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Comment on Please Don’t Make Me Download Another App | Our phones are being overrun

People who are proud of getting a good deal via an app break my heart. Most folks I know like that are not strapped for cash. They just like the feeling of getting a bargain. They don’t consider that the prices are artificially inflated. They don’t need the sale item. And in the long run they’ll probably end up paying more when the stores know their purchasing habits and have A/B tested them enough to know how to provide as little as possible while charging as much as a customer can stomach.

If a coupon requires an app, I don’t by that item. Especially when it comes to groceries. When it comes to store cards, most let you use a phone number instead of scanning the card. So plug in a random number at checkout. You can often get a hit on the first try. Then pay in cash. Dirty up someone else’s data and give these stores nothing on you. Seriously, if people keep giving in, it’s guaranteed to get worse. First the store card, then the app, what’s next?

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OR3X@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
The Lowe’s app is actually really handy. You can look up any item and it will tell you the exact isle and bay it’s in for your store. No more wandering around or hunting for an employee to ask. It’s the only store app I actually keep on my phone.

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- Cryophilia@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  The point is it’s bullshit that’s not available on the Lowes website.
  
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  - OR3X@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It actually is available on the website, but like most stores their mobile web experience isn’t great.
    
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A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

People who are proud of getting a good deal via an app break my heart. Most folks I know like that are not strapped for cash. They just like the feeling of getting a bargain. They don’t consider that the prices are artificially inflated.

Thats why Prime Day is such a big deal.

People think they are getting awesome deals cause its 50% off, are not going and checking price trackers to see the item had a HUGE price spike a week before Prime Day.

But they think they got 50% off and that gives them that massive dopamine rush, and that encourages more spending.

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ilinamorato@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

Most folks I know like that are not strapped for cash.

Whoa. What group do you run in? Literally everyone I talk to on a daily basis is.

I actually just thought through an average day, and the people I talk to regularly. I’ve had conversations with each and every one of them over the past few months about how we’ve had to make major changes to our lifestyles in one way or another because the money is going out faster than it’s coming in. We’re all solidly middle-class, for whatever that means anymore.

So what circles are you in where not everyone is looking for every possible discount they can get? Saving $5 on groceries means I can afford another gallon and a half of gas. I can’t afford to be principled about privacy when those are the stakes. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

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- Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  My circle of friends are also not strapped for cash. I’m confused as to how that’s so baffling to you. We’re very much NOT upper class.
  
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  - ilinamorato@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    
    We’re very much NOT upper class.
    
    I kinda think that not being strapped for cash is being upper-class.
    
    Upper-class: Always having enough
    
    Middle-class: Always having almost enough
    
    Lower-class: Never having enough
    
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    Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    sugar summed it up nicely.
    
    We make a decent amount, but we’re priced out of buying a home right now. We have a solid amount of savings and stocks, and our only debt is my partner’s student loans which aren’t a ton. We just don’t think about money day to day.
    
    If we want something, we just get it. But we don’t really want things, so we mainly just spend money on food and booze. And Steam games, but only if they’re 50% off or more.
    
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    sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    “Class” is determined by income, “enough” is determined by spending habits. You could make $50k and have positive cash flow, or you could make $400k and always be strapped for cash. The higher your income is, the more options you have, but also the more exposure you have to more ways to waste your money.
    
    This is a great video about this. Basically:
    
    lower class ($34k median income, $3400 net worth) - ~25% of population - these are those who truly struggle with emergencies, and flirt w/ the federal poverty line; net worth is pretty much nothing (often negative!); main goal is get an emergency fund to break the cycle of poverty
    
    middle class - three categories (lower, middle, upper)
    
    lower ($44k median income, $71k net worth) - ~20% population - identify more with middle-middle class and tend to get into more debt than necessary by keeping up with the Joneses, and could be financially stable w/ some discipline
    
    middle ($81k median income, $159k net worth) - ~20% - financially stable, most of assets are in home
    
    upper ($117k median income, $307k net worth) - ~20% - passive income and compound interest supplement income; some live paycheck-to-paycheck due to lifestyle inflation, but some can do really well with investments
    
    upper class - two categories (lower and upper)
    
    lower ($189k median income, $747k net worth) - ~10% - specialized professions; most people can get into the lower upper class with discipline (10% savings rate on $65k salary => $787k investments by age 50); little pressure from everyday expenses
    
    upper ($378k median income, $2.5M net worth) - ~5% - some college grads working as employees, but a lot of these are business owners
    
    At each level, I see two types of people:
    
    lower class
    
    savers - those who scrimp to be able to cover emergencies that would otherwise screw them over; these can move up to the middle class
    
    "normies" - those who get screwed over and over and stay in the lower class
    
    middle class
    
    savers - less scrimping here, but need to budget and avoid “keeping up with the Joneses”; some discipline can establish a solid retirement
    
    "normies" - debt payments prevent any kind of progression, and workers are terrified of job loss because the house of cards could come tumbling down
    
    upper class
    
    savers - become really wealthy (upper upper class)
    
    “normies” - some upper class folks are “strapped for cash” because they can’t keep their spending in check, but most have enough income to recover from even the worst mistakes
    
    By this metric, not being strapped for cash is possible for pretty much anyone in the lower-middle class and above, and even those in the lower class could get there by stabilizing their finances so they can take some risks to increase their income (i.e. night school, quitting a bad job for a better job, getting CDL and financing a truck, etc). On the flipside, being strapped for cash is also quite possible at pretty much any income level, and I’ve heard plenty of stories about lawyers and doctors having trouble keeping up with debt payments because they got caught trying to keep up with those wealthier than them.
    
    So I don’t think “strapped for cash” is a good metric for economic class, income is, because you can make choices that can cause you to be paycheck-to-paycheck at almost any income level, as well as choices to maintain stability at almost any income level.
    
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- corbs132@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I think age / location / profession have a lot to do with what socioeconomic circles people run in.
  
  Not to mention luck of the draw.
  
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  - ilinamorato@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    For sure, but like…I’m a middle-aged software engineer in a low cost-of-living area. My parents always had enough on one income, but we’re struggling on two.
    
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    sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I’m similar, but probably a bit younger. I make a good salary now (I’m in a leadership position), but the people on my team are a bit more “average.” Software engineering will have a higher than average salary, but I’m talking $80-120k for the people who work for me in an area where the median income is $70-80k ($80-120k), and most are single or single-income.
    
    There’s a pretty stark difference between those who are financially stable and those who… aren’t. I don’t have everyone’s salary, but here’s what I see:
    
    financially stable - drive older car, own house, wardrobe is simple, hobbies are inexpensive, no extravagent trips
    
    financially unstable - drive late model car, rent, nicer clothes, more expensive hobbies, yearly international trips
    
    Notice I didn’t say anything about income. Some of the financially unstable people have a much higher income (probably double the range above), and some of the financially stable people have a much lower income (e.g. one of my employees is single and just bought a house in a pricier area, while being at the bottom of the income range).
    
    I obviously don’t know your income or situation, but I think most people can do much better than they are without changing their income. And the more financially stable you can be, the more “quiet” confidence you get (i.e. you’re not distracted by when payday is), and the more likely you are to get that promotion or better paying job. Success tends to breed success.
    
    Check out The Millionaire Next Door, which gives lots of examples about how wealthy people tend to be frugal and careful with money. There’s not really any secret sauce here, just delayed gratification and discipline. Obviously a $100k salary will go a bit further than a $50k salary, but even a median income can rocket you to an upper-middle class retirement if you manage it carefully.
    
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