The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

Re:The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56 by ryandrake on Tuesday November 05, 2024 @11:54AM (#42053159)

That was one of my "wait, doesn't everyone do this?" realizations: Most people do not regularly look at their own finances, know how much they spend on what, and even roughly know how much money they have in their checking account! I could tell you how much I've spent on groceries, gas, restaurants, clothing, and so on, to the penny, and how it tracks vs. my budget, accurate at least as of a particular day. I can tell you to the penny any of my current account balances, cash, investment, or debt. But when I mention this to people, they look at me like I have a horn growing out of my head, like it's really weird and obsessive.

I've been in an HN thread where people claimed that it's easy to lose track of your subscriptions and accidentally pay for a service for years that you don't use. Like, really? You don't even look at your credit card bill and see what you're paying for, even monthly??? You really just turn on autopay and never even look at your bills?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56 by ler_ on Tuesday November 05, 2024 @12:06PM (#42053291)

I could have written this comment myself. I was surprised to find out that it wasn't common to track every single thing you spend, to have multiple Excel sheets for your money, and to constantly look at how you are faring against your budget. Seems like a lot of folks look at their checking account and go "guess I still have some money left over to spend." Maybe it's because I grew up poor or because my mother was very careful with finances herself (in spite of hardship). I would be curious to know what your case is.

[ Parent | on HN ]