Originally Posted by gloopy

This needs to happen not only in America in general but in our profession in particular. I structure my finances so that I can survive on 50 hours of FO pay on our lowest paying equipment (including our horrible theoretical 190/CR7 rates) and anything above that is used for savings, toys and underboob.

On a related note, the college bubble is stretching as we speak and its going to pop anyway and pop hard. Before the inevitable happens, barfing 6 figures at every single offspring no matter what to get degrees in self-discovery with a minor in right of passage, reading stuff that's on the internet for free that is guaranteed to only net them a part time barista job if they're lucky is a great place to find the money needed to live well beneath one's means, which is a hard core necessity in our industry not an option. It blows my mind that so many people so unquestionably hand over massive amounts of money to a semi-obselete system that produces rapidly dimishing returns. Then there's the vacation homes, new cars/boats/planes, etc.

I'm not talking about people who can truly afford it. And I'm not talking about people who have experienced genuine and prolonged cash draining hardships. I'm talking about the self induced paycheck to paycheck person that loses everything as soon as anything happens even though they've make 6 figures for a very long time and then some. We are worth a heck of a lot more than what we are getting and we need to be willing to strike if necessary to get it, but we need to be able to live on less. Maybe I'm out of touch but that's a lesson that growing up poor taught me and it baffles me that anyone better off doesn't already think that way cause I'm no where near the coldest beer in the fridge. If I get it, how can anyone not? Then you run into a guy who bought a 600K vacation home and lives max line to max line with no cushion. That just doesn't compute to me. Whiskey Tango What?

It is crucial that we as a group become financially able to weather storms. Ironically, being over extended hurts our ability to negotiate better compensation in the first place. Management loves dealing with a group that needs their next paycheck desperately. I'd like to see us take that leverage away from them.