Most People in the US are a Paycheck away from Disaster

[bleedingheart]

The next time you hear that obnoxious coworker or neighbor blather on about how those unfortunate people in New Orleans don't deserve pity ask them this...

"Are you that prepared for disaster?"

"Do you have access to a few thousand to help you in case your town, your job and your home are gone?"

I recall a old ex-friend of mine and how she panicked when her husband was laid off because they were living in a $300K house on a paycheck to paycheck basis. She point blank told me that if he didn't get a job in less then 2 months they would be in foreclosure and out on the street....they had NOTHING in the bank and they had NOTHING to fall back on...

Yet this same person once remarked about how "welfare" people didn't know how to spend money wisely when they shopped!!!!

[Just Me]

1. Yes, we are. Indeed.

And, tragedy can strike any one of us at any time. That's why REAL compassion is needed to hold our society and our people together.

[bleedingheart]

5. the lack of compassion I have witnessed around me is just disgusting

it really makes me wonder what happened to our country.

I swear the Reagan-ites poisoned the well with their "it's all about me" kind of politics.

[Nitrogenica]

2. We have had to pinch pennies now.

It's interesting, it at least felt like we were getting ahead last year. This year we are falling behind. No savings are left and we are a paycheck away from having no money.

[CrispyQ]

3. I have friends in the same situation.

One family lost their child's college fund in the dot.com bust. (I ws kind & didn't ask what their child's college fund was doing in the stock market. Hey, why not put it down on a black jack table in Vegas, huh?) They live in a $500k house & spend $250-300 a week on groceries. They drive new cars, have nice furniture, nice clothes, go on extravagant vacations & have a cleaning service clean their house. She said they could last 1-2 months if one of them lost their job, 1 month or less if both of them did.

Yikes!

You make a valid point & I hope everyone who encounters these heartless, self righteous assholes asks them your question.

[jedicord]

4. A few years ago my company changed its pay policy.

Two weeks before Christmas. Salaried employees were paid bi-monthly, hourly employees every two weeks, but the pay date was on the actual last day worked.

So my company decided things needed to be even. Salaried employees began to be paid every two weeks, which screwed up monthly budgets, as the 2 checks were smaller than the bi-monthly ones.

Hourly employees were essentially cut a week's pay, so that the pay date was a week after the last day worked for that pay period.

This announced 2 weeks before Christmas. Santa wasn't coming to many people's houses that year.

I actually went to the CEO to explain to him how this would hurt many of our employees. He hadn't looked at it that way. Nothing he could do for the salaried employees (who at least got better pay), but he "lent" the hourly employees a week's pay.

The stockholders, I'm sure, were very happy with the end of the year results.

Corporate guys just don't get it.

[bleedingheart]

6. I remember being paid monthly and I recall people who would

run out of cash the last week and a half of the month because they had either no budget or were living so close to the edge. These were salaried employees with cars, homes..etc