Why is "money management" always brought up and used against the poor?

[Anonymous]

The deck is stacked against you when you have zero cushion.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-being-poor/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family planning would help many poor people. Free birth control would be helpful, but people
Have to use it. They won't.

Many of my former students got pregnant (many have admitted on purpose) in HS. They come from poor families and often have very large families. My co-worker holds support groups for them and this is where she learns about them. These are mostly Hispanic students BTW. They admit to having babies because 1) this is what girls in their culture do 2) they want something of their own. None of these girls have aspirations for college so having a baby at 16 isn't a tragedy for them. They say that they are expected to be mothers and that's it. When asked why they keep having babies when they cannot afford them, they say that if a Hispanic girl has just one baby, people think there is something wrong with them. Like they physically cannot have any more kids and they are seen as "broken." The moms of my students keep having baby after baby because they are expected to have large families. So like a PP mentioned, free birth control for people who don't want it is pointless. When the girls have no future anyway, why not get started on what they are supposed to do. Again, none of this is what I think. This is what the young girls talk about during their group sessions.

NP. Thanks for this insight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dh and I have lived really really poor, and we have lived middle class (now).

One thing we noticed when we were poor is that there are opportunities to be wiser with money when you have more to spend.

For example:
In a given month, I might run out of paper towels, dish soap, and diapers. I stop by Walmart but I only have $25 to spend. -A big box of Luvs diapers costs 19.79+tax.
-I see there's a two pack of paper towels for 2.50, and if my budget were larger, I could spend $12.50 and be set for 6 months... but I don't have that 12.50.
-same with dish soap, I buy the smallest/cheapest bottle and it's 1.19.

At checkout it comes out to 25.24 including tax. Whew! So glad it was basically just $25.

Because I didn't have an extra 10-15 in the budget, im *back in the same spot next month.* next month I still need paper towels, diapers. I don't need soap but I need laundry detergent and a $5-10 gift for my child's best friend. So I have to go over $25 budget and cut into my grocery bill.

Every month is like that.

Again, when you're poor, you notice that if you just had $20 more here and there, you'd be able to make better decisions with money--buying in bulk at a better unit price. Or choosing detergent that actually works (saving your clothes from stains and so you don't have to replace your work-shirt).

On and on.

This is so true. I lived on very little money when I was in college, and this made a big impression on me. Now, I'm all about stocking up and getting the "deal," but I remember when it was like not having the money to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dh and I have lived really really poor, and we have lived middle class (now).

One thing we noticed when we were poor is that there are opportunities to be wiser with money when you have more to spend.

For example:
In a given month, I might run out of paper towels, dish soap, and diapers. I stop by Walmart but I only have $25 to spend. -A big box of Luvs diapers costs 19.79+tax.
-I see there's a two pack of paper towels for 2.50, and if my budget were larger, I could spend $12.50 and be set for 6 months... but I don't have that 12.50.
-same with dish soap, I buy the smallest/cheapest bottle and it's 1.19.

At checkout it comes out to 25.24 including tax. Whew! So glad it was basically just $25.

Because I didn't have an extra 10-15 in the budget, im *back in the same spot next month.* next month I still need paper towels, diapers. I don't need soap but I need laundry detergent and a $5-10 gift for my child's best friend. So I have to go over $25 budget and cut into my grocery bill.

This, and
-paying car insurance in a lump every 6 months. The poor can't justify that, so they pay the overall higher amount, monthly.
-being cool with bad timing on refunds/exchanges (just by example, I changed car insurance companies. But my old company payment was about to go through. They couldn't stop it, and refunded me. But the refund took 3 weeks. I was out 700 for 3 weeks. Now, in the middle class I can handle that. A poor person might go negative or have to pay on high interest credit for their other expenses).
-getting a great deal on great quality tires because 1) you have a Costco membership, and 2) you could buy all 4 new tires and get their promotion. They throw in the high mileage warranty and free tire rotation. A poor person = struggles to buy just the one or two tires needed, but they do it anyway)
-I've seen it all, but all I can think of are car examples at the moment!


Every month is like that.

Again, when you're poor, you notice that if you just had $20 more here and there, you'd be able to make better decisions with money--buying in bulk at a better unit price. Or choosing detergent that actually works (saving your clothes from stains and so you don't have to replace your work-shirt).

On and on.

This is so true. I lived on very little money when I was in college, and this made a big impression on me. Now, I'm all about stocking up and getting the "deal," but I remember when it was like not having the money to do it.

[Anonymous]

^formattign bad. I typed my response in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've met a lot of rich people who looked rich from the outside, but were really living on maxed out credit cards. That's especially common in this area where image is important and people tend to buy too much house or cars that are out of their budget to impress.

