One-third of Americans have no savings at all

Earlier this year President Obama said in his State of the Union address, “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”
This week Obama said that his administration has created a “more durable, growing economy” with “15 million new private-sector jobs since early 2010”.

Today, this report came out.

Last year, GoBankingRates surveyed more than 5,000 Americans only to uncover that 62% of them had less than $1,000 in savings. Last month GoBankingRates again posed the question to Americans of how much they had in their savings account, only this time it asked 7,052 people. The result? Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) had less than $1,000 in their savings account.
Breaking the survey data down a bit further, we find that 34% of Americans don't have a dime in their savings account, while another 35% have less than $1,000. Of the remaining survey-takers, 11% have between $1,000 and $4,999, 4% have between $5,000 and $9,999, and 15% have more than $10,000.

Not a single dime. That's living life on the edge. Always just one piece of bad luck away from disaster.
What's more, it's 7% worse than last year, and we haven't hit a recession yet.
It's really bad among Gen X.

Americans today face a retirement savings crisis. If current trends continue, we estimate that the number of poor and near-poor retirees will nearly triple to 25 million by 2050*, representing a rate of poverty among senior citizens not seen since the Great Depression.
Americans between the ages of 40 and 55 have an average retirement account balance of $14,500. But estimates suggest that they'll need up to 20 times that amount to maintain their standard of living after they stop working. It may be tempting to blame savings rates, but the fact is that today's stagnant wages, rising health, rent, and childcare costs, and massive student loan debt serve as tremendous obstacles that inhibit Americans from building a strong retirement foundation.
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Bollox Ref's picture

"Anyone claiming that my legacy is in decline is peddling fiction.”

I think that's what he really meant. These days, the presidency appears to be just a legacy building exercise for the comfortable and uncaring.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

tapu dali's picture

"retirement" as author of ghost written "books" and "lectures", with a "legacy" of a sycophantic presidential "library" [not archive] devoted to hagiography, and best of all, lot$ and lot$ of ca$h to generate a true quasi-monarchical dynasty.

Unlike the Stuarts and the Tudors, the Americans have learned to alternate Dynasties as a way to convince the "great unwashed" that they have a "choice" and that they live in a "democracy", when in reality it's as many have said, a "duopoly", where two entrenched dynastic families alternate power, but the oligarchy/plutocracy still rule and "string along" their puppets.

Sorry for the horribly mixed metaphors, but this is how I think in a stream of consciousness!

Bill --> Hillary --> Chelsea --> ?

Barack --> Michelle --> Sasha --> ?

GHW Bush --> "W" --> Jeb --> G P Bush III (*) -->

Any bets that the candidate in 2020,2024,2028,2032, ... will NOT be "one of the above"?

(*) HT to neoconned, infra.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Bollox Ref's picture

At least make it the 'hot' one. Good for teevee.

(Is there a 'hot' one? I'm just thinking of ratings here.)

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Poppy says about that, "Wouldn't be prudent!"

The heir-apparent is George P Bush III, Jeb's son. He's establishing his political creds in Texas right now.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

tapu dali's picture

"Naah gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent".

Actually, GHW was probably the last R nominee/President whom I respected. He refused to "conquer" Iraq after the Kuwait invasion. He was happy to "liberate" Kuwait, and to show Hussein that aggression will not be tolerated.

He was a true American patriarch, with a sense of "noblesse oblige". along with Barbara.

I often wonder what he thought of his rather stupid plebeian son, W. W thought that Daddy did not have the intestinal fortitude to "finish Saddam off", and that HE would be the one to do it.

Oedipean complex? .

And once he became Pres, with the connivance of the Machiavellian Cheney, he carried out to wish to prove himself stronger, braver, and more competent than his "bumbling Dad".

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Greyhound's picture

on just about everything, but he cared about the office and his version of the nation far more than the side-show barker he replaced. and I agree, was the last one that did.

As we slide into reagan's 10th term, it seems we are doomed to dance to the same music that so many have died to stop, before. With the added twist of an environmental deadline.

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SRSLY! How can Hill or Chelsea compete with that? Oh, wait. By then they'll be richer than him and there'll be many more paperless voting machines to rig.

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lotlizard's picture

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tapu dali's picture

(Thanks be to God).

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Hawkfish's picture

Proving that no one is completely irredeemable. I doubt they will be able,to show their faces for a loooong time.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

lotlizard's picture

Just like I always gave props to Ron Paul for being the only to one to call out all the neocons and their whole evil project.

