Finance Essay

Many people dream about making six figures. I don’t know a person who wouldn’t want a six figure annual salary. Even though many people say money doesn’t make you happy we all know that it does something to boost people’s self-confidence. Many of these people that make all this money are in financial ruin and it’s not all peaches and cream as everyone outside the box thinks. If you think you’re the only one living paycheck to paycheck think again.

The article I read was from the Wall Street Journal it was title “Six-Figure Incomes—and Facing Financial Ruin” the title is a pretty hard one to believe until you actually read the article and figure out exactly why this is. We all think if we make a lot of money we’ll have a lot saved up but that’s not the case if you are not budgeting right. Sandra Flores made $200,000 every year but couldn’t stop herself from taking fancy vacations, living in the most expensive condos, and running up her credit cards to six figures. Six figure salary doesn’t stop you from living above your means it just means you have a little more to spend on things others can’t and it also means you can put yourself in a larger financial hole than the people that make less. Just like Bankruptcy is around the corner for regular income wage earners that spend too much it also applies for people that make lots of money.

Many six figure earners have been filing for bankruptcy in the last six months the article states.  This is not because the economy is bad because it really is not anymore its actually doing great now. Many banks are giving out more loans because the economy has actually picked up the most now. I feel that the more you borrow the more you plan on putting yourself in financial ruin. I take advice from Dave Ramsey he doesn’t believe in borrowing money from credit card companies. My motto is if I can’t afford with cash than I don’t buy it.

The many vacations that Sylvia Flores went to really cost her in the long run. Sylvia said "I spent way more than I made, but I didn't really think about it because I was making good money. I felt entitled," it’s especially hard to hold on to many when you feel you will continue to get it or it’s promised to you. I wouldn’t say she is the only one that feels this way many people think money will continue to come and they can continue to spend. We as people don’t think about what can happen in the future as in we can lose are job at any moment and not have any income coming in. When you mix no income and poor budgeting in the past when you had income it can land you in a world of trouble especially when you are spending more than what you make. This applies to everybody not one person is safe from the real world.