# How do poor people afford everything? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018 "2012-11-14T19:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/181 "2012-11-15T17:22:43Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > why would i need a pay check? You remind me of someone I know. She didn’t bother finishing high school, didn’t bother to learn to drive, didn’t bother to do a lot of things the rest of the adult world finds routine. She is now 28, has lost everything, has wound up moving in with relatives, and is struggling with her first job. Rather pathetic. I’d feel sorry for her if she didn’t whine so much about how unfair it all is and expect other people to take care of her. Of course, for you, that’s 10 years down the road. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/182 "2012-11-15T17:26:20Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > or you can work 2 different minuim wage jobs and have enough for ends meet bingo Since you clearly are not poor could you please spend some money on a purchase of punctuation marks? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/183 "2012-11-15T17:33:06Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > i meant like a newspaper carrier, i know you have to get a junker car for a few hundred dollars and a good with good gas mileage because you can do this for a few hours at night time. > > or instance, according to Pay Scale, as of January 2011, a newspaper delivery person in New York City can expect to receive an average annual salary, before expenses, of $42,748; in Columbus, Ohio that figure drops to $18,123; and in Portland, Oregon the median income before expenses is reported as $22,819. > > its a good job because it only takes 3 hours to do anyone an get it because people drop there routes any time and the pay is good especially around Christmas even if you only make $1,000 dollars in tips. This is a pretty good post. It has some punctuation and capitalization and expresses a semi-coherent argument. However, it doesn’t sound right. Do you have a link to these figures? It sounds more like a truck driver who used to work for the newspaper at a full time job but now is unemployed because newspapers are nearly dead. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/184 "2012-11-15T17:46:14Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > or you can work 2 different minuim wage jobs and have enough for ends meet bingo Actually not always. Depending, it might cost more to work two minimum wage jobs, depending on how far you have to travel to each one. Just like, surprisingly, it may cost more for both people to work, because of the cost of commuting to work. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/185 "2012-11-15T17:47:46Z")
I think he is talking about the route delivery folks who actually deliver newspapers to the houses of subscribers. When I was a child (50s and 60s) this was done by kids who picked up the papers at a route manager’s house and walked or bicycled to every house on the route. When I did this, I made about $12 a week, working seven days. The kids have pretty much been replaced by men and women delivering much longer routes from their personal vehicles, and I believe it pays about what CEO says in Ohio. That’s 18K for a seven day per week job in the very early morning using your own car and gas. I suspect that most people who do this work burn out, and working an additional job with regular hours would be tough, because the papers are not always available when they are supposed to be. Despite its lack of alignment with his post about two minimum wage jobs, this one shows slightly more acquaintance with actual work and money than most of what CEO has posted. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/186 "2012-11-15T17:50:16Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Cutting back, borrowing, relying on the largesse of friends and family. …relying on the largesse of family. Hmm… > [@CEOofPolar](#): > > i like to go once a week its 15$ and i give 5$ tip so 20$ a week not too bad my i don’t work my mom pays for them im only 18 and i like the way it look. Glad the OP has found a way to scrape through tough times. ---
**Author:** ![CEOofPolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@CEOofPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CEOofPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/187 "2012-11-15T17:56:17Z")
im talking about the newspaper you get every morning its a tough job you gotta bag them too but in some states 30k a year for a few hour job every day isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/188 "2012-11-15T18:00:10Z")
News flash, chuckles, newspapers are _dying_. It’s on the way out. Half the houses in my neighborhood (including mine) never get newspapers. I personally never will. The Internet has news, too! ---
**Author:** ![CEOofPolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@CEOofPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CEOofPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/189 "2012-11-15T18:02:47Z")
ah pizza delivery job there easy to get $100 in tips a day idk? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/190 "2012-11-15T18:04:05Z")
You’re funny. Have you ever done a pizza delivery job? Ever done any kind of menial, service level job at all? They suck. That’s not to say you can’t find time to do an extra job, but right now my attentions are all focused on going back to school, so no pizza delivery for me. ---
**Author:** ![CEOofPolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@CEOofPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CEOofPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/191 "2012-11-15T18:08:40Z")
minuim wage + tips $500 a week. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/192 "2012-11-15T18:10:09Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > ah pizza delivery job there easy to get $100 in tips a day idk? I direct you to this [excellent post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15696203&postcount=14) by a pizza delivery expert. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/193 "2012-11-15T18:15:08Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > or you can work 2 different minuim wage jobs and have enough for ends meet bingo I tried playing ends meet bingo. It wasn’t fun. They handed everyone a Mobius Strip and after 5 numbers had been called, the entire room shouted “Bingo!” ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/194 "2012-11-15T18:34:43Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > or you can work 2 different minuim wage jobs and have enough for ends meet bingo > [@Enderw24](#): > > I tried playing ends meet bingo. It wasn’t fun. They handed everyone a Mobius Strip and after 5 numbers had been called, the entire room shouted “Bingo!” :D:D:D That was pretty freaking clever. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/195 "2012-11-15T18:36:33Z")
I know I laughed out loud. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/196 "2012-11-15T18:42:40Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > wouldn’t you want to cut back on everything else and get a house so you not paying for nothing. No, you can’t take a house with you if you have to leave the area to take a better job (or leave for some less than happy reason). ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/197 "2012-11-15T18:44:16Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > I’ve heard that the cost of delivering a baby at a US hospital is often a huge expense, like $10,000+, yet obviously a lot of poorer Americans have babies. How does that work? If you have an income, you go into bankruptcy \. If you don’t have an income, it just stays on your permanent record until money comes from somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/198 "2012-11-15T18:49:40Z")
> [@CEOofPolar](#): > > minuim wage + tips $500 a week. 40 hours a week at minimum wage works out to $290.00. Are you seriously saying a pizza delivery person can average $210.00 in tips? And most pizza delivery persons probably only work part time. I agree with **Annamikaa**. Have you ever worked any kind of service level job at all? Have you ever had to do anything for yourself? EDIT - Actually, read the post that **Croatulus** linked to. Hopefully it will open your eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/199 "2012-11-15T18:56:58Z")
You know I’m starting to wonder how you got to be CEO. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018/200 "2012-11-15T18:58:48Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You know I’m starting to wonder how you got to be CEO. Nepotism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-poor-people-afford-everything/641018.md?page=11)