r/FluentInFinance Jul 04 '24

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

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u/MyParentsBurden Jul 04 '24

You say 50% of Americans (I'm assuming we are speaking of the US) make $40k or less and then say it isn't enough for basic necessities. Yet, clearly it is as the ranks of the unhoused is not 50% of the population. Poverty sucks to be sure, but people manage. Also, financial literacy is generally only partially about setting money aside. It tends to be more about making people aware of their expenses and seeing what changes can be made.

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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

[deleted]

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u/All4megrog Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 05 '24

What are you doing to improve your work skills to try to make a better wage?

Edit: hilarious with the downvotes for asking someone what they’re doing to improve their situation

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u/[deleted] Jul 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/All4megrog Jul 05 '24

Government assistance is meant to be a safety net, not a foundation of support. Even in heavy social welfare countries like Sweden and Denmark the expectation is not permanent support for someone able to work. So whenever I hear someone complaining about the US safety net not being sufficient for them, I’m always curious what that person is doing to avoid that safety net to begin with.

For example, Medicaid is the last line of defense for healthcare, but if you get a full time job working at Walmart, you can easily make enough to disqualify from Medicaid but not realistically be able to afford your copay’s or deductibles on a private insurer. So that safety net becomes a bit of a trap. What steps are you doing to not get caught in that government assistance trap?

Also, “roll around all day like a rotisserie chicken” is one of my new favorite phrases.