Waited years and years for some Democrat, any Democrat, to stand up and lead a charge, spearhead an investigation — remember “Downing Street memo” in Britain? the death of Dr. David Kelly? Say loud and clear, “Iraq was no mistake, no question of intel; it was lies from start to finish and you knew it.”

2007 would have been a good time, right? Democrats having won back both houses of Congress in 2006?

Didn’t happen. Now we see why.

Democrats were just biding their time all along. Pretty clear now they were always looking forward (not back) to a day when they would be able to swing the neocons and the whole perpetual-war project over to the D label.

As has now happened under Hillary.

Trump told Jeb “Your brother didn’t keep us safe — 9/11 happened on his watch.” And for one brief moment in time, people looked at each other as if waking from a 13-year enchantment and thought, “Whuh? . . . why . . . th — that’s . . . right!”

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thanatokephaloides's picture

"Anyone claiming that my legacy exists is peddling fiction.”

That's more like the truth.

We may as well had 8 more years of W. The results are identical.

Sad

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

k9disc's picture

Nothing pisses me off more than this shit. The idea that we are a healthy economy or that Obama saved anything but the banksters bacon and gravy train is insulting to me.

I think it's insulting to probably 81-85% of Americans. No wonder we're being treated to Drumpfenfear, sexual assault, and other deplorable personality traits.

Fuck them and fuck that. America is in serious trouble. Peddle that fiction, asshole.

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Amanda Matthews's picture

started campaigning. He has some kind of weird idea that we're still falling for all that Hopey-Changey crap of his.

The brazenness of his lies boggles the mind.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Pricknick's picture

works for those who own it.
Bitch about wages? You're lucky to make what 69% do.
Bitch about war? You want a job that pays decent for cannon fodder?
Bitch about water. Waste your breath while they buy what they don't pollute.
It's not a glitch. It's a built in factor to rule the masses.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Big Al's picture

fancy high rise condos and office buildings and a few blocks away the shanty towns where people live their entire lives without leaving, eating rice and beans and begging for money. A lot of people doing quite well in this country, millions and millions. The number of millionaires is above 10 million I think. Hundreds of billionaires.

Kids with not enough to eat, no shoes, no coats. Fucking disgusting. I'm not a religious person but the saying from the Bible, "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God", tells me it's always been this way and what wealth does to people. Those most benefiting from this runaway capitalist system are in effect causing this disparity and are the opposition to the Serfs in the Class War.

I remember warning not long after Obama was elected, they're not doing anything about it! Nothing. No taxes, no changes in the system that is producing so much fake wealth at the top, nothing to benefit the MAJORITY of the country that is struggling with basics.

And nothing is being proposed now by our unreal choices for President. They just don't fucking care. Of course, we know that.

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EyeRound's picture

(or was it Michael Parenti?) characterizing the US economy, and he said "A lot of people say 'Isn't America wonderful? We have all these rich people and all these poor people living side by side in peace!'" Parenti added that what those people don't seem to see is what's true, namely that "We have all these rich people BECAUSE we have all these poor people."

Which brings me to your quote about the eye of the needle. In the early days of the Christian Church the theologian Pelagius wrote (I don't speak Latin, but here's the original, with translation): "Tolle divitem et pauperem non invenies" "Get rid of the rich and you will find no poor." So, even if it's true that the poor have always been with us, it's also true that "we" have long known how to eliminate poverty. Pelagius got into big theological disputes with St. Augustine, he was eventually declared a heretic and, I believe, was killed for heresy. The Pelagius-Augustine disputes involved what role sin plays in man's progression to heaven, but the money-question was also very important: Augustine did not want to "get rid of the rich" as Pelagius thought should happen; rather, Augustine wanted the rich (and anyone else) to give their money to the Church.

The wealthy truly do love their wealth, even when, as you say, it causes so much misery and suffering for others. As a first step, it seems needful that we begin to figure out why, then what to do about it.

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tapu dali's picture

"Take from the rich and the poor will be no more" might be a better translation.

