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Can you save $2000 in 4 weeks? (1 Viewer)

Uncle CornCob

Uncle CornCob

Footballguy
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/22/1-in-3-americans-could-not-come-up-with-2000-in-an-emergency.html

1 in 3 Americans can't come up with $2,000—here's how much you should be saving

One-third of Americans would not be unable to come up with $2,000 to deal with an emergency like an urgent home repair, medical crisis or car accident. 

That's according to a new study released this week from The New York Fed. The survey of consumer sentiment surrounding access to and demand for credit was conducted in February.

While 32.5 percent of survey respondents feel they might need $2,000 to cover an unexpected expense in the next month, almost exactly the same number, 32.8 percent, admit they could not come up with that sum in the next month if faced with an emergency. That percentage has held steady since October 2015.

One of the most common emergencies is a medical expense. Currently, one-third of Americans would not be able to handle a $100 medical bill without going into debt. That's according to a February poll conducted by health-care information firm Amino.
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This seems shocking to me

 
Uncle CornCob said:
in 3 Americans can't come up with $2,000—here's how much you should be saving

One-third of Americans would not be unable to come up with $2,000 to deal with an emergency like an urgent home repair, medical crisis or car accident. 

That's according to a new study released this week from The New York Fed. The survey of consumer sentiment surrounding access to and demand for credit was conducted in February.

While 32.5 percent of survey respondents feel they might need $2,000 to cover an unexpected expense in the next month, almost exactly the same number, 32.8 percent, admit they could not come up with that sum in the next month if faced with an emergency. That percentage has held steady since October 2015.

One of the most common emergencies is a medical expense. Currently, one-third of Americans would not be able to handle a $100 medical bill without going into debt. That's according to a February poll conducted by health-care information firm Amino.
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This seems shocking to me
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Odd that it's the same percentage - $2,000 as $100

But 2/3 can!

 
Cliff Clavin said:
Most people live check to check. How many people clear $2k a month after basic necessities? 30%? I have no idea but I'm guessing it is pretty low.
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I'd guess it's a lot lower than that.

No way we could save $2k in 4 weeks, but we have plenty stashed in case something happens.

 
Easily....for me - but unfortunately my wife is in buy stuff for grandbabies mode right now so I would have to hide her car keys and all access to Amazon.

ETA - we always have a $12K cash reserve for emergencies, but most of our "extra" income goes directly into 401K or IRA, so the more I think about it it would be tight to come up with an additional $2K without curtailing the money going into retirement accounts.

 
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The question is a little unclear, but, if it means can I cut discretionary spending and lower my bills enough to save $2K in a month, while not increasing my debt?   Depends on how much I'm working, but often yes.   

 
Paid bi-weekly but keep myself on a bi-monthly budget so that knocks out about 1/3 of the year I'm supposedly worrying about. 

 
pfft...pocket change for the average FBGer.  I am actually surprised the number is that high.  I would have guessed under 20%.

 
If 1/3 of Americans truly can't pay a $100 medical bill without going in debt, I agree that is shocking. Sounds like they are claiming that based on a survey of  "more than 1000 adults", though. Pretty sure their sample size is seriously inadequate to go with "one-third of Americans would not be able..."

 
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whiskey7 said:
If 1/3 of Americans truly can't pay a $100 medical bill without going in debt, I agree that is shocking. Sounds like they are claiming that based on a survey of  "more than 1000 adults", though. Pretty sure their sample size is seriously inadequate to go with "one-third of Americans would not be able..."
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There are no more than 500 adults in any county in the US

 
you mean after they pay the bill for their unlimited, cell phones, high-speed internet, gold-level cable package and netflix subscriptions??  

I mean priorities, right? 

We simply have too much #### that is eating away at our monthly income, and we are locked into them for years at a time. 

 
whiskey7 said:
If 1/3 of Americans truly can't pay a $100 medical bill without going in debt, I agree that is shocking. Sounds like they are claiming that based on a survey of  "more than 1000 adults", though. Pretty sure their sample size is seriously inadequate to go with "one-third of Americans would not be able..."
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Do you disbelieve the results?  Certainly the accuracy of polling can be questioned as sampling and adjustments significantly impact the true accuracy of the stated results.  But a random sample of 1000 adults can be an adequate sample size to represent reality within a reasonably small margin of error. 

 
-OZ- said:
Seems you could just sell stuff to get the $2k.  Which should be a lot easier than saving it.  
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I guess that would be an option for some. Most people's crap isn't worth very much though. 

