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Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

241–250 of 478 posts

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot understand not having at least a couple hundred cash on you, and much more at home. What are people’s plans if the power or payment networks go offline? Earthquake, hurricane, ice storm, volcano, etc.

You obviously have considerable wealth if you think most people have the savings to keep hundreds of dollars on them at all times and much more at home. A large percentage of Americans can’t afford a $500 emergency. Also, many people don’t carry cash because they’re worried, rightfully or not, about being robbed. Same idea behind leaving stuff in your vehicle.

I am suspicious of that "can't afford a $500 emergency" number that is thrown around.

It apparently comes from a survey [52] which says:

"53% could manage an unforeseen expense of $500 without worry"

What that actually means isn't directly stated - but people read it as "half of Americans can't afford $500" which isn't what it's stating.

https://www.personalcapital.com/assets/public/src/2022-Wealt...

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#242
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife grew up very close to the poverty line, with her parents always just about to lose the house. And she has this anxiety. (Edit: to be clear, she's a successful civil engineer, considered one of the best in her field locally and makes great money- she has nothing to worry about.) In order to help with it, we have a bank account that our bills come out of that has a little more than 6 months worth of all our bil…

I have a high yield savings account and interest is 0.75%, 6 withdrawals per month and the transfer completes same day if I need it in an emergency, plus it’s FDIC insured. Same peace of mind plus interest.

You might be talking about AMEX Savings? I remember when it was 1.70% before the pandemic. That almost beat inflation!

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another way of stating that article is that most people in their 20s and 30s have only ever known low-inflation and stability. Those in their mid-40s onwards are possibly young enough to remember how what their parents dealt with in the 70s.

I remember sitting in the car with my mom outside an Amtrak train station in the late `70's asking her why she was cutting the tops off of several cereal boxes that we had just bought from the grocery store. Apparently they were for a discount on train tickets.

Some coupons are just worth it. A guy in the 90s figured out he could get millions of frequent flyer miles from a few thousand dollars of pudding.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#244
post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What would the incentive of healthcare providers to lower prices? In case of life or death emergencies, your insurance or ambulance driver would send you to a reasonably priced doctor, and doctors that charge unreasonable prices would go out of business. But my guess is that life or death emergencies do not account for most doctor visits. > Also blaming "corporatism" is basically just a meme at this point, because…

So for life or death decisions, the ambulance driver would first go on some price comparison website or ask the insurance and see "ok, this person wants a doctor in the $10,000-15,000 range, the closest of which is 30m away. The hospital next door costs at least $50,000 minimum, so we will not send them there for life saving medical care." And what incentive would insurance have to send me to a reasonably priced doct…

No, very quickly everyone would know the hospitals that charge way more than the others, and not patronize them.

Emergency services are only like 5% of costs, anyway [367]:

> The percentage of U.S. health spending attributable to the ED has increased from 3.9% (CI, 3.9%-3.9%) in 2006 to 5.0% (CI, 5.0%-5.0%) in 2016.

So the other 95% is more flexible. I know when looking at birthing costs they could vary wildly but it didn't really matter because who cares, they're all in-network anyway.

[367] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#245
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife grew up very close to the poverty line, with her parents always just about to lose the house. And she has this anxiety. (Edit: to be clear, she's a successful civil engineer, considered one of the best in her field locally and makes great money- she has nothing to worry about.) In order to help with it, we have a bank account that our bills come out of that has a little more than 6 months worth of all our bil…

> It's not logical or financially wise I'm taken aback by this statement. I am in an incredibly similar situation to your wife in terms of growing up and being successful today, and I do this. Granted, I think I'm at 3.5 months, but the point stands. Sure, the money isn't generating more wealth, but that amount is finite. It's a cushion that should effectively indefinitely and every dollar beyond is vigorously invest…

Stocks are liquid enough that you can sell enough to pay your credit card off before getting hit with interest. There's no reason to have 6 months worth of expenses in cash just sitting around unless you strongly suspect a crash.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#246
post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using an AMA source is disingenuous since it’s a professional cartel with a massive vested interest in keeping doctor supply as limited as possible.

But they are arguing in the source for more doctor supply?

They are blaming the lack of supply on something they don't control. There's a subtle difference.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#247
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>So I just hoard cash like an idiot as that makes me feels safe and lets me sleep well at night. If you haven't already, look into Certificates of Deposit ("CD") at your local bank. They're FDIC insured (so if the bank goes under, you're covered, up to something like $250k) and you don't have to worry about losing the principal amount you put in. If you ever need to withdraw that money in case of an emergency, you on…

Are interest rates high enough again to make laddering worth it?

I only mentioned laddering to ease any fears of "locking everything up all at once" the OP may have had -- I hadn't considered interest rates.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a fine line between frugality and being stuck in a local optima. Sometimes, expensive things are better in the long run, because they serve their purpose better and last longer.

First order frugality: buy cheaper things or go without. Hoard all your trash in case you need it again. Second order frugality: Buy it for life. Quality over quantity. Third order frugality: This inert matter is not nearly as interesting as the people who wish to sell it to us want us to believe.

Well said

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#249
post #206

Being poor in general, during your childhood, scars you for life. It makes you penny wise and pound foolish, adverse to taking risks in your career and investments, can destroy your confidence in yourself, while always having to look over your shoulder monetarily speaking. Habits that even after you remove poverty from your live, you still feel the the anxiety and triggers in your head.

My wife grew up very close to the poverty line, with her parents always just about to lose the house. And she has this anxiety. (Edit: to be clear, she's a successful civil engineer, considered one of the best in her field locally and makes great money- she has nothing to worry about.) In order to help with it, we have a bank account that our bills come out of that has a little more than 6 months worth of all our bil…

How is this not logical or financially wise ?

It is common advice to have an emergency fund equal to several months of expenses in cash.

What is the alternative ? Having no emergency fund?

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#250
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife grew up very close to the poverty line, with her parents always just about to lose the house. And she has this anxiety. (Edit: to be clear, she's a successful civil engineer, considered one of the best in her field locally and makes great money- she has nothing to worry about.) In order to help with it, we have a bank account that our bills come out of that has a little more than 6 months worth of all our bil…

People vastly underestimate the "peace of mind" costs - once those are taken into effect it can suddenly make sense to do things that many consider "financially unwise", such as having a large emergency fund, paying off a mortgage, etc. And once you do that you can find yourself suddenly feeling much more free - knowing that even if everything goes south room and board is taken care of can give you the courage to tak…

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