Very interesting article on Target stores UPDATE p.5

[MrsPete]

I sat down with DD last year. We do little "Financial Academy" sessions. She really gets a kick out of them. I made up a hypothetical shopping trip and discussed options for payment: cash, check, debit card and credit card. We went over the pros and cons of each. And I particularly focused on the CC. I used an online calculator to show her the effect of not paying the full balance in full and how much interest she would pay and how long it would take to repay the balance if you just pay the minimum each month. It was quite eye-opening for her. I even heard her telling my mom about it a couple weeks later.

We have never given it a name, but we do the same thing. In a few weeks, for example, when it's time for back-to-school supplies, I'll give each girl a "bonus" along with her allowance. Each girl will be expected to buy her own back-to-school stuff with that "bonus". And though paying cash is their only option right now, we'll discuss the other options that they'll have as they grow older.

I think I've scared my oldest daughter though. She already says she's never going to have a credit card -- she says she doesn't think she has the self-control.

 

[MrsPete]

If I wasn't a doctor, I'd probably be a financial planner. I come by it naturally, though. My father, my uncle and both of his sons are accountants and have had a family accounting firm since the 40's. I was the only one who didn't go into the finance world.

Given that we share a similar approach to saving, it's interesting that we both had accountant fathers. My father was a CPA, and he worked an an Internal Auditor most of his career.

However, in his case, all that knowledge didn't translate into good personal financial habits. (Do as I say, not as I do.) His free-spending habits were among the biggest reasons for my parents' divorce.

 

[disneysteve]

However, in his case, all that knowledge didn't translate into good personal financial habits. (Do as I say, not as I do.) His free-spending habits were among the biggest reasons for my parents' divorce.

Sad that all that finance knowledge didn't change his own habits. Of course, I know plenty of doctors who overeat high fat diets, a few who smoke (very few actually) and drink in excess. I happen to believe in practicing what I preach.

 

[MrsPete]

Seems like an unfair labor practice, being suspended for not upselling a drink. If that really happens go to the local Dept. of Labor and file for unemployment. It is your right to do so and will cause the employer an increase to their premium rating. Also the DOL would have the employer pay you backwages if you were allowed to return to work.
Some managers really do not know their Labor Laws that well.
Good Luck!

But most people who sell fountain sodas 1) also don't know the Labor Laws, 2) know that it's easier to find a similar job than to file an official complaint, 3) know that even if they were successful in filing a complaint and getting the backpay, they'd be miserable returning to that job: they'd be working every crap shift, they'd be assigned to the worst jobs, etc. Sometimes the employee is in the right, but proving it isn't worth the effort.

 

[MrsPete]

I'd looked up the article online yesterday and was shocked more at the woman than at Target. I mean, I love my Super Target, but what can you buy for $10,000??? I guess I just don't go into the right parts of the store.

Oh, I don't think it'd be all that hard -- for a person who doesn't really keep up with her finances, or a person who doesn't really grasp the idea of how interest adds up. I know people who literally go to Target 2-3 times a week, and they usually spend the better part of $100 every time. Just spend $100 every other week, and you'd run that card up in only two years! And that wouldn't count "big shopping trips" at Christmas and back-to-school time.

These same folks "make" hundreds from their annual yard sale.

 

[MrsPete]

Some of the boomer rhetoric is that the generation is unstoppably energetic, that they wouldn't *want* a golden-years-style retirement on the golf course. That could partly be true, but more likely we're seeing a psychological phenomenon of retrofitting: Faced with a reality, we not only adjust to it, but start seeing it as what we wanted all along. It's a coping mechanism that is well suited to boomers over age 50."

Interesting thought.

 

[disneysteve]

Oh, I don't think it'd be all that hard -- for a person who doesn't really keep up with her finances, or a person who doesn't really grasp the idea of how interest adds up. I know people who literally go to Target 2-3 times a week, and they usually spend the better part of $100 every time -- spend $100 every other week, and you'd run that card up in only two years! And that wouldn't count "big shopping trips" at Christmas and back-to-school time.

It also wouldn't count interest fees, late fees and over limit charges which I'm sure are part of that balance.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Most anything is good as long as it is used in moderation.

 

[imsayin]

These same folks "make" hundreds from their annual yard sale.

 

[katerkat]

I think dvcgirl's question was of those retirees, how many are there because they want to be and how many are there because they have to be.

At Disney, I would say the majority of the "young at heart" are there because they want to be. It's pretty easy to find a retail job at a MUCH better location than Disney - it just happens that they like the Disney atmosphere. (Same with the WDWCP - we all could have gotten better jobs, but the majority of people there really wanted to be at *Disney*.) Now, other retail jobs, it's different. I was the only one at my retail store working for "fun" - everyone else was doing it to pay bills.

 

[arminnie]

Of course, I know plenty of doctors who overeat high fat diets, a few who smoke (very few actually) and drink in excess.

