A Third of an Idaho Paycheck is Spent in Hours

Don’t spend it all in one place is a line my dad used to say about money.  I don’t know, but I think the phrase came from drinking culture.  He shared a story with me when I was a teenager.  A local factory (no longer in America) would pay workers every Thursday.  A local bar would cash checks at the door as the workers, mostly men, would go straight from the plant to a wild night of boozing.  I hope the culture has changed.  An old friend and I talked last week, and he said he can’t imagine how people can afford to get drunk!

A Third of Your Pay is Gone Within Hours

Meanwhile, a new study reports that the average American spends more than a third of his/her check shortly after being paid.  There’s a bit of a dispute.  Some sources claim it's within 90 minutes, while another I saw from AI suggests it’s actually over the first 12 hours.  Still, that’s a big chunk of money gone in less than a day.  I watched a business reporter on TV explain that this is one reason why most people can no longer afford a home.  They can’t save enough for a down payment, especially as housing costs rise to heights never seen before.  It may also explain why some politicians are showing electoral gains by promising to control housing inflation.

Most People Aren't Living in Luxury

I don’t believe most people are wasting money.  A brief visit to the grocery store is always a shock when you ring up your basket.  And having pets is now a luxury.  I need to buy cat food and litter this week.  I already know that it will cost me between $50 and $60.  A conservative Republican friend expressed alarm to me the other day.  Despite the reputation of his political philosophy, he warned that we're nearing the same economic crisis the nation faced during the Gilded Age, but today, there doesn’t seem to be the urgency to find remedies.