People Who Have Experienced Poverty Share What Most People Don’t Understand About Being Poor (34 Answers)
Poverty isn’t something that you can understand just intellectually—to truly understand someone’s financial struggles, you have to have been where they are. And, frankly, not everyone gets what the grind to survive is like. But getting a glimpse into the everyday hustle can be eye-opening… even if it is but a glimpse.
Redditor 192335 created a viral thread on r/AskReddit and urged internet users to share the things that most people don’t understand about being poor. Have a read, upvote the answers that you agree with, and if you’re feeling up to it, share your own experiences with financial struggles (and how you overcame them) in the comment section.
Financial expert Sam Dogen, the founder of the Financial Samurai blog, spoke to Bored Panda about financial freedom, the importance of consistency in our investments, as well as the things that you need in order to build wealth. You'll find our interview with him below.
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Just how little money it would take to drastically help reduce the average person's stress by well over 50%. I see stories like Post Malone putting 1.5 mil in his mouth, or how much the Kardashians spend on a birthday party & it makes me puke with the sheer pointless extravagance. It's time we stop treating flaunting wealth & excess like anything other than sociopath behavior in light of the world right now.
Oh luckily Chaelsi46 came to the rescue. Now we can all get rich. First time the comment is on topic.
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It's also time multinationals and other big companies pay their fair share of taxes. It could solve global poverty and hunger in a few months...
Don't forget all the rich celebs askin us to donate money when they get more in a day that we do in a year
Thank god that donations are tax deductible, eh?
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Here in good 'ol "Murica", income disparity is accelerated by policies that tax earned income (money paid for working a job) at a higher rate than capital gains (money created by investments). But lots of working class folks keep voting against their own self interests because of racism, religion, and other forms of ignorance promoted by the obscenely rich, corporate overlords who have taken over control of one political party.
Yes, and also because they sincerely believe these autocrats will improve their lives. And yet, when it doesn't happen, they continue to vote for them (cough, cough, Mitch McConnell)
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Post Malone has been doing a lot to raise money to help various charities that are supporting those in need throughout the coronavirus pandemic and he’s back to it again with a new initiative where he’ll be giving his own money to fans to donate. The rapper is recognizing that not everyone can afford to donate to charities right now, so instead he’s making $1 million of his own money available for fans to determine where it should be donated. Read More: Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio are canceling their tour so fans get refunds The decision to make more money available for donating was made after the massive success of his charity Nirvana livestream. Last Friday, Post Malone hosted a livestream concert where he was joined by blink-182‘s Travis Barker for a performance of entirely Nirvana covers. During the stream, fans could donate to The United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for The World Health Organization. Within the first hour, over $1 million was raise
1 million is a very small fraction of his income. to put this in perspective, his net worth (not his income from rapping) is apparently somewhere like 30 million in 2020. assuming half of it is invested in stocks, with a low-end yield of ten percent returns, yearly, is still going to be one point five million in largely passive income. this is ignoring that most people that wealthy will have their investments in places like hedgefunds, or other high-performance investments, that blow that ten percent return out of the water- and generally, you'll have a lot more than just half that invested. (it sitting around doesn't make all that much cash, relatively speaking.)
Load More Replies... Who exactly do you think the party people the Kardashians pay are? I will give you a hint, they are not Billionaires. They are waiters, cooks, janitors, and party planners. Only the party planner themself is not poor. To tell the truth, I am sure that when you pay for an extravagant party more of your money goes to POOR PEOPLE than when you give to charity.
Your economics needs a lesson. Trickle-down economics has been debunked for almost a century, before Reagan picked it up. (under the tag Horse and Sparrow Theory, 1890's). it doesn't work, because the people you're saying 'benefit' are usually paid crap, and relatively few people are actually making respectable profits off those parties. (namely, the not-poor party planner,)
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And what do the rich in this country do for the less fortunate? You never hear about them doing anything like the philanthropists from the past like Andrew Carnegie who built libraries all across the country for all the citizens to use. What do todays millionaires do for society?
Have you never heard of the Bill Gates Foundation? Or have you been living under a rock? How about Dolly Parton giving millions to Covid vaccine research? There are many, many examples to choose from. This does not mean that I'm defending the super-rich in any way, but I don't believe that they're any better or worse now than they ever were.
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We need to change the nomenclature used to describe the extravagant rich. We need to call them Wealth Hoarders. Everyone hates hoarders. When 10% of the world population controls over 90% of the wealth of the world there needs to be a more egalitarian and equitable way to do things. Wealth Hoarder.
I really do wonder if the people out there essentially supporting the kardashians wealth actually have a clue that they are merely doing that. Buying "the brand" supports the overlord. Supporting/defending them in a comment is sheer proof of that.
Wealth in the billions is an obscenity. Yes, make your money and be comfortable, but wealth like Bezos is obscene in my opinion.
Especially when you know he treats his employees like pond scum. I NEVER, EVER USE AMAZON.
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Omg yes! Any time I see these celebs spending money on dumb extravagant sh*t and flaunting it, my first thought is "they could have helped soooo many people with that money", I used to volunteer at a few homeless shelters in Toronto, I personally know how impactful and necessary even the smallest donations are. In one of the shelters they used DISH SOAP as body wash because they couldn't afford proper toiletries for residents. I took up a collection at work for Christmas and we raised $1300, everyone got a toiletry bag and they were all over the moon. It literally made their day. It was achingly beautiful to witness, we take sooo much for granted.
Dear Fellow Pandas, Don't Downvote me for this but its their money i beleive if they earned it they can decide what they do with it, sure it may seem selfish but you cant expect someone to give things that they earned even iif it seems right.
My family was desperately poor (not enough food poor) when I was growing up, and when I began making decent money in my job (not heaps, but more than I absolutely needed to live on), I developed the credo that I either needed to volunteer my time or make donations to charitable causes. I mostly did the latter, but now that I’m retired and living on a much reduced income, I should be volunteering, but so many volunteer activities seem to require a lot of standing, which I can’t really handle. I’m hoping that once the pandemic is truly over, I can volunteer at the ASPCA helping socialize new kittens and puppies so that people will adopt them. I’m also a wiz with Excel and Word, so I could also give office support as well.
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yes, yes, YES! when a person is a 'celebrity' due to actual talent such as film, art, music, etc. they will on all sorts of media which is acceptable. but, when a person's status reaches a point where they are literally throwing $$ into crazy things such as malone or the media has pushed a person with no talent or redeeming social qualities (looking at you, kardashians) then it is disgusting. however, part of the problem are people who, for some reason, idolize them. as for their wealth, well...close those tax loopholes & make them pay a fair share like the rest of us. many have enough to live 10 lifetimes & live it well.
well said and also let's stop making influencers and various celebrities important. let's start speaking about normal people working hard every single day just to make it to put some food on the table.
Just the word “influencers” makes me want to 🤮
Load More Replies... We also spend billions to incarcerate the poor, disenfranchised and mentally ill, we Americans actually siphon money from education and social services to pay for incarcerating 20% of the population. Mostly the poor or non whites. Kentucky has the highest population of incarceration in the nation. Prisoners are released with stipulations which make it impossible to get housing or jobs, ensuring a revolving door in the prisons. It sickens me daily
And don't get me started on the for-profit prisons. They make money by insuring that there is a revolving door. More people equals more money. Less quality services (think food) = equals less money spent, more profit. Less medical/psyc treatment = less money spent, more profit.