Thinking about myself, I don't know what I'd sell if I were in that position (excluding my car).  I have my grandpa's old coin collection that I probably couldn't get $2K for. After that? There's not much value in used electronics, furniture and clothes.

 
glvsav37 said:
you mean after they pay the bill for their unlimited, cell phones, high-speed internet, gold-level cable package and netflix subscriptions??  

I mean priorities, right? 

We simply have too much #### that is eating away at our monthly income, and we are locked into them for years at a time. 
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Yeah those 8.99 Netflix costs are steep

 
Juxtatarot said:
I guess that would be an option for some. Most people's crap isn't worth very much though. 

Thinking about myself, I don't know what I'd sell if I were in that position (excluding my car).  I have my grandpa's old coin collection that I probably couldn't get $2K for. After that? There's not much value in used electronics, furniture and clothes.
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Maybe a few pairs of running shoes, garmin, clothing...  

One of my coworkers has been selling a lot of his stuff over the past year and he's made over $5k easy.  But then he has been a collector of comics and that genre.  I bet many of us could clean out the garage and make close to $2k.  Might not be a good long term move when you need to go replace your lawn mower (just as an example). But I think this stat is a narrow view of the problem. 

 
Fwiw, my wife has been on a savings kick for 2017 along with selling crafts (her big thing is little girls dresses she'll buy cheap, vinyl a design and make $5-10 per dress - not a lot but it helps). We've saved about $2k/month since the new year plus our usual retirement contribution.  It can be done.  (And we're nowhere near the average FBG)

 
need2know said:
Yeah those 8.99 Netflix costs are steep
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 You're missing my point

most people are tied up so deep in monthly fees on things they consider nessecities and yet would struggle to save 2k if they had too. 

We are bleeding our monthly income to death with subscriptions and luxuries that "only cost a few $$" 

 
glvsav37 said:
 You're missing my point

most people are tied up so deep in monthly fees on things they consider nessecities and yet would struggle to save 2k if they had too. 

We are bleeding our monthly income to death with subscriptions and luxuries that "only cost a few $$" 
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I hear ya.  It's nothing new though.  Some people are just spenders bro.  Good luck to them

 
glvsav37 said:
need2know said:
Yeah those 8.99 Netflix costs are steep
Click to expand...
 You're missing my point

most people are tied up so deep in monthly fees on things they consider nessecities and yet would struggle to save 2k if they had too. 

We are bleeding our monthly income to death with subscriptions and luxuries that "only cost a few $$" 
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That's one subset. But for the 45 million (just under 15%) or so living in poverty, not so much. That's only counting those who make less than $11.5K ($23.5 for a family of four.)

Round it up & imagine trying to support a family on household income of $2K a month before taxes. I cannot.

 
BobbyLayne said:
That's one subset. But for the 45 million (just under 15%) or so living in poverty, not so much. That's only counting those who make less than $11.5K ($23.5 for a family of four.)

Round it up & imagine trying to support a family on household income of $2K a month before taxes. I cannot.
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You could easily argue those people shouldn't start a family until they up their income.  But what are you gonna do?  Can't stop people #######

 
This is the kind of story that snaps me back to reality about how hard some people have it and how good the rest of us have it.  I forget that there are many many people who don't even clear $2k a month. 

 
need2know said:
BobbyLayne said:
That's one subset. But for the 45 million (just under 15%) or so living in poverty, not so much. That's only counting those who make less than $11.5K ($23.5 for a family of four.)

Round it up & imagine trying to support a family on household income of $2K a month before taxes. I cannot.
Click to expand...
You could easily argue those people shouldn't start a family until they up their income.  But what are you gonna do?  Can't stop people #######
Click to expand...
Hmmm

Poors don't deserve to have children?

I don't volunteer much with homeless families so I won't address that; most of the street people I encounter are single/divorced men. I also volunteer at a young adult (18-22) home, but that's a whole different set of issues.

But I'm helping a guy right now in our church who was pretty successful just a few years ago. Making very decent (even by Manhattan standards) money and living in a primo neighborhood. Why not? He was in his 30s and the world was his oyster. Then he got sick. He's still sick but long story short, the medical condition created an avalanche of debt, far more than his savings, family or friends could contend with. He ended up losing his job, his insurance, then his apartment. Spent three months living on the street. If you met him, you'd realize he isn't a whole lot different from any of us, it's just he had a disease and the problems cascaded.

