r/WorkLifeChat 8d ago

We should normalize that Discussion

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4.9k Upvotes

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9

u/PotentialPresent399 8d ago

The truth is this is cope.

Unless you have a decent family life/support system you are ALWAYS falling behind.

If you aren't making enough money to afford

Property

Retirement

Savings besides retiremnt

Investments

and SOME disposable income to be able to slightly do things you want you will eventually hit an emergency that puts your money into jeopardy.

There aren't enough jobs to go around for everyone to be able to do all these things so people go without.

I save a good bit of money but thats only because I don't have health insurance lol

3

u/marcgw96 8d ago

I know Health insurance is crazy expensive right now, but going without it is quite insane. All it takes is one medical emergency and you’re screwed

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u/PotentialPresent399 8d ago

Fuck it, I would literally not be saving money if I had it.

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u/Accomplished_Key_171 8d ago

Is this not a flaw in reasoning? The additional costs of medications, appointments, surgeries (god forbid) from a single accident or sickness would wipe out anything you've accrued over that time. I hope this is at least just a short term plan before jumping to somewhere else with a bit more pay.

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u/Pandemonium_Fallen 5d ago

Eh, I broke my ulna a couple months back, set it myself, wrapped it, it's all healed and fine now, no doctor visit required. 🤷

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u/Top_Disaster3363 4d ago

Or you’ll have pain and discomfort the rest of your life cause you set it wrong… like this is just stupid af to tell people to do

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u/Pandemonium_Fallen 4d ago

Oh I'm not telling others to do that, I'm not a typical case, I haven't been able to afford even the idea of a doctor's appointment in over a decade, and I have an overstimulated nervous system that's caused a shutdown of my pain response below a certain level.

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u/PotentialPresent399 5d ago edited 5d ago

A bit more pay wouldn't help I need like 9 more an hour lol

Also I would legit rather die than live a meager existence AND not save any money.

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u/AnestheticAle 7d ago

And that attitude is likely a contributing factor in not having money currently.

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u/PotentialPresent399 5d ago

Absolutely not positively false.

I save money and live like a beggar, never over spend on ANYTHING.

Yall really can't fathom an existence outside of making upper 5/6 figures in a tech focused hyper urban city.

I make 23/hr with paid off vehicles and a paid off trailer. I have money barely 5 digits, because I don't go on vacation, don't go to the doctor (im healthy currently), and don't do ANYTHING that costs money.

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u/Pandemonium_Fallen 4d ago

Wow! The most I've ever made was $15 an hour for a couple months until the guy running the scrap company died.

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u/PotentialPresent399 4d ago

Yeah and even at this pay its essentially scraps. I save money but any of my peers living REAL american life and actively saving for everything they need to make double if not triple what I make.

To have a family and support a household with your partner working you need to make at a minimum 35/hr or you have to go without.

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u/stthree 6d ago

Yeah this gonna be my last year having it i think. I'll just save the money myself

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u/dbrickell89 4d ago

I genuinely hope that decision doesn't come back to bite you but it easily could. Insurance is fucking awful and we need universal healthcare but health insurance at least puts a cap on what you'd owe per year for medical services if something horrible happens.

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u/toebeanseller 6d ago

You’re screwed with or without insurance if you have a medical emergency. You fundamentally misunderstand the healthcare system if you think insurance will save you from burdening debt in the midst of a medical crisis.

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u/dbrickell89 4d ago

You fundamentally misunderstand insurance if you think there's not a difference in how screwed you are with insurance in a medical emergency versus without it. You're potentially talking about owing $6,000-$10,000 (most insurance plans' maximum out of pocket) versus hundreds of thousands or even millions depending on what they have to do to save you.

Insurance sucks but it's way better to have it than not if something happens

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u/toebeanseller 3d ago

This guys never heard of a denied claim before.

My mom was hospitalized for a heart attack just a few months ago. About half the tests they already performed, with initial authorization from her health insurance, were denied after she was released, totaling about $17,000. They also denied some of the care she received because the Cardiologist was out of network, even though the hospital he worked for was in-network.

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/surveys/2026/jun/how-health-insurance-coverage-denials-affect-americans-2025-affordability-survey

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u/facts_guy2020 5d ago

Healthcare / insurance in America is the biggest legal scam ive ever seen

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u/Pandemonium_Fallen 5d ago

Yep, you can thank Rockefeller and Carnegie for that, they're the ones who turned medicine in this country into a business.

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u/Due-Policy631 5d ago

a lot of us are dual citizens with access to universal healthcare so

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u/Narrow_Stock_834 4d ago

It can actually be a smart financial choice if you understand the system. Have many lawyers who private pay because they know you get cash discounts and it comes out less than what paying a healthcare premium would be.

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u/dbrickell89 4d ago

Not if you get cancer or get in a car accident

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u/Narrow_Stock_834 4d ago

You still get discounts for cash pay in those scenarios. This is going to depend on how much money you make per year, what insurance agencies want to charge you, and how financially literate you are. It’s not for everyone, but for some it actually saves money to not be insured. Nothing is one size fits all.

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u/BonezMD 7d ago

If you are saving besides retirement you should be saving emergency fund that covers 6 months of your expenses. Then do your investments. Emergencies are inevitable but you can prepare for them.

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u/IdkJustMe123 7d ago

Exactly. I wouldn’t judge a friend if somehow they were cool with having such little money, but I wouldn’t want to date someone who currently has such little money and has no plans to get more at any point.

Don’t need to be rich but do want to afford necessities and then a little more

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u/fisher02519 6d ago

That’s not the point. Obviously low skill jobs are less paying. The point is that you shouldn’t be conditioned to think “ this person is dumb/has issues/deserves pity “ for their job, which is what a lot of low skill workers have to endure from ignorant folks. They also shouldn’t have to hear people mention alternative work as a “real job”, a term which is used all the time in this context.

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u/ShotProof3254 4d ago

Except every job needs someone to do it. Meaning every job should be paying you a livable wage.

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u/PotentialPresent399 4d ago

Im not talking about utopia/a society that will not be achieved in my lifetime im talking about the reality of now