Load More Replies... How? He seems like an average rapper / music star.
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yep. those asshole don't realise that how much their pocket change can change the life of others.
yes some of those assholes started off poor and worked to be rich so they could give their families more. Except the Kardashians. Why is asshole an acceptable word on here and other appropriate words arent?
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The commentary in this article by Samurai Blog is completely oblivious to the fact that if you start out in poverty, realistically how the hell would you ever be able to implement his advice. It is not easy to escape poverty. His advice is for the middle class.
Totally agree. Also so sick of hearing who donated money to charity that poor people never see or have to jump through hoops to get a tiny bit of help
In my 20's out on my own, I hated watching action shows and movies. I could not afford a car and they were blowing them up :(
One thing about them, they think there is not enough so don't share. We think, there is not enough but we will find a way, or die trying. Sorry about the English.
Oh nevermind there is no way to explain to them. They hire people like me and you to do everything and throw us away when we are worn out. They copy our clothes and call it fashion. They waste food. They don't bother to learn non prestige languages. They think there is not enough to go around.
The thing is you don't know what they may be contributing with public knowledge. So judgy but I get where you're coming from
Or the comments that they have worked so hard for the money so let them enjoy it.
The amount they spend in a day for an event of some sort, can change 10 struggling families for life
This is true. Which is why it’s the workers who make the parties happen are getting paid.
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Like how much must you think of yourself to spend enough money to feed a whole village on yourself just for "fun" and not consider all the social issues that you can actually easily solve from your private bank account ?
Even though I find it stupid, ridiculous, tasteless and whatnot, I don't give a shït about rich people showing off their money... I get more upset when I see politicians, military or anyone who works for the government wasting our taxes. Especially the military.
Can someone make this a global story!!!! Why are we not vomiting everyone someone shows off excessive wealth, this is not be congratulated, this is why half the world can't eat, let's stop glamorizing wealth, u should be ashamed to be that rich!!!
It is not post malones job to give his money to all the poor people. This suggest that he has never helped anyone with his money. If he wants gold teeth and he earned the money to afford it then he can have it and not be called a sociopath.
boils my piss the difference of the haves and have nots , its getting worse every year , capitalism only works till it doesn't
I ordered extra cheese on my burger, I could've relieve a homeless persons stress, guess im a sociopath. I bought some new rims for my car, guess im a sociopath for not helping a homeless person. I subscribed to 3 new video services, this money every month could be relieving the stress of homeless people. Guess I'm a sociopath. See how this logic pertains to us all, you can't berate a millionaire for spending his money as he wants when you do the same. We could all help, but most don't.
That's why everyone who earns money is forced to pay taxes for em here. Ppl are selfish, thus they're forced.
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Ben, gag. No one is jealous; we genuinely care about humanity.
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Ok, but we have to be honest knowing that majority of rich people were also very lucky in their life. Being born in a rich family or having good and stable parents isn't something all people have. Having the opportunity to do some type of business is much more difficult when you are from a poor or even average family. The access you have to education and the type of mentality that surround you are different. If we also consider people being poor in developed or third world countries the difficulties grow exponentially. For me pretending charity donations or more taxes from very rich people is a way for them to repay from their luck (it's not all about luck, sure. But hard work alone isn't enough to become rich).
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As a child in poverty, how little opportunity you have, so many extra curricular activities cost money that just isn't available, I grew up in a trailer park with a crack addict mum & an alcoholic dad. If I wanted to do something it had to be free & I usually had to forge my mums signature on permission forms. We never had food, I learned to shoplift by 2nd grade. Winters were cold. I still excelled at school, because it was my escape from a shitty home life. I got taken into the foster care system, but I never got adopted, I was in a sh*tty group home, the only way out was to get a job & prove that I could live independently, so I left school at the end of 8th grade & got 2 jobs, cause the wage for a 14y.o.is sh*t, I got signed out of the system, I loved & valued education, so I signed up to do my school certificate & higher school certificate through technical college via distance education. I worked hard & did well, I applied to medical school & smashed the UMAT test. When I got to the interviews, everyone else had all these stories about the community work they did, or learning trips overseas, they'd all had tutoring. It dawned on me that while I was working 60+ hours a week to make a living, these people had been doing things to get a leg up, cause they could, cause they had resources I never had. Being born into poverty is like starting the race 10m behind the block with a broken leg.
Money is practically all you think about. Money does not buy happiness, but not having money certainly buys constant anxiety
Sam, the founder of the Financial Samurai blog, shared with Bored Panda that the key to financial freedom is building passive income streams so that we aren't "overly dependent" on the income from our day jobs. "The more passive investment income streams you have, the better. Starting with stocks or funds that generate dividends is the easiest for most investors because you can open up a brokerage account and buy just one share. Then you can invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and private REITs as well," he explained.
According to the expert, the key is consistency and building up your investments slowly, over time. Sam warned us that buying and selling cryptocurrencies won't generate any income because "it is more of a speculative play." Despite how lucrative it might all sound, it's still a risk. You'll find the expert's ranking of the best passive investments right over here.
People who aren't poor don't understand how the expenses stack on top of one another all the time.
Your car breaks down, the cat needs to go to the vet, you find out that your financial aid DOESN'T fully cover your tuition now that you're at university and not community college... All of this, in a never ending barrage one after another, on top of regular bills.
That's why the people who go "jUsT sAvE mOnEy" piss me off. When you're at a certain level of poverty, you can't because you're always on the knife's edge between survival and not being able to pay bills. You need every dime you have and then some.
There's an old saying: "It's very expensive to be poor". Because there's no big-box supersavers in your area so you buy too many groceries at the expensive corner convenience stores, local services are minimal and they raise prices because they have local monopolies, your used car costs 4x its sticker price in repairs but you can't afford to replace it, etc.
"Poverty is not just bad decisions — poverty is an ENVIRONMENT. It's bad roads. It's poor city and county governance. It's a lack of generational wealth. It's a lack of access to a grocery store, a doctor, a bank lender, a dentist, plumbers or electricians, a lawyer, a school, a car lot, both financially and geophysically. It's despair in your landscape through forgotten and abandoned buildings that once housed businesses and families, now left to rot, while you're too poor to leave. It's watching others struggle while you yourself are unable to help, because you can’t keep your head above water either.
I can't just 'quit my job' to 'find something better.' Interviews take time that I don't have. I can't just skip work to go for interviews
Sam told Bored Panda that after doing an analysis of Credit Suisse's annual Global Wealth Report, he came to the conclusion that building wealth requires four things: belief, grit, time, and community. "Roughly 35% of Financial Samurai's readership are millionaires compared to only 6.5% of America's population. Therefore, learning as much about your personal finances as possible and interacting with a community are very important," he said that the information we absorb and the communities (both digital and real) that we surround ourselves with are vital to our long-term success.
"Instead of just reading a book, I'd subscribe to your favorite personal finance site for free that's continuously writing about new ways to build wealth. Get involved with people who are continuously taking action to build more wealth," he suggested how we can all further our education in the world of finance.
Being poor is exhausting. It's draining, mentally and physically, and everyone needs a win sometimes. Sometimes that win is finding a way to just afford a meal out or a movie. Yeah, you do have bills to pay, but everyone needs a breath of fresh air sometimes. A struggle needs a break every so often
My family and I saw a homeless man waiting outside the restaurant we were dining at, just hoping to score someone’s leftovers. 10 minutes after my family and I were seated the homeless man follows in two ladies to a table. The two ladies invited this homeless man to dine with them. He looked like he just won the jackpot. This memory will stay with me forever.