A good friend's husband is in prison for "white collar crime." She told everyone his team made a mistake at work and is taking the fall. Everyone gave her sympathy, of course, the poor dear. But the truth is that he opened credit cards in his 6 year old son's name & SSN and maxed them out on vacations to Italy an Prague. I know the truth because of my job, but I let her live in her happy lie.

How would you know that they are living on maxed out credit? Are you their accountant? Most upper income people do not discuss their personal finances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some poor people are poor money managers. But some poor people just don't have enough money to really manage it, period. If you are literally down to your last $5 every month, I don't really expect you to save it.

But if you are paying your rent late and saving nothing for retirement because you're out partying and going to concerts and sporting events and getting professional manicures and have the newest $700 iPhone, I sure as hell am going to judge you for your money management. (I know someone who fits this description.)

That's how I feel too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family planning would help many poor people. Free birth control would be helpful, but people
Have to use it. They won't.

Many of my former students got pregnant (many have admitted on purpose) in HS. They come from poor families and often have very large families. My co-worker holds support groups for them and this is where she learns about them. These are mostly Hispanic students BTW. They admit to having babies because 1) this is what girls in their culture do 2) they want something of their own. None of these girls have aspirations for college so having a baby at 16 isn't a tragedy for them. They say that they are expected to be mothers and that's it. When asked why they keep having babies when they cannot afford them, they say that if a Hispanic girl has just one baby, people think there is something wrong with them. Like they physically cannot have any more kids and they are seen as "broken." The moms of my students keep having baby after baby because they are expected to have large families. So like a PP mentioned, free birth control for people who don't want it is pointless. When the girls have no future anyway, why not get started on what they are supposed to do. Again, none of this is what I think. This is what the young girls talk about during their group sessions.

Did you go to college, if so learn about paragraphs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family planning would help many poor people. Free birth control would be helpful, but people
Have to use it. They won't.

Many of my former students got pregnant (many have admitted on purpose) in HS. They come from poor families and often have very large families. My co-worker holds support groups for them and this is where she learns about them. These are mostly Hispanic students BTW. They admit to having babies because 1) this is what girls in their culture do 2) they want something of their own. None of these girls have aspirations for college so having a baby at 16 isn't a tragedy for them. They say that they are expected to be mothers and that's it. When asked why they keep having babies when they cannot afford them, they say that if a Hispanic girl has just one baby, people think there is something wrong with them. Like they physically cannot have any more kids and they are seen as "broken." The moms of my students keep having baby after baby because they are expected to have large families. So like a PP mentioned, free birth control for people who don't want it is pointless. When the girls have no future anyway, why not get started on what they are supposed to do. Again, none of this is what I think. This is what the young girls talk about during their group sessions.

Did you go to college, if so learn about paragraphs

You know just as little about punctuation as PP does about paragraphs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family planning would help many poor people. Free birth control would be helpful, but people
Have to use it. They won't.

Many of my former students got pregnant (many have admitted on purpose) in HS. They come from poor families and often have very large families. My co-worker holds support groups for them and this is where she learns about them. These are mostly Hispanic students BTW. They admit to having babies because 1) this is what girls in their culture do 2) they want something of their own. None of these girls have aspirations for college so having a baby at 16 isn't a tragedy for them. They say that they are expected to be mothers and that's it. When asked why they keep having babies when they cannot afford them, they say that if a Hispanic girl has just one baby, people think there is something wrong with them. Like they physically cannot have any more kids and they are seen as "broken." The moms of my students keep having baby after baby because they are expected to have large families. So like a PP mentioned, free birth control for people who don't want it is pointless. When the girls have no future anyway, why not get started on what they are supposed to do. Again, none of this is what I think. This is what the young girls talk about during their group sessions.

Sad post but this is so true.

[Anonymous]

Ex: when you have all the latest gadgets yet complain you can't afford to buy school supplies then yeah I have a problem with it.

It's situations like this that piss me off about poor people and their money management. They spend money on what they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dh and I have lived really really poor, and we have lived middle class (now).

One thing we noticed when we were poor is that there are opportunities to be wiser with money when you have more to spend.

For example:
In a given month, I might run out of paper towels, dish soap, and diapers. I stop by Walmart but I only have $25 to spend. -A big box of Luvs diapers costs 19.79+tax.
-I see there's a two pack of paper towels for 2.50, and if my budget were larger, I could spend $12.50 and be set for 6 months... but I don't have that 12.50.
-same with dish soap, I buy the smallest/cheapest bottle and it's 1.19.

