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Even Top Earners Are Falling Behind on Credit Card and Car Payments
(www.bloomberg.com)
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this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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It’s never been about how much you earn; it’s always been about being willing to live beyond your means.
What do I do when a tiny apartment and food is getting beyond my means? The cost of damn near everything fucking tripled in the past 6 years or so, and I got a 7% raise last year.
Most Americans are getting priced out of the market, and it’s only a matter of time that the house of cards our government calls an economy falls.
Be homeless, work harder. /s
No, it's about how much you earn too.
Stop that.
People shouldn't have to worry about that. There's more than enough for everyone if people weren't such greedy pigs
Then shame people without knowing their plight.
Ever pay further medical bills of not just your wife and kids but your mom when her medicaid and Medicare wouldnt?
How about instead of shaming people you shut up and listen to the stories. Get your head out of your own bubble and realize g see what's happening.
This isn't about living beyond ones means
Its that the corps decide your means and worth.
I think you’ve gone and taken my simple statement exactly backwards.
How much we make is comparative. It’s a fiction imposed by those at the top. By the same people who want the ratio to always be that we spend more than we earn.
But no matter who we are, if we don’t spend more than we earn, we don’t end up in debt to the rich. It’s just that for an increasing proportion of the population, this is becoming impossible.
No, I know what your saying. I stand by what i wrote.
You're simply out of touch.
Listen, I think I get your point, that even high earners are wage slaves. Doctors and lawyers exit college with decades of debt.
But you can't say it was never about how much you earn. Some people, and I've been in this spot, can't buy groceries. High earning wage slaves will have decades of debt, but food isn't an issue.
Bullshit. Last job I had before being layed off years ago was better than most and now two years later. After crushing medical bills, and the increase in EVERYTHING , we have months where food was low.
I spent more time forgaing than shopping the last three months because food is too fucking expensive. I'm glad I grew up even poorer or we would have been in an even worst place for my family. Most don't though
Thses sweeping statements show the real issue.
Your fighting from the viewpoint that people who worked hard to get even a little out of poverty are at fault
It's the government and ceos who are. So stop fighting those fighting your same battles.
Live beyond our means. What dumb statement. Food. rent. Every nickel and dime hidden charge from every ducking corp, health insurance, car insurance home insurance, unfair taxation aimed at keeping anyone not mega rich in shackles ....
Means. We don't have means. We have allowances.
Yeah.
Or maybe costs suddenly increased and people had no time to adjust to their new means. "Living beyond your means" is such a dumb phrase in this context. It puts the onus on individuals instead of things like inflation, price gouging, tariffs and costs of living. I guess everyone should be living in one bedroom apartments and eating rice and beans everyday so they live within their means(this is hyperbole). People don't deserve any luxury just the bare minimum to live and keep working for their overlords.
That assumes your means are constant and your spending isn’t, but this situation is the opposite: long term spending items (mortgage, car debt, significant inflation…) and means that dropped by losing jobs or pay raises that do not match inflation.
I'm not sure if I agree with this but I'm willing to discuss.
I could default on all my debts that are beyond my means tomorrow, but due to privilege I would still have a roof over my head and be able to put food on the table.
I don't think that is common and, as such, not everybody has the luxury or privilege of living beyond their means.
Am I wrong?
A roof over your head can be subjective. Many high earners are not satisfied with "a roof over their head", they want it in the good neighborhood, with a pool, many rooms etc. High earners spend a lot more on regular things too, like food (A brands, fancier shops, more take-out), gadgets, traveling a lot and very far etc. If high earners can't pay their bills, it's likely partially because they are too deep into keeping up with the Jones's, suck at handling money or both. It's not common but is possible to go from being high earning to living under a bridge in just a few months, even if you owned your roof.
But how did you manage to get debt that is above your means? If you take out a loan, for example, don’t they check if you can afford it?
Yeah, but you can lie. Half the time places don't even ask for proof for some reason.
Or, yeah, but I could lose income tomorrow (especially with how fragile the job market is right now).
I got a loan back in January and a month later lost my highest paying contract job. I've since replaced it, but - shit can happen for sure.
They check if you can afford it “right now”, but the situation could change: a kid, an emergency, inflation, loosing your job, inflation… have i talked about inflation? Or the loan rates could change too