Good, healthy food is expensive after bills, and cheap food makes you feel like sh*t
Yup. And healthy food that is cheap takes FOREVER to cook. With public transit, multiple jobs, etc., you don't have as much time when you're poor.
We can’t be fad minimalists. We don’t let go of most of our stuff because, yes, we might need them in the future, and we’d rather not buy them again
Meanwhile, in my previous interview with Sam, he explained that the lack of financial education is the biggest barrier for people to rise out of poverty and become rich. And if you are stuck financially, your priorities always have to be food and then shelter.
“We learn things like chemistry, geology, and English in high school and college, but there are no mandatory courses on personal finance. For example, if more people thoroughly understood their mortgage contracts before signing, the housing crisis between 2008 – 2010 may not have been as deep,” he told Bored Panda earlier.
“In another example, if more people knew they could negotiate a severance instead of quit with nothing, more people would have a more comfortable financial runway to take their time and find a new job or start a new business that is truly meaningful to them. The more people are empowered with financial knowledge, the better financial decisions they can make to ultimately live the lives they desire.”
The fear. Fear of something unexpected you haven't budgeted for. Fear of a knock at the door from a debt collector. Fear of having to choose which of your children can eat more than once today. Fear of having to choose which days you go hungry so your children can eat at all
We are all in that boat, wife and i have agreed to always pay rent on time. That way if we have to skip a meal or two at least we are warm and safe.
It takes two to three times longer to get anywhere on the bus than in your own car. That means leaving for work earlier and coming home later. In many places, the buses don't run as often on the weekends. Grocery shopping on the bus means just getting what you can carry, which means going more often, which means more time wasted waiting
Going home from my Saturday shift used to make me really anxious, because about half the time my bus would pull up just as my connecting bus was pulling away. It was an hour before the next bus. Wait for the first bus, ride for 20 minutes, miss the conbection and wait an hour, ride for 30 minutes, walk home for ten. Then when I got a car? 15-20 minute drive to work. I gained nearly two hours a day.
You can have a job and still be poor. You can have a job where you earn $1,000 each month, but if your rent is $600–$700 each month, you spend $100+ on food (assuming you don't have to take medicine or something similar), your bills, car insurance (if you have a car), and gas for your car, what do you do with what's left after that? You can't do anything.
Not to mention health insurance. And heaven forbid your car breaks down
According to financial expert Sam, saving money is a powerful tool at your disposal. But the amount you save has to be sufficient. “One of the key mantras I tell my readers is this: If the amount of money you’re saving each month doesn’t hurt, you’re not saving enough! Too many people go through life, paying no attention to their finances. Then they wake up 10, 15, 20 years from now and wonder where all their money went,” he said.
“Always pay yourself first. By paying yourself first after each paycheck, and making it hurt a little to change your spendy ways, only then will you know whether you are saving enough,” Sam urged others to look at saving seriously.
Having money isn't everything. NOT having money is
It's all that occupies your every waking thought and haunts you at night.
When your parents are lying to you saying they're full when they're not so you can have the last bite.
Just because you're poor, that doesn't mean you automatically get welfare. You can make just slightly over the line and still be poor. My mom only made $1,000 a month, but it was still too much to get welfare
The government doesn't look at each case individually. Rules are rules. They have no heart, no compassion. They are a big part of the problem!
Sam pointed out that large families have various strategies that help them save money, even though they have more mouths to feed. “Use hand-me-down clothing and shoes for all children with occasional aesthetic adjustments between boys and girls if desired. Buy food in bulk. Send kids to a preschool co-op where they require parental involvement usually once a week.”
The expert continued: “Send your kids to public school and forget about the ridiculous cost of private school tuition. Enjoy the free parks and libraries. Have kids share rooms to save on buying a larger house. But the two most important things are having one parent who works to help subsidize healthcare costs and avoiding private schools.”
That poor people can't take advantage of sales or bulk purchases. They literally spend whatever they earn on basic necessities. Being poor is a vicious cycle, and it takes many sacrifices to get out, if ever
I wrote a scathing email to some Lady Something or other who was spouting in the press about it being cheaper to buy in bulk. I pointed out that when you have £15 to buy food for a week, a £20 bag of pasta may well be cheaper than 6 x £5 bags but what else are you going to eat. I told her to read Jack Monroe's Bootstrap Cook but she just repeated her mantra at me.
That being physically safe is a luxury, not a given. It can be dangerous to not be conscious for a couple of hours. When you're homeless and sleeping somewhere, you're not thinking about tomorrow; you're thinking, 'What if I get woken up, and there's a knife to my face?'
You'll never know the full value of having a roof over your head and the security of four walls, until you have been homeless. I was in this position and the lesson I've learnt is that if you have a key in your hand and enough food to survive, you have everything you need. Homelessness can happen to any of us and for most, that's something we find ourselves nodding to, but never really accepting...
Having sleep for dinner.
If you have a bank account, you probably have to pay a monthly fee because your balance is too low. If you overdraft, they charge you another $35 even though they can see you've got nothing in there.
The embarrassment and ridicule of letting your teacher and class know that you cannot go to an expensive field trip because your parents do not have the money.
I was lucky to go to a secondary school that had a fund for children whose parents couldn't afford school trips, or I would have missed most, if not all of them.
When we save up money, something happens that forces us to use that money we had saved, which starts a hard-to-break cycle
When you get government assistance you're not allowed to save up, it will be taken off of what you get. Especially when you have a disability.
What it's like to actually start to starve and be desperate enough to steal food, the longest I ever went without eating was 5 days and it was absolutely miserable
I never had to go a day without food, but I ate some awful stuff to get by. Once I had nothing but two cans of tuna per day for 11 days. A few months prior to that I did peanut butter, bread, and Rice Krispies for 5 days. I did not feel well at the end of those weeks.
When you are a kid, the boredom. All of my friends had interests. BMX, hunting, ninja stuff, action figures, and video games. And their parents fostered their interests and provided funds to grow in their hobbies/sports. I had some stuff, too, but never had the sort of continual investment to pursue something like a hobby or interest. Everything was secondhand, bootlegged, pirated, half-working, etc
And you can't even get to whatever free activities are available in your area, because you have no transport. There's no spare money for gas, your parents are working long hours and aren't available to drive, they can't afford to buy you a bike, you've got no extra money for the bus, and the streets aren't safe enough for you to walk.
A lot of things that wealthy people have access too isn't as accessible or often as good. Its gotta be pretty friggin annoying for people who can barely afford food to be told that they should see a therapist. Like yeah, mental health is important but so is eating, and mental health is also going to take a hit when the money you used to talk to a therapist for an hour is going to eat into your food budget or bill money
When you’re really poor, a therapist wouldn’t even be a consideration. Nobody poor is paying just to talk to someone when they have bills to pay.
Growing up poor leaves scars that never heal.
You need to learn to cope eventually. I still dread doing my monthly balances because of how it shoves reality in my face when I was young. I still do not live a lifestyle my peers can afford to for fear it would all go away. But then, you need to remind yourself, you're not who you were time and again. Otherwise, you wouldn't live at all.
