Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3821-3825 (3-7 September 2018)
OldGoat:
True, true, true....you outta have a savings account. But the reality is that it doesn't become possible until you reach a certain income tipping point, and that point is a moving target for many young adults.
I remember hitting the tipping point. I was (and am) pretty frugal but I wasn't settling for a monastic lifestyle, either. I'd borrowed a few $K to buy a dependable used car, had made the last payment, and was looking at some extra cash each month when the light came on - "Goat," sez Self, "If you keep paying that money to you instead of the damn bank, you'll have cash when something makes you yell 'Oh shit!' and may even be able to buy the next car without borrowing."
It worked. Goatfrau and I still ain't rich, but we don't owe a dime, the kid is through college, and we pay off all the plastic at the end of every month.
Nighthawk700:
"You get that feeling like 'okay you won the friggin lottery with this one, don't fuck it up"
Every single day, and we've been married for over 15 years now!
dutchrvl:
--- Quote from: Emperor Norton on 06 Sep 2018, 16:10 ---Honestly, other than an emergency fund, if you have ANY debt, you are better off paying off debt than putting money in savings anyway.
(I mean, even paying off a house or car faster is getting you a better return on your money than savings).
--- End quote ---
That is a given. To be honest, even en emergency fund should only be a fairly minimal one as paying off debt (especially CC debt) is much, much more important. Especially putting money in a savings account when you're still paying interest on CC debt is really just rapidly flushing money down the toilet...
Thrudd:
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 06 Sep 2018, 07:26 ---See the collections at damnyouautocorrect.com.
--- End quote ---
Also be very wary of all those Tiny Hippos.
As for saving, I also started young but once I was getting close to middleschool and getting actual summer jobs discovered that the interest I was getting was next to nothing [like today] yet was being charged transaction fees for taking anything out. It was a specifically set up and promoted as a kids savings account and they were charging fees on it .... pissed preteen me right off. Went straight across the hall and up the mall 20 feet to a different bank that had just opened a branch there, which I have stuck with since then. The first one was taken over and changed names at least three times since then. The one I am with? I have been a client longer than any of the employees have worked there.
Anyhow, growing up poor in a frugal household ingrains frugal into you and it never goes away - I am called cheap at times but I don't mind - when I spend larger sums on "stuff" or needs, I still suffer pangs of buyers remorse. My savings account transformed into a checking account and as checkes are being phased out it is again transforming into some chimera of an investment account. Still it is comforting to know that I have that buffer when things go plaid.
pwhodges:
In the UK there is a particularly high emphasis on the virtues of owning a house. This means loads of people have mortgages, and there is little reason to have a savings account because the money which you'd put into it is better used paying down the mortgage (make sure you get one that allows this - astoundingly not all do). Then the savings account is just a way to maintain sufficient liquidity for annual holidays and emergencies - and many people find that simply keeping a healthy balance in their current (=checking) account is handy enough, as the interest on a quick-access savings account will not be impressive anyway. Pensions savings are another good place to put money; and I guess the difference in how pensions (and medical care) are handled in the UK and the US also feeds into the decision about how important a savings account is.
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