I hope I never have money problems

[skybridge]

Ever since my parents divorce in 2001, both of them have had money problems. Checks clearing and overdrawing accounts...putting big checks in and having them get eaten up in less than a day....I hope I never have to go through that.

Join the damn Red Cross if you're so worried about it! Gee, how long did it take you to realize this?

[Gabu]

money problems...  Checks clearing

That's a good thing, Naso.

I seriously doubt Naso has the slightest idea of what NSF means.

It obviously means "no shortage of funds".

[opebo]

Not having money problems is more about what you spend than what you earn. With the exception of a very few Bill Gates types, it will always be easy to spend more than you have.

Please outline how making $7/hour leads to a comfortable sufficiency.

Live like my grandmother, though I suppose comfortable is a subjective term. In any case, if you stay at a low paying job for a while and act like a reasonable employee, you will most likely get a promotion or a raise sooner or later.

opebo has asked that question a million times and ignores every single answer given because he is a troll out for attention.  Just ignore him.

No one has given an answer which refutes my point in asking the question Gabu, which is simply that  lots of working  people are trapped their entire lives in desperate poverty.   Surely no one would  dispute that.

By the way memphis, you may be right about 'promotions or raises', but those people top out at less than $10 an hour, typically in their 40's.

[bullmoose88]

BLUF: DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD

Some of the worst advice ever. Credit cards are an excellent tool to use in life because of their convenience. Instead of walking inside the gas station and pre-paying, you just swipe the card, instead of carrying around a wad of cash to buy groceries, you just swipe the card, etc. The problem comes when people use them as some sort of "free money" or cash advance and end up paying the minimum payment every month while their finance charges and purchases add up. The trick is to pay off your balance with each bill, and if you can't, spend less with the credit card. I have a relatively small credit limit ($300) so that restrains anything gigantic I'd be tempted to charge, but I still usually end up with a $150 bill each month from buying books and tickets online, purchasing gas, and my Netflix subscription. However my most recent paycheck always covers the balance owed so I don't have to dig into my savings to pay for things.

A little (obvious) advice for people:
1. Establish both a savings and checking account at a bank that will give you the best deal.
2. Draw up a budget for each pay period (1, 2, 4, etc. weeks).
3. Subtract that budget from each paycheck and deposit that money in the checking account (which may have a debit card or use a credit card).
4. Deposit the rest into your savings and make a rule that you won't dip into the savings except for emergencies and vacations.

That way you'll have the money to pay your bills and anything left over is actually saved. Too many people my age just cash out their paychecks and blow it. Saving money is a lifetime exercise so you can ensure you'll always have enough; it doesn't have to start at 20, 25, 30, or beyond.

Jake does the credit card side justice.

It helps build a good credit rating, which you can do with student loans (although if you borrow a big amount, that tends to hurt your elevated rating some since you're deeper into the red.)

Just don't treat credit cards as a license to spend what you don't or won't have.

Speaking of which, I need to get me one of those. For emergencies.

[Smash255]

BLUF: DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD

Some of the worst advice ever. Credit cards are an excellent tool to use in life because of their convenience. Instead of walking inside the gas station and pre-paying, you just swipe the card, instead of carrying around a wad of cash to buy groceries, you just swipe the card, etc. The problem comes when people use them as some sort of "free money" or cash advance and end up paying the minimum payment every month while their finance charges and purchases add up. The trick is to pay off your balance with each bill, and if you can't, spend less with the credit card. I have a relatively small credit limit ($300) so that restrains anything gigantic I'd be tempted to charge, but I still usually end up with a $150 bill each month from buying books and tickets online, purchasing gas, and my Netflix subscription. However my most recent paycheck always covers the balance owed so I don't have to dig into my savings to pay for things.

A little (obvious) advice for people:
1. Establish both a savings and checking account at a bank that will give you the best deal.
2. Draw up a budget for each pay period (1, 2, 4, etc. weeks).
3. Subtract that budget from each paycheck and deposit that money in the checking account (which may have a debit card or use a credit card).
4. Deposit the rest into your savings and make a rule that you won't dip into the savings except for emergencies and vacations.

That way you'll have the money to pay your bills and anything left over is actually saved. Too many people my age just cash out their paychecks and blow it. Saving money is a lifetime exercise so you can ensure you'll always have enough; it doesn't have to start at 20, 25, 30, or beyond.

Jake does the credit card side justice.

It helps build a good credit rating, which you can do with student loans (although if you borrow a big amount, that tends to hurt your elevated rating some since you're deeper into the red.)

Just don't treat credit cards as a license to spend what you don't or won't have.

Speaking of which, I need to get me one of those. For emergencies.

High student loans don't hurt your credit.  What hurts your credit is having credit card balances lose in line to your credit limit.  What Jake is doing, doesn't help him much.  Paying off the card on time helps build it a little, but having a balance generally around 50% of the credit limit can hurt your credit.