Do People Who Live Above Their Means Know What They

How do people who live beyond their means when they are of working age survive financially when they reach retirement age?

Well, most of us should not live beyond our means, but also most do. If they are smart at least 10 years they will know what income they will have when they retire and start making necessary adjustments to ensure they can live comfortably even if not at the same level they did while working.I was making 80,000 a year before I retired and knew when I retired I would be living totally on my SS income, which if I made wise decisions could live comfortably on and am 5 years into my retirement. I don’t have the choices or luxuries afforded me in my working years, mostly due to my own mistakes. However, I am living comfortably in a safe community, a comfortable mobile home paid for with cash before I retired. Food, and the necessities of life, And with planning even some occasional treats like a short trip, a new something for myself or my home, and more often gifts for those I love.So it can be done if you do some planning before hand

Why do people criticize people who spend above their means?

Answer in two parts, because reasons:Why is it unwise to spend above one’s means? It’s demonstrably short-sighted and unsustainable. If one continues spending more than they earn, they’ll eventually reach a point where no more credit will be extended to them and then they’ll be unable to continue paying their bills, which have only gotten larger in the time it took to get to that point.Why should anybody else care enough to say anything about this? Because the likelihood is that the individual living above their means will have a negative impact on the local economy when they crash. They may have their home foreclosed, which tends to lower property values in the neighborhood. They may declare bankruptcy, which translates to financial losses to their creditors, which they respond to by raising their lending rates. They might, after a foreclosure and bankruptcy, end up in a homeless shelter, and if they have lost their employment somewhere along the way, may also be receiving welfare and/or food stamps, which means they would then be supported by taxpayer dollars.Bonus rationale for #2 : “livin’ large” sets an irresponsible example. We criticize because we don’t want people we care about following that example and ending up in financial ruin.Bonus #2 for #2 : Envy. While we all know the over-spender’s habits are going to have to eventually end one way or another, the fact remains that that person will be sleeping in a nicer bed, driving a nicer car, and eating tastier food for a while, and most of us wish we too could live the lifestyle of a Rockefeller or rock star.

Why do so many people live significantly above their means? How do they manage to buy expensive $1000 shoes making only $20k per year?

I used to wonder how so many of my friends, making so much less than I was, could always afford nicer cars than I could.It’s credit. They are putting the shoes and everything else on credit cards. Credit allows a person to live like they are a King, even when they are Paupers.I learned it the other way: live like a Pauper when you are young, so you can live live a King when you are older.Eventually, they are hoping that their income will catch up with their credit card debt. It’s an unsustainable model. They forget about things like unforeseen emergencies.Keep the shoes you have and don’t sweat what others are wearing. Plan for your own future.

Are the Clintons living above their means?

There is no proof the Clinton's are living beyond their means simply because of that one quote. Their finances will be given a lot of attention as everyone who runs for President will also receive. I'm sure if there is anything to show they are living beyond their means, someone will use it to their advantage against Hillary.Don't forget Bill runs a very important foundation that needs a lot of money to run, plus as wealthy people in their own right, they will have some exorbitant expenses. All the wealthy do. I believe it was meant to be a mix of part joke and part truth. "Former President Bill Clinton had one reaction when asked if he would continue to collect fees on the order of $500,000 for speeches during his wife’s presidential bid: “Oh, yeah. I gotta pay our bills.”"In the interview he gave to NBC News broadcast, Clinton said he would continue to give paid speeches during his wife’s presidential bid to “pay our bills” and that he didn't know if he would step down from the foundation if she were to win the White House.“I’ll decide -- if it’s the right thing to do, I will,” he said."Republican presidential candidates have criticized the foundation’s gifts, with Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, calling the contributions “thinly veiled bribes” in an interview with Politico late last month."People, especially those who are opposed to her winning the Presidency,  will make all sorts of unsubstantiated innuendos concerning the Clinton's, especially now that Hillary is running for President.  It's to be expected. Personally I am getting a bit tired of hearing all the rumors about Hillary as if her fellow presidential runners are squeaky clean and pure and don't have several conflict of interest issues themselves.