> These people sign contracts without understanding what they are agreeing to... That's inconsistent with what the article states: > Abbott wanted a love seat

> These people sign contracts without understanding what they are agreeing to... That's inconsistent with what the article states: > Abbott wanted a love seat-sofa combo, and she knew it might rip her budget. > Their decision to spring for a new sofa set was, if anything, a bet on the most optimistic arc for their family. Donald was getting regular work, sometimes making $500 in a week, paid by the load to haul pureed chicken guts — used for pet food — to factories across the South. If he could keep up the pace, they’d be okay. > Abbott has spent eight months now with the sofa set, and some days, she can shrug off the costs. She’ll sink into the cushions just before her kids get out of school and say she wouldn’t trade the feeling “for a million bucks.” Normal families have sofas, she says, and you’ll do what it takes to feel normal. > Abbott and Donald smoked a cigarette in the bathroom and sorted through the grim math. It was less than they were used to, but sickness and an oversupply of drivers had left Donald with the shrunken paycheck. > “We’ve always talked about the benefits and costs,” she said on the drive home. “Because with a family you can’t just say, ‘I want this, I’m going to get it.’ But growing up having the chair, the recliner, the love seat, the couch and everything, you just get used to the normal stuff. Sometimes it’s hard to break from the normal stuff and get to reality.” It's clear from the article that the Abbotts made a considered decision. It might not have been a financially prudent one, but not all considered decisions are good ones. I find it ironic that you call for empathy when the not-so-subtle suggestion in your comment is that folks like the Abbotts are ignorant. They very clearly are not.