A few weeks ago I worked in a soup kitchen with a chef who was wiped out by a divorce 15 years ago. There's probably more to the story than what I was told, but again, dude was working at Michelin rated restaurant and had his whole life ahead of him. From a few bad decisions he ended up on the street for over a year. When he got into a program, he decided when he came out he was going to dedicate his life to helping other men who were living in homelessness. He barely survives working for a non-profit, but he might have been the most content guy I've met all year.

Yesterday I was reading an article about how 20% of NYC subway stations don't have elevators [- and frequently break down]. The guy writing the article got hit by a rotting tree branch as he walked through Central Park eight years ago; he's paralyzed now, but was able to return to his job at Google after 18 months. I'll let him make this point for me:

Before my injury, I had felt that dealing with grittiness and unreliability were the price of entry for living in New York, and even took a smug pride in dealing with obstacles. Since my accident, I have been humbled to realize the often dire effect of civic dysfunction on the vulnerable, and have had to recognize that some of what I once took for resourcefulness was in truth enabled by privilege.

 (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/opinion/new-york-has-a-great-subway-if-youre-not-in-a-wheelchair.html)
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So I kind of feel like that when we talk about poverty. The answer appears to be A (people are lousy at prioritizing) when in reality I have no concept of B (they make so little they can't even conceive of things I take for granted.) I work at helping poor people so I understand, at some level, the challenges they face. But I also have no idea whatsoever the journey they have been on. I don't know what it's like for six kids to live in a crappy one bedroom apartment. I get in a cab when it's 15 degrees out because I don't want to walk for 12 minutes; what do I know about surviving all day in that? Hardship for me is settling for mezzanine seats instead of splurging for the floor.

I dunno, I have a hard time being judgemental about folks life choices and saying, "Yep, if they didn't have to have that wireless buds iPhone 7 they'd be doing just fine." I don't know how many cell phones I've had in my life - 20, 30? - but every one of them was paid by various companies I worked for. At some level you have to recognize the absurdity that someone who is poor spends a relatively high % of their income on having what absolutely is a necessity (cell phone & internet access) to just live a normal life, and here i am making 8-10 times what they do but not paying a dime month to month [oh, & my home internet is paid for since I work from home 5-6 days a year]. I should look out the window and yell at them "Make better choices!!" ?

 
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BobbyLayne said:
Hmmm

Poors don't deserve to have children?

I don't volunteer much with homeless families so I won't address that; most of the street people I encounter are single/divorced men. I also volunteer at a young adult (18-22) home, but that's a whole different set of issues.

But I'm helping a guy right now in our church who was pretty successful just a few years ago. Making very decent (even by Manhattan standards) money and living in a primo neighborhood. Why not? He was in his 30s and the world was his oyster. Then he got sick. He's still sick but long story short, the medical condition created an avalanche of debt, far more than his savings, family or friends could contend with. He ended up losing his job, his insurance, then his apartment. Spent three months living on the street. If you met him, you'd realize he isn't a whole lot different from any of us, it's just he had a disease and the problems cascaded.

A few weeks ago I worked in a soup kitchen with a chef who was wiped out by a divorce 15 years ago. There's probably more to the story than what I was told, but again, dude was working at Michelin rated restaurant and had his whole life ahead of him. From a few bad decisions he ended up on the street for over a year. When he got into a program, he decided when he came out he was going to dedicate his life to helping other men who were living in homelessness. He barely survives working for a non-profit, but he might have been the most content guy I've met all year.

Yesterday I was reading an article about how 20% of NYC subway stations don't have elevators [- and frequently break down]. The guy writing the article got hit by a rotting tree branch as he walked through Central Park eight years ago; he's paralyzed now, but was able to return to his job at Google after 18 months. I'll let him make this point for me:

So I kind of feel like that when we talk about poverty. The answer appears to be A (people are lousy at prioritizing) when in reality I have no concept of B (they make so little they can't even conceive of things I take for granted.) I work at helping poor people so I understand, at some level, the challenges they face. But I also have no idea whatsoever the journey they have been on. I don't know what it's like for six kids to live in a crappy one bedroom apartment. I get in a cab when it's 15 degrees out because I don't want to walk for 12 minutes; what do I know about surviving all day in that? Hardship for me is settling for mezzanine seats instead of splurging for the floor.

