There are many realities of living poor that people rarely talk about. A Reddit user wanted to know about some of these realities. We have sampled some of the best responses from the original thread on the platform.
Always Wondering if You Have Enough for Necessities
A user always wondered if they had enough to go through the week, “Trying to decide if I have enough money to buy groceries and enough for gas this week.”
Bills, Bills, Bills
“Counting exactly how many days and hours we need to work in order to have enough to pay off the next bills before they’re due,” chipped in another user.
Always on the Lookout for Ingenious Ways To Save Money
One user found a way to save some cash, “Coleman battery-powered lanterns are a lot cheaper than electricity.
Buying Poor-quality Products
A user notes that poor people always buy poor-quality goods because that’s all they can afford, “when you’re poor, you stay afloat by buying poor-quality things.”
Sticking to a Poorly Paying Job
via DepositPhotos.com.
They stick to poor-paying jobs because they are desperate; according to one user, “You’ll stick with a job that doesn’t pay, and the boss is a jerk because the stress of coming up with rent and food becomes so overwhelming.”
Getting a Job Is Hard for Poor People
One user notes that poor people do not get jobs easily because they do not have a fixed address, “When you don’t have a secure bed, you also don’t have a secure phone number, email, or mailing address, which makes getting a job just that much harder. You can be at the paperwork point for a job, and the address and the phone come up, and desperation makes you seem like you are a heroin user at a halfway house.”
Banks Take Advantage
“Getting back on your feet is so hard. You have to deal with banking and getting a negative balance on your accounts before you can deposit money to write checks again. The bank will want theirs first, and they will make sure they punish you and get theirs first,” argues another person
Becoming Un-poor Is Almost Impossible
When you are poor, it becomes hard to reverse this; according to another user, “It’s near impossible to become un-poor. People think you just put your mind to it, and it happens. What people fail to realize is that many people work themselves to the bone working for other people and don’t have the time or energy to pull themselves up.”
Another person adds, “Poverty is a trap you are born into through no fault of your own that it is not easy to escape.”
Your Life Is All Work and No Play
One user portrays the picture of how the poor live, “There comes a time in life when you realize that “this is it.” Your life will be nothing but work, home, sleep, and that’s it. It’s at that point where some make a change, and others just accept their lot and drudge on. Day in and day out.”
You Always Worry About Money
When you are poor, you constantly worry about money, “Even when you get out of being poor, you’ll still feel like you are poor, or you’ll constantly worry about money,” said a different user.
Always Ashamed
The inferiority complex is always there, according to another user, “The constant feelings of shame/embarrassment and feeling like less than others (at least this was for me).”
Poor People Sleep More, but Not Necessarily Better
One user pointed out that poor people have tricks to make their lives easier, “Poor people sleep more than others because sleeping conserves valuable energy and sleeping lets you forget how hungry you are.”
Access to Healthcare Is Not Guaranteed
“I mean the poor pretending to others that they have access to healthcare out of a feeling of shame,” added a user, “Sometimes the not-so-poor as well.”
People Always Tell You What To Do
People who are doing better than you will always tell you what to do, “People who are living well feel they have the right \ responsibility to tell you what you must do to stop being poor.”
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This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
