But maybe it's also because people have been living beyond their means for years—the main thing is to have the biggest car in the driveway and live in a house big enough for five families.
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I think a lot of people would disagree with you on that.
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•@Part_Time_Joe It's possible, but let's take a different look at non-existent wealth and excessive consumption
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@GoDividend Sure! But as far as I know, nobody in my circle really lives on credit. Sure, you’re deliberately exaggerating a bit here, but it’s not like everyone is driving a leased Porsche or living in a rented mansion (btw, I’d really love it if more people bought leased Porsches—as a shareholder, that is 😉).
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•@Part_Time_Joe I’m thinking more along the lines of renting a 100-square-meter apartment for two people, but also complaining about rent prices. At the same time, financing a car that costs 60,000 euros and, in the process, not being able to save anything because, after all, you have to live, and you can’t miss out on a long-distance vacation.
That’s just not going to work.
That’s just not going to work.
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•@GoDividend I get it. But how many people actually live like that? I just looked it up on Google. The average size of a rental apartment is 74 square meters—for two people. That’s not exactly excessive, in my opinion...
I’m all for incorporating frugality into your life in some way. But many people don’t have the option to do so without it turning into real deprivation. And you should be allowed to enjoy life every now and then.
I’m all for incorporating frugality into your life in some way. But many people don’t have the option to do so without it turning into real deprivation. And you should be allowed to enjoy life every now and then.
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•@Part_Time_Joe Right...
So let's blame this shortfall on taxes and savings account assets instead of a lack of a stock market culture.
I think that's the real point. The other thing was just an anecdote that sometimes catches your attention.
So let's blame this shortfall on taxes and savings account assets instead of a lack of a stock market culture.
I think that's the real point. The other thing was just an anecdote that sometimes catches your attention.
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@GoDividend In my opinion, one doesn't rule out the other. If I have more take-home pay from my gross income, I can invest more in stocks. And the lack of a stock market culture is, after all, a result of political decisions. After all, "the pension" was promoted. The debate over raising the capital gains tax—or taxing capital gains at the individual income tax rate—and potential social security contributions on those gains certainly doesn’t help change that either!
If they’d wanted to, they could have introduced a system like the one in the U.S., where you can buy stocks more or less tax-free in a special retirement account. But they didn’t do any of that.
If they’d wanted to, they could have introduced a system like the one in the U.S., where you can buy stocks more or less tax-free in a special retirement account. But they didn’t do any of that.
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@Part_Time_Joe That's interesting—I'm a square meter over that. But I live there alone. If there were two of us, I think I'd get claustrophobic.
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@Solitair You're raising the bar! For that to work out, four people would have to live in a 75-square-meter space... 😉
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@Part_Time_Joe I could always move to Luxembourg
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