Number of the Week

[araby]

82%

That's the percentage of workers in South Carolina who make less than the national average per capita income. (source-The Post and Courier)

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've never been able to get ahead enough to save money. I have a great job, always have and make good money. It doesn't matter. The cost of living is outrageous, married or not. It's sad for me to think on a daily basis this way:

I'm going to work today, I will not get a paycheck for two weeks, and when I do, I will pay bills, barely break even and then do it all over again.

Someone actually gave me this advice a few years ago, "Get a sugar daddy."

How can someone ever expect to become independently wealthy with numbers like this and situations like mine?

[Diekan]

Welcome to the south. Conditions are no different in Savannah. Even with a college degree you're lucky if you can break 15 dollars an hour. Other than that the average wage is between 10 and 12 dollars an hour for everything else. The cost of living is also astronomical here (compared to the average wage). You're looking at any where from 700 to 1000+ for a DECENT one bedroom apartment. And, don't even think about renting a house unless you're willing to pay out 1500 or more. Buying a house? Most of the "decent" homes here cost upwards near 180,000+ Even with a nice interest rate you're still looking at well over a 1000 a month. All that on less than 15 dollars an hour.

Someone's getting insanely rich and it isn't the work force down here.

It's partly because of the greed of home owners, who consistantly use the old excuse, "I just charge what every one else is charging" bullshit line. Rent is really out of control down here, gas prices are up to almost 2.50 a gallon - groceries are up in price - utilities are going up (again) - everything is going up down here BUT the wages.

[Foutty]

Its not just the south, pretty much nation-wide. Where I am at, $180,000 wont get you a condo....You're looking at damn near $500,000 to get a house. $250,000 - $300,000 for a townhouse or condo (thats 30+ years old), and it gets worse in other cities throughout the US.

[labbats]

I think it just presses the issue of getting together with someone. Not only to share a life with, but to share rent.

The days of the single earner household are diminishing.

Look at it this way. My wife and I live in Des Moines, IA. A nice house in a nice neighborhood is about $150-200k. That's affordable. In Chicago, that amount of money will get you a second-hand condo in a second-hand neighborhood. Yet in Chicago, we'd be making $80k a year combined instead of our paltry $50k now.

Being able to live wherever I want to live has its benefits, and when I hopefully am pushing the six digit mark, we can live in comfort with her at home, but if we were in most of the places you mention, we'd be up shit creek.

It's all about what the public percieves as a "great place to live". Not too many people are moving to the midwest, so I can make out nicely. But if you're in a warmer winter climate, you're screwed. There's no easy answer because there'll always be someone from the midwest or north that makes a lot of $, and decides to move somewhere "better" with all their newfound dough.

[Narrock]

$400k will buy you a small 1300 sq. ft 3/2 house where I live in Folsom, CA.

[Captain Insano]

How can someone ever expect to become independently wealthy with numbers like this and situations like mine? [/size]

Working for someone else? Next to impossible. You either need a shitton of experience and formal education or you need to become an entrepreneur. The job market is awful and will get no better. You have to be better than the rest of the people out there in the corporate world or you need to build a business by yourself.

What do you do anyways?

[10sun]

I'll be your sugar daddy.

I've put about 3 hours into a house purchase that will net me 1.5% of purchase price.

Independant Contractor for the win.

-Adam

[labbats]

Buy high Sello

[10sun]

Araby is a chick with a dick or wasn't that disclosed?

[labbats]

Tranny whoop whoop.

PS -- I jusssst edited my post, so now everyone is confused. Haha. Winz.

[10sun]

Ccc.

I'm taken anyways =\

-Adam

[Captain Insano]

The state of this nation's economy will get no better if not a great deal worse. Over the next 20 years you will see the middle class continue to erode.

I blame most of this on the liberals and democrats. They are the ones who allow millions and millions of immigrants flock into this country, they are the ones who push for huge increases of working visas, they are the ones who want to leave our borders totally unprotected so South American immigration can ensue en masse. They are the ones who allow absolutely outrageous lawsuits by employees against employers, push for insane rules governing sexual harassment, push for outrageous benefits required by employers for their employees, push for impossible to meet IRS/SEC reporting requirements. Then after all that bullshit they gun for more and more taxpayer dollars to supplement their socialist machine of failing government social programs, all of this costing the American employees and employers billions.

Most of you can thank your liberal friends for taking your jobs and handing them to undocumented non-taxpaying immigrants and forcing jobs oversees to greener pastures. As a business owner I already do a lot of business with overseas companies so I don't have to deal with the cost and bullshit involved with business in America. I don't enjoy doing this but I have to in order to survive and grow.

[Harrison]

You forget that it's the republicans fault for allowing the rich to get richer and the poor become poorer

[araby]

It's not what I do that's the problem. There are single women that I know that are making the same thing that I do who own homes.

All of them had money given/inherited/saved for them when they went to college, and after graduation as well.

The only person I know who wasn't given money is my best friend. She makes more than I do, and she just moved to Charleston with her husband and child, they have a ton of money saved (by her before marriage while she was single, just saving.) They are about to go into debt after only eight months of living here. The point made about location is very true, our cost of living is expensive. I suppose we don't cut it here anymore with our wages, they are outgrowing us and we have to move now.