That you never sleep well at night, NEVER! Your mind is constantly in overdrive wondering which bill(s) will or not get paid this month. That the smallest unexpected expense can completely put you over the edge.
I remember hoping to make to the end of the month without another bill coming in the mail or a check bouncing, which would result in an overdraft charge. So stressful being poor, living paycheck to paycheck and being surrounded by friends and family who have it all. They don't understand why you can't go out to eat or go shopping like they do. It really hurts. 😪
When you’re really poor, everything you see is something you can’t have
Ninety percent of the time, you cannot fail or make a bad/wrong decision. If you do, it will take years and years to recover from that.
Most of the time it’s out of their control, there’s usually a backstory. Also it’s harder to pull your self out of poverty than most expect.
The only reason I’m not right now is because a random guy invited me to live for free out of my home town, and magically I got a decent paying job that treats me like a creature instead of a cog. It just took 15 YEARS. So I guess I got that going for me. I love you Bill Murray and shall weep when you leave this coil.
It takes up all of your time. I remember not being able to stock up on necessities. So I would have to run to the store a lot more frequently. I couldn’t afford a car so I would either have to bus or walk. All of these little things eat up so much time
Everything you buy has interest attached to it, because you’re NOT using that money to pay off debts that you definitely have.
WHY IS THIS NOT HIGHER! You throw food on a credit card, it takes longer and costs more to pay it off cause of the interest. You stress if you can afford the minimum payment on either the credit cards OR the medical debt that's piled up cause your job doesn't offer you health insurance... Being poor is like almost drowning every single day.
The lengths you'll go to so you can avoid falling back into poverty after you got out of it.
I have panic attacks every time we've got to throw out spoiled food because I've been in a position of having one meal per week and throwing out even dangerously spoiled food triggers me in a superstitious way of "now I won't ever have food because i threw out something". It's really hard to cope.
Constantly having to move because your job demands it, or because rent got too high. One to two years is how long I’d stay in one house as a child. I never bothered with friends, because I knew I wasn’t going be around them for more than a year or so.
For a child, this is heartbreaking. Can you imagine never knowing when you're moving, where you're going, not seeing the point of making friends... I just wished countries would stop funding inconsequential things and start investing in their people.
Poverty trauma is very real, incredibly awful, and extremely difficult to recover from, if you ever do.
I have PTSD from poverty. Like my decision making and my coping skills are impacted by what happened in my childhood experiencing poverty. It never goes away no matter how much money you get.
Load More Replies... Being poor is expensive. A rich guy spends $200 for a pair of workboots. They last him 20 years. A poor guy doesn't have $200, so he spends $20 for a pair of workboots. After a year, they're nearly worn out and he's forced to buy another pair. The poor guy winds up spending twice as much as the rich guy for products that last the same amount of time.
This is true with so many things in life. Everything from junk cars to cheap appliances. You end up paying so much more in the long run because it is impossible to save up for these things.
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it is so sad to read this. My family wasn't rich, but i had not to worry about money, food and everything else as a kid. It is good to know that there is social welfare in my country that gives you a roof over your head and money for food. There is certainly room for improvement here, but knowing that you won't end up on the street because you have no or low-paid job helps me a lot.
Adults who spent their childhood in poverty often have unusual food habits that seem weird to other people. They overeat or eat at odd times, they ferret food away for no reason, they overstock their cupboards with non-perishables or they have the food in their pantry meticulously organized.
Also...people that get mad at workers that come into a service industry job sick. Most of those hourly paying jobs have no paid sick leave. If you miss work because you're sick, you don't get paid. That could mean the difference between paying rent and not paying rent. My husband worked hourly wages for 10 years. Never took a sick day..never went on vacation because we couldn't afford it. Now, being salary, I have to beg him to go see a doctor or beg him to take time off because he's still stuck in the hourly pay mode. People wonder why there are so many people on welfare or disability that they say can work. They're not lazy. They're just tired of having to constantly struggle to get work, make rent and not get sick. The stress makes you more sick. At some point, you just give up and go with what is predictable...even if it gives you less.
I've also known people who couldn't afford to take a job. If the job you're offered pays enough to put you over the line of qualifying for welfare, but not enough to cover gas, childcare, and the maintenance of a vehicle, then you spend 8 hours a day away from your kids just to end up with less.
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One thing that this misses is that the legal/justice system is stacked against poor people. A traffic ticket could ruin their life - if you can't pay the fine, the fines increase and you may lose your license, and if you then get caught driving without a license, you get put in jail. You lose your job if you get put in jail. Stuff like this doesn't make a dent in a wealthy person - and they usually get out of trouble easily.
I shed a few tears while going through this post. Firstly because it's sad and I empathize with anyone going through it. Secondly because I realize that I myself am going through it. I'm a single mother living in South Africa. To say things are s**t personally and in our country is the understatement of the century. My salary falls under middle class, but I am unable to pay debts, school fees, and had to move in with a family member in April because of salary cuts etc etc. I hope and pray that I make it out of this before my child starts high school. I feel so ashamed in myself sometimes. The middle class is disappearing and are now poor.
I remember when i was in middle/high school there were months at a time when we had no power or water. I had to sneak over to a neighbor's house after it got dark and fill milk jugs with water from their outside faucet if I wanted a cold bath the next morning before school. We kept what little food we had in a cooler with ice water (we bought bags of ice at the store or just got -JUST got- cups of ice at a restaurant. It wasn't a good time.
The scar I can think off growing up poor would be what I call the "cockroach mentality". It's that type of resilience that makes you resourceful but also uncouth in the eyes of normal people. I don't know how else to put it. I had to mask that to appear normal in society.
It was a sad gallery for me as I could relate to many of what has been written here. It's good now, I have a very good salary, but poverty stays in you forever. I am struggling with myself to buy a sandwich or snack, to eat out, to plan vacation, to buy better clothes than the cheapest. Dinner is still better when is big, not tasty. I am still afraid, despite I am coping financially well, much better than many of my friends. It's just like a shadow inside you.
I think what people assume is it is temporary. For many it was permanent from the start of their life. For me poverty was temporary, last about max 1.5 years, and I wasn't homeless fortunately. I had a small accident on my foot and I had a career plan but it went completely off schedule and i really let everything "too close" to the edge. Where I lived healthcare was affordable, something as minor as that can put you out for years in many countries.
Studies show that it is actually temporary and that it’s important for non-poor people to understand that it’s temporary so that we don’t “other” poor people and label being poor as “them” (versus “us”). Because anyone can be poor, and it’s often a stage of a person’s life and not their entire life. I was poor (like dirt fuçking poor) my entire childhood and on-and-off for my young adulthood. I’m 35 now and in the top 5% now, AT LEAST. I won’t say I’m not smarter than average but I will say I wasn’t any better leveraged than anyone else. Lots of people transition out of poverty. It’s not a life sentence, it’s just a determining factor.
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People who have never experienced it just have no idea how close to the wire peoples budgets are. When people were being furloughed on 80% pay, there were a lot of people struggling financially, and I don't think a lot of people understood that earning 20% less is actually a huge problem if 100% of your normal salary goes on essentials. It's the same in normal times if you're living pay cheque to pay cheque and you get an unexpected large bill. The situation doesn't have to last forever, but it can really suck when you're in the middle of it, especially when people with money are preaching about what you "should" be doing.