I dunno, I have a hard time being judgemental about folks life choices and saying, "Yep, if they didn't have to have that wireless buds iPhone 7 they'd be doing just fine." I don't know how many cell phones I've had in my life - 20, 30? - but every one of them was paid by various companies I worked for. At some level you have to recognize the absurdity that someone who is poor spends a relatively high % of their income on having what absolutely is a necessity (cell phone & internet access) to just live a normal life, and here i am making 8-10 times what they do but not paying a dime month to month [oh, & my home internet is paid for since I work from home 5-6 days a year]. I should look out the window and yell at them "Make better choices!!" ?
Click to expand...
I didn't say that

 
need2know said:
BobbyLayne said:
Hmmm

Poors don't deserve to have children?

I don't volunteer much with homeless families so I won't address that; most of the street people I encounter are single/divorced men. I also volunteer at a young adult (18-22) home, but that's a whole different set of issues.

But I'm helping a guy right now in our church who was pretty successful just a few years ago. Making very decent (even by Manhattan standards) money and living in a primo neighborhood. Why not? He was in his 30s and the world was his oyster. Then he got sick. He's still sick but long story short, the medical condition created an avalanche of debt, far more than his savings, family or friends could contend with. He ended up losing his job, his insurance, then his apartment. Spent three months living on the street. If you met him, you'd realize he isn't a whole lot different from any of us, it's just he had a disease and the problems cascaded.

A few weeks ago I worked in a soup kitchen with a chef who was wiped out by a divorce 15 years ago. There's probably more to the story than what I was told, but again, dude was working at Michelin rated restaurant and had his whole life ahead of him. From a few bad decisions he ended up on the street for over a year. When he got into a program, he decided when he came out he was going to dedicate his life to helping other men who were living in homelessness. He barely survives working for a non-profit, but he might have been the most content guy I've met all year.

Yesterday I was reading an article about how 20% of NYC subway stations don't have elevators [- and frequently break down]. The guy writing the article got hit by a rotting tree branch as he walked through Central Park eight years ago; he's paralyzed now, but was able to return to his job at Google after 18 months. I'll let him make this point for me:

So I kind of feel like that when we talk about poverty. The answer appears to be A (people are lousy at prioritizing) when in reality I have no concept of B (they make so little they can't even conceive of things I take for granted.) I work at helping poor people so I understand, at some level, the challenges they face. But I also have no idea whatsoever the journey they have been on. I don't know what it's like for six kids to live in a crappy one bedroom apartment. I get in a cab when it's 15 degrees out because I don't want to walk for 12 minutes; what do I know about surviving all day in that? Hardship for me is settling for mezzanine seats instead of splurging for the floor.

I dunno, I have a hard time being judgemental about folks life choices and saying, "Yep, if they didn't have to have that wireless buds iPhone 7 they'd be doing just fine." I don't know how many cell phones I've had in my life - 20, 30? - but every one of them was paid by various companies I worked for. At some level you have to recognize the absurdity that someone who is poor spends a relatively high % of their income on having what absolutely is a necessity (cell phone & internet access) to just live a normal life, and here i am making 8-10 times what they do but not paying a dime month to month [oh, & my home internet is paid for since I work from home 5-6 days a year]. I should look out the window and yell at them "Make better choices!!" ?
Click to expand...
I didn't say that
Click to expand...
? cool

Maybe you could help me understand what you meant:

"You could easily argue those people shouldn't start a family until they up their income.  But what are you gonna do?  Can't stop people #######"

 
BobbyLayne said:
That's one subset. But for the 45 million (just under 15%) or so living in poverty, not so much. That's only counting those who make less than $11.5K ($23.5 for a family of four.)

Round it up & imagine trying to support a family on household income of $2K a month before taxes. I cannot.
Click to expand...
People without means fall into the same trap that the rest of us do.

I used to take the Green Line across the West Side of Chicago to work every morning. A bird's eye view of one of the most economically broken and dangerous areas of the city was quite enlightening.

You know what was almost ubiquitous? DirecTV/Dish network satellite receivers.

 
There are a lot of people for whom 2k is a life changing amount of money. It's sad to me. 

You ever see a game show where somebody wins $500 and jumps around ecstatically? Lot of people like that. 

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
People without means fall into the same trap that the rest of us do.

I used to take the Green Line across the West Side of Chicago to work every morning. A bird's eye view of one of the most economically broken and dangerous areas of the city was quite enlightening.

