Wal-Mart worker dies in Black Friday stampede

[Langox510x]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Ummmmm...if money is so TIGHT, why the hell are you shopping?! How about doing without these luxury items? How about telling the family that this will be a different kind of Christmas this year and focusing on other aspects of Christmas? Geesh....

/end rant

Money can be tight, but and still have an excess. I mean nothing wrong with buying Christmas presents even in this situation if you budget your money correctly. It's not like she said she was in line for gifts, but didn't even have the money for next months rent.

Also, my own mother has been telling us that our money is tight, or where broke, or poor since I was little, and the fact is that both my parents make money that most American’s can only dream of making and they're just completely full of sh!t.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Langox510x

Money can be tight, but and still have an excess.

No. But some people think that having $300 in an account after bills are paid counts as "excess." That counts as living paycheck to paycheck. The average American (who is out shopping right now) doesn't have any wealth accumulated and is living paycheck to paycheck.

Originally Posted by Langox510x

I mean nothing wrong with buying Christmas presents even in this situation if you budget your money correctly.

If budgeting money when "money is tight" means living paycheck to paycheck, the presents should not be bought.

[Langox510x]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

No.



If budgeting money when "money is tight" means living paycheck to paycheck, the presents should not be bought.

What I said was that the woman never claimed to be living paycheck to paycheck. My point was that the phase "money is tight" is a very lax term, which may be used even by someone who we wouldn't consider as not being wealthy.

Even if somebody was living paycheck to paycheck, I don't see any crime in tightening money which would go towards other possible things and using it towards Christmas. I could honestly see a somewhat detrimental effect on a child if they grew up in a household which didn't have a Christmas celebration, when everybody around them was. That’s something a child would honestly remember forever. I'm not talking about an absorbitant amount of money, I'm talking about maybe $100 budgeted towards Christmas.

This term is thrown around a lot and sometimes refers to not having as much money as the individual may have in the past, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are living paycheck to paycheck.

I'm a broke college student. I'm still debt free, and would have no problem spending what I would consider large amount of money. The other day I just happen to spend $175 on some sneakers, and not a money trouble in the world. But even I consider my money as still being tight. Odd thing is, I’ve heard people say buying sneakers for $175 is dumb, but is it no different then buying that $400 X-Box, or that $600 handbag?

[DrPhil]

Uh...ok, Lango.

My comments stand.

[Langox510x]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Uh...ok, Lango.

My comments stand.

Let me put it this way.

If you personally would live your life only using the necessities and pinching every penny even if you didn't have much to start out with, then you sir are a cold fridge person.

Life is to short not to live a little.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Langox510x

Let me put it this way.

Don't bother. My comments stand.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Langox510x

Let me put it this way.

If you personally would live your life only using the necessities and pinching every penny even if you didn't have much to start out with, then you sir are a cold fridge person.

Life is to short not to live a little.

But you're going from one extreme to the other - there's a middle point between "pinching every penny" and being able to "live a little."

I didn't grow up with a whole lot, and even though my wife and I do fairly well, we're not going to be spending a ton of money for Christmas presents this year. The problem is that people don't take a long view of things - you should look beyond the next month, and try to figure out how to make sure that things are ok over the long haul.

If you can truly afford it and buy expensive things that you and your loved ones will enjoy, then that's not a problem in my mind. But, using all of your accumulated savings to buy holiday gifts is just asking for trouble.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

But you're going from one extreme to the other - there's a middle point between "pinching every penny" and being able to "live a little."

I didn't grow up with a whole lot, and even though my wife and I do fairly well, we're not going to be spending a ton of money for Christmas presents this year. The problem is that people don't take a long view of things - you should look beyond the next month, and try to figure out how to make sure that things are ok over the long haul.

If you can truly afford it and buy expensive things that you and your loved ones will enjoy, then that's not a problem in my mind. But, using all of your accumulated savings to buy holiday gifts is just asking for trouble.

Precisely.

[christiangirl]

I heard about this when I was out of town. I heard about the two people getting shot at Toys R Us, too. Ridiculous.

We went shopping at like 9pm that night. I absolutely refused to go when stores opened--I'd rather go at night and get the leftovers. While I was trying out one of the massage chairs () at BB&B, I had a chat with the manager and he told me stories of what that morning had been like:

1. An elderly woman with a cane stole a cart from a lady who looked about 9 months pregnant. A man tried to explain that it belonged to the pregnant woman and the lady just said "I'm disabled so I get it first" and threatened to beat both the man and the pregnant woman with her cane if they dared try to take it from her.