Never understood how white collar criminals could steal MILLIONS & receive a couple years at most of jail time yet a person on their third strike could steal $100 of merchandise & get 20 years. Fraud is theft but for some reason a pers stealing a tangible product from a store gets treated harsher by the “justice” system
When I was 23, after 8 months of interviewing for multiple jobs, I finally got my first professional job offer. I had 2 waitress jobs working about 60hrs/wk and barely surviving... luckily I got a lot of free or cheap meals through my jobs. My job offer came with a 34K salary for 35hrs/wk. I was barely breaking 20K/yr working 60hrs (which isn't much at all for the city I live in) When I got the voicemail with the job.offer there was this instant relief and it physically felt like a weight was lifted off me. I cried from pure relief that money wouldn't be a constant strain over my life. Money was never a sure thing waiting tables, there would be great weeks and awful weeks...slow seasons and busy seasons...but now I had a source for guaranteed money and I knew I would always be able to pay for necessities. Now I make 3x that first salary...and my lifestyle has changed and sometimes it feels like I don't make enough money...BUT the stress is a tiny fraction than before.
I kept one of my serving jobs at only 15-20hrs/wk for a couple months to get accustomed to getting paid twice a month instead of constantly. Even with that I had significantly more free time, especially in the evenings...I finally had time to regularly see my friends, take an entire weekend off to visit my family 3hrs away, and get adequate sleep. I was able to move to a safer neighborhood, buy furniture, eat healthier, buy warm winter boots... It's crazy how just 14K changed my life.
Load More Replies... My husband and I are refinancing our house. He owns a business and paid a couple of bills late last year during the covid crisis (still paid them, though), and it impacted our credit enough that we can't get a great rate. I felt bad about it, until I thought about all the people who NEED good credit just to get basic necessities like an apartment and a car. But if you've been financially struggling and your credit isn't great, you have to pay cash up front for an apartment, sometimes several months in advance, and often with higher rent. You pay predatory interest rates on cars and credit cards if you can get them, and payday lenders charge even more outrageous fees. In other words, the poorer you are, the more everything costs, which makes it even harder to dig your way out of poverty.
Grew up poor, put myself through school, and now doing well. I still have trouble throwing anything away, answering calls from unknown numbers, or spending money on myself. I make over 150k a year and only have one pair of shoes bought two years ago that I regularly wear.
I get that, I'm the same way. Then I see the expensive stuff that other people have and I get a little envious and think, "How come they have that and I don't...oh, but wait, I could...but I won't!" Crazy!
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I grew up really poor, I often remember going without food because there just wasn't any. I try to do better for my daughter but we are still barely scraping by, I've been out of work over a year (thanks pandemic) and hubby lost his job (again pandemic) and had to take a less paying one just to have a paycheque. We are extremely lucky to live in co-operative housing and have subsidy otherwise we would have been homeless long ago. And an organization we belong to because our daughter is autistic has a food rescue program that has kept us fed for awhile now It's all so exhausting, I can't even afford medication I really need because we have no benefits
Most poor people are not poor due to bad choises. And if you are you probably have soo much needs that even if you get a reasonable income, it will take a long time to catch up with your needs
Everyone is one bad day from being impoverished and/or homeless. If you think you're safe, think again. Despite the bible and the gurus, no, your savings can't help you.... when you live in the US, one bout of cancer can put you in poverty for the rest of your life.
You can have capitalism AND a working social welfare system, that allows people to not starve.
Load More Replies... The government needs to stop penalizing the disabled for being disabled anything to save a bit
So much to say. I will never forget when my parents came to visit and Dad had a $500 cashmere sweater on. I had been eating noodles for a week to afford to pay rent. They just had no idea how difficult it was. I was sent on my own at 19 years old after a total emmotional breakdown from an abusive boyfriend. My narcisit sister who spent time in jail for deadly DUI was able to fake having an acct degree and make $120,000.00- a year. My parents could not understand why I was struggling
It's always driven me bonkers how people get paid huge amounts of money and gifts for being rich, but being poor is extraordinarily expensive. I often wonder how many rich people would still be rich if it cost them the same respective amounts in fees and interest.
The usual "solutions" to poverty: no. The solution to poverty is not upskilling, it's not cooking classes, it's not personal budgeting classes, it's not CV-writing classes, it's not job-search coaching or mentoring or career assessments. These are middle-class tools, which can help individuals get ahead in a 0-sum game but solve nothing. The solution to people not having enough money is to make sure people have enough money. That means AT LEAST everyone who has a full-time job gets enough to cover all the bills and some fun money at the end of the month, and everyone who can't work (due to illness, crappy local/national economy with no jobs, being a carer...) gets enough social security to not only survive but live with a decent level of security and dignity.
I think it’s both, but definitely agree that money needs to be the first resource. If you put money in the hands of poor people the vast majority are smart and responsible enough to figure it the hell out themselves on what and how they need to spend it well. I think the classes poor people could use, we all could, financial literacy, AKA teaching more about credit unions, discharge debt, Roth IRAs, spotting predatory loans and illegal collections, those loopholes and advantages more economically secure people get to learn about so that they can take advantage too. And some people do need the other stuff such as cooking lessons and CV writing as well, but money has to come FIRST.
Load More Replies... For me it was being judged or having to think how others judged every purchase I made. During university, some people in my class knew about my situation. While for the most part they were supportive, some definitely judged me on decisions I made. For instance, during practicum in the hospital, I often would not buy food or bring lunch because I couldnt afford groceries. One day, after working and studying, I was super tired so I bought a $1 hospital cup of coffee. My classmate had the measure to point this out in front of my other practicum classmates saying how I shouldn't be buying coffee if I can't afford food. First I highly doubt a dollar can get me out of poverty, secondly, I dont buy coffee everyday, and third, how dare you judge me on every decision as if I now have to be perfect in my spending habits. Of course I was embarassed and enraged, but too tired and exhausted to argue. One good experience from this was knowing who actually cared about you.
Sam Pay Yourself First can get.#$&*^=^;ed. We pay ourselves first with food and shelter.
i remember the epiphany i had when i was about 30. i had been sharing some experience with a friend and it suddenly dawned on my that the time period i was speaking about was a time when i was homeless. i don't remember feeling i was at the time since i was living in the camper on the back of my truck, had a job, and was saving up to rent a place. it was just a matter of survival at the time. i was shocked to realize this and also realize that when you are in that situation you don't dwell on it. you just keep going, hoping you can make it better.
Ok we all agree poverty is bad. What are people doing about it? Do we donate to medical care, housing, or education? Do we just give money? or do we give time and talent? Are we the Samaritan? or perhaps, a busy person walking by ????
I give if someone is really poor. If they eat more than me, I don't need to starve myself for them or make debts to help em.
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I grew up poor. I was laughingstock of my classmates, because I coudn't have trendy clothes or phones my they had, it was impossible to go to cinema or to concert or even party, everything cost too much money. As adult, I'm not exactly super wealthy, but I'm doing much better. Imagine that feeling - you can buy things like new shoes just because you like them, not because you need them.
I worked at financial aid like SNAP, in my county. I wish more people would come in that were on the fence about their qualifications. So many don't apply because of the stigma of being on welfare. Food help can mean money for something else, like electricity. So many times people would apply for other things, like health care, and I would ask them if they qualified for food support. Most didn't think they qualified. Most were wrong. Food is important and I hope more people will apply for SNAP.
