Yeah, the Metafilter thread was full of “Eat the rich” comments too.
Personally – and I acknowledge this is coming from a hell of a privileged position – I still think this is useful stuff. The Snook and I are saving more than 20% (well, saving in the sense of putting it towards our mortgage). I managed to pay off my American student loan. And yeah, we both have well-paying jobs in a country with public health care and we don’t have any kids. But I have worked with a depressing number of colleagues over the years who could seemingly be in the same situation who instead live paycheck to paycheck.
I guess my point is that you don’t have to be Paris Hilton for this advice to be useful.
Kevin
September 18, 2013 — 7:03 am
Also: Have a job, preferably more than one. Don’t get sick…
I know the guy means well, but this reminds me of McDonalds’ recent budget tips: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/mcdonalds-budget-welfare_n_3611537.html
Advice like “Save 20% of your money” is hard to square with the fact that wages have been stagnant-to-deteriorating for years. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/sunday-review/americas-productivity-climbs-but-wages-stagnate.html?_r=0
Kris
September 18, 2013 — 9:19 am
Yeah, the Metafilter thread was full of “Eat the rich” comments too.
Personally – and I acknowledge this is coming from a hell of a privileged position – I still think this is useful stuff. The Snook and I are saving more than 20% (well, saving in the sense of putting it towards our mortgage). I managed to pay off my American student loan. And yeah, we both have well-paying jobs in a country with public health care and we don’t have any kids. But I have worked with a depressing number of colleagues over the years who could seemingly be in the same situation who instead live paycheck to paycheck.
I guess my point is that you don’t have to be Paris Hilton for this advice to be useful.