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There's one writer who studied welfare recipients 30 years ago and found that almost all of them had some sort of unreported income because hardly any of them could afford to live on what welfare paid.
my sister said that she is having trouble paying the bills and she makes 60,000 a year so shes middle class i was wondering about the lower class of like 20 or 30,000 a year how can they afford everything?(mortgage,tv,phone, internet,car bill,gas,insurance,clothes,food,electirc or gas heating air condtion,dental bills, etc.)?
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Originally Posted by Liberty12
Well we watch every single dollar we bring in and spend it with caution. I use coupons like crazy. People give me coupons which I use to my advantage, like running this morning to kohls to get a $20 pirate ship with a $10 off coupon and 15% off for a grand total of $9 bucks. That is one of my sons gifts.
I get food stamps and still use manufacturer coupons and sales to stretch my food stamps to feed us for the month.
I call utility companies for discounts and I never pay full price for anything. I always ask for discounts.
I drive a 7 year old car. I shop insurance every year. I never go to the doctor and rarely the dentist unless I have to.
I live in amedium high cost of living area and own a small house. It is a struggle every single day but I would not trade my kids for all the money in the world.
I do wish I could find a decent paying job. I recently lost my third job in the last year. A job that I could go to for at least a year would be a blessing.
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Originally Posted by proverbs23and7
In a lot of cases people are poor because they have everything. I know people who make $60k a year and stay broke because they are trying to keep up with the Joneses. I guarantee you will not see people with a net worth of a least $1 million spending money like crazy on black friday.
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Originally Posted by Grandpa Pipes
Much of what is the American life style is NOT required to live a simple life.
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Originally Posted by faeryedark
I don't know about a lot of other "poor people"...I've learned to be frugal, and ya know what, even if we had more money I would still be frugal
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Originally Posted by ovcatto
Contrary to popular belief, they can't and don't.
my sentiments exactly...even if I miracuously became extremely wealthy overnight I would still be frugal!
they can and they do as witnessed by some of the responses just from the first two pages of this thread. I also believe that many, many people live beyond their means and/or are not willing to be frugal because they don't think they have to be.
Does he have citizenship, yet? Employers prefer Americans. My sister's bf had to go back to Europe, after his work visa expired and no companies wanted to sponsor him.
I'm sure that in this economy many companies definitely don't want to spend money on sponsoring employees.
Yes he does. We even type at the bottom of the resume... American citizen..no sponsorship required.
I think a lot of people live outside of their means. They might make good money but when they have a 2000 dollar mortgage, 500 dollar car payment, fancy cable with a million channels, the newest and greatest tech gadgets, and go out to eat all the time they struggle as much to pay the bills they have as much as someone who works minimum wage would.
I know what you mean though...I make a fairly decent salary and it's hard. Between rent, car insurance, groceries...it takes a lot of money to live.
And it really makes my head spin every time someone suggests that trying to earn more money is useless to helping solve one's financial problems.. the excuse being that the more one earns, the more he/she'll spend and it cancels out.
Is there someone with a gun to your head saying you have to spend more when you earn more?
Bottom line is: the person with the higher income has more options when it comes to managing their finances. My current monthly expenses amount to about $1500/mo but I can still choose to live on that even if my salary doubles. And I can spend a little more and still save more than what I do now if I were to double my income.
Skimp on housing and car and the other expenses don't really amount to too much..
Yep, that's a big part of it. People can put themselves in artificial or self-induced poverty quite easily by thinking they need to maintain a certain level of housing and vehicle. It doesn't help when realtors lie to everyone about how they need to "buy the most house for their money".
What really happens as we just saw durig the 90's is governamnt promotes different things. hosuig was oe i wealth building. Altho we see the losers when the bubble nurst never under estimate the number of winners for better most of two deqacdes. mnay people bought and sold as they say moved jobs and made 100's of thousands. We only hear about the losers now.
I know I'm late to the party, but here are some thoughts on how poor people can afford things:
1.) Short answer - they don't. Not everyone has a mortgage, a car, a smartphone, or many of the other things that we think "everyone" has. Some people do without.
2.) Subsidies. I can expand this from government subsidies to include circumstances such as people receiving money from relatives, an income earner living in the household that technically shouldn't be living there, etc. Someone upthread mentioned unreported income, so I'll just lump it in this category.
3.) Sometimes, in the case of consumer goods, people are just extremely savvy shoppers. I guess there's not much one can do about housing, but I know people that make liberal use of coupons, sites such as freecycle or Craigslist, thrift and consignment shops, etc. and therefore have a standard of living markedly higher than if they were to pay full retail for those items brand-new.
I guess I'm considered "poor" --- I make about 40K. I get by by using coupons, looking for sales, not buying loads uneccesary things, never took a real vacation, etc etc etc. If I want to take my daughter on a special outing that costs over $100, I will save change in a jar until I have enough money to do so (our favorite is B'way shows and the like --- those are super expensive and I can't just buy tix on a whim, even with the discounts!)
OMG! I make exactly the same amount (equivalent in € of 40 K) in F and I'm considered staunchly middle class, above the median French salary (around 35 K $). With that amount we live confortably my wife and I (my flat is paid for, I don't own a car since we live in a city, but I lease one when needed and each year I vacation in an exotic location - this year it was Thailand, next year Mexico). I don't understand how with the same amount of money one is considered to be on the fringe of poverty in the US , and a slightly better than average earner in France...
With that amount we live confortably my wife and I (my flat is paid for, I don't own a car since we live in a city, but I lease one when needed
If you live in a flat or condo (assuming this is like in Germany) there is less to furnish or maintian and utilities might be less.
No car= big savings (payments, gas, insurance, oil changes, tires, etc).
So your after-tax money is going to food & housewares, utilities, public transit + occasional car lease, and saving for that summer vacation.
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