General Discussion

But I'm constantly amazed and horrified at how many people apparently spend every single penny of income, don't set aside as much as a dime, and then are bamboozled by their lack of money.

I'm here to tell you that it is possible to refrain from spending every possible penny. Keep in mind that there is probably someone down the street from you who takes in several thousand dollars a year less, and they are surviving. If they can, you can also. And cut back a bit so you can save something.,

I learned this lesson decades ago. I'd borrowed the money needed to buy my car, a VW bug (convertible, hooray!) and the payback from my checking account every two weeks was a bit more than the minimum needed. I only learned that when I went to borrow some money to do Christmas shopping, and learned I already had the sum I wanted to spend. Ever since then I understood the value of credit unions, and every time I had a job that offered one, I signed up.

$25.00/pay check isn't a lot of money, wasn't a lot more back in 1969 when I signed up to have that amount taken from every paycheck. But it added up. It still does.