# The perks of poverty. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2012, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714 "2012-01-07T08:20:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/1 "2012-01-07T08:20:35Z")
I _want_ to help that little girl learn how to cut hair. I swear I don’t mind looking like I’m leaning to one side. Anybody got another reason to go on? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/2 "2012-01-07T08:51:39Z")
You spend way less time dusting knickknacks when you can’t afford them? ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/3 "2012-01-07T09:26:36Z")
I can push shopping carts out of the way with my pov car. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/4 "2012-01-07T10:40:40Z")
To papaphrase Henry David Thoreou mulling over acquistions: I have to decide how much of my llife I’m willing to spend dusting this. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/5 "2012-01-07T10:45:57Z")
Dieting is easy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/6 "2012-01-07T19:08:28Z")
My bro’s not poor, but his motto is “The best investment is not buying something. It pays 100% right up front.” That seems to be a motto po’ folks could easily put to use every day. Other po’ perks: No worries about getting door dings in the parking lot. It’s easy to decide what to wear each day. No agonizing over which of the 37,285 kinds of Starbuck’s beverage to have today. No pesky charities calling for yet another big donation. Tax time is \*real \*easy. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/7 "2012-01-07T19:12:44Z")
> [@SerenaPerido](#): > > I can push shopping carts out of the way with my pov car. You have a point-of-view car? Suh-weeet! 🙂 My house is so much easier to clean since it’s not 6000 square feet. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/8 "2012-01-07T19:25:16Z")
“I went to the Home Depot, which was unnecessary. I need to go to the Apartment Depot, which is just a big warehouse with a whole lot of people standing around saying, ‘We don’t have to fix _shit_!’” - Mitch Hedberg ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/9 "2012-01-07T19:53:11Z")
Po’ perks! Love it. Keep 'em coming. I’m beginning to feel like I’ve just “gone green.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/10 "2012-01-07T20:33:57Z")
You don’t have to worry much about pickpockets, when they’re empty. Conversely, finding ten bucks in a little-used coat pocket is a _ **big deal.** _ You don’t get jaded and blase about treats like seafood or Gorgonzola, because they’re still treats. A ten-dollar bottle of wine is a delicious indulgence. (old-vine zin! woo hoo!) ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/11 "2012-01-07T20:48:24Z")
Deciding what to make for dinner isn’t a hassle when you only have 4 things in the cupboard! You never have to endure packing and unpacking or being strip-searched at the airport when you never go on vacation! Cat food has many essential vitamins and nutrients! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/12 "2012-01-07T21:03:11Z")
Shopping at Wal-Mart is easy and fast since you know where everything is there - you go there every week. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/13 "2012-01-07T21:26:23Z")
To keep utility bills affordable, you conserve water and power. Good for the planet! You can’t afford subscription TV, so you borrow books from the public library instead of vegging out in front of the boob toob. Much better for your mind! ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/14 "2012-01-07T21:38:47Z")
You’ll never have to eat a bite of that horribly inedible hospital food ever again. Stealing your identity will be its own punishment. If you partake, you’ll get to discover the oenological wonders of “Two Buck Chuck”. ---
**Author:** ![Schrodinger\_s\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Schrodinger\_s\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schrodinger_s_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/15 "2012-01-08T03:42:02Z")
No need to hire movers! Pack your things in your milk crate bookcases, deflate your airbed, and you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/16 "2012-01-08T04:26:56Z")
😃 Stealing my identity _would_ be their own (worst) punishment; I think my credit score requires modern (negative) math. These are so cool, funny and true. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/17 "2012-01-08T08:39:33Z")
I never have to worry about which shoes to wear since there’s only the one pair. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/18 "2012-01-08T08:44:24Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > You can’t afford subscription TV, so you borrow books from the public library instead of vegging out in front of the boob toob. Much better for your mind! True 'nuff. And the corollary (which is actually true in my house): If you can’t afford cable, your kids will watch and appreciate classics such as M_A_S\*H, Hogan’s Heroes and Mary Tyler Moore. MeTV ftw! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/19 "2012-01-08T08:44:30Z")
No need to worry about whether the computer can play that game: first, it can’t, and second, it’s the library’s and patrons are not allowed to install stuff in it. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714/20 "2012-01-08T10:48:24Z")
I don’t have to go out with my coworkers because I’m too poor to join the Social Club. This is a **major** perk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-of-poverty/608714.md?page=2)