Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common

Re:Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common by IAmGraydon on Monday December 31, 2018 @11:01AM (#18795081)

This is exactly the problem. It all comes down to what is more rewarding to you - buying or financial security. Much of the buying in today’s world seems to be driven by the desire to portray status and success to peers. What’s particularly unfortunate about those who fall into this trap is the fact that they’re essentially giving what little real wealth they possess to people who actually have real wealth (business owners) in exchange for an image of wealth. They’re trading the real thing for an illusion.

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Re:Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common by GreeniFi on Monday December 31, 2018 @08:13PM (#18798261)

I suspect a lot of people feel that part of their conspicuous consumption is part of the effort to earn more. You have to wear the right clothes, look the right way, have the right tech - or at a higher income bracket, be part of the right clubs, in order to socialise with the people who will pay you. So the two are sort of linked I suspect.

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Re:Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common by lsc on Monday December 31, 2018 @11:45PM (#18798983)

I'm pretty sure that this is actually a thing; Like once you step outside of the technical field; most everyone else really needs to "dress for the job they want" in the form of, for example, having a class-appropriate car.

I think this is one of the biggest bonuses you get as a technical person; you can live with roommates and drive a beater car, if you want, and it's not a problem when getting quarter-million dollar a year jobs.

A long time ago, I had a roommate who was trying to make it as a realtor. He though his (actually quite nice) not exactly new honda accord was a big handicap for him. I mean, I don't know if it was or not; I know little about the selling side of real-estate, but I can tell you that most people who do sales or management feel that their symbols of wealth are really important to their job and their income.

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Re:Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common by GreeniFi on Tuesday January 01, 2019 @08:20AM (#18800068)

I can believe this. Realtors, on a %-based fee, have to show their clients how much they’re making (for other clients). If a realtor turns up in a Mercedes, they’re basically saying: “I’m a good salesman/woman”.

Devs in SF display status in other ways. HN karma? Exits? Economists call those “hard to fake” status displays.

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Re:Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common by lsc on Tuesday January 01, 2019 @08:52AM (#18800167)

lol. I'm pretty sure that on the scale of status displays... hn carma rates pretty low.

No, developers display status more directly, by pointing at a thing and saying "I did that" - or on a lower level, simply displaying intelligence and domain specific problem solving ability.

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