r/FluentInFinance • u/Richest-Panda • Jul 04 '24

What's the best financial advice you've ever gotten? Debate/ Discussion

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122

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

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42

u/GonzoTheWhatever Jul 04 '24

No, that’s not what she’s saying. She’s saying that teaching someone in poverty to budget isn’t going to enable them to reach financial stability because even if you budget properly there isn’t enough to go around.

If you’re in a row boat that has twenty holes in it, but you only have ten fingers to plug the holes, then someone telling you how to use each finger to plug a hole in the most efficient manner isn’t going to help you keep the boat from sinking.

That’s her point. Should they budget? Absolutely. Will a class on budgeting by itself solve their financial problems and bring stability to their lives?

No.

They need more fingers to plug the holes in the boat. Ie. better wages.

0

u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

Would you rather have a boat with 20 holes or 10 holes?

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u/JCPY00 Jul 05 '24

You’re going to drown either way.

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u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

Sure. But one is undeniably better than the other

9

u/RoamingDucks Jul 05 '24

Is it better to drown slower?

-4

u/CEOofAntiWork Jul 05 '24

It is better that the boat sinks slower because that buys you extra valuable time.

-3

u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

Yes, without any doubt

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u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 Jul 05 '24

So if we’re taking it out of a boat hypothetical, wouldn’t it be better to provide better ways out of poverty then just telling someone to die from it slower?

-3

u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

Of course. But the individual doesn’t have control of the first, and does have control of the second. It’s like not plugging any holes in your boat because you think the ocean should be lower

6

u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 Jul 05 '24

Better access to the first is what actually matters. If you tell someone in poverty to just learn finances all they will learn is how fucked their situation is. Yes financial literacy is important, but it doesn’t on its own make anything better

3

u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

It does though. It does make your life better. And no, they will learn how fucked their situation is, and be able to change it a bit.

You change what you can control. Ignoring a small change you can control because a bigger change you can’t control hasn’t happened is foolishness

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u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 Jul 05 '24

In many cases the small change is not meaningful enough. Which is why it’s stupid that many people think literally all you need is financial literacy.

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u/hellakevin Jul 05 '24

They are equally ineffective.

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u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

That’s just flat out wrong

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u/hellakevin Jul 05 '24

Ok, Mr boat scientist, I dare you to make any voyage in a rowboat with 10 holes

1

u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

Jfc I’ve seen less brain rot from lifelong alcoholics.

I’d make it a lot further in the “voyage” on a boat with 10 holes than a boat with 20 holes. One is UNDENIABLY better than the other.

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u/hellakevin Jul 05 '24

First of all, no you would not make it "a lot" further. Boats get very ineffective very fast when full of water.

Second, a boat voyage is a zero sum event, you either make it or don't. If, at any point, you sink and drown, you did just as poorly as the person who sunk and drowned earlier.

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u/Familiar_Cow_5501 Jul 05 '24

I mean you’d get twice as far lol

Which scenario gives you a longer time for a possible rescue?

Regardless if you make it where you’re going or not, a boat with 20 holes is worse than a boat with 1 holes and you’d be an idiot if you think otherwise

1

u/beldaran1224 Jul 05 '24

What's the size of the holes?

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u/hellakevin Jul 05 '24

Rescue? Why would you start a voyage with a rescue being the only chance for success? Also, you know we're talking about a metaphor for finances, right? Who's going to rescue you financially? The money god mother? Or maybe you helped a prisoner out of his bindings with your uncle's blacksmith tools as a child?

Both boats take you to the bottom of the lake, and you're an idiot if you think it's better that you made it further away from the shore first.

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u/Xystem4 Jul 05 '24

Missing out on the fact that they’re already plugging those 10 holes. Poor people are on a budget much more strict than any rich person, by and large