Wow, this post was really hard to read. Don't have kids unless you have A HELLUVA LOT of money saved up. Otherwise the cycle just continues. Or you might fall into poverty from unexpected expenses or illness. I have had people wanting to borrow money from me to get married and to give birth. If you are already in debt before you marry, you have lost the plot.
we watched this 'finical literacy' video in school, basically all that it said was "if poor people just... didn't have fun... ever, then they wouldn't be poor, simple!' 🤦♂️
And, to add on top of all of this: The economy everywhere grows. In the long run, every year had been, if adjusted for inflation, slightly better than the one before. Even if this is set in relation to population, and adjusted for inflation - the average income per person and year has always increased, but yet, some have less than last year. I understand that this applies to lazy shidhads, too, but this is by far more than just them - it's everybody. The numbers, however, would allow that no one has less than a year before, adjusted for inflation and all, and still, those who have severely more than a year ago, would hardly notice the change if it was exclusively taken from them. We do have enough, the problem is a distributive one - but still, evera political party adressing this issue is frowned upon and denounced as extremists. The working class votes against their own interest, because the exploitationists have the better ads.
I had a classmate. His parents were divorced, he and older sister lived at Mum. Mum was a teacher, teaching german to adult immigrants - not really something you make millions, but certainly, enough to live. Dad was unemployed like half the time, but if he was employed, he paid his share, and sometimes even more to make up for the gaps. The mother still told her son that they were poor. Why don't we have a car? We're poor (they weren't - she, for medical reasons, was unable to get a driver's license). Why is all his stuff used? Poor. Why, why, why. Poor, poor, poor. They weren't. Lower middle class, with cost reduced as if they were poor, they got a pretty nice pillow to fall onto. She also told him he's the most intelligent kid in our class - said so when I first saw her, in our first week, without knowing more than him and 2 or 3 classmates. Both grew into him - a professional victim of everything and a pesty knowitall you couldn't make up any worse. And ... a crybaby, he also was.
I didn't have all that much contact with him after elementary school, but ... he really believed that they were poor. I accidentally told hm why Ma had no license ... didn't know he didn't know this. And, we got caught by the police, first time for both of us. I didn't run off to not leave him alone (we'd had a chance if we tried ... may have failed, may have succeeded - never to really know...), and, instead of calming down even a bit, he cried that he wanted to get a policeman, and now couldn't anymore, because they broufht us home when we were 8 and had played on the railroad ... hahaha, ... seriously, those memories I truly value!
Load More Replies... Billionaires can change the poverty cycle in America they can give money directly to the poor and not to charities.
I remember the days when working 40 hours gave you a really good health coverage- think late 1980's. I have gone YEARS without health coverage. luckily my daughter was able to quailify for medi-cal
I hate the phrase "money doesn't buy happiness" because hell yeah it does sometimes. It gives you space, it gives you comfort. I would rather to cry in the heaven than in the hell hole. I keep on learning new stuff by myself thinking that it would be useful, while battling my depression. Being depressed is a luxury, I cannot go to the therapist or anything like that. I have to constantly move or I won't be able to pay the electric bill and rent. I haven't got out of poverty but things are better now i guess... but one thing i know, living in poverty has scarred me mentally.
the thing that i still struggle to get over is buying things for myself. clothes, furniture, games, decor, ect... i grew up not being able to get anything i wanted, just what i needed, so it's hard for me to change that mindset, even though i can afford nice/superfluous things for myself now.
Mostly poor but there’s stuff about homelessness there too. Why?
Load More Replies... "money is an illusion, bills are a choice(mostly) and poverty is a state of mind" i only get SSI and dont even clear $800 a month, mortgage, city utility's, gas, and internet - thats it! i cook outside with sticks and wash cloths in a 5gallon bucket and hang my clothes outside even in the winter. I dont own a pair of shoes and havent for 5 years now and i walk everywhere. ...the answer is a simple one, live humble
I didn't realize how poor my family was or how much it affected me until I was a teenager and my friend whose family is financially stable, supported him being a collector. There were so many times where I restrained myself from shouting "You don't need that! You already have one! What are you going to do with it after today, it's just going to sit in your shelf?!?" He has a pretty healthy mindset about it though.
Yes being poor sucks, I've been dirt poor for years. But only you can get yourself outta that s**t.
I wouldl suggest your interviewee 'Sam' reads this post, maybe he will realise what BS he is talking. Poverty meany you don't have disposable income to save and invest in shares, funds bonds or 'passive income' thats the whole %^$£^(&* point!
There's no need to invalidate the experiences shared here.
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It's the fault of the rich there, not the poor. Poor ppl fled from Europe to America and it only got worse for their family.
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Yes. Because until the problem is addressed, everyone needs to know that people live like this, and in some cases with even less than these people have.
Load More Replies... Poverty trauma is very real, incredibly awful, and extremely difficult to recover from, if you ever do.
I have PTSD from poverty. Like my decision making and my coping skills are impacted by what happened in my childhood experiencing poverty. It never goes away no matter how much money you get.
Load More Replies... Being poor is expensive. A rich guy spends $200 for a pair of workboots. They last him 20 years. A poor guy doesn't have $200, so he spends $20 for a pair of workboots. After a year, they're nearly worn out and he's forced to buy another pair. The poor guy winds up spending twice as much as the rich guy for products that last the same amount of time.
This is true with so many things in life. Everything from junk cars to cheap appliances. You end up paying so much more in the long run because it is impossible to save up for these things.
Load More Replies... it is so sad to read this. My family wasn't rich, but i had not to worry about money, food and everything else as a kid. It is good to know that there is social welfare in my country that gives you a roof over your head and money for food. There is certainly room for improvement here, but knowing that you won't end up on the street because you have no or low-paid job helps me a lot.
Adults who spent their childhood in poverty often have unusual food habits that seem weird to other people. They overeat or eat at odd times, they ferret food away for no reason, they overstock their cupboards with non-perishables or they have the food in their pantry meticulously organized.
Also...people that get mad at workers that come into a service industry job sick. Most of those hourly paying jobs have no paid sick leave. If you miss work because you're sick, you don't get paid. That could mean the difference between paying rent and not paying rent. My husband worked hourly wages for 10 years. Never took a sick day..never went on vacation because we couldn't afford it. Now, being salary, I have to beg him to go see a doctor or beg him to take time off because he's still stuck in the hourly pay mode. People wonder why there are so many people on welfare or disability that they say can work. They're not lazy. They're just tired of having to constantly struggle to get work, make rent and not get sick. The stress makes you more sick. At some point, you just give up and go with what is predictable...even if it gives you less.
I've also known people who couldn't afford to take a job. If the job you're offered pays enough to put you over the line of qualifying for welfare, but not enough to cover gas, childcare, and the maintenance of a vehicle, then you spend 8 hours a day away from your kids just to end up with less.
Load More Replies... One thing that this misses is that the legal/justice system is stacked against poor people. A traffic ticket could ruin their life - if you can't pay the fine, the fines increase and you may lose your license, and if you then get caught driving without a license, you get put in jail. You lose your job if you get put in jail. Stuff like this doesn't make a dent in a wealthy person - and they usually get out of trouble easily.
