Nomadland

[vraiblonde]

I saw the movie and enjoyed it, and am now enjoying the book that is nothing like the movie.

The book is a documentary with snippets of many interviewees, not like in the movie where the focus is on one person and a few peripheral folks. The book describes (sort of) what it's like to be a basically a migrant worker with low pay commensurate with low skills.

Also, I am a workamper and my experience is nothing like Nomadland depicts. I get a sweet deal planning recreation and activities in a nice resort; I'm not picking beets or boondocking on the side of the road. I'm certainly not crapping in a bucket in the middle of my living room. I don't worry about making my food last until payday.

I question some of the stories in the book of upper income executives who "took a hit in the 2008 crash" and are now working in an Amazon warehouse for minimum wage. I'm thinking there has to be more to the story because their riches to rags tale doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There had to have been some pyramiding going on that caused them to have to sell everything they own and downsize into a van.

Anyway, good movie and good book!

 

[Bonehead]

I liked the movie I will check out the book.

 

[UglyBear]

I question some of the stories in the book of upper income executives who "took a hit in the 2008 crash" and are now working in an Amazon warehouse for minimum wage. I'm thinking there has to be more to the story because their riches to rags tale doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There had to have been some pyramiding going on that caused them to have to sell everything they own and downsize into a van.

Not to derail the thread, but talking to some people around, one is surprised how many people are one delayed paycheck away from bankruptcy.
It seems they live in mansions and drive two new SUVs, with new wardrobes from NorthFace every season, but they have $100s of credit card debt that constantly get juggled around, zero in savings, and they cashed in all of their retirement .
i don’t get how someone making $200k-$300k doesn’t squirrel away money, but it’s a reality. It goes against every grain of my peasant mentality, but everyone around is doing it.
Sometimes me and LW discuss this, and wander if we are crazy or the rest of the world is.

 

[vraiblonde]

Not to derail the thread, but talking to some people around, one is surprised how many people are one delayed paycheck away from bankruptcy.
It seems they live in mansions and drive two new SUVs, with new wardrobes from NorthFace every season, but they have $100s of credit card debt that constantly get juggled around, zero in savings, and they cashed in all of their retirement .
i don’t get how someone making $200k-$300k doesn’t squirrel away money, but it’s a reality. It goes against every grain of my peasant mentality, but everyone around is doing it.
Sometimes me and LW discuss this, and wander if we are crazy or the rest of the world is.

I'm thinking the same thing - how do they not have a big ol' retirement plan and a nest egg?

I suspect that many, if not all, of the formerly wealthy who are now living in a van working in an Amazon warehouse are those people you describe - they lived large and beyond their means, then that crash nailed them but good.

 

[phreddyp]

Not to derail the thread, but talking to some people around, one is surprised how many people are one delayed paycheck away from bankruptcy.
It seems they live in mansions and drive two new SUVs, with new wardrobes from NorthFace every season, but they have $100s of credit card debt that constantly get juggled around, zero in savings, and they cashed in all of their retirement .
i don’t get how someone making $200k-$300k doesn’t squirrel away money, but it’s a reality. It goes against every grain of my peasant mentality, but everyone around is doing it.
Sometimes me and LW discuss this, and wander if we are crazy or the rest of the world is.

No you are not crazy . Retirement planning and investing is not a natural instinct that is hard wired in our brain.

It is a thought process that is either taught to us or we teach ourselves . Sadly it is not something that is taught in our public schools therefore we are either taught by our parents or grandparents , another mentor , or ourselves through reading or paying someone to explain it to us.

I had to teach myself since I was the one in charge of my own retirement planning as a business owner operator . I made plenty of stupid mistakes along the way , but never big enough to derail the end result.

Sound like YOU and the LW learned fast, kudos to you both. I really started to save for retirement when I was about 35 a little late but still enough time to get results . Good Luck to you and yours !

 

[Monello]

I made plenty of stupid mistakes along the way ,

There are mistakes then there are MISTAKES. A navy E-3 buying a new car with $100 down and a loan percent of 16 is a MISTAKE. A retirement plan that is mostly keno and scratch offs is a MISTAKE.

In hindsight, leaving a stable job for a better paying position with a dot com in 2000 would be a mistake. But at the time, based on available information, it seemed like a good career move.

We all have examples of things we would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight.