Given that I never said you were in the first place, yes! 
People can be assholes and/or have no empathy, and that sucks. Your financial situation will change eventually - everyone’s does. Your attitude towards it may have a lot of effect on how much/how quickly it will change. Employers are more willing to hire people who are good workers and don’t seem to be desperate for a buck. You’re pretty bitter, and I’ve known a lot of people who were very bad off and never complained, they just did what they could with what they had and were grateful for what they DID have. I used to volunteer with a soup kitchen in a small Native community, and let me tell you, it changes your perspective pretty quick. At the time I was living on 1 meal a day so I could afford to pay rent, and I felt rich compared to some others.
been there in the past and going through it right now to (I hope) a lesser extent. I had a post in here earlier about my work closing down and while I have a job offer it doesnt start for 3 weeks to a month…and my last pay check was worthless, and so was the check for fuel. so I am looking at some weird situation where I am unemployed but for 3 weeks was spending money like I was employed leaving me very low on funds. I am confident the job will come through but its frustrating as fuck to deal with even short term. last time I had to deal with this it lasted years.
I truly feel for you, and all I can say is it does get better at some point.
been there in the past and going through it right now to (I hope) a lesser extent. I had a post in here earlier about my work closing down and while I have a job offer it doesnt start for 3 weeks to a month…and my last pay check was worthless, and so was the check for fuel. so I am looking at some weird situation where I am unemployed but for 3 weeks was spending money like I was employed leaving me very low on funds. I am confident the job will come through but its frustrating as fuck to deal with even short term. last time I had to deal with this it lasted years.
I truly feel for you, and all I can say is it does get better at some point.
Poverty sucks because…it is actually more expensive to be poor. BANK: keep a minimum balance, and no charge. No minimum balance, you have a charge. So if the charge comes out when you’ve written checks down to your last $3.50, the checks will bounce, costing $25 per bounce. If you weren’t poor, you might have a minimum balance, hence no charge, and you might have overdraft protection, so no bounced check charges ever. But if you’re poor, you just don’t even deserve to have a bank account. If your account goes below zero, the bank will charge you $15 a day until you get it up above zero. Sure, that makes sense.
TRANSPORTATION: If you take the bus, the more money you have to buy bus passes, the cheaper they are. Monthly=the best value. But if you’re poor, you probably can’t do that. So maybe you buy a book of ten, which is still better than doing it on a trip-by-trip basis. But if you’re poor, maybe it’s a choice of book of ten or food. So you can’t afford $10 for a book of ten, but you can afford $1.50 per ride, because $1.50 is less than $10, and that way you can still eat. But you’re not saving money.
FOOD: Safeway has this really annoying “Buy one, get one” variation that goes: Buy three, get three. So you get six for the price of three. But if you’re only buying one, tough–it’s full price, even with your card. And if you’re poor, that’s probably what you’re doing, buying one, at full price. Or buying something else altogether because it’s cheaper.
Yeah, poverty sucks.
This is known as the Vimes’ Boots Problem.
Actually, I’m pissing away the bitterness here - that’s why you’re seeing it. Day to day I’m actually maintaining a decent facade of happy-chirpy. So, uh, thanks for listening!
Best wishes, Broomstick. Have faith in yourself and yours.
Good luck Broomstick, I hope things turn for the better for you soon.
Being poor? Yeah, been there, done that, ate the t-shirt.
I was poor because I was ignorant. I knew I was ignorant, so I went out and got an education to be less ignorant. It worked out well (not that I’m saying anyone else is ignorant, I’m just relating my experience and why I was poor).
There is one good thing about being ignorant and poor. When you get a raise from $6.40/hr to $6.70/hr you feel like you’ve arrived! Let the good times roll, halelulah!
So, now that I’m less ignorant, I’ve managed to buy a new house at the housing peak and while it was being built the prices all fell. I shouldn’t really be upset because it falls within my well tested investment guideline of buying high and selling low. :rolleyes:
And don't forget, "Poverty by choice ennobles a man "- A.Huxley
All these statements would seem to be dependent upon social milieu and one’s concepts of expectation and entitlement.
Having wood to chop is better fortune than none.
