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Why don't Americans save?
- Thread starter Debaser82
- Start date
I have savings but I view any dollars I have as a wasting asset and I am always on the lookout for hard assets to convert my savings
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The hard asset is yourself. Invest in yourself. Engage in a hobby that can earn some extra income or add to your education. Income trumps inflation.
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The hard asset is yourself. Invest in yourself. Engage in a hobby that can earn some extra income or add to your education. Income trumps inflation.
Another issue with the data is that Americans save differently than Asians. Asians put their cash in the bank which is debased by deflation. Americans put their money in real estate which historically keeps pace with inflation. The current real estate bust is merely an anomaly in the overall scheme of things.
Quote from RiceRocket:
. Americans put their money in real estate which historically keeps pace with inflation.
That's what "they" tell us. We don't need savings because we have RE and stocks...
How's that working out for everybody?
Problem on the RE end.... too many paid too much and leveraged to high without proper assets to support their risk exposure.
On the stocks end, they told us "buy and hold"... with no concept of basic timing.
By the time this mess is cleaned up, likely 2 or 3 generations of Americans will never invest in RE or stocks again...
Quote from Debaser82:
I live in that pighole of a socialist europe where the government takes 50% of your salary, you don't get to work for your own pockets untill after the summer, and still people over here save more then 10% of their income.
What gives?
Is it because the FED has run a more inflationary course then the ECB eroding the purchasing power of the dollar causing people to search for alternatives?
Or is it the US spirit where people are always on the outlook for the next bubble to grow so they can hop on and become rich overnight?
Or is this how capitalism is supposed to work? If you can't cut it bad luck and good night see you in the souplines?
many people in america are taxed at over 50% . get into a high tax bracket and live in a high tax state and don't forget SS and Medicare for your first 105k of earings, there you go 50%
You cant take every stat at take it literal. for example i remember hearing that personal debt went down for the first time this quarter for the first time ever. sounds good on paper until you realise that it was because peoples houses where forclosed on and others had there credit limit lowered or went bankrupt.
Americans do save, not as much as europe. when people take into consideration 401ks which is not included in the personal savings rate.
Quote from gnome:
I believe much of it stems from the US Gummint... they encourage profligate spending and punish saving. The REAL reason the Gummint does that is so it all masks the effects of deficit spending.
When I was a kid, my "things" were a bicycle, basketball, ball glove, chess set, fishing pole... (none of which were bought on credit)
I made spending money by washing neighbors cars, mowing lawns, shoveling snow, babysitting... do kids do these things today?
Let's say the neighbor's kid wanted to do some work for me around my house:
1. Don't I need to make sure I will be in compliance with child labor laws and minimum wage laws?
2. Don't I need to execute the proper forms for withholding of income tax, social security, worker's compensation insurance and also pay my portion of such?
3. Don't I need to make sure I provide all eye protection, hearing protection, inhalation protection, proper protective footwear, etc. for the job at hand? and that all tools and equipment that he might use be in excellent working order?
4. Don't I need to make sure that the kid has had the proper training in safety for the job at hand?
5. Don't I need to have the proper drinking water, salt tablets, first aid equipment, and rest room provisions?
6. Isn't there a good chance I will be sued if the kid is seriously hurt no matter what the reason?
Quote from Stosh:
Let's say the neighbor's kid wanted to do some work for me around my house:
1. Don't I need to make sure I will be in compliance with child labor laws and minimum wage laws?
2. Don't I need to execute the proper forms for withholding of income tax, social security, worker's compensation insurance and also pay my portion of such?
3. Don't I need to make sure I provide all eye protection, hearing protection, inhalation protection, proper protective footwear, etc. for the job at hand? and that all tools and equipment that he might use be in excellent working order?
4. Don't I need to make sure that the kid has had the proper training in safety for the job at hand?
5. Don't I need to have the proper drinking water, salt tablets, first aid equipment, and rest room provisions?
6. Isn't there a good chance I will be sued if the kid is seriously hurt no matter what the reason?
Do you do all of those things to have a service mow your lawn or pick up your dog's poop?
Here is the real data to read in between the lines.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/z1.pdf
Notice the mortgage debt blowup starting 1998 running all through this decade. About 4.6T above mean (of 200B/yr increase in personal mortgage debt)... That means this bailout and all total money lent, once circulating should be pretty effective at plugging the hole.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/z1.pdf
Notice the mortgage debt blowup starting 1998 running all through this decade. About 4.6T above mean (of 200B/yr increase in personal mortgage debt)... That means this bailout and all total money lent, once circulating should be pretty effective at plugging the hole.
Quote from Stosh:
Let's say the neighbor's kid wanted to do some work for me around my house:
1. Don't I need to make sure I will be in compliance with child labor laws and minimum wage laws?
2. Don't I need to execute the proper forms for withholding of income tax, social security, worker's compensation insurance and also pay my portion of such?
3. Don't I need to make sure I provide all eye protection, hearing protection, inhalation protection, proper protective footwear, etc. for the job at hand? and that all tools and equipment that he might use be in excellent working order?
4. Don't I need to make sure that the kid has had the proper training in safety for the job at hand?
5. Don't I need to have the proper drinking water, salt tablets, first aid equipment, and rest room provisions?
6. Isn't there a good chance I will be sued if the kid is seriously hurt no matter what the reason?
lol and right on.
In addition you should have the kid take a drug test.
Is he/she an american citizen.
If he/she person who "english is a second language" (ESL) then you should provide instruction thru an interpreter.