YMMV.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

tapu dali's picture

cf. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

EyeRound's picture

Actually, I should also correct what is perhaps a false attribution. The treatise in question "On Riches," from which the quote comes was written by a follower of Pelagius (it's not attributed to Pelagius himself) sometime in the first decade of the 5th century. The translation I quoted is from a review of 2 recent studies by Peter Brown, Through the Eye of a Needle and The Ransom of the Soul. The review is by Christopher Kelly in the London Review of Books:

The anonymous social commentator who sometime between 408 and 414 wrote a radical pamphlet entitled On Riches doubted that the wealthy could ever find salvation, no matter how charitably they deployed their resources. At its root, all wealth was the result of ill-gotten gains, implying exploitation, inequality and, worst of all, a deep-seated urge simply to accumulate. ‘Get rid of the rich,’ he wrote, ‘and you will not find the poor. Let no man have more than he really needs, and everyone will have as much as they need.’ God didn’t want the wealthy to store up their treasure in heaven. The stark and unpalatable truth was that Christ had meant precisely what he said: there was no place for the rich in the kingdom of God – unless, as the author quipped, they were somehow able to find an enormous needle or a miniature camel.

IIRC Brown himself attributes the quote to Pelagius. It's been a while since I read Brown's books, but I believe he conveys the dispute between the Pelagian school and Augustine as a dispute centering around whether most Christians are "somewhat sinful" and therefore should give alms to the Church (Augustine) or whether, as Pelagius would have it, Christians are free of sin and will innately follow God's law commanding the rich to give up their riches. Brown's arguments are much more subtle than my synopses!

Thank you again for your responses to my comment!

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tapu dali's picture

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

tapu dali's picture

Exactly. And the early Church did just that: took the money of the rich and divided it amongst the poor, the homeless, and the hungry.

It wasn't until the late 1st millennium that the Church started use their riches not to help the poor, but to build elaborate cathedrals, fill them with gold and silver plate, commission expensive artwork, clothe their clergy in precious vestments, and in general, begin to "lord it over" the (sniff) peasant classes, who for centuries were denied education and literacy, lest they get "ideas".

Until recently, even, the British Peers of the Realm were divided between the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Look at the churches all over Latin America, with gold all over the walls. It wasn't to ease the plight of the poor that the church collected wealth. It was to take the wealth away from the people and put it under the care of those who claimed to have taken vows of poverty. It would take away the power to indulge in great sins against many people if one couldn't pay for it.

Sadly, that concentration of wealth in the hands of the Church didn't exactly work as planned, but who was ever schooled to question religious authority?

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

thanatokephaloides's picture

Distribute to the poor? Hardly! Look at the churches all over Latin America, with gold all over the walls.

tapu dali specified "the early Church".

As in: the Christian Movement during the lifetimes of the original 12 Apostles, a period ending no later than 95 - 120 CE, or roughly 1300 years before there was any such thing as a "Latin America".

Comparing the Apostolic Socialism of the Book of Acts with the greed-headed gold-sucking cult run by the Spanish is an apples-to-asphalt comparison.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

lotlizard's picture

Say goodbye to the old middle-class American Dream, the new American dream looks like “Slumdog Millionaire.”

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thanatokephaloides's picture

Earlier this year President Obama said in his State of the Union address, “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”

Where are the roughly 4 - 5 million union/union-scale, high-school graduate hiring manufacturing jobs we needed on your first day, Mr. Obama?

This week Obama said that his administration has created a “more durable, growing economy” with “15 million new private-sector jobs since early 2010”.

Yeah, right. McWalJobs and/or college degree demands for jobs that unionized eighth-graders could do. How's that hopey-changey thing going for you now, Mr. O? (most intelligent words Sarah Palin ever uttered)

All the benefits go to Wall Street, all the costs paid by Main Street.

Some legacy.

Diablo

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

tapu dali's picture

is always on the "rise" ... because the DJ is always on the way up (save the occasional "glitch").

Didn't hillary admit last night that she's "no longer in touch" with the middle class? Why didn't Trump jump on that? B/c neither is he (if he ever was)?

Bernie was the Peoples' candidate and was (surprise!!) forced out by the oligarchs. I don't understand why he didn't just say "Pfffft" and reitre to Vermont with the message "The system is rigged!" (which it is) or endorse Jill.

If in 4-8 years we get yet another Clinton/Obama/Bush spectacle, ... is it time for the torches and pitchforks?

OK it was unsuccessful. But it remained in my ancestors' memories for generations, until my GGM-I-L recently called the 1343 uprising the "great war (Suur So~da)". Not WWI or WWII.

