what it's like to be poor

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tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#41
Being poor means having to buy low quality brands of food because they are cheaper. Although I always buy krafts cheese because cheaper brands make me throw up.
I always make it a point to purchase Kraft cheese also. Purchase in bulk at my local Costco.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#42
Being poor means having to work even when you may be sick or not well enough to work, cos if you dont, you dont get paid and there is no insurance.
Yes, and it is a matter of discipline and responsibility regardless of one's financial status.
 

Billyd

Senior Member
May 8, 2014
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#43
I can't tell you how it is to be poor because I've always had at least one shirt on my back, one pair of jeans to wear, a roof over my head, and a biscuit to eat. How can I be poor, when God provides for all my basic needs? Maybe we should stop listing our wants, and start counting our blessings.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#44
good for you but what its really like to be poor is not to have enough and not being able to have it, while everyone else arpund you does and nobody helps you. Basically it means having no choice.
Being poor means you must depend on God more, because people will pity you and if you are too proud to accept pity, you wont survive.

Being poor means people despise you for having needs.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#45
Being poor means rich men will treat you as a dog, like Lazarus was, who lived off crumbs andhad to be grateful for what he could scavenge. He could not hope for a full meal, but the left overs.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#46
Yes, and it is a matter of discipline and responsibility regardless of one's financial status.
if you are rich you can take greater risks than if you are poor actually. You can choose to spend your money on luxuries and still have enough left over, as insurance premiums are predicated on how rich you are to be able to pay it.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#47
often people that are poor will hide that they are poor, they may wear their best clothes so people wont judge them, and by keeping up appearances they wont be honest about how they are truly struggling inside to keep the wolf from the door.
The wolf actually may be already INSIDE their home. Poor people have no security and need to rely on others and numbers to stop from going under. Cant just build a fence and have security cameras over posessions because there is none to take. Poor people only have themselves as their biggest asset.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#48
I always make it a point to purchase Kraft cheese also. Purchase in bulk at my local Costco.
gourmet food section is not for you, but lining up at foodbank is.
or the discount store, which sells cheap expired food that is still edible.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#49
Being poor means you have to get creative...you cant just go out an buy a new whatever, so you need to keep whatever you have and fix it.

if you have a home to have more room you just extend it. Being poor means you share more, and the floor also doubles as a bed. It is amazing how many people can live in one space.

Being poor means more likely to spread germs though, as you are sharing food and bathrooms and even clothes. Nothing is really your own, everyone else in your family needs a turn.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#50
its not a good thing to be skinny if you are poor, its better to be fat.
But if you are rich, being skinny is seen as good, and rich people go to great lengths to LOSE weight.

likewise, if you are poor and running its likely you are to be running away from something or running for your life. But rich people jog just for fun.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#51
during lockdown, rich celebs would be tweeting on how we were all in this together, and how they were coping in their mansions. They were trying to be empathetic, but they were not really, as they didnt know that poor people would be stuck in lockdown in a crowded home, or shelter, lost their jobs, and not knowing if things would get better.

if a rich person needed space they could just go to the next room, but for a someone who is poor there is no next room lol. Poor people learn how to get along with each other, cos they have to. sharing is everything.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#52
Being poor means you have to get creative...you cant just go out an buy a new whatever, so you need to keep whatever you have and fix it.

if you have a home to have more room you just extend it. Being poor means you share more, and the floor also doubles as a bed. It is amazing how many people can live in one space.

Being poor means more likely to spread germs though, as you are sharing food and bathrooms and even clothes. Nothing is really your own, everyone else in your family needs a turn.
When I was single I slept on the floor on a mattress pad. Did that for over 18 years. I didn't do that out of necessity however but rather by choice. Why buy a bed when I'm the only one sleeping on it.

Had a lot more money then, nice car, rented house with a swimming pool, large yard, orange and palm trees and cactus. Pool table in the recreation area, satellite TV.

When I got remarried in 2014 I was in bad shape. I had resigned my position in Maine when my late second wife died. My car had broken down, lost all of my stuff including my 2 dogs. I left Maine on a bus going back to Florida with only my clothes stuffed in a duffle bag. Totally destitute. Ended up staying on my brother's property. Cut his grass twice a week for pocket change. Found myself sleeping on the floor yet again. Severely depressed.