Dear Broomstick
I WAS on the pov line for ages when husband left. Then things got better, albeit slowly. Then lived extremely well until January this year. Eloped to Tasmania, lived on seafood and steak, stayed in the best hotels. Came home to find new husband’s work hours cut in half. Have lived VERY frugally since. 30 cent pies and cheap noodles for lunch, and dinner. All three of us. And I agree, that $20 note has to put petrol in the car, (no public transport where we live), and feed us, until pay day 9 days away. Then I have to talk to the bank and our creditors and get my shoes re-soled AGAIN. And there is nothing more annoying than eating your cheap arse lunch with someone who’s telling you that "… and buying a luxury car was on my to-do list before I turn 40, and I can tell you, I’ve bought cheaper HOUSES’ … yeah well, hilarity just ensues doesn’t it?
Hang in there buddy. Remember the old adage “no poverty under the bedcovers”? Well, thankfully, there’s no poverty on the Dope! And sometimes intelligent, witty conversation can be a meal in itself!
Nice but in Michigan the engineers,programmers and management have lost their jobs. Restaurants ,bars ans stores are closing. To imply that a better education is the answer is not always true. My ex boss has an engineering degree, a doctorate in economics and he found a job in insurance after being idle for a year. Thanks for participating.
Yeah, go back and read where I was saying this applied to my situation and no one else, m’kay?
Hell, here I’ll post it again for the scrolling impaired:
This is the one that pisses me off more than anything else. I’ve gone from living below the poverty line, working multiple minimum wage jobs, to… well, let’s just say I’m doing much better now, thank you.
Over that time, I noticed one constant- the more money I made, the *less *I actually had to work. Extrapolating the curve, I can only imagine that CEOs of major companies spend all of their time playing golf and eating grapes peeled by supermodels.
Poverty Sucks Because - Even though the turkey pot pies may taste much better, they’re twenty cents more expensive than the chicken pies… and that adds up.
What annoys me is that it seem the more money I make, the less I seem to actually have. When I was poor I was able to afford a car, an apartment, and go out occasionally. Now that I’m not poor, I have a car, a house, a wife, and assorted kids who I don’t seem to have had a hand in producing, and get to go out occasionally. Yeah, the car and house are somewhat nicer, and the wife is useful at times, but now I owe others for these things (no, not the wife, geez!) where I owed nothing to anyone before!
I just paid $11 for three loaves of bread at the store. See, there’s the “food allergy tax” where I have to pay more because I can’t buy the cheap loaves, they make me sick. I can only buy bread that has NO barley in it, and the cheap loaves have barley because the price of wheat is so high. So I have to buy the “gourmet” stuff that’s never on sale.
Does not help when busy-bodies keep gushing “But THIS is on sale for XX! The loaves at the day-old store are XX!” That’s nice, will you serve me a side order of arsenic to go with that? You might as well.
Definitely need to get the kitchen sorted out for baking again, now that I have a source for pure wheat flour. Can make 4-5 loaves for the price of buying 1 or 2, but I’ve been battling a headcold while forcing myself to work (no paid sick time anymore, ya know?) and coming home exhausted. Sleep very necessary to recovery. Perhaps in a day or two I’ll be up to the necessary heavy cleaning and rearranging required. Would also be nice to eat muffins and nutbreads again, especially since I can get nuts wholesale now.
Ah, well, onward some more, I guess.
Oh, and keep in mind, for the wealthy it’s not just about working in their job - they can also afford to hire people to do their housework, wash their car, take care of their lawn, cook their food, etc., etc. All that routine shit we all do for ourselves in our “free” time up through the middle class.
My heart goes out to you Broomstick. I’ve been in your shoes more times than I care to remember. And could be in them again soon. The economy being what it is, I have been really cutting back lately. I use my razors for three weeks before I pitch them, reprogrammed the thermostat, make cat litter last longer by getting my lazy ass out there and cleaning it every day. I try to do things as sparingly as I can, but some things I won’t give up until I have too. When I was younger and on my own, I ate top ramen 2 times a day and rode my bike to work so I feel I can relate to your predicament, somewhat. It feels stupid to even type these words as I know nothing can assuage your feelings of desparation, but here words are all we have. All I can say is I hear you out there.
Poverty - Been there, done that. Don’t like it one bit.