I’m in the last stretch of uni and in this personal finance class with a prof I really like, he tells stories about people and their money (obviously).
A lot of them involve people who just came into some new money, and the amount is 10 – 20k. And every time this amount comes up, he always seems to tack on “Which isn’t much” or “Which isn’t a lot.”
I’m sitting, thinking to myself, it took me 10 years to come up with 20k and it was purely out of luck really that I have it. I think 20k just sitting around IS a lot of money. I mean, in the grand scheme of things? No. But in cash? Or very liquid? I think it’s a lot.
I am finding it harder and harder to live with the fact that I’m a poor guy pretending to be middle class. I grew up upper middle class and over the years it’s been a very slow decline into working class. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that I’ll never see the type of money or nice things everyone I associate with has. I mean.
$20k isn’t a lot? I could buy a house with that. I am trying to buy a house with that. Sure it’s a shittastic house but it’s a place to live all the same.
I remember the realization that I had just enough money to realize I didn’t have enough money. That was a sad few weeks for 27 year old me.
To top it off, everyone I know wants Trump to win presidency. My current closest friend said he’d move to Norway if Bernie won.
“At least their system works,” he says. “Our’s would be a shit hole.”
Sigh.
I can kind of see where he’s coming from. The highest wage I’ve ever earned was ~$20k pa, and it was not a lot. Those were pretty lean times. I might’ve been comfortable with a more reliable car, but one particularly nasty repair forced me into a horrible check advance cycle I was lucky to crawl out of.
But as a lump sum? Like a bit of inheritance or lotto money? Used wisely that is a lot of money. Spent recklessly, it’s not quite a mid-range new vehicle.
Out of curiosity, if you don’t mind, what are your friends’ reasons for wanting Trump to win?
“Trump is a businessman.” I don’t talk politics with anyone. I just stay silent so I’ve never asked for more specifics. This is what they say about Trump. But if I want to make assumptions, I am assuming that they believe Trump will be able to make some sort of budget for the nation and tear at the debt, and/or negotiate better deals with various government contracts and (maybe?) foreign affairs.
I mean, it certainly is possible Trump is just spouting crap to win and doesn’t mean what he says. But the whole thing puts a bad taste in my mouth.
And yes, the prof was specifically speaking of lump sums each time.
To me, ‘Trump is a businessman’ is the most bogus qualification for being president. This is a country, not a corporation. Besides, all that tells me is that he knows best how to accumulate wealth…at the top of the pyramid. His corporations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy four times, including just shutting down one business when there were no buyers for it and its debt.
So yes, he is a businessman. But a savvy businessman only knows how to make themself wealthier. They won’t necessarily know a damned thing about how to improve others’ situations and will see any other person in a similar position(e.g., another head of state, in this instance) as an adversary or competitor. A dangerous mindset for politics.
Waiting for Winter 