At checkout it comes out to 25.24 including tax. Whew! So glad it was basically just $25.

Because I didn't have an extra 10-15 in the budget, im *back in the same spot next month.* next month I still need paper towels, diapers. I don't need soap but I need laundry detergent and a $5-10 gift for my child's best friend. So I have to go over $25 budget and cut into my grocery bill.

Every month is like that.

Again, when you're poor, you notice that if you just had $20 more here and there, you'd be able to make better decisions with money--buying in bulk at a better unit price. Or choosing detergent that actually works (saving your clothes from stains and so you don't have to replace your work-shirt).

On and on.

Sure this is true, but this isn't the primary reason most poor people are poor. It is big big things like, dropping out of high school, getting pregnant out of wedlock at a young age, not working, drug abuse, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is certainly an element of this though. Both rich and poor people- if you don't have any money despite working full time, you have to be mismanaging somewhere. If you are seriously not making enough due to a low wage position, that's what welfare is for. If you are just above the welfare threshold, but still not making ends meet I can see how that would be hard-- but still, you should technically be able to afford your COL (this is assuming that gov does their job as far as figuring out when people can get basic needs on their own... I doubt they're good at that, but I'm saying there has to be a cut off point and it sucks when you're right past that point of no longer being eligible for help.)

But it does drive me crazy to see people complaining about not having money while they text on their new iPhone, smoke cigarettes, etc. Totally agree with PP who said that these communities tend to have a culture that perpetuates these problems. It's sad, but if parents/family don't recognize the importance of trying for more and pushing their kids to do that by modeling achieving their own goals and making sacrifices how could you possibly expect a 16 year old to?


An example of poor people just being bad at managing money- lottery winners. People who suddenly gain wealth often mismanage it and end up broke anyway. This is obviously an extreme example, but it exists.

You clearly know fuck-all about welfare in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dh and I have lived really really poor, and we have lived middle class (now).

One thing we noticed when we were poor is that there are opportunities to be wiser with money when you have more to spend.

For example:
In a given month, I might run out of paper towels, dish soap, and diapers. I stop by Walmart but I only have $25 to spend. -A big box of Luvs diapers costs 19.79+tax.
-I see there's a two pack of paper towels for 2.50, and if my budget were larger, I could spend $12.50 and be set for 6 months... but I don't have that 12.50.
-same with dish soap, I buy the smallest/cheapest bottle and it's 1.19.

At checkout it comes out to 25.24 including tax. Whew! So glad it was basically just $25.

Because I didn't have an extra 10-15 in the budget, im *back in the same spot next month.* next month I still need paper towels, diapers. I don't need soap but I need laundry detergent and a $5-10 gift for my child's best friend. So I have to go over $25 budget and cut into my grocery bill.

This, and
-paying car insurance in a lump every 6 months. The poor can't justify that, so they pay the overall higher amount, monthly.
-being cool with bad timing on refunds/exchanges (just by example, I changed car insurance companies. But my old company payment was about to go through. They couldn't stop it, and refunded me. But the refund took 3 weeks. I was out 700 for 3 weeks. Now, in the middle class I can handle that. A poor person might go negative or have to pay on high interest credit for their other expenses).
-getting a great deal on great quality tires because 1) you have a Costco membership, and 2) you could buy all 4 new tires and get their promotion. They throw in the high mileage warranty and free tire rotation. A poor person = struggles to buy just the one or two tires needed, but they do it anyway)
-I've seen it all, but all I can think of are car examples at the moment!


Every month is like that.

Again, when you're poor, you notice that if you just had $20 more here and there, you'd be able to make better decisions with money--buying in bulk at a better unit price. Or choosing detergent that actually works (saving your clothes from stains and so you don't have to replace your work-shirt).

On and on.

This is so true. I lived on very little money when I was in college, and this made a big impression on me. Now, I'm all about stocking up and getting the "deal," but I remember when it was like not having the money to do it.

If you are so poor you show up at the store with $25, then you forgo the paper towels and use towels/rags. It's not the end of the world.

If you have a washer/dryer you cloth diaper with prefolds/flour sack towels.

This is exactly the sort of thing poor people have trouble with - it's like saying they could be getting a better deal if they bundled media services, but because they are poor, they pay a premium. Um no. You reduce until you can start saving.

[Anonymous]

I knew this single mom on welfare (educated and didn't want to work, btw, she wanted to "SAHM" which according to her was her right). She had to have organic food from the most expensive place in town and showed up with prepackaged fruit salads and the like that go for a premium.

Yes, a lot of poor people have big issues with money.

Rich people are not immune to the same problem.