[jamesroseman]

I'd love some citations there..

[imtringued]

Spend less than you earn Set some cash aside Invest the difference

Honestly this is all it boils down to.

Having a higher income does make it faster to accumulate wealth but even the "poor" can accumulate considerable wealth over very long periods of time (think 30 years) if they are willing to sacrifice their standard of living.

[eli]

http://www.npr.org/2016/04/24/475432149/could-you-come-up-wi...

[jamesroseman]

This is a citation for the claim "people in the United States are poor".

What I want a citation for is:

> There are a lot of people in the middle class who live paycheck to paycheck because they manage their income poorly.

What I want is definitive proof that, as claimed, most poor people in this country are poor because they manage their money poorly.

[leftnode]

Anecdotal, I know, but look at all the recent articles where 53% of American's don't have $1000 in liquid cash, or hell just read /r/personalfinance for your daily dose of poor financial decisions.

[jamesroseman]

As I replied above, not having liquid cash is proof of being poor, not of managing your money poorly.

What I want a citation for is:

> There are a lot of people in the middle class who live paycheck to paycheck because they manage their income poorly.

What I want is definitive proof that, as claimed, most poor people in this country are poor because they manage their money poorly.

[ljf]

You are asking for proof for something the the parent you first responded to did not say

> There are a lot of people in the middle class who live paycheck to paycheck because they manage their income poorly.

Where in that sentence do they say 'most poor people in this country are poor because they manage their money poorly' ?

[jamesroseman]

> because they manage their income poorly

That's a good start. "There are a lot" may not mean most, but it doesn't absolve it of providing some proof.

[ljf]

He also doesn't say poor - he just say manage their income badly - which I would say at least 50% of my friends fall into the bucket of.

[jamesroseman]

What?

> There are a lot of people in the middle class who live paycheck to paycheck because they manage their income poorly.

I want a citation on that, that's all. I want a statistic on how many people who live paycheck to paycheck live that way solely because they manage their income poorly.

Again, the notion that everyone could be rich if they only worked harder is asinine, and frankly pretty offensive. This comment supports that notion by equating living paycheck to paycheck with being bad at managing income. I want statistics, I'm tired of that opinion.