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Being poor means you have no cushion. Particularly if you are poor in an urban/suburban area. You are one unfortunate event away from being wiped out. Compan

by douche 11y ago

Being poor means you have no cushion. Particularly if you are poor in an urban/suburban area. You are one unfortunate event away from being wiped out. Company downsizes or has a round of layoffs, and you lose your job? The rent, the car payment, the grocery bill, the utilities, etc, don't go away. Some of that you can scrape by on by shifting the bills onto credit, but most landlords don't take VISA. Get in an accident, and get seriously injured? Now you can't work, and you've got either huge medical bills, or a deductible that you have to pay before the insurance covers the rest. Maybe you heal up and your job isn't there any more. If you are poor in a rural area, you actually have more options than if you are living in a city. My grandparents were poor as church mice, but if things really hit the fan, at least they still had a roof over their heads (even if it's a dirt-floor shack), they had a plot of land they could grow a garden in, wood that could be chopped down to feed the wood stove, and deer that could be poached to put meat on the table. They had resources and skills that could help them subsist and ride out rough patches where money was tight or non-existent.

stretchwithme 11y ago
Spending everything as you get it, not being a saver, using all the credit lenders will allow - that means you have no cushion. In the US, money is taken from you for Social Security and you can't get it back until you're 60. Or, rather, you get paid when later generations pay in. In Singapore, there is forced savings. You still own everything you save. There's more freedom with how you invest it. And it's not dependent on future generations paying in. You are correct about the rural area. There is less pressure, more ability to save. Its also more boring with fewer activities and people of interest, but you can save your pennies, invest in your ability to earn and perhaps move to where you can profit from those skills.
lsc 11y ago
> Being poor means you have no cushion. Particularly if you are poor in an urban/suburban area. You are one unfortunate event away from being wiped out. I think there is a more important distinction; really, one that is more valuable than any reasonable amount of saved money is. Family with the resources to support a person. I mean, most of the time, if you come from a middle-class family, you can't remain dependent forever, but you do have a place to stay while you get back on your feet, and you have a network of people who know people who can get you interviews for decent jobs. I think this is a bigger advantage than it would seem at first glance; bankruptcy is dramatically less frightening if you know that worst-case, you can sleep at your parent's place, eat their food, and that they'll be calling all their contacts trying to get you an interview.

by douche 11y ago

stretchwithme 11y ago

Spending everything as you get it, not being a saver, using all the credit lenders will allow - that means you have no cushion. In the US, money is taken from you for Social Security and you can't get it back until you're 60. Or, rather, you get paid when later generations pay in. In Singapore, there is forced savings. You still own everything you save. There's more freedom with how you invest it. And it's not dependent on future generations paying in. You are correct about the rural area. There is less pressure, more ability to save. Its also more boring with fewer activities and people of interest, but you can save your pennies, invest in your ability to earn and perhaps move to where you can profit from those skills.

lsc 11y ago

> Being poor means you have no cushion. Particularly if you are poor in an urban/suburban area. You are one unfortunate event away from being wiped out. I think there is a more important distinction; really, one that is more valuable than any reasonable amount of saved money is. Family with the resources to support a person. I mean, most of the time, if you come from a middle-class family, you can't remain dependent forever, but you do have a place to stay while you get back on your feet, and you have a network of people who know people who can get you interviews for decent jobs. I think this is a bigger advantage than it would seem at first glance; bankruptcy is dramatically less frightening if you know that worst-case, you can sleep at your parent's place, eat their food, and that they'll be calling all their contacts trying to get you an interview.