Good movie... but ridiculous.

The part of the movie I found most ridiculous was that ben Affleck was mentioned to be their best salesman.

If this was true I find it impossible to believe that in over 3 months the best job he could find was as a carpenter.

There are always thousand of Sales jobs in the market and even working for very little in the retail sector would pay more than as a carpenter

"We buy stuff we don't want with money we don't have to impress people we don't like"
- Tyler Durden

Called it right,OP.
This movie is so over the top, it is insulting.

Some examples of idiocy:

1) The Porsche would have been LEASED, not owned.
2) Nurses make OUTSTANDING wages in most areas and especially in Boston. They could have easily survived on her salary alone for at 1-2 years.
3) Few firms give 3 months worth of salary. Most give the better part of a year and you also get UNEMPLOYMENT, which in the NE US can be upwards of $600 a WEEK.
That's more than triple what you'd earn a Mickey D's.
4) How sh*tty a contractor was Kevin Costner's character that he wouldn't have had more work than he could handle? Year-round? Why didn't Affleck act as his salesman and increase his b-in-law's business?
5) Chris Cooper didn't have the industry contacts to land a job ANYWHERE?

This was a simplistic film which did poorly when people noticed how terrible it was.

Bad films are a crime against humanity.

one would assume that the bigger the income, the bigger the savings

I liked this film and thought it was realistic, but I did have some issues. Ben Affleck and his family were going broke, yet he was still getting his full pay with his 3 months' severance. His income during most of the film should have been close to what he made while working(minus the bonuses). Also that he went to Chicago for a job interview only to find it was the wrong week. Why couldn't he interview the next week? Also, unemployment benefits in Mass. are the highest in the country--I think he would get almost $900 a week after his severance ran out. I also found it hard to believe that they could live in a mansion in Boston on a salary of $160K, considering that his wife didn't work. My brother used to live down the street from Jason Varitek in Boston, and Varitek's house wasn't even that big. But if the point of the film was to show that they were living beyond their means, then they made it well. It is not hard to believe that Affleck only got 3 months' severance. I had a job where they used to give 2 weeks for every year of service(this company was 150 years old!). But when the economy collapsed in 2008 they reduced it to one week. That's exactly what happened to Affleck--one week for each year of service. Also, the film wasn't showing that Affleck could not find another job as a salesman. It took him a while to realize how dire the situation was. He was insulted by the woman offering a sales job at $65K. I liked how they showed Affleck getting excited by an interview where it looked like they would offer him a job at $90K, and then he never heard from them again. I've seen that happen many times and it's so unprofessional.

I laugh at all the people on this board saying they would have saved a lot on his $160K salary(and they did say his salary was $120K plus bonuses). My wife and I make a little more than that combined. Yes, we have money saved, but not as much as we'd like. And we don't have a mansion(in fact, we rent), or sports cars. But do you realize how much you lose in taxes with that kind of salary? We have to put 8-10% into our 401K just to lower our tax bracket. So with taxes and 401K that's at least 40-45% gone right there. We both have car payments, car insurance, rent, utilities, cable TV/Internet, the high price of gas. We're fortunate in that we don't have any credit car bills or student loans left, but we eat out more than we should and take about 2 vacations a year. Sure, we could cut down on that but we also want to enjoy life. So if Affleck's character is paying an insane mortgage on that house, plus the cost of his Porsche, plus if his wife has a car, plus credit cards, the golf club membership, possible private school for 2 kids, etc? Then forget it, he's got very little saved. Also remember that Affleck was very cocky in his position and was under the impression that he was in total control. He never thought for a moment that he would be fired, so why save? There are many people out there with that attitude.

I liked this film and thought it was realistic, but I did have some issues. Ben Affleck and his family were going broke, yet he was still getting his full pay with his 3 months' severance. His income during most of the film should have been close to what he made while working(minus the bonuses). Also that he went to Chicago for a job interview only to find it was the wrong week. Why couldn't he interview the next week? Also, unemployment benefits in Mass. are the highest in the country--I think he would get almost $900 a week after his severance ran out. I also found it hard to believe that they could live in a mansion in Boston on a salary of $160K, considering that his wife didn't work. My brother used to live down the street from Jason Varitek in Boston, and Varitek's house wasn't even that big. But if the point of the film was to show that they were living beyond their means, then they made it well. Another issue was his 401K. He would have been fully vested after 12 years. Sure, he takes a tax hit, but there is only a 10% penalty for early withdrawal and he doesn't have to worry about the taxes until the following year. When there's a difference of moving your family into your parents' house or cashing in your stock options, you cash in. I did it a few years ago and it's no big deal. Plus, if you're unemployed for a while your tax bracket goes dramatically down and the tax hit won't be so large.

It is not hard to believe that Affleck only got 3 months' severance. I had a job where they used to give 2 weeks for every year of service(this company was 150 years old!). But when the economy collapsed in 2008 they reduced it to one week. That's exactly what happened to Affleck--one week for each year of service. Also, the film wasn't showing that Affleck could not find another job as a salesman. It took him a while to realize how dire the situation was. He was insulted by the woman offering a sales job at $65K. I liked how they showed Affleck getting excited by an interview where it looked like they would offer him a job at $90K, and then he never heard from them again. I've seen that happen many times and it's so unprofessional.

I laugh at all the people on this board saying they would have saved a lot on his $160K salary(and they did say his salary was $120K plus bonuses). My wife and I make a little more than that combined. Yes, we have money saved, but not as much as we'd like. And we don't have a mansion(in fact, we rent), or sports cars. But do you realize how much you lose in taxes with that kind of salary? We have to put 8-10% into our 401K just to lower our tax bracket. So with taxes and 401K that's at least 40-45% gone right there. We both have car payments, car insurance, rent, utilities, cable TV/Internet, the high price of gas. We're fortunate in that we don't have any credit car bills or student loans left, but we eat out more than we should and take about 2 vacations a year. Sure, we could cut down on that but we also want to enjoy life. So if Affleck's character is paying an insane mortgage on that house, plus the cost of his Porsche, plus if his wife has a car, plus credit cards, the golf club membership, possible private school for 2 kids, etc? Then forget it, he's got very little saved. Also remember that Affleck was very cocky in his position and was under the impression that he was in total control. He never thought for a moment that he would be fired, so why save? There are many people out there with that attitude.

The trouble with this movie is I cannot identify with any of these characters. They are all rich, a holes and I can't feel sorry for them.

Tl;dr