How do low income people survive? (unemployment benefits, college degree, middle class, full-time)

[Jesse69]

Lots of low income people in Chicago survive without cars... they use bikes! You see them as poor because they ride cheap bikes too. I imagine they shop light and frequently.

But I guess bikes wouldn't work in the suburbs or rural.

Ok, It stinks big time to be low income! Especially if you can't afford good food! But you can actually be happy with a McDonalds $1 double cheeseburger and $1 sundae.

[PokerPlayer84]

I have had times when i have had no or little money but have never been poor. I would guess you just get used to it. Humans are good at adjusting to situations

[misfitz]

There's actually a book about this - Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Amazon.com: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America: Barbara Ehrenreich: Books

An upper-middle-class journalist wanted to see for herself the answer to this same question, so she started from scratch, finding a low-income job, housing, etc. in several different parts of the country. The book is all about her experiences. It's an interesting read. Parts of it were eye-opening, and parts of it I could empathize with, having been a starving student for a long time! (Now I'm a starving member of the workforce paying off student loans. )

Totally agree with the poster who said education is EXPENSIVE! I would advise against the student loans unless you're going into a high-paying field like accounting, law, etc. Well, live and learn.

Interesting thread BTW.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by CA central coast

Be a minimalist, no toys is the biggie. Wear cheap clothes, pay cheap rent, no car payment (drive a POS), no dating or movies or eating out. No smoking or drinking. Even live at home if possible. The bare essentials. I've lived like this. I was actually able to save money, enough to where money wasn't a concern or something to stress out about.

Hey, you can date a girl (not a bimbo) who would go for walks with you and pack picnic lunches. You can't do Ruth Chris and a movie, but you can keep it simple.
A lot of it is going back to things you did when you were young. If you have bikes, walking trails, just bumming around.

Or dress up nice, have a candlelight dinner at home, with a nice casserole or something made well and it's the atmosphere...

I'd rather be with a guy who was real than some guy who had money and was a narcissist.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by asassyvic

This is for all of you folks who are so fond of bragging about not owning a car.
This has been my experience with people who don't drive or own a car and not saying it is anyone that posted in particular on this board.
I am so sick of being called to drive my car-less friend (?) or friends when they need a ride to the doctor, the emergency room or one of those little clinics. Or how about a weekly or even twice a week trip to the grocery store or the fruit/veggie stand or library. All this constantly on my gas/oil/insurance and upkeep of car. Sure it's great for you but I'm kind of fed up with it. Do they offer even gas money, h**l no. Sometimes don't even remember to say thank you. I tried to move far from said friend to discourage being taken advantage of. Didn't help one bit. Just means going every couple weeks instead of a couple times a week. I am not the only person this car-less people call either. Since the price of gas has sky rocketed I have been given gas money because I refused to use my gas to pick them up, wait for them to shop, drive them home and help them unload their purchases. But now they are providing gas money they seem to think they have more right to ask for a ride.
People who don't drive and take the bus have a distorted perception of distance and where things are located. Yeah, don't scream not me. I spend at least 40 miles on one of those shopping trips and said person has no concept of the distance. Never mind it takes most of my day off.
I'm planning on moving hundreds of miles away this time. People IMHO who don't have their own transportation are a burden to someone. If you are friends with them then you have to pick them up if you want to have a day out and then drive them home again. No wonder they have few friends.
Who are you a burden too? A parent, a roommate? The neighbor? At some point in time you will need to find a ride to get somewhere who are you asking? When I have on occasion been offered money its never been more than a dollar or two, when the actual cost of gas was much more. Don't get me started on the waiting for them. And the inevitable 'can we just go to so and so store, I'll only be a minute' when the desired store is 15 miles from where you are or it's hot as Hades out or freezing cold they expect you to wait for them. Poo, I'm fed up with people who are just too cheap to get their own car. Yep, cheap. Cars can be found cheap in most any town. They are good enough to get to the store etc.
I've gotten rid of all the deadbeat friends I had or the ones with horrible adult children and am down to this one last hanger on. I got wrangled into to this to start with because I stupidly felt sorry for this person. I have offered to teach them to drive but they are too scared to do that. Funny, not to scared to ride in a car. Sigh! If this offends you non car owners, well so be it. WTF I could care less. Just don't ask me for a ride. Unless you're cat/dog needs a ride to the emergency vet. That's the only thing that will get you a ride in my car.