You know what was almost ubiquitous? DirecTV/Dish network satellite receivers.
Click to expand...
Not sure what the cost of DirectTV is since I don't have it.  But cable is a relatively cheap expense overall when you consider the amount of entertainment you can get from it.  And honestly if you're living in poverty having an escape is important to most people.  Sure if you have a car or short walk to the library you can get great entertainment options for free.  But not everyone knows that or is that close.  Not to mention those receivers stay up there until you take them down whether or not you are paying for the service.

 
this could be an Onion headline "man looks down from tower made of money, can't believe others aren't ####ting money"

 
BobbyLayne said:
Hmmm

Poors don't deserve to have children?

I don't volunteer much with homeless families so I won't address that; most of the street people I encounter are single/divorced men. I also volunteer at a young adult (18-22) home, but that's a whole different set of issues.

But I'm helping a guy right now in our church who was pretty successful just a few years ago. Making very decent (even by Manhattan standards) money and living in a primo neighborhood. Why not? He was in his 30s and the world was his oyster. Then he got sick. He's still sick but long story short, the medical condition created an avalanche of debt, far more than his savings, family or friends could contend with. He ended up losing his job, his insurance, then his apartment. Spent three months living on the street. If you met him, you'd realize he isn't a whole lot different from any of us, it's just he had a disease and the problems cascaded.

A few weeks ago I worked in a soup kitchen with a chef who was wiped out by a divorce 15 years ago. There's probably more to the story than what I was told, but again, dude was working at Michelin rated restaurant and had his whole life ahead of him. From a few bad decisions he ended up on the street for over a year. When he got into a program, he decided when he came out he was going to dedicate his life to helping other men who were living in homelessness. He barely survives working for a non-profit, but he might have been the most content guy I've met all year.

Yesterday I was reading an article about how 20% of NYC subway stations don't have elevators [- and frequently break down]. The guy writing the article got hit by a rotting tree branch as he walked through Central Park eight years ago; he's paralyzed now, but was able to return to his job at Google after 18 months. I'll let him make this point for me:

So I kind of feel like that when we talk about poverty. The answer appears to be A (people are lousy at prioritizing) when in reality I have no concept of B (they make so little they can't even conceive of things I take for granted.) I work at helping poor people so I understand, at some level, the challenges they face. But I also have no idea whatsoever the journey they have been on. I don't know what it's like for six kids to live in a crappy one bedroom apartment. I get in a cab when it's 15 degrees out because I don't want to walk for 12 minutes; what do I know about surviving all day in that? Hardship for me is settling for mezzanine seats instead of splurging for the floor.

I dunno, I have a hard time being judgemental about folks life choices and saying, "Yep, if they didn't have to have that wireless buds iPhone 7 they'd be doing just fine." I don't know how many cell phones I've had in my life - 20, 30? - but every one of them was paid by various companies I worked for. At some level you have to recognize the absurdity that someone who is poor spends a relatively high % of their income on having what absolutely is a necessity (cell phone & internet access) to just live a normal life, and here i am making 8-10 times what they do but not paying a dime month to month [oh, & my home internet is paid for since I work from home 5-6 days a year]. I should look out the window and yell at them "Make better choices!!" ?
Click to expand...
One of the best posts I've ever read on this board.  

 
Yeah, we are in this category too.  0 chance we could save and get $2K with only one of us working.  

If we HAD to, we could dip into some inheritance my wife got a couple years ago that we try not to touch as it's about the only savings we have.  Or we could try to sell some #### quick or I could start selling my ### for money. 

Makes me cringe how people on this board look down on others who don't have enough saved up, or god forbid - have kids and this is the case.  Just sad how people jump to the conclusion that people are dumb, lazy, or have no will power.  Maybe other choices have been made along the way? Maybe someone in the family is ill? Maybe just a little bad luck?  There is a wide spectrum of reasons this could be. 

 
We try to keep a couple grand around for emergencies.  If something big happens, we have a HELOC.  I don't see the need to keep $50K liquid.  

We may be able to financially engineer $2K in a month depending on kids activities and one off bills.

 
KarmaPolice said:
Yeah, we are in this category too.  0 chance we could save and get $2K with only one of us working.  

If we HAD to, we could dip into some inheritance my wife got a couple years ago that we try not to touch as it's about the only savings we have.  Or we could try to sell some #### quick or I could start selling my ### for money. 

Makes me cringe how people on this board look down on others who don't have enough saved up, or god forbid - have kids and this is the case.  Just sad how people jump to the conclusion that people are dumb, lazy, or have no will power.  Maybe other choices have been made along the way? Maybe someone in the family is ill? Maybe just a little bad luck?  There is a wide spectrum of reasons this could be. 
Click to expand...
You can't put a monetary value on one parent staying home . I believe you get back much more than you would've earned.

 
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