On Sun, 8 Feb 2009 11:34:40 -0500, "Nancy Young"
wrote:

KLS wrote:
On Sun, 8 Feb 2009 09:12:31 -0500, "Nancy Young"
wrote:

I'm with you. How much is she going to earn on that money,
even if it's 5% (crazy talk), it's only a few bucks. If she
takes that money in her paycheck, I bet she has nothing to
show for it at the end of the year, it will just be sucked up
by daily living expenses. If she has the discipline to actually
save the whole amount (not half!!), then good for her. Many
(most?) people will not know where that money went.

Well, if she's smart and does automatic deposit to her savings, she
can save quickly that way. That's what I do with every pay raise I
get: once I know how much the increase will be, I increase my direct
deposit to savings by that much and leave the amount I've been direct
depositing in my checking account the same so my spending habits don't
change.

I don't disagree with you at all. I would do the same. Many people
will not. Already she's come out and said she's not going to save
half. There are a lot of people who will just **** away their paycheck
without a second thought. Maybe if they are handed $3000, they
might put it towards their mortgage.

I sure hope so. I also tell my students that they should be managing
their income stream to always have 6 months (MINIMUM!) if not more
worth of savings to cover their essential living costs in case they
lose their source of income. It's very interesting to watch people's
reactions when they stop to add up:

rent (or mortgage)
utilities
phone
cable/satellite
water
gas for transportation
car payment (?)
credit card minimums (?)
car maintenance/repairs (?)
childcare (?)
FOOD!

For a single month. Times six. Or times 12 for a year. And that's
just the basics.