I had one do that to me years ago. I met her in a group, and she lived with a guy, so she paid no rent. But no car. So she didn't seem shy asking for rides. One time, she had to go to the doctor, and it turned out to be a specialist at a big teaching hospital downtown, so there was paid parking. This was a real project, and we get in there, and she plays doctor back with this specialist, criticizing doctors, and just being anatogonistic toward him. I was surprised he put up with her. I was so embarrassed. After he left, I asked her, WTF are you doing?
She didn't like that and a day later I got a letter from her saying I "drove at break neck speed" <lie> and that I tried to run over a squirrel <I pointed out a squirrel near the road, and I love them and do not ever want to see one get run over>.
She went nuts on me, and I cut off the "friendship" right there.

I am not against helping someone who needs it, but if someone chooses to not have a car and wants you to be their chauffeur, say YES!

Then give them a list of what it will cost, because these are YOUR costs.
Fuel used by mileage, maintenance, new tires, car insurance, license, registration.
Because if they hired a taxi or shuttle, they would pay.
If they talk about "Oh, you're a friend...", say, sure, I will give you a ride, but after that, I have to charge because I could live without a car and get rides free too.
Moochers are just people who steal in the name of friendship. It is quite different from a friend helping a friend and they know it.

Just say no.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by misfitz

There's actually a book about this - Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Amazon.com: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America: Barbara Ehrenreich: Books

An upper-middle-class journalist wanted to see for herself the answer to this same question, so she started from scratch, finding a low-income job, housing, etc. in several different parts of the country. The book is all about her experiences. It's an interesting read. Parts of it were eye-opening, and parts of it I could empathize with, having been a starving student for a long time! (Now I'm a starving member of the workforce paying off student loans. )

Totally agree with the poster who said education is EXPENSIVE! I would advise against the student loans unless you're going into a high-paying field like accounting, law, etc. Well, live and learn.

Interesting thread BTW.

The problem with the expensive college education, been there, done that twice, is that if there are no jobs, doesn't matter how good of an education one got. I was one of the people who "retrained for the new economy" and then there were no jobs in that either. I could have saved myself thousands of dollars.

[GypsySoul22]

Originally Posted by misfitz

There's actually a book about this - Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Amazon.com: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America: Barbara Ehrenreich: Books

An upper-middle-class journalist wanted to see for herself the answer to this same question, so she started from scratch, finding a low-income job, housing, etc. in several different parts of the country. The book is all about her experiences. It's an interesting read. Parts of it were eye-opening, and parts of it I could empathize with, having been a starving student for a long time! (Now I'm a starving member of the workforce paying off student loans. )

Totally agree with the poster who said education is EXPENSIVE! I would advise against the student loans unless you're going into a high-paying field like accounting, law, etc. Well, live and learn.

Interesting thread BTW.

I read that book and it was pretty depressing...many of these folks worked as maids or in retail...the part about the poor maids in Maine really made me sad. There are so many folks working for crumbs...

[GypsySoul22]

Originally Posted by nebulous1

The problem with the expensive college education, been there, done that twice, is that if there are no jobs, doesn't matter how good of an education one got. I was one of the people who "retrained for the new economy" and then there were no jobs in that either. I could have saved myself thousands of dollars.

Yes, there are so many people running to get into nursing...I can't help thinking that eventually that job will also be 'over-run' and the salaries will fall...

[nocturnal rooster]

I used to make about 35K a year working two jobs.

But since I've decided to go back to school, I only have a part time job. You can survive on a low income

It's all about budgeting. My car died, that's probably a good thing. I ride a bike to work, and I use the shoeleather express when I go to class. I had to move back with my mother, she is also poor. I live in a good part of the city and pay somewhat cheap rent. Living in a decent area of town and paying cheap rent IS possible people.

I drink cheap beer and not as much as I used to drink. I don't smoke. Don't have kids, they cost money. Back when I bussed/waited tables at night, I ate one meal a day, and it was at the restaurant, and free. Food wasn't an issue. Even when I made good money, I was frugal. I wish my mother was as frugal. She smokes 3 packs a day and drinks like a fish, and she wonders why she is poor. She used to have a good job making $18 an hour, but that was before the outsourcing, now she works retail PT. I try to find ways of making money. I pick up change on the street, I steal change on occasion. few cents a day, dollar a week, $52 a year. It adds up. I also save all of my own change in a huge pickle jar.

In 2009, my tight budget will include a savings plan of $50 a week. It's possible.

[PokerPlayer84]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Yes, there are so many people running to get into nursing...I can't help thinking that eventually that job will also be 'over-run' and the salaries will fall...

That is the problem with saying that everyone getting an education will solve everything. We will have to many people qualified while there are not enough jobs available.