All George III had to do was give the colonies representation in Parliament, but he wouldn't, to avoid the "Tea Party" and the American Rebellion, but stubborn as he was.

There will come a time when the American people will/should overthrow their non-elected leaders overlords.

/end rant

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

lotlizard's picture

Some NSA Dungeons and Dragoons server somewhere just ran a task to post “+1 sedition” to every c99 member’s profile.

overthrow their non-elected leaders overlords

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I'm not broke, but I'm too close to it for my comfort.

Due to medical issues, I might be trying for a medical retirement next year. My pension (I'm one of the few where I work to still have one) is a joke, and Social Security isn't necessarily going to allow me to retire for medical reasons due to not being of age.

But at best, at least my house is paid off. I don't have to worry about living out of my vehicle. I don't have any major debts I can't pay off quickly. It's a good thing I like rice and beans. It's what I'll end up living on.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

tapu dali's picture

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

tapu dali's picture

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

SparkyGump's picture

then unemployment and subsequent underemployment took the rest. It's amazing just how completely out of touch our leaders have become. How can you save when wages are stagnant and even declining while the real cost of living is going up? There are only so many corners you can cut. I am looking at poverty when I think of retirement and it's not pretty.

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The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.

tapu dali's picture

The LAST reason on earth anyone should must need declare bankruptcy and lose "all" would be old age, ilness, accident, or any unforeseen peradventure.

That is why Sanders's legacy of fighting for single payer health care must not be forgotten.

Remember: Other countries have guaranteed health care, not health insurance.

There is a difference. Perpend.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

SnappleBC's picture

So my wife and I were talking and she said, "We don't have a penny in our savings account". I said, "These statistics can't mean us. We have a few hundred thousand in investment accounts and about 10 grand in various checking accounts."

So does anyone know what this figure of "savings" encompasses? Is it strictly a savings account or is it some more expansive number?

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

elenacarlena's picture

shorthand. Because I read not too long ago that 76% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. So if you have nothing to spare, you're not saving in any way. The median household income is a little less than $52,000. For a family with a couple kids, it would be very difficult to save anything on that. This is also 8% lower than purchasing power in 2007.

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Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

Daenerys's picture

I dump everything into my checking account, which has .25% interest rate. It will be wiped out on a new car at some point in the not-so-distant future, which I'm hoping to put $10,000 down on that I've been saving up for the last 3.5 years. Then, ??? I'm 34 now, I should be saving up for a house, not my first new car ffs. We'll be ok once hubby finishes his degree and gets a good job, but by then "starter" (?!) houses will probably be $1M. Thanks Obama!

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This shit is bananas.

Cars are a complete waste of money, unless you're going for some collector's item that will appreciate in value.

You can always get a less expensive used car or stick with the one you have.

I bought a home late in life, early 40s (never had the money for it before), and I'll never be able to retire (thanks, Obama), but at least my $$ is going toward an appreciating asset. Now, my car is a '97 Honda.

You, however, are young enough to be able to get ahead if you spend wisely.

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dfarrah

Daenerys's picture

I've been poor my entire adult life, so I know damn well how to live within my means. I've always had used cars and they fall apart after a few years. I know a lot of people who don't have cars because they can't afford one. I haven't had one for 3.5 years. It's actually been proven that used cars and being poor in general is more expensive because you have to spend more to keep them running you know? Public transportation here is shit and it's too dangerous to ride a bike anywhere.
Right now hubby is in college, so it's just my income; there's no way we can afford rent and transportation on that, which is why we're living with my MIL right now.
JFC ya'll sound like Tumblr, everything is a goddamn entitlement now even transportation and housing. >_

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This shit is bananas.

I was trying to be brief and quick.

I'm very sorry to sound condescending; I hate to see young people making financial mistakes, and I doubt any financial adviser would recommend spending 10 grand on a car when that amount would make a great down payment on a house, and you can start building your wealth.

This really has nothing to do with 'living within means,' it simply has to do with building a solid foundation for your future. And kudos for being able to save up cash for a car - at least you can avoid interest payments if you pay cash for a car.

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dfarrah

Daenerys's picture

I had just woken up and I get so damn tired of people acting like Millennials wanting BASIC NECESSITIES makes us entitled. Feh!
Anyway I figure a new car IS an investment, as opposed to throwing away money on renting an overpriced shitty apartment every month. I'll still need to take out a loan for part of it, but I'll be able to afford the payments. We do have a roof over our heads, while not an ideal situation it's at least something.

