flyer, I’m also aware of the stats about 5% of the population who are financially solvent. I’m also aware of the average boomer’s nest egg being <$100k (excluding their home). But like flu have said and you mentioned, I don't give a flying rats a$$ that most people can't save. I'm saving and I'm looking out for my own.
Growing up in SoCal, I've seen many smoke and mirrors and I'm not impressed by those. But, whatever floats their boat. I'm not here to judge them. I'm concentrating on my own situation and make sure I'll be financially independent by the age I want to be (50-55). I've ran many many scenario and there's no way I can get their without leverage.
At the end of the day, it's all about net cash flow and risk appetite. Leverage is just one of the many tools one can use and are often used by many. I don't see how ER can condemn debt and stating people who yo-yo by using debt. While, he himself, took major risk and cash out his 401k to start his business. I too have seen people did exactly what he did, but wasn't as lucky and their business crash and burn. So, just because you pay things for cash doesn't mean the risk is any different. Sometimes, it's even greater, because you have nothing left to try again.
flu, I completely agree with you about the prevailing attitude of learned helplessness and sense of entitlement. Those attitude exist through out the entire income spectrum, so, I wouldn't demonize one group vs the other. It's just the way most American feel. I feel that way when I see the press publicizing Cory Booker's point about living on $4.32/person/day. This is the budget for supposedly the poor. I've seen poor people who have gotten by with much less and still have healthy 3 meals a day. My family on average live on less than $4.32/person/day. I don't feel entitled to my money and that I have to work hard to keep it and take appropriate risk to grow it. Who here can say they've served a meal for 15 people with $15-20? This mean will trump anything you can find at a restaurant as well. We just did it a few weeks back. My wife made Pho from scratch. We fed 15 people for <$20. The Pho taste better than anything you can find at a restaurant, because we don't use MSG and we take proper time to stew the bones. Pho is not the only kind of food you can eat that cost $1/person. There are many Asian meals that will cost you about that much. Maybe Asians have experienced long bought of poverty, so our food take full advantage of what's available and be able to feed people for much less and still be very tasty. These food have been evolved and passed down for many generations.