I shed a few tears while going through this post. Firstly because it's sad and I empathize with anyone going through it. Secondly because I realize that I myself am going through it. I'm a single mother living in South Africa. To say things are s**t personally and in our country is the understatement of the century. My salary falls under middle class, but I am unable to pay debts, school fees, and had to move in with a family member in April because of salary cuts etc etc. I hope and pray that I make it out of this before my child starts high school. I feel so ashamed in myself sometimes. The middle class is disappearing and are now poor.
I remember when i was in middle/high school there were months at a time when we had no power or water. I had to sneak over to a neighbor's house after it got dark and fill milk jugs with water from their outside faucet if I wanted a cold bath the next morning before school. We kept what little food we had in a cooler with ice water (we bought bags of ice at the store or just got -JUST got- cups of ice at a restaurant. It wasn't a good time.
The scar I can think off growing up poor would be what I call the "cockroach mentality". It's that type of resilience that makes you resourceful but also uncouth in the eyes of normal people. I don't know how else to put it. I had to mask that to appear normal in society.
It was a sad gallery for me as I could relate to many of what has been written here. It's good now, I have a very good salary, but poverty stays in you forever. I am struggling with myself to buy a sandwich or snack, to eat out, to plan vacation, to buy better clothes than the cheapest. Dinner is still better when is big, not tasty. I am still afraid, despite I am coping financially well, much better than many of my friends. It's just like a shadow inside you.
I think what people assume is it is temporary. For many it was permanent from the start of their life. For me poverty was temporary, last about max 1.5 years, and I wasn't homeless fortunately. I had a small accident on my foot and I had a career plan but it went completely off schedule and i really let everything "too close" to the edge. Where I lived healthcare was affordable, something as minor as that can put you out for years in many countries.
Studies show that it is actually temporary and that it’s important for non-poor people to understand that it’s temporary so that we don’t “other” poor people and label being poor as “them” (versus “us”). Because anyone can be poor, and it’s often a stage of a person’s life and not their entire life. I was poor (like dirt fuçking poor) my entire childhood and on-and-off for my young adulthood. I’m 35 now and in the top 5% now, AT LEAST. I won’t say I’m not smarter than average but I will say I wasn’t any better leveraged than anyone else. Lots of people transition out of poverty. It’s not a life sentence, it’s just a determining factor.
Load More Replies... People who have never experienced it just have no idea how close to the wire peoples budgets are. When people were being furloughed on 80% pay, there were a lot of people struggling financially, and I don't think a lot of people understood that earning 20% less is actually a huge problem if 100% of your normal salary goes on essentials. It's the same in normal times if you're living pay cheque to pay cheque and you get an unexpected large bill. The situation doesn't have to last forever, but it can really suck when you're in the middle of it, especially when people with money are preaching about what you "should" be doing.
Never understood how white collar criminals could steal MILLIONS & receive a couple years at most of jail time yet a person on their third strike could steal $100 of merchandise & get 20 years. Fraud is theft but for some reason a pers stealing a tangible product from a store gets treated harsher by the “justice” system
When I was 23, after 8 months of interviewing for multiple jobs, I finally got my first professional job offer. I had 2 waitress jobs working about 60hrs/wk and barely surviving... luckily I got a lot of free or cheap meals through my jobs. My job offer came with a 34K salary for 35hrs/wk. I was barely breaking 20K/yr working 60hrs (which isn't much at all for the city I live in) When I got the voicemail with the job.offer there was this instant relief and it physically felt like a weight was lifted off me. I cried from pure relief that money wouldn't be a constant strain over my life. Money was never a sure thing waiting tables, there would be great weeks and awful weeks...slow seasons and busy seasons...but now I had a source for guaranteed money and I knew I would always be able to pay for necessities. Now I make 3x that first salary...and my lifestyle has changed and sometimes it feels like I don't make enough money...BUT the stress is a tiny fraction than before.
I kept one of my serving jobs at only 15-20hrs/wk for a couple months to get accustomed to getting paid twice a month instead of constantly. Even with that I had significantly more free time, especially in the evenings...I finally had time to regularly see my friends, take an entire weekend off to visit my family 3hrs away, and get adequate sleep. I was able to move to a safer neighborhood, buy furniture, eat healthier, buy warm winter boots... It's crazy how just 14K changed my life.
Load More Replies... My husband and I are refinancing our house. He owns a business and paid a couple of bills late last year during the covid crisis (still paid them, though), and it impacted our credit enough that we can't get a great rate. I felt bad about it, until I thought about all the people who NEED good credit just to get basic necessities like an apartment and a car. But if you've been financially struggling and your credit isn't great, you have to pay cash up front for an apartment, sometimes several months in advance, and often with higher rent. You pay predatory interest rates on cars and credit cards if you can get them, and payday lenders charge even more outrageous fees. In other words, the poorer you are, the more everything costs, which makes it even harder to dig your way out of poverty.
Grew up poor, put myself through school, and now doing well. I still have trouble throwing anything away, answering calls from unknown numbers, or spending money on myself. I make over 150k a year and only have one pair of shoes bought two years ago that I regularly wear.
I get that, I'm the same way. Then I see the expensive stuff that other people have and I get a little envious and think, "How come they have that and I don't...oh, but wait, I could...but I won't!" Crazy!
Load More Replies... I grew up really poor, I often remember going without food because there just wasn't any. I try to do better for my daughter but we are still barely scraping by, I've been out of work over a year (thanks pandemic) and hubby lost his job (again pandemic) and had to take a less paying one just to have a paycheque. We are extremely lucky to live in co-operative housing and have subsidy otherwise we would have been homeless long ago. And an organization we belong to because our daughter is autistic has a food rescue program that has kept us fed for awhile now It's all so exhausting, I can't even afford medication I really need because we have no benefits
Most poor people are not poor due to bad choises. And if you are you probably have soo much needs that even if you get a reasonable income, it will take a long time to catch up with your needs
Everyone is one bad day from being impoverished and/or homeless. If you think you're safe, think again. Despite the bible and the gurus, no, your savings can't help you.... when you live in the US, one bout of cancer can put you in poverty for the rest of your life.
You can have capitalism AND a working social welfare system, that allows people to not starve.
Load More Replies... The government needs to stop penalizing the disabled for being disabled anything to save a bit
So much to say. I will never forget when my parents came to visit and Dad had a $500 cashmere sweater on. I had been eating noodles for a week to afford to pay rent. They just had no idea how difficult it was. I was sent on my own at 19 years old after a total emmotional breakdown from an abusive boyfriend. My narcisit sister who spent time in jail for deadly DUI was able to fake having an acct degree and make $120,000.00- a year. My parents could not understand why I was struggling
It's always driven me bonkers how people get paid huge amounts of money and gifts for being rich, but being poor is extraordinarily expensive. I often wonder how many rich people would still be rich if it cost them the same respective amounts in fees and interest.
The usual "solutions" to poverty: no. The solution to poverty is not upskilling, it's not cooking classes, it's not personal budgeting classes, it's not CV-writing classes, it's not job-search coaching or mentoring or career assessments. These are middle-class tools, which can help individuals get ahead in a 0-sum game but solve nothing. The solution to people not having enough money is to make sure people have enough money. That means AT LEAST everyone who has a full-time job gets enough to cover all the bills and some fun money at the end of the month, and everyone who can't work (due to illness, crappy local/national economy with no jobs, being a carer...) gets enough social security to not only survive but live with a decent level of security and dignity.
