Being Poor Is Too Expensive

Joe,

As I mentioned, I’ve been there too and understand some of what he’s saying. But, he seems kind of helpless too.

You mention laundry. When we got married, we did the laundrymat twice. The cost was quite high. There was a place in our apartment to hook up a washer and dryer. We found a dryer at a garage sale for $75. It needed a take up reel on the belt. IIRC, the part was $2.75 and about an hours work. The seller gave us the washer because it leaked. That was a $19 part. These two units lasted 10 years for under $100.

Here’s my latest one, and I do agree that government intrusion makes it harder on the poor. My son was driving a 2001 Mercury Sable that’s been in our family for at least 8-10 years. He totaled it last Friday when he was rear ended. Not his fault at all.

The wonderful state of Maryland has a communist level “safety inspection” program that adds significant cost to the price of a used car. I looked at a 2003 Taurus the other day that’s priced at $6000. High end blue book is around $3K. The last car I bought cost me more to make it pass the inspection than I paid for the car.

I believe it’s a right of passage for a young man to drive a rolling roadblock for a while so he can learn some repair skills. (Different story for my girls)

But, when you must buy a car that has to be in near perfect shape, it ruins those opportunities and removes the ability to find a decently priced well used car.

Fortunately, in my case, he’s in college and doesn’t really need a car immediately.

Practically every point the author makes is less than truthful. Buying quality food and then cooking takes effort and planning. Buying soda is just plain stupid, and one doesn’t have to be poor to have that bad habit. Buying clothing at Goodwill or The Salvation Army takes time, but can result in a much more presentable wardrobe than just wearing worn out clothing and cheap banking options are out there, but it takes research to find them.

What I have observed, is that being poor has very little to do with how much money one has, and everything to do with research and planning ones budget. I watch poor people get rid of what little they have as quickly as they can pass it out every time the eagle lands.

This is excuse making at its worse and I cannot suffer a fool such as this very well.

These two units lasted 10 years for under $100.

I acquired a washer and dryer for my oldest grandkids. The dryer was $50 and worked fine. The washer needed a pump and I replaced that for a total cost of about $75. What they were not was the newest hyper efficient computerized energy/water saving washer and dryer. What they did was work.

Frankly, we had a Whirlpool Duet washer dryer set (front load) and will never again go that route. I couldn't work on them, the repairman couldn't repair them, they ate clothes, and cost a fortune. When we replaced those we went to yard/rummage/garage sales and found an old top loading washer and a used high capacity dryer and have used them for years.

Fortunately, in my case, he’s in college and doesn’t really need a car immediately.

I got through three years of college (at a much more temperate latitude) before I got my first car. I had considered a small displacement motorcycle (250cc) you could get from Sears or Montgomery Ward (Speed limits were set at 55), but bought a 10 speed first and rode that all over for the first couple of years. It was a different world then, and you seldom felt the need to lock the bike, even though it was a couple of weeks pay for most college kids.

As a spinoff, my grandkids were amazed at my ability to dismantle bicycles, adjust brakes, fix flats, etc. I have even laced motorcycle wheels since--all just for fun.

With cars, after paying a mechanic for a carburetor rebuild, and finding out how much the markup was on parts, I started buying books and tools (and parts). I still have the books and most of those tools (broken/lost/loaned out and never returned tools have been replaced over the years). But that was an age when you could readily work on automobiles and most automotive systems were mechanical. Not so, now although many of the wear points remain so. You still must first move enough of the electrical/electronic and plumbing to get to the mechanical parts that need to be replaced. Not necessarily difficult, but time consuming and a mistake can be costly well beyond the initial repair.

Thankfully, we haven't been saddled with the inspection spectre here. I think part of that is the knowledge that for six months out of the year being stranded can be fatal. Just the idea of being stranded miles from the nearest cell signal will make you get it right.

“It’s a relatively new invention”

Outrageous fees.

How would utility bills be paid ? If by registered check it would incur another fee,I suppose,plus the cost of the check.

Do these employees have to be paid with the card or does the employer give them the option of getting paid by check?

I’ve been poor,but as a child. Lord knows how my mother did it. (Father had died).

Poultry is extremely cheap comparatively speaking. During the summer, I was getting "family size" packages of thighs and drumsticks for about $3 each. I'd slap them on the grill and slow cook them with barbeque sauce. Really good.

We are wealthy now but still have habits from when we were "poor." Just this weekend, we got a fresh 15 pound turkey for about $20 and managed to get five meals out of it. On the first day, we had it with stuffing and sweet potato. The second day (Sunday), we made sandwiches and watch football. Then we made soup out of the rest and had it with pasta the first night, beans and rice the second night and just tonight, we finished it off with potatoes and vegetables mixed in.

Been doing that since we were young. Most people only think of turkeys for Thanksgiving but from September to March, we probably go through about 20 full size birds. Cheap eating and very nutritious.

For the most part you use it as a debit card, except with fees. So you’d pay the utilities that way, but of course many of the charge another fee for paying with a debit card.

Check is generally not an option anymore. The places don’t want to incur the costs and risks of checks. It’s direct deposit to be bank account or direct deposit to a pay card.

Yeah I grew up poor. Spent a chunk of adulthood that way. It’s a hard hill to climb.

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