People are making more money it seems, I've been making the same thing for a few years and that scares me too. What was really good a few years ago isn't keeping up with today, I need a raise and it doesn't look like I'm getting one along with everyone else. We cap out almost, and have no room for the inflation we don't control.

[Haylo]

I think anyone that lives near a major city in any state can expect to pay and pay dearly for a nice place to live. I live in the suburbs about 30min out of D.C., in 1999 our house was purchased for $169k, last year it was appraised for $400k. When a friend was looking in the paper for condos and apartments the prices were just crazy. For a good apartment in a good area here you pay 1k/mth minimum for a 3 bedroom and that is at the low end.

[araby]

It sucks so much to live in boring places =\

[mofish]

The state of this nation's economy will get no better if not a great deal worse. Over the next 20 years you will see the middle class continue to erode.

I blame most of this on the liberals and democrats. They are the ones who allow millions and millions of immigrants flock into this country, they are the ones who push for huge increases of working visas, they are the ones who want to leave our borders totally unprotected so South American immigration can ensue en masse. They are the ones who allow absolutely outrageous lawsuits by employees against employers, push for insane rules governing sexual harassment, push for outrageous benefits required by employers for their employees, push for impossible to meet IRS/SEC reporting requirements. Then after all that bullshit they gun for more and more taxpayer dollars to supplement their socialist machine of failing government social programs, all of this costing the American employees and employers billions.

Most of you can thank your liberal friends for taking your jobs and handing them to undocumented non-taxpaying immigrants and forcing jobs oversees to greener pastures. As a business owner I already do a lot of business with overseas companies so I don't have to deal with the cost and bullshit involved with business in America. I don't enjoy doing this but I have to in order to survive and grow.

What bullshit. I guess you missed all the republican asskissing for latino votes eh? You think the repubblicans want to end illegal immigration? No fucking way. They want the mexi-votes. So do the democrats.

Lets see, Republican congress, Republican president. Is the problem getting better? Yeah I didnt think so.

Dems and Repubs arent gonna do shit about it cause they know what the latino population is gonna be in this country in a few years. Corporate loves the illegals cause they get a cheap labor force.

So who wants to stop the immigration? No one with any power, and thats the problem.

[Eziekial]

Everyone I know tells me the way to get rich is not have children.

[Martrae]

Or wait until rich to have them.

[Tikker]

If you're going to insist on living places with high cost of living, don't bitch that you can't afford it


if you're only going to earn $XX/year, move somewhere that you can afford the lifestyle

Where I live, $50k/year you can be very comfortable
It's not a big city tho, so you're not going to have all the amenities available to you, but that's the tradeoff you have to make


I prefer owning a house, while not being a bazillion dollars in debt, so living here is great

[Ginzburgh]

That's the percentage of workers in South Carolina who make less than the national average per capita income. (source-The Post and Courier)

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've never been able to get ahead enough to save money.

Sounds like someone is trying to blame other people for their lack of success.

[Foutty]

I think its kind of a cycle though. People move to cities where they can get good jobs, more people move there, housing cost go through the roof.

I knew that I was moving to an expensive place, but to work where I wanted to work, I had no other choice. This is really the only place in the world I could do what I do now and get my foot in the door. Pro's and cons to every situation.

[araby]

I think its kind of a cycle though. People move to cities where they can get good jobs, more people move there, housing cost go through the roof.

I knew that I was moving to an expensive place, but to work where I wanted to work, I had no other choice. This is really the only place in the world I could do what I do now and get my foot in the door. Pro's and cons to every situation.

This is exactly why I moved here to begin with. It was affordable five years ago, as what I was bringing in was more than enough.

I pay more today to live than I did five years ago, but I make only a little more. And the word is noone is making any more than anyone else, we are all at our cap I think. If I were to move now, to a smaller town and take a pay cut as well as get into an apartment that is less than this, I still have bills to pay. That's the problem--I couldn't pay to live for less than what I make now or I'd go into debt, and I couldn't pay my "now" salary bills with less money even if I did save in rent. The rent isn't very much more at all actually. I won't be able to afford the pay cut. I know what the rent is like there, what they pay in utilities and groceries, I grew up in a small town. They aren't getting anywhere there either.

I'm not saying that I deserve something from someone and I deserve it now, or that I wish someone handed me something. I was interested in that statistic since I feel it daily. I suppose if you don't, then it's not important to you and that's okay.

[Ginzburgh]

This is exactly why I moved here to begin with. It was affordable five years ago, as what I was bringing in was more than enough.

I pay more today to live than I did five years ago, but I make only a little more. And the word is noone is making any more than anyone else, we are all at our cap I think. If I were to move now, to a smaller town and take a pay cut as well as get into an apartment that is less than this, I still have bills to pay. That's the problem--I couldn't pay to live for less than what I make now or I'd go into debt, and I couldn't pay my "now" salary bills with less money even if I did save in rent. The rent isn't very much more at all actually. I won't be able to afford the pay cut. I know what the rent is like there, what they pay in utilities and groceries, I grew up in a small town. They aren't getting anywhere there either.

I'm not saying that I deserve something from someone and I deserve it now, or that I wish someone handed me something. I was interested in that statistic since I feel it daily. I suppose if you don't, then it's not important to you and that's okay.

Don't worry, it's the same in connecticut.

[Diabolik]

Lets see, Republican congress, Republican president. Is the problem getting better? Yeah I didnt think so.

The anguished cry of the enfranchised.