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Sometimes it's not possible to live "within" your means. I'm not talking about fancy phones and electronics, I'm talking about a roof over your head and electricity. At a minimum wage job here in NC, you're going to bring in about $250 a week, or $1,000 a month.
What do you do when there are NO places with rent that is less than $400 a month?
Even those places are usually in bad areas and are poorly insulated with oldddd gas heaters and window units for AC that will cost out your butt for utilities each month, PLUS you have to be scared all the time because of where you live.
To find a decent place that's safe, you're looking at $600 a month, plus lights, water, etc.
Plus, where I live, you have to have a car to work or do anything...so you need insurance and gas money, plus, since it would be "above your means" to buy a decent car, you have to deal with the constant crap and constant cost of keeping it running. Since you have a crap job, you better not miss a day of work because your car is screwing up, either.
Oh yeah, and you have to eat.
I've been there and know what it's like. I never asked for assistance from anybody, but I'm going to say that it's hard. For those that say that you should improve your life, I agree. I went from making $10,000 a year to making $65,000 a year in three years, but I found an opportunity that not everyone can do.
I agree that people can try harder, but I think it's sucky that people assume that everyone who is too broke to pay their bills is "living above their means."
Even the cheapest option is too expensive when you're poor. Everything is "above your means" when you're poor. Your pants have holes in them? Too bad, you're too poor to get a new pair, even at Walmart. Your work shoes have silver dollar-sized holes in them? You're gonna get in trouble at work, but you can't find a pair in your size at the Salvation Army, and you don't have $20 to buy a new pair. Your coat is ripping apart, but that's what you wear because that's what you have. Your POS car has a $1500 transmission problem, and $1500 is like an unimaginable amount of money. You're gonna get evicted if you don't pay rent, so you sell your car to the junk yard for $200 to get the rest of the money that you need, but now you have NO car.
Then, your washing machine craps out on you. You try going to the laundry mat, but it's expensive. It's dangerous to walk there because you don't have a car anymore, plus it's really hard to lug your laundry for 4 blocks there and 4 blocks back. So, you do the stupid thing -- you get a washing machine from Rent-a-Center and pay $30 a week for it. You're totally living above your means because you can't afford to pay your bills as it is, but you have to have clean clothes...
People talk about "trailer trash," but many people are too broke to even be trailer trash...
Sometimes it's not possible to live "within" your means. I'm not talking about fancy phones and electronics, I'm talking about a roof over your head and electricity. At a minimum wage job here in NC, you're going to bring in about $250 a week, or $1,000 a month.
What do you do when there are NO places with rent that is less than $400 a month?
Even those places are usually in bad areas and are poorly insulated with oldddd gas heaters and window units for AC that will cost out your butt for utilities each month, PLUS you have to be scared all the time because of where you live.
To find a decent place that's safe, you're looking at $600 a month, plus lights, water, etc.
Plus, where I live, you have to have a car to work or do anything...so you need insurance and gas money, plus, since it would be "above your means" to buy a decent car, you have to deal with the constant crap and constant cost of keeping it running. Since you have a crap job, you better not miss a day of work because your car is screwing up, either.
Oh yeah, and you have to eat.
I've been there and know what it's like. I never asked for assistance from anybody, but I'm going to say that it's hard. For those that say that you should improve your life, I agree. I went from making $10,000 a year to making $65,000 a year in three years, but I found an opportunity that not everyone can do.
I agree that people can try harder, but I think it's sucky that people assume that everyone who is too broke to pay their bills is "living above their means."
Even the cheapest option is too expensive when you're poor. Everything is "above your means" when you're poor. Your pants have holes in them? Too bad, you're too poor to get a new pair, even at Walmart. Your work shoes have silver dollar-sized holes in them? You're gonna get in trouble at work, but you can't find a pair in your size at the Salvation Army, and you don't have $20 to buy a new pair. Your coat is ripping apart, but that's what you wear because that's what you have. Your POS car has a $1500 transmission problem, and $1500 is like an unimaginable amount of money. You're gonna get evicted if you don't pay rent, so you sell your car to the junk yard for $200 to get the rest of the money that you need, but now you have NO car.