It's a wonder that my current (and last) wife consented to marry me. Can't imagine what she saw in a poor old derelict who had seen better days. The first thing my wife gave me before we got married is a bible. Said I needed more of Jesus in my life. She was right of course, per usual. The best days are yet to be.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#53
gourmet food section is not for you, but lining up at foodbank is.
or the discount store, which sells cheap expired food that is still edible.
I actually did that cheap expired food at the foodbank thing a few years ago. Now, I'm in a position to purchase cheap fresh food at my local Costco and super Walmart.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
41,243
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#54
during lockdown, rich celebs would be tweeting on how we were all in this together, and how they were coping in their mansions. They were trying to be empathetic, but they were not really, as they didnt know that poor people would be stuck in lockdown in a crowded home, or shelter, lost their jobs, and not knowing if things would get better.

if a rich person needed space they could just go to the next room, but for a someone who is poor there is no next room lol. Poor people learn how to get along with each other, cos they have to. sharing is everything.
I believe that the saying is true that misery loves company. Rich people are disingenuous when they state that we are all in this together. The truth is, at the first opportunity they would throw you under the bus as they climb another rung up the ladder of perceived success. They don't say that because of empathy towards the less unfortunate but rather do it for the accolades of society and their adoring fans cheering them on.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
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#57
being poor means you are vulnerable to scammy get-rich-quick schemes that sound too good to be true and are....

being poor also means you dont go to many social events because you have to pay for entry fees, fancy clothes or limos if its something like a school ball. Rich people can afford to dine out every week but it will be once a year at most if you are poor. Your only hope of entry into this scene is if you know someone, are a journalist, or waiter so the social things you go to are completely different.

you cannot join in certain conversations over property, travel, or leisure, since you are excluded from these things. When people ask what you do, they calculate in their heads how much they think you earn and then dismiss you.

class unfortunately does exist and you certainly know when you are the bottom of the heap cos nobody talks to you. when filling income returns and tax brackets though you can be honest and say you earn nothing...unlike richer people who are known to lie or hide money in swiss bank accounts so as not to pay taxes.
 
Nov 26, 2012
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#58
Being poor means rich men will treat you as a dog, like Lazarus was, who lived off crumbs andhad to be grateful for what he could scavenge. He could not hope for a full meal, but the left overs.
There is a margin of poverty. From what you describe you have clearly never been poor. There are people who are sickly poor, who are laying in a gutter waiting to die. That’s what you describe. There are others who just have no luxuries, not enough food to thrive, and no money in the bank. They may be discounted in earthly value but they are not the dregs of society you describe. Granted there are people in such pathetic circumstances as in these pictures you paint but it is usually accompanied with addictions. Most poor people I grew up with had parents who worked their butts off just to provide food. They were hard working honourable people. Some were very handy and fixed their own beat up, rust bucket cars with holes by your feet where you could see the road. I used to run everywhere. It was just faster and I had no bike. I jogged to keep up with the kids who did. Poverty is like any handicap. If you let it define you, then that’s what you are, the poor guy, or the cripple. If you see it as an obstacle that you face then you learn how to manage and thrive. My mom couldn’t afford clothes but we weren’t naked. She couldn’t afford a house but we didn’t live in the streets. She couldn’t afford to fill our fridge but we didn’t starve. It’s not some death sentence. I find your depictions very flawed and offensive to poor people. The ones you describe are losers. Not because they are poor, because they are weak. Pity the weak if you must. There are plenty to choose from even in beautiful homes.
 
Nov 26, 2012
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#59
if you are rich you can take greater risks than if you are poor actually. You can choose to spend your money on luxuries and still have enough left over, as insurance premiums are predicated on how rich you are to be able to pay it.
This again is ridiculous. If you are rich there is less risk. It is the poor person whose decisions may cause the greater hazard. Granted if you have nothing to lose you can take more chances. But financially speaking if the outcome does not hold potential danger, it really can’t be defined as risk.
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,195
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#60
being poor means you are vulnerable to scammy get-rich-quick schemes that sound too good to be true and are....

being poor also means you dont go to many social events because you have to pay for entry fees, fancy clothes or limos if its something like a school ball. Rich people can afford to dine out every week but it will be once a year at most if you are poor. Your only hope of entry into this scene is if you know someone, are a journalist, or waiter so the social things you go to are completely different.

you cannot join in certain conversations over property, travel, or leisure, since you are excluded from these things. When people ask what you do, they calculate in their heads how much they think you earn and then dismiss you.

class unfortunately does exist and you certainly know when you are the bottom of the heap cos nobody talks to you. when filling income returns and tax brackets though you can be honest and say you earn nothing...unlike richer people who are known to lie or hide money in swiss bank accounts so as not to pay taxes.
Many people do, and have, yet they somehow find the resources to help others.