Why is it hard for some privileged people to realize that saving is hard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend who makes the same as me is pregnant and just signed a daycare for $550 a week. Mine is $300. I just don’t get how people don’t realize when you make your fixed expenses so high you’ll always be stressed for money. She’s always broke.

Daycare is not the place to cheap out.

Throwing money at daycare doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t pay for your own graduate education, live further out and commute, send kids to public school, don’t eat at restaurants, have fewer kids...there are many ways to live within your means and save. Most don't.

Many can’t live within their means because their income doesn’t cover basics. I have posted before about how my cousin and I both grew up poor, she worked hard and did everything “right” (including not having any kids) and she is still poor. Not DCUM poor, but federal government poor. She’s stuck in a city with few prospects and can’t save up enough to move somewhere that does. I made a fair number of “errors” and ended up in the middle class after marrying a man with family money and moving to a city with economic opportunities.

I wish there was a relocation option type federal loan that would allow people 18-35 to borrow $5-10k to move to certain areas desperate for young workers and families. They could start repaying it after a year. Maybe with some forgiveness if they remain employed in that area for three years.

This is a very good idea.

I second that. I moved from an economical depressed area to DC after college. Friends that stayed there did not do well financially even though it's cheaper to live there. There are few goid jobs. Go where the jobs are!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t pay for your own graduate education, live further out and commute, send kids to public school, don’t eat at restaurants, have fewer kids...there are many ways to live within your means and save. Most don't.

Many can’t live within their means because their income doesn’t cover basics. I have posted before about how my cousin and I both grew up poor, she worked hard and did everything “right” (including not having any kids) and she is still poor. Not DCUM poor, but federal government poor. She’s stuck in a city with few prospects and can’t save up enough to move somewhere that does. I made a fair number of “errors” and ended up in the middle class after marrying a man with family money and moving to a city with economic opportunities.

I wish there was a relocation option type federal loan that would allow people 18-35 to borrow $5-10k to move to certain areas desperate for young workers and families. They could start repaying it after a year. Maybe with some forgiveness if they remain employed in that area for three years.

This is a very good idea.

I second that. I moved from an economical depressed area to DC after college. Friends that stayed there did not do well financially even though it's cheaper to live there. There are few goid jobs. Go where the jobs are!

That's a really great idea - and seems like it would have so many benefits!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Privledged people think you’re indulging in $1,000 iPhones and private schools and so they like to scold you. It makes them feel quite satisfied! Reality is your child care and health care and housing probably eat up your paycheck. Between repairs for cars and home maintenance and emergency health bills there just isn’t a lot left. And for those who are scolding people for having children? That’s disgusting.

Kids are a life choice so yes, its something to consider. If you have 2-3 kids and barely making it, its something you should have thought about with child care and other expenses. Home repairs, many you can DIY. There are lots of options in terms of savings. We DIY the majority of our house and saved a huge amount of money. Likewise, most people spend way more on their house, cars and other things than they can afford. Even here people suggest 4-5 times a salary when a house should be no more than 2-3 times your salary. So, yes, that may mean living in a 1000 square foot house. We live in a small house, under our means and don't get people who have the same income living in much more expensive houses and then complaining.

Do you not understand there are people working 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet. They don't want to come home and McGuyver the plumbing if they don't know what they're doing.

I've seen other threads on how to make it when you're poor and read this advice.
-Get a crockpot, eat lots of rice and beans
-Never eat fast food or at restaurants
-Put thermostat at 65
-Use cloth diapers
-Don't drive anywhere unnecessary to save gas
-Clip coupons
-Sell car and take public transportation


I notice that most people's "advice" on how to save money usually boils down to "Poor people don't deserve conveniences or nice things at all". It's really hard to imagine that someone is going to never eat out, take the bus to and from working 2 jobs, and come home to clip coupons, wash diapers and eat beans and rice in their cold house. And on top of that, any spare time they DO have will be devoted to DIYing whatever has broken at their house. That sounds miserable.

Do you not realize that most people who are money poor are also time poor? Most "poor" people are working poor. They work long hours and probably do deserve to get ice cream or whatever at the store without worrying about going a $ over the food budget.

I'm an immigrant...your post above exactly describes our life some twenty years back! Currently a multi-millionaire and retired at 52. Tough times don't last forever...relentless hard work, good judgement, focus, and luck with good health plus god's grace did it for us. We were able to squeeze and squeeze to save every lit bit as possible, not for luxuries for a rainy day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t pay for your own graduate education, live further out and commute, send kids to public school, don’t eat at restaurants, have fewer kids...there are many ways to live within your means and save. Most don't.

Many can’t live within their means because their income doesn’t cover basics. I have posted before about how my cousin and I both grew up poor, she worked hard and did everything “right” (including not having any kids) and she is still poor. Not DCUM poor, but federal government poor. She’s stuck in a city with few prospects and can’t save up enough to move somewhere that does. I made a fair number of “errors” and ended up in the middle class after marrying a man with family money and moving to a city with economic opportunities.

