Posted on 10/20/2015 1:57:08 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Being rich is so much better.
I fought poverty by not becoming one of them.
George Orwell talks about this in "Down and Out in Paris and London."
Eggs, beans, rice, apples, lettuce, low-cost meats, etc. All very affordable. With spices, onions and garlic the boring can be made to be tasty.
If Ramen were really 80% salt, it would be inedible.
I am with you. And it is not mentioned that someone with that actual income would be getting food stamps, I expect.
Someone with the intellectual skills to write an article like this will eventually manage to make money, at least in our society. Maybe not right away, but in the long run.
Nobody who is truly poor “has to buy” soda.
He lost his argument right there.
“Fees are everywhere when you’re poor. Banks may charge a ton of fees for using basic services like checking. A simple traffic ticket can spiral out of control, sometimes even leading to being arrested, plus more fees. Utilities may charge fees if you pay by debit card. If you can’t get approval at a bank, payment schemes like pay cards can have charge you fees just to use your money. All these fees add up to huge pains that hurt a lot worse when you don’t have money. Failing to pay those fees only leads to more fees, which means that, like most areas in life, it costs more to be poor.”
These are the same fees that are around for the middle class and rich.
The author is an idiot.
.
The it’s too expensive to eat healthy excuse has been debunked many times.
Food Can Be Cheap, But Eating Healthy Is Expensive
—>> Learn how to COOK. Eating healthy, eating cheap and cooking from scratch go hand-in-hand.
Cheap Cars Cost More to Repair, and Public Transportation Is a Time Suck
—>> There was a time when owning ANY car meant you were in the middle class. Ditch the car and move to where public transportation can get you to work/shopping. Or ditch the minimum wage job and find another that you can make work. If you must have a car, learn how to repair it. Brakes pads are incredible simple, easy and pretty cheap to repair. Then charge to repair friend’s cars.
You Need to Dress Nicely to Move Up, But New Clothes Aren’t a Priority
—>> Garage sales, Goodwill and Salvation Army. You can find lots of nice clothing on the cheap. Even consignment shops have very nice clothing for not too much money.
Fees For Everything Can Compound to Ruin Your Budget
—>> Ditch the car and pay cash for everything. Problem solved. Live within your means. Cash does that.
That’s what makes being poor so tough.
—>> You have no idea of what “tough” is. My grandparents came from Slovakia to escape a famine after a war. They ate nothing by turnips in axle grease (back then it was animal fat) for months. They came to America with pretty much nothing and ZERO “safety nets.” Yet, somehow, they managed and prospered. And never complained.
Yeah, and the article goes into why poor people don’t buy these low cost food items.
They don’t have time (or make time) or they’re too lazy.
God took care of me, in ways I never expected. But it taught me that my life is His, not mine.
Eventually, He got me a job ... things quit sucking so bad ... but I haven't forgotten. It's all God's. Not mine.
You expect poor people to cook? Horrors!
I have never been poor, but we have gone without much money for long periods. Cooking is the most invaluable skill you can teach your children. More good food goes to waste in this country than can be imagined.
Gleaning is another. People are generally happy to give away excess of they know you’ll use it. Canning, freezing, smoking and drying still work and beat the heck out of Ramen. There was once a time when you could hunt and fish in this country, but that has gone the way of the dinosaur.
Not long ago, I read (here at FR where I learn a great deal) that poor people have poor ways.
That really struck me as inarguably true.
Poor people have poor ways.
You can give them a fish every day. EBT cards, handouts, welfare, a thousand opportunities, and more.
But when their life is over - they will have nothing but bills and unfulfilled dreams.
“All very affordable”.
Yes and his other point about not having time is bogus because all can be prepared in an hour or so once a week and heated up as needed.
Being poor isn’t so much expensive as it is a hard lesson master.
You took Rev. Ike’s advice:
“If you want to help the poor - don’t be one of them.”
Author is under the delusion that somehow “being poor” involves living a “not poor” lifestyle and is surprised that it doesn’t work. My word, the stuff he tried to live on and couldn’t was _absurd_.
Yes, ramen is cheap but bad for you in the long run. So eat beans, or make pasta.
Yes, hot dogs are $2 at QuikTrip. You can buy 8 dogs & buns for $2 at Super Walmart.
Yes, 2-liter sodas are cheaper than milk/juice. Drink tap water then, it’s nearly free.
Yes, a $1 single-serving soda is cheaper than a $4 single-serving juice. Get a frozen juice concentrate for $1.25 and get 4 servings out of it.
Yes, membership bulk-purchase clubs have steep annual fees. So don’t join. You don’t need a four-pack of grand pianos.
Yes, car repairs aren’t cheap - if you pay someone else to do them. I maintained my own first car, and would do so still if my time weren’t more valuable expended elsewhere.
Yes, clothes aren’t cheap - if you pay full price. Most of my active wardrobe is $5 Walmart clearance shirts, and 70%-off jeans from Target. Goodwill has a whole lotta new and barely-used clothes for less. Last job I interviewed for (and got), the CEO said “oh, by the way, don’t ever dress up like that again” - that suit is collecting dust now; business casual seriously rules, even in interviews.
Yes, laundromats aren’t cheap if you’re relying on them. You’ve got a bathtub, right? Get busy. Takes about as long to do a load in that as it does waiting for the cold-air public dryers.
Yes, penalty fees are steep. They don’t want you to withdraw more money than you have, so don’t do that. Ya know, people went a long time paying in cash - if you didn’t have enough, you didn’t get hit with an overdrawn penalty, you just didn’t get what you were trying to buy.
Yes, you have to “obsessively over-analyze every single transaction in your account”. If you don’t, you get charged for it. Being lazy is costly.
Yes, driving without insurance can cost you a lot in fines. Don’t - especially if you’re working just a mile from home. Twit. Oh, you got wet one day walking to work in the rain? Umbrella. Bag of dry clothes if it’s pouring that hard. And keep your phone in a dry place, like a discarded plastic bag.
Yes, conveniences can cost more. If you haven’t earned enough to cover them, you don’t get the conveniences. Suck it up.
MY WORD THE AUTHOR IS A WHINER. Just more proof that “poor” is a state of mind. He has no comprehension that everything he whines about having to do to survive IS WHAT HE HAS TO DO TO SURVIVE. Somebody tell him, please.
In 2009, my whole work week was a total of 30 hours at the Louisiana minimum wage of $5.80/hr., except in the timeframe of July to October each year, since the organization lived off grants, where my week went down to 15 hours. If i had not a V.A. disability disbursement, I do not know what i would have done.
There were months where i did eat, some, just to pay the bills. No cable, but i had a radio. I used the library to get my internet information, the job office to submit all my papers, for whatever, the library to submit my newspaper article submissions.
I was glad and relieved when my social security lawyer called, and told me I has won my case. I phoned in my retirement that October.
Panera Bread gives away all its daily leftovers to charity. That's BUSHELS DAILY at each store.
Charity food pantries often can't give enough away.
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