> So Abbott and her husband walked into Buddy’s this past winter, hoping to replace the old sofa in their trailer, six years old, its wiring poking through the

> So Abbott and her husband walked into Buddy’s this past winter, hoping to replace the old sofa in their trailer, six years old, its wiring poking through the bottom, cutting gashes into the living room floor. I once bought a couch set for about the same price, but yet, thankfully, I could afford to pay for it up front. I got two loveseats and a couch for about $1600. Funny story -- 6 years later, all were in perfectly fine condition -- the springs were NOT poking out the bottom, not cutting "gashes" in my floor. I split up the set and sold them through Craigslist for about $950 total. My total 6-year cost? $650, or $2/week for the whole set. I'm not going to draw any broad conclusions on the wealth/capital/income gap or privilege, or anything like that -- but the author does readers a disservice to gloss over the poor assumptions that lead to many believing they are "forced" to make these kinds of purchases.