I think it’s both, but definitely agree that money needs to be the first resource. If you put money in the hands of poor people the vast majority are smart and responsible enough to figure it the hell out themselves on what and how they need to spend it well. I think the classes poor people could use, we all could, financial literacy, AKA teaching more about credit unions, discharge debt, Roth IRAs, spotting predatory loans and illegal collections, those loopholes and advantages more economically secure people get to learn about so that they can take advantage too. And some people do need the other stuff such as cooking lessons and CV writing as well, but money has to come FIRST.
Load More Replies... For me it was being judged or having to think how others judged every purchase I made. During university, some people in my class knew about my situation. While for the most part they were supportive, some definitely judged me on decisions I made. For instance, during practicum in the hospital, I often would not buy food or bring lunch because I couldnt afford groceries. One day, after working and studying, I was super tired so I bought a $1 hospital cup of coffee. My classmate had the measure to point this out in front of my other practicum classmates saying how I shouldn't be buying coffee if I can't afford food. First I highly doubt a dollar can get me out of poverty, secondly, I dont buy coffee everyday, and third, how dare you judge me on every decision as if I now have to be perfect in my spending habits. Of course I was embarassed and enraged, but too tired and exhausted to argue. One good experience from this was knowing who actually cared about you.
Sam Pay Yourself First can get.#$&*^=^;ed. We pay ourselves first with food and shelter.
i remember the epiphany i had when i was about 30. i had been sharing some experience with a friend and it suddenly dawned on my that the time period i was speaking about was a time when i was homeless. i don't remember feeling i was at the time since i was living in the camper on the back of my truck, had a job, and was saving up to rent a place. it was just a matter of survival at the time. i was shocked to realize this and also realize that when you are in that situation you don't dwell on it. you just keep going, hoping you can make it better.
Ok we all agree poverty is bad. What are people doing about it? Do we donate to medical care, housing, or education? Do we just give money? or do we give time and talent? Are we the Samaritan? or perhaps, a busy person walking by ????
I give if someone is really poor. If they eat more than me, I don't need to starve myself for them or make debts to help em.
Load More Replies... I grew up poor. I was laughingstock of my classmates, because I coudn't have trendy clothes or phones my they had, it was impossible to go to cinema or to concert or even party, everything cost too much money. As adult, I'm not exactly super wealthy, but I'm doing much better. Imagine that feeling - you can buy things like new shoes just because you like them, not because you need them.
I worked at financial aid like SNAP, in my county. I wish more people would come in that were on the fence about their qualifications. So many don't apply because of the stigma of being on welfare. Food help can mean money for something else, like electricity. So many times people would apply for other things, like health care, and I would ask them if they qualified for food support. Most didn't think they qualified. Most were wrong. Food is important and I hope more people will apply for SNAP.
Wow, this post was really hard to read. Don't have kids unless you have A HELLUVA LOT of money saved up. Otherwise the cycle just continues. Or you might fall into poverty from unexpected expenses or illness. I have had people wanting to borrow money from me to get married and to give birth. If you are already in debt before you marry, you have lost the plot.
we watched this 'finical literacy' video in school, basically all that it said was "if poor people just... didn't have fun... ever, then they wouldn't be poor, simple!' 🤦♂️
And, to add on top of all of this: The economy everywhere grows. In the long run, every year had been, if adjusted for inflation, slightly better than the one before. Even if this is set in relation to population, and adjusted for inflation - the average income per person and year has always increased, but yet, some have less than last year. I understand that this applies to lazy shidhads, too, but this is by far more than just them - it's everybody. The numbers, however, would allow that no one has less than a year before, adjusted for inflation and all, and still, those who have severely more than a year ago, would hardly notice the change if it was exclusively taken from them. We do have enough, the problem is a distributive one - but still, evera political party adressing this issue is frowned upon and denounced as extremists. The working class votes against their own interest, because the exploitationists have the better ads.
I had a classmate. His parents were divorced, he and older sister lived at Mum. Mum was a teacher, teaching german to adult immigrants - not really something you make millions, but certainly, enough to live. Dad was unemployed like half the time, but if he was employed, he paid his share, and sometimes even more to make up for the gaps. The mother still told her son that they were poor. Why don't we have a car? We're poor (they weren't - she, for medical reasons, was unable to get a driver's license). Why is all his stuff used? Poor. Why, why, why. Poor, poor, poor. They weren't. Lower middle class, with cost reduced as if they were poor, they got a pretty nice pillow to fall onto. She also told him he's the most intelligent kid in our class - said so when I first saw her, in our first week, without knowing more than him and 2 or 3 classmates. Both grew into him - a professional victim of everything and a pesty knowitall you couldn't make up any worse. And ... a crybaby, he also was.
I didn't have all that much contact with him after elementary school, but ... he really believed that they were poor. I accidentally told hm why Ma had no license ... didn't know he didn't know this. And, we got caught by the police, first time for both of us. I didn't run off to not leave him alone (we'd had a chance if we tried ... may have failed, may have succeeded - never to really know...), and, instead of calming down even a bit, he cried that he wanted to get a policeman, and now couldn't anymore, because they broufht us home when we were 8 and had played on the railroad ... hahaha, ... seriously, those memories I truly value!
Load More Replies... Billionaires can change the poverty cycle in America they can give money directly to the poor and not to charities.
I remember the days when working 40 hours gave you a really good health coverage- think late 1980's. I have gone YEARS without health coverage. luckily my daughter was able to quailify for medi-cal
I hate the phrase "money doesn't buy happiness" because hell yeah it does sometimes. It gives you space, it gives you comfort. I would rather to cry in the heaven than in the hell hole. I keep on learning new stuff by myself thinking that it would be useful, while battling my depression. Being depressed is a luxury, I cannot go to the therapist or anything like that. I have to constantly move or I won't be able to pay the electric bill and rent. I haven't got out of poverty but things are better now i guess... but one thing i know, living in poverty has scarred me mentally.
the thing that i still struggle to get over is buying things for myself. clothes, furniture, games, decor, ect... i grew up not being able to get anything i wanted, just what i needed, so it's hard for me to change that mindset, even though i can afford nice/superfluous things for myself now.
Mostly poor but there’s stuff about homelessness there too. Why?
Load More Replies... "money is an illusion, bills are a choice(mostly) and poverty is a state of mind" i only get SSI and dont even clear $800 a month, mortgage, city utility's, gas, and internet - thats it! i cook outside with sticks and wash cloths in a 5gallon bucket and hang my clothes outside even in the winter. I dont own a pair of shoes and havent for 5 years now and i walk everywhere. ...the answer is a simple one, live humble
I didn't realize how poor my family was or how much it affected me until I was a teenager and my friend whose family is financially stable, supported him being a collector. There were so many times where I restrained myself from shouting "You don't need that! You already have one! What are you going to do with it after today, it's just going to sit in your shelf?!?" He has a pretty healthy mindset about it though.
Yes being poor sucks, I've been dirt poor for years. But only you can get yourself outta that s**t.
I wouldl suggest your interviewee 'Sam' reads this post, maybe he will realise what BS he is talking. Poverty meany you don't have disposable income to save and invest in shares, funds bonds or 'passive income' thats the whole %^$£^(&* point!
There's no need to invalidate the experiences shared here.
Load More Replies... It's the fault of the rich there, not the poor. Poor ppl fled from Europe to America and it only got worse for their family.
Load More Replies... Yes. Because until the problem is addressed, everyone needs to know that people live like this, and in some cases with even less than these people have.
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