Over half of Americans say they're not even close to financial freedom

financial freedom is a myth peddled by billionaires

I finally got a job that broke six figures.

Housing boom made houses twice as expensive in five years. Monthly grocery bill doubled. Renting doubled. Cost of cars doubled. Every day expenses doubled.

Financial slavery. Slavery is a spectrum, not a binary condition. We're slaves and everything we think we own is owned by banks and billionaires. We're still pawns in a game of Kings.

I’m 45 and I’ve more or less accepted that short of an unexpected and massive windfall, I will never be able to retire, much less experience “financial freedom.”

Really? Do they? That's very interesting. Tell me, is the over half more like 99%?

What is actually the definition of “financial freedom”? Having (earned / gained) enough money, so that a person has no need to go to work anymore? If that’s the case, I would expect that number to be much, much lower than 50%.

EDIT: sorry, I just read it in the article. If “financial freedom” just means to work and live more or less without having to worry about financial obligations and what will happen tomorrow, then less than 50% is a rather shocking figure.

In other news, water is wet

49.3% say it refers to meeting financial obligations and having some money left over each month. About 54.2% define it as living debt-free, and 46.2% believe it means never having to worry about money.

I'm going to ignore that pesky 100% thing for the moment. Apparently we can't even agree on what "Financial Freedom" means. Defining the metric you're polling seems pretty critical if you want a consistent or useful answer. "Over half" is still burying the lede, though - less than one in ten fall into their personal version of that 150% noted above. Aside from the "American families are financially fucked" though, I'm not sure there's any hard data to extract from this.

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"Peter don't ya call me cause I just can't go; I owe my soul to the company store."

That's how society is, brother, literally 1% controls the world in their favor and keeps the wealth, impoverishing the 99%.

I would also venture to say that applies to 90% of us. "Over half" is a fucking laughable fake figure.

Probably the half that make $31k or less.

I'm now in a 2 income household with fewer kids as they grow up, and to us it feels more like we are close always, just no hope of ever actually getting there, if that makes sense. Always almost enough.

Which is better than my previous experience but since it's happening later in life, still wouldn't expect to ever stop having to earn money by working. I have never expected to retire though, it would take - as someone else noted - a windfall, luck, not effort. Effort has taken us as far as it can.

Sheeit I'm one step above homelessness living off plasma donations.

Clearly the answer is work harder and get a 3rd job. Eventually you'll be a millionaire!

I’d have thought more. With a big gaping chasm in between.

Wtf? Of course not. The workforce would be devastated if half of Americans had achieved financial freedom.

🎶 Day's never finished, masta got me workin, someday massa set me free! 🎶

There is $222 in the wallet in the link preview. Just found that interesting.

Old news. How about providing some ideas of solutions to this problem. Like, I dunno, tax the rich... 🤔

I'll feel free when i finally have savings

I certainly don't live debt free, though the debt I have has a ROI that makes it worth having.

What amount would be enough to consider yourself financially free? $30K in savings? $100K, $500K, $1 Million?

I'm actually the polor opposite of that, as are many.

Financial Freedom? I don't understand. You might as well be calling me an asshole in Greek.

Freedom is a subjective term, what do they mean?

Over half of Americans have no goddamn idea how credit cards, interest rates, and budgeting works. These are the people that back in school would readily admit to being "bad at math" and had absolutely no interest in expanding their knowledge. They rather live above their means, but flaunt their (fake) wealth, than have people see them for what they are. I have very little sympathy for these people.

Dog I've been lying flat since I figured out the world wasn't how I imagined it. I'm so stuck in my lack of freedom I'm like not even in the top 10 decision makers in my own life.

Money makes money.

Feedback loop concentrates the money towards those with more money.

What is YOUR definition of financial freedom?

The article is really bad and confusing, but the very first statistics says only 10% are living with their defined financial freedom. It also doesn't appear to provide any sources for this data.

edit: They do have sources, I'm just blind.

Sobering post

If you just saved 5% of your pay in a 401k from the time you were 22 and invest in the stock market for 40 years and never get sick, quit your job to raise a family or care for loved ones, then you might become a millionaire. Not that a million would be enough to retire on after 40 years of inflation.

Also, this plan depends on the world economy continuing to grow at the same rate as it did in the past, never mind that this growth is toxic to the planet. But, hey you might see some financial freedom at that point.

Just stick with it.

But why would more than half of Americans be financially free? Are more than half of all Americans already over 65 where they need to be financially free? If not, then it would be very odd that more than half would be close to financial freedom. It's an odd statement that makes you feel bad, but if you think about it, it would make no sense if it were true.

People who are surprised: Americans.

People who are not: the rest of the world.