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This shit is bananas.

Greyhound's picture

you can afford. You get a nicer car and take less of a hit when you part with it.

If you really like it and it's a good one, you might end up driving it for the next 23 years. (For as close to free as I think possible) Smile

Edit: In reply to your other reply, cars are not an investment at all, ever. They are all an ongoing expense that depreciates every minute of every day on their way to the inevitable wholesale auction, the source for most of the used cars sold in America and reason they get such a bad rap.

Buy and enjoy your new car, but during the process remember that you are borrowing money to buy an expense. Do you know someone experienced in the business? There are few examples as near to perfection as the American automobile dealership, and 100% of it is designed to make you feel good about being robbed. If you know their game you can get screwed less. If you know somebody that works for the manufacturer you can get a deal.

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Daenerys's picture

I intend to buy the car and drive it until it dies. I'm looking at a Mazda3, which is consistently rated the best car in its class for many reasons. Don't worry, we'll make sure to get the best deal we can. I've put a lot of thought and research into it.

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This shit is bananas.

buy the car and the house.

But buy the house first, as it is much more difficult to get loan approval for a house after you have purchased a new car (depending on the car loan).

With your penny pinching ways, you can have the car loan paid off in a few years, then concentrate on paying the house down faster.

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dfarrah

Daenerys's picture

We're not planning to stay in Utah once hubby has his degree (fuck this state!), which will be a couple years. Buying a house when we're not planning to stay longer than that would be stupid. But I will need a car before then once he starts taking classes at the U.

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This shit is bananas.

Greyhound's picture

Don't hesitate to walk away, there's always another dealership down the road. The exact car you want is sitting on someone's lot, and it's your money.

A no-trade, cash deal saves a lot of time and BS, plus it takes about a third of their distractions off the sales table. Have your insurance set up in advance and you can get through finance, more or less, intact. End of the month (if they haven't met their goal) on a rainy day (no traffic) increases your odds.

Let us know how it goes.

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I own the newest vehicle of five at my home - and it's a 2009 with 200k on it. I tan't afford the $30k it would take to replace it, so I keep repairing it as necessary. It is thus with the even older cars my family drive.

Housing must be the priority, for living in your car is a major inconvenience and draws trouble like you wouldn't believe. Trust me on this!

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

There are a lot cheaper ways to get from point A to point B - I've always bought used cars but own my home.

Good on you for saving! I can save when I ask myself whether I really need something or merely want it.

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Daenerys's picture

Public transportation here is shit and it's too dangerous to ride a bicycle anywhere because people drive like shit. I've never had a new car and I want to get something good and reliable; if I buy a new one it will last me a long time.

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This shit is bananas.

thanatokephaloides's picture

Yeah I do. Public transportation here is shit

And employers know it, and craft their hiring decisions accordingly.

and it's too dangerous to ride a bicycle anywhere because people drive like shit. I've never had a new car and I want to get something good and reliable; if I buy a new one it will last me a long time.

And, for a while at least, be cheaper than trying to keep an older car alive. I'm losing my wheels because I'm no longer physically able to repair them myself, and no job I have ever held would support my hiring it done.

(You don't live in Colorado outside the Denver metro, by any chance, do you?)

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Daenerys's picture

bus routes_0.png

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This shit is bananas.

Pluto's Republic's picture

…and it is a very nice experience to have one and take care of it. I bought my last new car in 2002 and it has 60,000 miles on it. I really don't want another car. I take it to an all-women repair shop, and they all drive old cars, too. For me, the secret is avoid long trips (low mileage) and change the oil way too often.

I've only been to two cities in the US that had adequate public transportation. Us cities are not built at a human scale (the way European cities are) because the vast majority of it was developed on virgin land after the invention of the automobile. Most of the world uses the same roads and sidewalks today that they walked on centuries ago. Human scale.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Daenerys's picture

and has less than 100k miles on it. I've put about 40k on it since I moved here in 2013 (yay 20 mile commutes for about two years! XP); it's still a good car for us. We've only drove it to MN and back once and Kansas and back once. We had to replace the upper intake manifold in it last fall, but it's all good now and should keep ticking along for a long while yet.