2. A woman saw another shopper with something in her hand that she wanted and it was the last one. So she pushed her cart at the woman as hard as she could, causing her to hit her head on the floor and fall unconscious. The woman picked up the thing, threw it in her cart, and walked away leaving the other shopper blacked out on the floor. (A cashier saw it happen and she was led away by police. Whatever it was she took was returned to the other shopper after she woke up and was treated).

Honestly, I've never shopped on a Black Friday morning and never will as long as I have an ounce of sanity left. Not gonna happen.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by Langox510x

Odd thing is, I’ve heard people say buying sneakers for $175 is dumb, but is it no different then buying that $400 X-Box, or that $600 handbag?

$175 sneakers = dumb and selfish
$400 X-Box = dumb and selfish
$600 handbag = dumb and selfish

Giving the money we waste on ourselves to people who are starving to death and/or can't afford college and/or need medical attention, etc = good for the soul.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

$175 sneakers = dumb and selfish
$400 X-Box = dumb and selfish
$600 handbag = dumb and selfish

Giving the money we waste on ourselves to people who are starving to death and/or can't afford college and/or need medical attention, etc = good for the soul.

I don't get $175 for sneakers. I wear designer shoes (Michael Kors, Bobbi Blu, Ettiene Aigner) and carry a designer purse (Kate Spade), but it's because I buy classic styles on S-A-L-E (thank you DSW).

On the topic of spending what you don't have - I have a friend at church that can ususally barely pay her rent, yet every time I see her, she's got Starbucks coffee and pastries. I feel ripped off even buying McD's new coffees because I have a perfectly good espresso maker at home.


PS...go ahead and say it....I'm CHEAP.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

PS...go ahead and say it....I'm CHEAP.

It's not cheap, it's wise and being a good steward of your money. People like Langox510x are chasing a false reality that tells them luxury means a higher quality of life. If you feel the need to purchase things to "live a little," I really do feel sorry for you.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

$175 sneakers = dumb and selfish
$400 X-Box = dumb and selfish
$600 handbag = dumb and selfish

Giving the money we waste on ourselves to people who are starving to death and/or can't afford college and/or need medical attention, etc = good for the soul.

Or...

Keeping the money in your bank account for necessities or less expensive luxury items (DSW (AlphaFrog ) and TJMaxx are great) = smart

Investing the money so you can accumulate more wealth and not rely on income = smart

It's amazing that this stuff needs to be said. I guess there is a lot of irony in Black Friday.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Or...

Keeping the money in your bank account for necessities or less expensive luxury items (DSW (AlphaFrog ) and TJMaxx are great) = smart

Investing the money so you can accumulate more wealth and not rely on income = smart

It's amazing that this stuff needs to be said. I guess there is a lot of irony in Black Friday.

Indeed. I'm somewhere between working class and lower middle class, but I still don't live paycheck to paycheck. My focus on giving comes out of my experience that I think I need more than I really do. I have no doubt that God will provide everything I need (while I may not always live at the same level of luxury) and that generosity goes hand in hand with accumulating wealth. Charity and tithing to the church is a large part of my worldview. I don't personally believe in wealth-building separate from giving.

When my husband and I sold some property in North Carolina, we gave 10% tithe plus offerings, which represented well over $10,000, to charity. I haven't missed the money at all. In fact, it's essentially been replaced. The same scenario keeps playing out with each decision we make. (<--My blatant encouragement to everyone to start/keep thinking about charity as a duty.)

ETA: Do people actually understand what we mean when we say "stop living paycheck to paycheck"? It seems that if that's all you know, you won't know how to do things differently. I'm sure it's a little different for everyone. For me, it's calculating expenses on an annual basis and saving the necessary amount out of each paycheck to pay for the expense when the time comes. The money that I save over time makes money for me through interest until I have to spend it. I also have pure savings that is not attached to a future expense. And I have investments and real estate that I've been blessed to inherit. I realize that is not something to be taken for granted.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

No. But some people think that having $300 in an account after bills are paid counts as "excess." That counts as living paycheck to paycheck. The average American (who is out shopping right now) doesn't have any wealth accumulated and is living paycheck to paycheck.



If budgeting money when "money is tight" means living paycheck to paycheck, the presents should not be bought.

I think I love you.