I am reading the "The two Income trap"
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| Sat, 02-28-2009 - 10:25pm |
I was in the mall today and so I stopped by the library and ask if they had a copy of the "Two Income Trap" It so happened that a copy came back yesterday evening. In fact, it was still in the cart to be put on the shelf when the woman handed it to me.
I find the book interesting but I do think that it is putting the blame on our financial troubles on the shoulders of parents and their dreams for their kids and working mothers to much. The book starts with a story of a couple who both work and the husband loses his job and the family is forced into bankruptcy.
Then Elizabeth goes on to explain why she believes this is happening more these days then when women stayed home and raised their kids compared to the families of today where the woman is out there with the men making wages. She states that when bad financial times hit a family It is the woman that first pushes the idea of going to a Credit Counselor or for her and her husband to take bankruptcy. I might agree with that statement. I think women are more in touch with the money of the family then sometime men are these days. Mine included.
According to Elizabeth "public education is the heart of the problem" I disagree it is the reason for everything.
I also do not think where a family


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I have not read the book, but there is no way I would let my own flesh and blood go to school in inner city Detroit. Besides, car insurance, cost of living and taxes are all higher there.
I went to a good private high school, as did my brothers. My mom and dad both worked at the time, but were also active with us, maybe not in the lunchroom, but in other ways. They had a clean house they could afford, and we did chores and family was still the center of our lives, with dinner together almost every night. All of us are college educated and providing goods and services as productive tax paying citizens. My mother's mother also worked, as did her mother - albeit on a farm.
I have always worked, and have been able to take a child to see Central America and the Mayan ruins, not just read about them in books. I have taken a Girl Scout troop by train to see the capitol of the United States. I have been a team mom, but also raised a very independent young lady that can make good solid decisions and is ready to go to college, driven to succeed on her own. I see many SAHMs who don't check their kids grades as often, who can't teach the kids to load a computer file or make a Power Point or set up an Excell sheet for an Accounting cless and who are not there because of the number of children they have. I have seen many home-schooled children who can spell and write, but cannot do as well in Calculus or Physics, the sciences where we now need our children to do well.
I guess what I am seeing with the current economy is that desiring aspiration is not valued anymore. Doing good in school, getting a good job, starting a business, having a family the size you can afford to take care of, or even buying a home that was once a good investment are not things valued in this society. And I honestly don't know what is anymore.
-Marie
Edited 3/1/2009 4:37 pm ET by skibunyns
Edited 3/1/2009 4:49 pm ET by skibunyns
Interesting to read all the responses.
Maybe I misread your message, but I wanted to clarify a few things :)
Elizabeth Warren isnt against working moms - she is one :) and so is her daughter. She is just pointing out that many 2 income families dont realize that by counting on 2 incomes to pay bills, they are putting themselves at much greater risk. She advises using most of the 2nd income for extras - trips to Mayan Ruins, etc.
When DH and I had our first child, I started working part-time. It was truly frightening, and I wasnt sure we could afford to lose my salary. We've done just fine, and at this point have paid enough debt that I could stop working if I wanted to, although we'd be tight on extras (we still have student loan debt we are trying to get rid of, which is a lot easier with 2 incomes). Anyway, even though we could afford for me to be a SAHM I'm still working - I like my job, and I spent a heck of a lot of years in school training for it. So, we took the girls to see Mayan Ruins over Thanksgiving, and are planning a trip to Alaska this summer :) We use my salary to pay debts and pay for extras.
I read this book awhile back and I remember agreeing with a lot of it....I guess what I don't necessarily agree with is looking at the wife's income only when deciding if working is worth it. There is a lot more to it than that...for example: what about retirement? What about benefits? What about saving for important things in the future like your kid's college? There is more to working than just the
I sure would be willing to manage. Maybe I could start a new line of work. LOL in my senior years. I always kept us afloat. Sometimes I still still don't know how I did it half the time.
Mary Ann
I have not read the book Mary Anne, but I wanted to give my opinion on two income families and the goals I have set for myself.
The goals may be lofty but if you don't set goals......money slips by the wayside and you never achieve anything at all. Last year I told my boyfriend how I want to live.
Step 1: Pay off my debt is(hopefully not longer than a year). We are also going to upgrade a car this year to a new car. So step 1 might take 1 year.
Step 2:Pay off his student loans and save for a down payment on a house. Save a little for another new car. Step two will take 4 years.
Step 3: Save a little for my kids education and start retirement savings and buy a new car. Step 3 should take 2 years.(I do not plan on funding their entire education but I would like to help)
Step 4: Pay down mortgage, buy a new car and keep up with retirement savings. Start savings to upgrade first upgrade LOL. This step will be ongoing until retirement.(25 years give or take.
All of these steps will have bumps in the road. But they require having two people work but saving almost one person's entire salary.(one person's salary to go to everyday expenses and current mortgage and another person's salary going towards the purchase of cars, mortgage repayment(extra) and other savings).
I would like to retire with two pretty brand new cars, a mortgage that is paid off and some retirement savings. We still have 30 years to work and I believe this is do able. Plus if their a bump in the road(job loss) we will be able to survive on one income and still be ok.
I know it is a lofty plan but I believe it is achievable and I am willing to work at it to get it. Oh yes, and we will probably need a vacation in there somewhere or two. That is what the change can on the dresser is for.
NOW, if I can just rid if this stupid 14,999 in debt I can put my evil plan into action!! Maw ah ah ah aaaaaaaa. LOL!
Have a great day ladies!
Bex -
Well good to hear and I will get the book this week so I can speak more intelligently on the subject.
Right now we could live 100% on DH's salary, we just would not be paying down debt as fast or doing big vacations.
Sounds like a great plan.
But have you considered doing it this way.
Instead of a New
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