5 ms·

You're not considering that some of us may have actually been/are poor. My frustration at people throw their paycheck-to-paycheck earnings at Rent-a-centers isn

by cheald 12y ago

You're not considering that some of us may have actually been/are poor. My frustration at people throw their paycheck-to-paycheck earnings at Rent-a-centers isn't "oh, look at the stupid poors", it's "I've been there, and I know that you can get a $1500 couch for $50 cash if you are willing to get up at 5 AM on Saturday mornings and go hit garage sales." The article's presentation of "These people have no options except to be horrifically exploited" is wrong at best, maybe even dishonest. No matter how much money you make, spending beyond your means because you have to have luxuries you really can't afford is a bad financial play. I feel a lot of empathy for people who get caught in the RAC trap. They're digging themselves into a hole that they'll never escape from, and that's genuinely sad. But it's a fixable problem! They aren't victims of their circumstances, they're victims of their own consumerism. At the end of the day, each of us is responsible for what we choose to spend our earnings on, and if you choose to spend all your expendable income on instant gratification, that's your choice, and you get to own the consequences of that choice.

Delmania 12y ago
How similar was your situation? Did you have a family you needed to support? A full time job?
- MrZongle2 12y ago
  Wait, are you implying that the parent poster wasn't poor enough to appreciate the situation?
  - MadManE 12y ago
    This sounds like the kind of situation you would see on r/TumblrInAction. . . .
- cheald 12y ago
  You realize that no matter how I answer this question, someone will say "Oh, you weren't as poor as X", and thus claim that I'm not qualified to empathize, right? I had a family and was self-employed, which meant no guarantee of stable income and self-employment insurance, plus self-employment taxes. My take home covered rent, food, and basic utilities - usually. We certainly couldn't afford new furniture or appliances. We ate at a 10-year-old kitchen table that cost $100 from a grocery store with 4 chairs, which were literally falling apart from use. My couch was second-hand from a garage sale. My car was a used one that I learned to repair myself because I couldn't afford to pay a mechanic to fix it for me. I could have "afforded" to rent furniture. I even looked at it at one point, did the math on it, and nope'd right out of there. My wife wasn't happy at all - she'd been campaigning for new furniture for a long time - but it was the right financial choice. I'm in a much more stable financial situation now, but my kitchen table is a used one that my wife and I stripped, sanded, and refinished ourselves. My entertainment center we got from some friends who were moving and didn't have room for it. My TV I picked up on the curb, and it cost me $35 for a new DLP bulb. My coffee table I got for $20 at a furniture outlet store. I still have the garage sale couch.
  - monksy 12y ago
    I've been in a situation where I was in grad school. There isn't much money coming in if any at all, and no loans. That was years ago, even now when I moved and had to throw out the couch I had since grad school: I refused to pay more than $600 for a couch. It's unbelievable that someone would pay 800 for a single couch. I paid $550 for a love seat and a couch. Is it cheap? Yes, have I become a social pariah for doing so? The guests from last weekend's party certainly didn't give a toss.
    - Noted 12y ago
      How is it unbelievable that someone would pay $800 for a couch? If your $550 couch isn't the best couch in the world, then maybe there's a reason other people with different sensibilities and means would pay more than you would for a couch.
      - monksy 12y ago
        Point of clarification: my couch and love seat for 550.
  - jvrossb 12y ago
    What differed between you and your wife that made her want to go for it and you not?
    - cheald 12y ago
      She didn't want to after we discussed the finances. It didn't stop her from wanting nice new things (nor should it have), but she agreed that it wasn't a wise use of our finances. She was more unhappy about it than I because she's the one with the aesthetic eye, and was emotionally invested in the look and feel of our home.

by cheald 12y ago

Delmania 12y ago

How similar was your situation? Did you have a family you needed to support? A full time job?

MrZongle2 12y ago
Wait, are you implying that the parent poster wasn't poor enough to appreciate the situation?
- MadManE 12y ago
  This sounds like the kind of situation you would see on r/TumblrInAction. . . .
cheald 12y ago
You realize that no matter how I answer this question, someone will say "Oh, you weren't as poor as X", and thus claim that I'm not qualified to empathize, right? I had a family and was self-employed, which meant no guarantee of stable income and self-employment insurance, plus self-employment taxes. My take home covered rent, food, and basic utilities - usually. We certainly couldn't afford new furniture or appliances. We ate at a 10-year-old kitchen table that cost $100 from a grocery store with 4 chairs, which were literally falling apart from use. My couch was second-hand from a garage sale. My car was a used one that I learned to repair myself because I couldn't afford to pay a mechanic to fix it for me. I could have "afforded" to rent furniture. I even looked at it at one point, did the math on it, and nope'd right out of there. My wife wasn't happy at all - she'd been campaigning for new furniture for a long time - but it was the right financial choice. I'm in a much more stable financial situation now, but my kitchen table is a used one that my wife and I stripped, sanded, and refinished ourselves. My entertainment center we got from some friends who were moving and didn't have room for it. My TV I picked up on the curb, and it cost me $35 for a new DLP bulb. My coffee table I got for $20 at a furniture outlet store. I still have the garage sale couch.
- monksy 12y ago
  I've been in a situation where I was in grad school. There isn't much money coming in if any at all, and no loans. That was years ago, even now when I moved and had to throw out the couch I had since grad school: I refused to pay more than $600 for a couch. It's unbelievable that someone would pay 800 for a single couch. I paid $550 for a love seat and a couch. Is it cheap? Yes, have I become a social pariah for doing so? The guests from last weekend's party certainly didn't give a toss.
  - Noted 12y ago
    How is it unbelievable that someone would pay $800 for a couch? If your $550 couch isn't the best couch in the world, then maybe there's a reason other people with different sensibilities and means would pay more than you would for a couch.
    - monksy 12y ago
      Point of clarification: my couch and love seat for 550.
- jvrossb 12y ago
  What differed between you and your wife that made her want to go for it and you not?
  - cheald 12y ago
    She didn't want to after we discussed the finances. It didn't stop her from wanting nice new things (nor should it have), but she agreed that it wasn't a wise use of our finances. She was more unhappy about it than I because she's the one with the aesthetic eye, and was emotionally invested in the look and feel of our home.