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This shit is bananas.

thanatokephaloides's picture

You don't need a new car. There are a lot cheaper ways to get from point A to point B

No, there aren't. Not in most places. Only if you live in an all-too-fucking-huge metro area is this the case. Everywhere else -- well over 95% of the USA -- you need a reasonably new car just to do the basics. And employers won't touch you unless you do have one.

This reminds me of why many of my social circle bought motorcycles when we found out we were about to be laid off. Why? Because we still have a registration and proof of auto insurance to wave in front of prospective new bosses, while we can pay the insurance even without a regular paycheck.

Please do also remember that it's employers and their perceptions, not simple reason, calling the shots here.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Daenerys's picture

or walking, and there have been times where I did bike or walk almost everywhere. I wouldn't bike anywhere around here though; I rather like being alive. There are those here that do though; Ceiling Cat watch over them!

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This shit is bananas.

thanatokephaloides's picture

I mean yeah, my preferred method of transportation is biking
or walking, and there have been times where I did bike or walk almost everywhere. I wouldn't bike anywhere around here though; I rather like being alive. There are those here that do though; Ceiling Cat watch over them!

And, as you and I alike have pointed out, you need to work -- and no employer will touch you without your own reliable car in 95% or more of the area of the USA. It's not really a matter over which you have a realistic choice.

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

EyeRound's picture

is running a very good 5-part series on poverty in America, called "The Poverty Tour." The first two parts have aired. Part one was about Americans being in denial of poverty here at home, and the second part is about Americans' prejudiced view that it's their own fault if the poor are poor (i.e., the poor are lazy, etc.).

I consider NPR to be a standard-bearer for MSM and normally expect nothing of interest from the network.

Still, I find this particular series to be well worth listening to! Recommend it.

Edited to add: "On the Media" is produced by WNYC.

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Mark from Queens's picture

After the Democratic Primary I swore off so much media and journalists I previously thought to be progressive but revealed themselves to be nothing more than specious frauds. WNYC, NPR and PBS were among the first to be swept from my intake.

Having said that I always rather liked Brook Gladstone of OTM, and subscribe to their podcast. Will have to look into pulling up this series.

This goes to the heart of what I believe is the main obstacle to revolution or at least the kind of enlightenment necessary to real change.

When the stark and honest realities of our lives are not being reflected back to us by the media it creates in the citizenry a malaise of self-doubt, confusion and uncertainty which leads to inertia, apathy, helplessness and and depression. From there the vultures of Neoliberalist capitalism swoop in to prey on the easy pickings, extorting more profits out of an already beleagured segment of society.

Btw, this was an excellent thread. Would like to see more personal discussion of how this economic downturn has effected us individually so that by sharing we can work through it and find solutions.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

tapu dali's picture

immediate liquid assets. As in, "do you have immediate (1 hour) access to $1000 cash RIGHT NOW?"

Investments, GICs, your house, gold jewellery, retirement funds, etc. are not not "liquid" in the sense that they're hard to convert to cash at the drop of a hat.

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

lotlizard's picture

Economic “recovery” feels weak because the Great Recession hasn’t really ended

To save the banks from making losses that would wipe out their net worth, you’ll have to get rid of Social Security. It means that you’ll essentially have to abolish government and turn it over to the banking system to run, with an idea that the role of governments is to extract income from the economy to pay to the bondholders and the banks.

When you say “paying the banks,” what they really mean is paying the bank bondholders. They are basically the One Percent. What you’re really seeing right now in the IMF report, in this growth of debt, is the One Percent of the population owns maybe three-quarters of all this debt. This means that there’s a choice: Either you can save the economy, or you can save the One Percent from losing a single penny.

Every government, from the Obama administration right through to Angela Merkel, the Eurozone and the IMF, promise to save the banks, not the economy. No price is too high to pay to try to make the financial system go on a little bit longer. But ultimately it can’t be saved, because of the mathematics that are involved. Debts grow and grow. And the more they grow, the more they shrink the economy. When you shrink the economy, you shrink the ability to pay the debts, so it’s all an illusion that the system can be saved. The question is, how long are people going to be willing to live in this illusion?

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Fed LMCI

The Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) recorded a decline of 2.2 for September following a revised 1.3 decline the previous month, which was originally reported as a 0.7 fall.

The index has fallen in seven of the last eight months, which will maintain an underlying tone of doubt surrounding labour-market trends, although there are still important issues of demand and supply.

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Greyhound's picture

It is the job of the Democratic Party to impose bad republican ideas.

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