In the "olden" days most doctors smoked - I remember having some respiratory problems, and the doctor came in the examining room with a cigarette in his hand!!!

 

[arminnie]

I'm one of the older baby boomers - we are the first ones to turn 60 this year.

All in all I'd say my immediate peers (age group) are doing okay. I went to a very diverse high school and keep up with many of my ex-classmates. Some have done quite well and others are sort of starting over (like a SAHM who is divorced and in school to start a nursing career).

But all in all I think most of the 60ish people that I know are at least not in huge credit card debt. I know some of you have parents and grandparents who are the exception to this, but most of my generation grew up with a dim view of credit. It wasn't around and wasn't very available.

I worked for the Credit Bureau while in high school and college and had access to everyone's credit history in the state. There really was a stigma to being in debt.

I still remember hearing people say you should never finance a car for more than 2 years. If you needed to finance for longer than that you couldn't afford it. That has gone by the way side, but for many of my age peers there's still that little voice saying "No - don't do that."

I liked what nbodyhome's Uncle Bill said

"it's not what you make, it's what you keep".

 

[deide71]

This has turned into a very interesting thread.

It reminds me of my college days in the early 90's...I was taking a Political Science class and the professor was lecturing on the topic of "intergenerational justice". This was essentially a fancy term to describe how each generation has seen the next do better than they had. His premise was that we (the Gen X-er's) would not do as well as our parents (the Baby-boomers) due to multiple economic factors. This would soon lead to great political upheval and possibly a more socialist society.

If you remember the very early 90's there was a recession at the time. There was much doom and gloom about what our futures held.

Guess what happened in the mid to late 90's? Yes, one of the fastest times of economic growth in our history. Contrary to what my professor said myself, and many of my Gen-X co-horts are doing just fine, even better than our parents.

I'm not saying these economic issues are nothing to worry about, but do what you feel is right in regards to spending and saving. Let the others worry about their financial problems.

 

[MyGoofy26]

On the topic of retirees at Disney, we had a number of them in my area and all made over $10 an hour (except the couple that worked every summer a whenever their camper found it's way back to Orlando so they could "work" their way around the country and treat the grandkids to Disney) They also knew how to take advantage of Disney's generous OT policy. I remember asking one guy why he volunteered to work Christmas day - he said because he was essentially making about $40 an hour to be there. He got his "bonus" where fulltimers were paid their wage for a full day, and since he worked he got doubletime on top of that. He LOVED his job there too, you could really tell. I don't know if he *had* to work, but he didn't act like it.

 

[dawnball]

I read an article recently that was sort of twisted, but probably true. This author's premise was that those of us who have saved bigtime should be hoping that the 50% of us spending like crazy *don't* wake up. Because if they do wake up, stop spending and start saving, well, consumer spending will plummet and companies will start to flounder and their stock prices will go right down with it. And down goes our return with it.

That's pretty much conventional economic wisdom. If everyone did what was actually financially best for themselves, the economy would grind to a halt. That doesn't mean that I'm inclined to do things that are financially bad for me - although I probably do unwittingly or because there are no really good choices available.

 

[dvcgirl]

This has turned into a very interesting thread.

It reminds me of my college days in the early 90's...I was taking a Political Science class and the professor was lecturing on the topic of "intergenerational justice". This was essentially a fancy term to describe how each generation has seen the next do better than they had. His premise was that we (the Gen X-er's) would not do as well as our parents (the Baby-boomers) due to multiple economic factors. This would soon lead to great political upheval and possibly a more socialist society.

If you remember the very early 90's there was a recession at the time. There was much doom and gloom about what our futures held.

Guess what happened in the mid to late 90's? Yes, one of the fastest times of economic growth in our history. Contrary to what my professor said myself, and many of my Gen-X co-horts are doing just fine, even better than our parents.

I'm not saying these economic issues are nothing to worry about, but do what you feel is right in regards to spending and saving. Let the others worry about their financial problems.

You are right...it was all doom and gloom back in the late 80s and early 90s with the stock marketing plummeting in 87 followed by real estate dropping like a rock right after it. Sometimes I try and remind myself of that because *all* that I read these days on the topic of our part in the global economy and our collective future is doom and gloom.

I guess the only problem is that too many of "the others" aren't worrying about their own financial problems. They've got their heads buried in the sand, or they just keep telling themselves that it will all work out. Unfortunately, for many, it won't "just all work out" this time. And while the government has seen these problems coming for years, it has done absolutely nothing about it. Make no mistake, we will *all* pay the price to some degree, whether it is to see our taxes raised to cover the gap in SS and Medicare, or our benefits decreased.

In all honestly, I'm not really worried about me and my DH. We're so far ahead of the curve with respect to our savings and investments....and we should be. We live way beneath our means and when we have come into large sums from the sale of stock or real estate we have invested it. I am worried about a lot of people I know though, because I fear that their "golden years" aren't going to work out exactly the way that they've planned.