Then, your washing machine craps out on you. You try going to the laundry mat, but it's expensive. It's dangerous to walk there because you don't have a car anymore, plus it's really hard to lug your laundry for 4 blocks there and 4 blocks back. So, you do the stupid thing -- you get a washing machine from Rent-a-Center and pay $30 a week for it. You're totally living above your means because you can't afford to pay your bills as it is, but you have to have clean clothes...
People talk about "trailer trash," but many people are too broke to even be trailer trash...
I get what you are saying. It is a severe struggle when you are very poor.
The washing machine is not a necessity though. I washed my clothes by hand for a few years in the bath tub. Hang up to dry.
Duct tape works wonders on holes in shoes and coats can be repaired using a thread and needle or duct tape of it is bad enough. (Yes, I have done both. I also started a trend at my old job for laddered tights, because i had to wear them and I couldn't buy new ones. So I passed it off as a fashion statement. )
You have to figure out what you can do to survive and try to save some money. I worked three jobs at one time, just to make ends meet. You have to work smarter when every dime counts.
I think it's more a mental thing that breaks poor people down. Every small crisis is magnified. You have to keep pushing and striving though, and keep your head up.
I agree with this. I will say, however, much of our health care costs would go away if we adopted a mostly plant based diet with minimal meat and processed foods. If everyone did that, most diabetes, heart disease, & high blood pressure would just go away. A significant chunk of cancer cases would go away, too.
Everyone is going to die of something. You can't prevent death, or, by extension, prevent all the diseases that can cause it.
What you can do, however, is postpone them. Not avoid. This may seem like a quibble or so obvious it doesn't need saying, but I do think it misleading to invoke the notion of "preventing" these things.
Plant based diets also require nutritional supplementation, especially of vitamin B12, which is not found in plant-based foods.
Sometimes it's not possible to live "within" your means. I'm not talking about fancy phones and electronics, I'm talking about a roof over your head and electricity. At a minimum wage job here in NC, you're going to bring in about $250 a week, or $1,000 a month.
What do you do when there are NO places with rent that is less than $400 a month?
Even those places are usually in bad areas and are poorly insulated with oldddd gas heaters and window units for AC that will cost out your butt for utilities each month, PLUS you have to be scared all the time because of where you live.
To find a decent place that's safe, you're looking at $600 a month, plus lights, water, etc.
Get roommates. Problem solved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkmax
Plus, where I live, you have to have a car to work or do anything...so you need insurance and gas money, plus, since it would be "above your means" to buy a decent car, you have to deal with the constant crap and constant cost of keeping it running. Since you have a crap job, you better not miss a day of work because your car is screwing up, either.
Why do you need a car in Fremont, NC when (based on Google Maps) it is at most a 25 minute walk from one part of town to another?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkmax
Oh yeah, and you have to eat.
I've been there and know what it's like. I never asked for assistance from anybody, but I'm going to say that it's hard. For those that say that you should improve your life, I agree. I went from making $10,000 a year to making $65,000 a year in three years, but I found an opportunity that not everyone can do.
I agree that people can try harder, but I think it's sucky that people assume that everyone who is too broke to pay their bills is "living above their means."
Even the cheapest option is too expensive when you're poor. Everything is "above your means" when you're poor. Your pants have holes in them? Too bad, you're too poor to get a new pair, even at Walmart. Your work shoes have silver dollar-sized holes in them? You're gonna get in trouble at work, but you can't find a pair in your size at the Salvation Army, and you don't have $20 to buy a new pair. Your coat is ripping apart, but that's what you wear because that's what you have. Your POS car has a $1500 transmission problem, and $1500 is like an unimaginable amount of money. You're gonna get evicted if you don't pay rent, so you sell your car to the junk yard for $200 to get the rest of the money that you need, but now you have NO car.
