The Brutal Math Of Poverty

[Wookiemonster]

Because you're close to being late, and it takes several days for a mailed payment to be delivered.

Ok...I can see that. But if your close to being last every month then you need to either 1)Suspend the account for one month so that you can be in a position to pay in advance or 2) Get a pay as you go cell phone and cancel the home line (assuming that this payment is for a home line). If you went just one month with out a phone you would save (assuming your bill is $50 a month) $5 bucks a month ($60 a year). Which when you're that poor can actually make a huge difference (I know, I've been there). Also, most companies don't assess late fees until 7 days past the actual due date which would give the mailed payment plenty of time to get there.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Well, I would consider a nice house and a nice car "nice things". I agree on the car. I drive a 98 Mazda that I bought 5 years ago for $3,000.

I imagine you like the "free credit report dot com" commercials.

A lot of the people in the group you're talking about feel the need to get the $500 grill and the 60-inch flat-screen HD TV, and the $1,500 lawn mower, along with many gadgets that no one really needs. Part of being efficient is not buying some of those things, or in the case of, say, the lawnmower, not buying the ridiculously expensive one.

mball, your missing the point. You get the $500 grill at the end of the summer for $250. You get the 60 inch flat screen on black Friday by camping out the night before in front of the store. You would flat crap if you knew how much I paid for my John Deere mower, but to me it is a bargain. My dad still has his John Deere after 20 years of mowing with it.

Cheap is not cheap. A $1000 dollar mower that lasts 3 years will cost you over 6 grand after 20 years. You can buy a really nice mower for 6 grand.

Vacations are cheap if you book them in advance and are flexible when you go somewhere.

Here is something you might relate to:

Just keep track of what you spend going to the movies in one year and see what that money would buy you the day after thanksgiving in the electronic department.

Instead of eating out, (value meal) for lunch one day, spend that money on a fat juicy steak on the grill after work.

I've said it a million times, it's not how much money you make, it's what you do with the money that matters.

 

[Magic Man]

I imagine you like the "free credit report dot com" commercials.

Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but they're catchy. Of course, I hate the product, because, of course, it's not free, as advertised, and it's misleading.

mball, your missing the point. You get the $500 grill at the end of the summer for $250. You get the 60 inch flat screen on black Friday by camping out the night before in front of the store. You would flat crap if you knew how much I paid for my John Deere mower, but to me it is a bargain. My dad still has his John Deere after 20 years of mowing with it.

Cheap is not cheap. A $1000 dollar mower that lasts 3 years will cost you over 6 grand after 20 years. You can buy a really nice mower for 6 grand.

How about if I get the $300 mower that lasts 5-6 years? For instance, my dad's mower has been around for at least 8 years, still runs fine, and I guarantee it didn't cost more than $3-400.

Vacations are cheap if you book them in advance and are flexible when you go somewhere.

They're still not cheap. They're cheaper, but still not cheap.

Here is something you might relate to:

Just keep track of what you spend going to the movies in one year and see what that money would buy you the day after thanksgiving in the electronic department.

Actually, I don't relate at all. I haven't been to the movies probably since last summer.

Instead of eating out, (value meal) for lunch one day, spend that money on a fat juicy steak on the grill after work.

How does that save money or even help me? I don't particularly like steaks, for one, and for another, that still only gets me one meal. Besides, I don't eat out very much either. (Well, right now I do, but that's only because I'm spending almost every hour I have available working on my new house to get it ready for move-in in a week and a half.)

I've said it a million times, it's not how much money you make, it's what you do with the money that matters.

That's partly true, but it's also about how much money you make.

 

[Storm]

Ok...I can see that. But if your close to being last every month then you need to either 1)Suspend the account for one month so that you can be in a position to pay in advance or 2) Get a pay as you go cell phone and cancel the home line (assuming that this payment is for a home line). If you went just one month with out a phone you would save (assuming your bill is $50 a month) $5 bucks a month ($60 a year). Which when you're that poor can actually make a huge difference (I know, I've been there). Also, most companies don't assess late fees until 7 days past the actual due date which would give the mailed payment plenty of time to get there.

Wasn't that his electric bill? You can't just turn that off for a month. Phone is a little more doable, but not by much. There are a lot of people for whom a phone is a necessity.

 

[Mr Cheese]

If you don't have a huge military people will attack you because

nah war is good for business

 

[Zephyr]

Hey guys I may have found the best tax scheme ever (seriouspost).

Frubals to anybody who knows what this would result in.

Hint: The 0% mark is at $32,240.

 

[Wookiemonster]

Wasn't that his electric bill? You can't just turn that off for a month. Phone is a little more doable, but not by much. There are a lot of people for whom a phone is a necessity.

I went back and checked...it was his phone bill. I understand what your saying on electric, the phone however is another matter.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Cheap is not cheap. A $1000 dollar mower that lasts 3 years will cost you over 6 grand after 20 years. You can buy a really nice mower for 6 grand.

Are you talking about a riding mower? That'd be the only way I'd ever consider spending anything near $1000 on a mower, though since I don't have enough grass to need a riding mower, I'd never consider it anyhow.

I've got two lawn mowers: one is a hand-me-down gas mower that was given to my wife by her sister for free. It's banged-up and the body's a bit rusty now, but the motor still works just fine, especially after I changed the air filter and cleaned out the carb. The other one, which we try to use more often, is a manual reel mower. It was a Christmas present, but if we were to go out and buy one new, it would be under $200 even when it's not on sale.

I realize that not everyone will have a sister-in-law to give them a free lawnmower, but have a look around when you're out on the road: if your area is like mine, people throw out all sorts of stuff that still works or only needs a minor repair.

Actually, I got my home gym that way: my wife saw a complete home gym that someone had put out at the curb with a "free" sign on it. She gathered it up into her car and brought it home; when I started looking at it, I realized that whoever owned it before had assembled it with one piece upside-down so it wouldn't work properly. I unbolted the one piece, flipped it over, and ever since it's worked like a charm.

I went back and checked...it was his phone bill. I understand what your saying on electric, the phone however is another matter.

I'm not sure about where he was, but up here, the phone company charges a connection fee that's more than a one-month bill. If he were to close his account for a month and re-open it, he'd have gone without a phone for a month, probably lost his phone number, and be financially behind for his trouble.