential. Not one.

I’m smarter than that but...obviously not everyone is, which is my point. Not to mention, if we all decided to live like Chizzy there’s a crap ton of businesses and a few industries that would be in trouble.

Why do you think Bush urged everyone to keep shopping after 9/11?

That is a cold hard fact ^
a large portion of the U.S. economy is built around middle to high earners burning through their expendable
and then loading up on their credit cards to the max

an economy built on over spending



Bingo / Depends (punchline)

[SDHornet]

That article had nothing about people cashing in 401k's to pay medical bills.

But I agree with all the other comments on this issue. People just need to make better choices with their money.

I thought you were referring to the 65% have access to a 401K part. I personally know of someone who just had to do it to keep with mounting medical expenses and I'm guessing she's far from alone. Healthcare at times has represented 50% of personal bankruptcies.

Here's another article with some related facts on personal debt and lack of savings even for the parents of millenials

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/po ... ts-n862376

Two-thirds of millennials, or 67 percent, said they would have difficulty paying an unexpected bill of $1,000 right away. African-America and Latino millennials would have a harder time coming up with the money than other racial subgroups, according to the survey.

Majorities of millennials across every racial subgroup would have a difficult time paying $1,000 right away, but African-American millennials (72 percent) and Latino millennials (74 percent) would have a harder time paying that bill than Asian-American millennials (65 percent) and white millennials (64 percent).

Nearly half of all millennial parents (48 percent) say they would have a lot of trouble covering an unexpected $1,000 bill compared to 39 percent of those without kids.

According to the survey, a majority of millennials have hit pause on major life events because of what they owe. Debt has caused a third of all millennials, or 34 percent, to hold off on buying a home and 31 percent to delay saving for retirement. It has also affected millennials' family structure. Fourteen percent of millennials have delayed getting married due to debt, and 16 percent have delayed having children.

I also agree that people need to make better choices. The reality is they are not but we also need them to keep spending to hold up the economy.

Meh, plenty of IRA's and other types of retirement accounts that EVERYONE has access to. Yeah 401k's offer free money, but the Crash of '08 eliminated a lot of those (at least based on what most of what my colleagues endured during the crash). Hell, I technically don't have access to a 401k...but I have access to everything else including a 457b. Bottom line is that it circles back to personal responsibility and not being a fucktard with your money.

[CID1990]

Yeah I've always thought that if everybody lived and spent like me, the US would be something like the 45th largest world economy

oh and there wouldn't be any starving chicks on the covers of those glossy magazines


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[Col Hogan]

Retired at 64...FICO rating is 830...

Both cars paid off in two years before retirement...

We live on one credit card for the points...pay it off each month...

We travel some...and take lots of day trips...

Only real debt is the house payment...

Who are these Jones everyone is trying to keep up with???

[CAA Flagship]

Who are these Jones everyone is trying to keep up with???

[Ibanez]

Who are these Jones everyone is trying to keep up with???

My neighbors back in Summerville. That guy always had the latest Samsung phone or Xbox or whatever.

My wife and I were talking the other day - we've been together 12 years and I think I can count on 1 hand the number of new things we've ever bought/owned, not including things like clothes or towels. We've never had a new car, or a new house. We have a new kitchen but the "new" stainless steel appliances were bought at steep discount b/c there's some scratch or dent somewhere (I've yet to find the one on the dishwasher). Our Washer/Driver were brand new - 8 years ago. We have each have an iPhone 6 which we bough about year after it was released. We've bought 2 or 3 mattresses brand new.

We have a lot of stuff from thrift stores.

[CAA Flagship]

We've bought 2 or 3 mattresses brand new.

Atta boy.

[Ibanez]

We've bought 2 or 3 mattresses brand new.

Atta boy.

You're damn right! There's a sign above my bedroom door that reads, "Welcome to FuckDome"

Spoiler: show

I think we bought 1 bed new - but it was built with reclaimed wood so i'm not sure. Our current bed, was bought an an antique store.

[Col Hogan]

Who are these Jones everyone is trying to keep up with???