Walk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkmax
Then, your washing machine craps out on you. You try going to the laundry mat, but it's expensive. It's dangerous to walk there because you don't have a car anymore, plus it's really hard to lug your laundry for 4 blocks there and 4 blocks back. So, you do the stupid thing -- you get a washing machine from Rent-a-Center and pay $30 a week for it. You're totally living above your means because you can't afford to pay your bills as it is, but you have to have clean clothes...
People talk about "trailer trash," but many people are too broke to even be trailer trash...
It is not expensive to rent a room in shared housing and walk. What is expensive is drinking the American Consumerist Kool-Aid and confusing needs with wants.
BS - My niece has 3 children. Never worked and her husband, with only a HS degree, have always lived within their means and they own their home and have a very comfortable life. Their family of 5 lives on a salary of less than $30K and are debt free.
You don't realize that everyone makes choices on how they spend money. I have a friend who was earning nearly $65K a year and is single with an adult son (who makes $15/hour + overtime). She never saved a penny, but has a giant screen TV, a 2014 Ford and lives in a 3 bedroom townhouse. She and her son both have iPhone 6's and the most premium cable package available. She got fired and is living off of unemployment right now, she took out student loans to pay her living expenses and is running up her credit card debt. When her son was out of work, did he sell off even one of his several guns or get rid of his gas guzzling Camaro? Did he apply for jobs anywhere? Nah, he stayed on unemployment and took out student loans to become a video game designer and pay his living expenses. Now he has a $27K student loan debt and is making $15 on a contract basis that requires him to take a 3 month break every 9 months. During those breaks, is he getting side work or looking for permanent employment? Nope, he just pushes his loan payments down the road and lives off unemployment.
Neither of them have ANY savings, yet they continue the cycle and whine that they are so "poor" and life is so unfair.
My husband and I both work (and have every day of my life, since I was 16), we have NO cable, used cars, and shop at Goodwill, etc., yet we are able to save money, pay bills and protect ourselves in the event of job loss, etc.
Yes, it often does come down to prioritizing your desires and working hard at whatever job you can, and most of all, living within whatever those means provide.
So, you've made my point! It takes money and a decent job to live within one's means and have a modicum of financial stability. My point was that many don't have these aspects present in their life and they still have people pontificating about their spending habits as a superior strategy. Your telling me what "I don't realize" assumes you have no idea what my fifty three years of working while raising children, buying homes, cars, property, and now retired in comfort has allowed me in terms of any comparison to others who weren't so fortunate.
What I was referencing wasn't relative of the anecdotal tales you've offered as proof of something, I'm speaking to the fact that this kind of conversation has been a springboard for whipping those who are truly poor for owning a cell phone, or horror of horrors, a car! I admire anyone that works hard and tries to make it as an independent, but I'm also mindful of the hostility aimed at the poor by those who are just a paycheck away from being on relief themselves.
I'm not poor. I make plenty of money. I'm talking about my previous situation, which has been several years ago. It feels like forever ago now.
Fremont is a joke. There are no jobs here. You'd have to get a job in Goldsboro or Wilson, which are both about 15 miles away.
I don't care what y'all say, but it absolutely is not feasible or safe to walk 15 miles to work and back each day.
It's easy to tell others how they should live, we all do it in some form or another, but I do know what your point is with regard to the ignorance of some who've had an economic dry spell or two in their lives and now feel justified to tell those in dire poverty how simple the solutions are in terms of making do with duct tape and walking to that next "opportunity" or the grocery store even though you have little to NO money.
One poster has offered up a few tales of relatives and others who seem to be suffering from a bad case of the stupids more than any real poverty. My point in this thread is that the phrase "live within your means" has become the battle cry of those who offer up this slogan as a cure for America's shameful conditions experienced by the poor, as though children and the elderly, disabled etc, can just live within their means.
America has become a nation of mindless consumerism, it's hard to find anyone who disagrees with that statement, even those who gleefully participate it it to their detriment. Amid this orgy of excess is the blingers who can buy anything they want and have tons of money left over. I've noted a different view of the poor when talking to these types, they say they are indeed all for living within one's means, and that generally is a type of code talk for their view of what ails the nations poor.
I can't rep the last three posts, so I'll do it this way.
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