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I can sympathize with some of the poor people who had accidental expenses that they could not have planned for. But I'm really having trouble understanding how

I can sympathize with some of the poor people who had accidental expenses that they could not have planned for. But I'm really having trouble understanding how this article makes it seem those fees are hard to avoid as poor person. When I was living under $1000 budget, overdraft fee was unheard of, because when you have very little money, it's easy to manage, you only need a few hundred dollars in your account for daily spending. And bigger purchases (>$100) are planned so they can be actually paid for. I also never knew there were consequences for paying electricity late, because renting my own place is out of my budget. Funnily, I only ran into those "poor people" issues like expensive credit card interest, overdraft fees, predator car loans after getting my first full-time developer job, because I stopped managing my expenses.

tradersam 9y ago
> And bigger purchases (>$100) are planned so they can be actually paid for. Totally, like when you blow a tire on the freeway? Or get into medical trouble, without sufficient insurance? It's easy to fall down the hole without even realizing it.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Lived it and concur. It easy to dismiss these things when you have a $2k buffer. Much different when your buffer is $200 or less.
lovich 9y ago
Yea, you could possibly keep everything under control troll. Until you get a single unexpected expense like a major car repair, and then you are stuck in a vicious cycle of trying to keep up.with overdraft payments and interest payments. If you lived uner 1000 a month and had to problems, then all evidence points to your situation being the outlier
gizmo686 9y ago
The problem is, the poor live at close to $0. If unexpected circumstances happen (and they will), they are at risk of going negative, at which point a bunch of fees and expenses kick in. If a "wealthy" person has unexpected expanses, they go to slightly less positive then they planned, but nothing actually happens as a result. Not to mention all the normal ways being poor is expensive (eg. you cannot afford to buy the long-term cheap, bulk/durable items, so you buy the more long-term expansive items because they are cheaper upfront). For what it is worth, my only experience with the issues you list also arose from having too much money. I had split money across multiple accounts, and tried to transfer money into account A in order to fund a large payment from account A. Overdraft, because I did not wait for the transfer to clear.
- kaycebasques 9y ago
  I wonder if I can set up a system where I buy the bulk items, and then sell them to communities in need at cost?
ramblenode 9y ago
The greater point here is that if you are poor you are one unexpected expense away from financial and/or personal ruin. The kinds of compromises this entails are either basic necessities or simple luxuries (so perhaps a necessity for one's mental health). They are compromises that accrue material, physiological, or psychological debt and snowball into further compromises. It's the "poverty trap", and the best case for many people is just a constant state of maintenance as they don't have the surplus capital, time, or mental energy to invest in a better future. You were able to build on your limited resources and improve your life, but hopefully you can appreciate that there are many others who don't realistically have this opportunity.
tyingq 9y ago
It's the unexpected stuff. Parking tickets when you honestly didn't mean to do anything wrong, your car unexpectedly dying, roto rooter for the pipe that blew in your shitty mobile home, the surprise tax bill because you filled out your W2 wrong, the unexpected 2x bump for your bottom end heath insurance, your car's catalytic converter dies and it won't pass inspection, your Mom that suddenly has Alzheimer's, lease renewal comes up and your neighborhood has been gentrified and is suddenly 2x the original cost, right sizing and layoffs, etc. Maybe you can work out a paycheck to paycheck strategy, but chaos theory gets you eventually. I lived this, and got past it, but luck was a big part of it. Right place, right time, and some hero[1] gave me a chance. Not everyone is this lucky. [1] Big thanks Gene, if you're still out there.
- EADGBE 9y ago
  Don't forget the toll it takes on your psychologically. That's the worst part. Still haunts me. The Genes out there are rightly heros.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    Good to hear from a fellow "survivor". I'm stunned to have gone from living in my car to being a middle class dope. Lost touch with Gene, I hope he did well.
- kaycebasques 9y ago
  Thanks for all of your insightful comments on this thread.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    Thank you! Grew up pretty poor. My mom was a single mother with a nursing degree back in the 80s when nurses made just above minimum wage. I'm super happy that the baby boom aging process changed that over time (supply/demand). She's now retired, but has 3 pensions, and no worries. Sometimes, karma just pays off.

tradersam 9y ago

> And bigger purchases (>$100) are planned so they can be actually paid for. Totally, like when you blow a tire on the freeway? Or get into medical trouble, without sufficient insurance? It's easy to fall down the hole without even realizing it.

tyingq 9y ago
Lived it and concur. It easy to dismiss these things when you have a $2k buffer. Much different when your buffer is $200 or less.

lovich 9y ago

Yea, you could possibly keep everything under control troll. Until you get a single unexpected expense like a major car repair, and then you are stuck in a vicious cycle of trying to keep up.with overdraft payments and interest payments. If you lived uner 1000 a month and had to problems, then all evidence points to your situation being the outlier

gizmo686 9y ago

The problem is, the poor live at close to $0. If unexpected circumstances happen (and they will), they are at risk of going negative, at which point a bunch of fees and expenses kick in. If a "wealthy" person has unexpected expanses, they go to slightly less positive then they planned, but nothing actually happens as a result. Not to mention all the normal ways being poor is expensive (eg. you cannot afford to buy the long-term cheap, bulk/durable items, so you buy the more long-term expansive items because they are cheaper upfront). For what it is worth, my only experience with the issues you list also arose from having too much money. I had split money across multiple accounts, and tried to transfer money into account A in order to fund a large payment from account A. Overdraft, because I did not wait for the transfer to clear.

kaycebasques 9y ago
I wonder if I can set up a system where I buy the bulk items, and then sell them to communities in need at cost?

ramblenode 9y ago

The greater point here is that if you are poor you are one unexpected expense away from financial and/or personal ruin. The kinds of compromises this entails are either basic necessities or simple luxuries (so perhaps a necessity for one's mental health). They are compromises that accrue material, physiological, or psychological debt and snowball into further compromises. It's the "poverty trap", and the best case for many people is just a constant state of maintenance as they don't have the surplus capital, time, or mental energy to invest in a better future. You were able to build on your limited resources and improve your life, but hopefully you can appreciate that there are many others who don't realistically have this opportunity.

tyingq 9y ago

It's the unexpected stuff. Parking tickets when you honestly didn't mean to do anything wrong, your car unexpectedly dying, roto rooter for the pipe that blew in your shitty mobile home, the surprise tax bill because you filled out your W2 wrong, the unexpected 2x bump for your bottom end heath insurance, your car's catalytic converter dies and it won't pass inspection, your Mom that suddenly has Alzheimer's, lease renewal comes up and your neighborhood has been gentrified and is suddenly 2x the original cost, right sizing and layoffs, etc. Maybe you can work out a paycheck to paycheck strategy, but chaos theory gets you eventually. I lived this, and got past it, but luck was a big part of it. Right place, right time, and some hero[1] gave me a chance. Not everyone is this lucky. [1] Big thanks Gene, if you're still out there.

EADGBE 9y ago
Don't forget the toll it takes on your psychologically. That's the worst part. Still haunts me. The Genes out there are rightly heros.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Good to hear from a fellow "survivor". I'm stunned to have gone from living in my car to being a middle class dope. Lost touch with Gene, I hope he did well.
kaycebasques 9y ago
Thanks for all of your insightful comments on this thread.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Thank you! Grew up pretty poor. My mom was a single mother with a nursing degree back in the 80s when nurses made just above minimum wage. I'm super happy that the baby boom aging process changed that over time (supply/demand). She's now retired, but has 3 pensions, and no worries. Sometimes, karma just pays off.