[CAA Flagship]

[JohnStOnge]

Watching Trump talk to the media today was another reminder of how embarrassing it is to be a US citizen and have to say "THAT's our President." Good Lord. We have this fake orange buffoon as our international brand for at least more than 2 more years. And the saddest things is we actually have a substantial minority of the People who think THAT is making "America Great." It's doing the opposite. It's making us a laughing stock.

[AZGrizFan]

Watching Trump talk to the media today was another reminder of how embarrassing it is to be a US citizen and have to say "THAT's our President." Good Lord. We have this fake orange buffoon as our international brand for at least more than 2 more years. And the saddest things is we actually have a substantial minority of the People who think THAT is making "America Great." It's doing the opposite. It's making us a laughing stock.

We were a laughing stock long before Took over, slick. Obama’s apology tour took care of that.

[CAA Flagship]

Watching Trump talk to the media today was another reminder of how embarrassing it is to be a US citizen and have to say "THAT's our President." Good Lord. We have this fake orange buffoon as our international brand for at least more than 2 more years. And the saddest things is we actually have a substantial minority of the People who think THAT is making "America Great." It's doing the opposite. It's making us a laughing stock.

You live in BFE and hate to fly. I don’t think you have to worry about being embarrassed.

[SDHornet]

Watching Trump talk to the media today was another reminder of how embarrassing it is to be a US citizen and have to say "THAT's our President." Good Lord. We have this fake orange buffoon as our international brand for at least more than 2 more years. And the saddest things is we actually have a substantial minority of the People who think THAT is making "America Great." It's doing the opposite. It's making us a laughing stock.

You live in BFE and hate to fly. I don’t think you have to worry about being embarrassed.

[JohnStOnge]

Watching Trump talk to the media today was another reminder of how embarrassing it is to be a US citizen and have to say "THAT's our President." Good Lord. We have this fake orange buffoon as our international brand for at least more than 2 more years. And the saddest things is we actually have a substantial minority of the People who think THAT is making "America Great." It's doing the opposite. It's making us a laughing stock.

We were a laughing stock long before Took over, slick. Obama’s apology tour took care of that.

No. When Obama was in office I was very critical of him. But he never embarrassed us as a nation the way the current President is embarrassing us right now. The fact that we elected a buffoon like Trump as President makes us look like a bunch of complete idiots to the rest of the world.

[AZGrizFan]

We were a laughing stock long before Took over, slick. Obama’s apology tour took care of that.

No. When Obama was in office I was very critical of him. But he never embarrassed us as a nation the way the current President is embarrassing us right now. The fact that we elected a buffoon like Trump as President makes us look like a bunch of complete idiots to the rest of the world.

It was different, sure, but it was still embarrassing.

[BDKJMU]

Trump ending Obama’s war on coal:
http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/08/20/t ... s-new-plan

[Winterborn]

Trump ending Obama’s war on coal:
http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/08/20/t ... s-new-plan

Fracking (natural gas) is changing the power generation industry in ways that will put out the small coal plants and leave just the big base load plants. Granted a few more of them should be built as our base load capacity is marginal to poor. That and the transmission lines need an upgrade.

[Baldy]

We were a laughing stock long before Took over, slick. Obama’s apology tour took care of that.

No. When Obama was in office I was very critical of him. But he never embarrassed us as a nation the way the current President is embarrassing us right now.

TrumpStOnge...the embarrassment of cs.com.

[JohnStOnge]

No. When Obama was in office I was very critical of him. But he never embarrassed us as a nation the way the current President is embarrassing us right now.

TrumpStOnge...the embarrassment of cs.com.

What I am is unimportant. What's important right now is that we had a number of people vote for a completely corrupt con man to be President of the United States. Way more corrupt than Hillary Clinton. Way more dishonest than Hillary Clinton. It's bad. And it really diminishes the United States. It does not, in any way, contribute to "greatness."

[CID1990]

Federal public employee unions find a sympathetic DC district judge to block Trump EOs limiting union bargaining power

https://m.govexec.com/management/2018/0 ... icle-share


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[Chizzang]

Federal public employee unions find a sympathetic DC district judge to block Trump EOs limiting union bargaining power

https://m.govexec.com/management/2018/0 ... icle-share

It's almost like people are reacting to
Trump arbitrarily over turning everything Obama did including the few reasonable and good things
Because: Obama



The whole thing has become a race to the bottom