I wish there was a relocation option type federal loan that would allow people 18-35 to borrow $5-10k to move to certain areas desperate for young workers and families. They could start repaying it after a year. Maybe with some forgiveness if they remain employed in that area for three years.

This is a very good idea.

I second that. I moved from an economical depressed area to DC after college. Friends that stayed there did not do well financially even though it's cheaper to live there. There are few goid jobs. Go where the jobs are!

That's a really great idea - and seems like it would have so many benefits!

I agree- there are certain industries/areas that are desperate for workers, but moving is expensive and risky so I can understand why folks are relucant to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

This plan assumes parent support for it. Most DCUMers turn up their noses at CC. They want to brag that Charlotte is going to a top tier university next year, not NOVA or MC.

CC is not for everyone and I'm tired of people on this board acting like it is. Montgomery College is actually quite good but quality varies across the country, and depending on your career goals it can be penny wise, pound foolish. The CC closest to where I grew up did not have a good rep and my high school classmates who went there were the ones who couldn't get in anywhere else. I took a couple summer classes there and it was like being back in high school (not in a good way). I went to a state school but one that had a strong program for what I wanted to study- I had to take out some loans but then was able to get an assistantship to cover grad school and a decent job when I got out, which enabled me to pay back the loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Privledged people think you’re indulging in $1,000 iPhones and private schools and so they like to scold you. It makes them feel quite satisfied! Reality is your child care and health care and housing probably eat up your paycheck. Between repairs for cars and home maintenance and emergency health bills there just isn’t a lot left. And for those who are scolding people for having children? That’s disgusting.

Kids are a life choice so yes, its something to consider. If you have 2-3 kids and barely making it, its something you should have thought about with child care and other expenses. Home repairs, many you can DIY. There are lots of options in terms of savings. We DIY the majority of our house and saved a huge amount of money. Likewise, most people spend way more on their house, cars and other things than they can afford. Even here people suggest 4-5 times a salary when a house should be no more than 2-3 times your salary. So, yes, that may mean living in a 1000 square foot house. We live in a small house, under our means and don't get people who have the same income living in much more expensive houses and then complaining.

Do you not understand there are people working 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet. They don't want to come home and McGuyver the plumbing if they don't know what they're doing.

I've seen other threads on how to make it when you're poor and read this advice.
-Get a crockpot, eat lots of rice and beans
-Never eat fast food or at restaurants
-Put thermostat at 65
-Use cloth diapers
-Don't drive anywhere unnecessary to save gas
-Clip coupons
-Sell car and take public transportation


I notice that most people's "advice" on how to save money usually boils down to "Poor people don't deserve conveniences or nice things at all". It's really hard to imagine that someone is going to never eat out, take the bus to and from working 2 jobs, and come home to clip coupons, wash diapers and eat beans and rice in their cold house. And on top of that, any spare time they DO have will be devoted to DIYing whatever has broken at their house. That sounds miserable.

Do you not realize that most people who are money poor are also time poor? Most "poor" people are working poor. They work long hours and probably do deserve to get ice cream or whatever at the store without worrying about going a $ over the food budget.

I'm an immigrant...your post above exactly describes our life some twenty years back! Currently a multi-millionaire and retired at 52. Tough times don't last forever...relentless hard work, good judgement, focus, and luck with good health plus god's grace did it for us. We were able to squeeze and squeeze to save every lit bit as possible, not for luxuries for a rainy day.

I’m not an immigrant, and the above is also how my family lived when I was growing up. My parents sent all their kids to college and are now living a comfortable retirement. They have everything they need plus they’ve been able to travel and do some other things they enjoy. They were responsible in that put off these things when they were young so that they could support themselves in their old age and never be a burden to anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

This plan assumes parent support for it. Most DCUMers turn up their noses at CC. They want to brag that Charlotte is going to a top tier university next year, not NOVA or MC.

CC is not for everyone and I'm tired of people on this board acting like it is. Montgomery College is actually quite good but quality varies across the country, and depending on your career goals it can be penny wise, pound foolish. The CC closest to where I grew up did not have a good rep and my high school classmates who went there were the ones who couldn't get in anywhere else. I took a couple summer classes there and it was like being back in high school (not in a good way). I went to a state school but one that had a strong program for what I wanted to study- I had to take out some loans but then was able to get an assistantship to cover grad school and a decent job when I got out, which enabled me to pay back the loans.

I grew up in an economically depressed area. Our CC was a dead end. If you wanted out, it wasn't by going to that CC. My suspicion is this is true of a lot of economically depressed areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

Engineer here so I've always had a middle class income. When I first graduated college 20 years ago, I was making $50K in DC. I wasn't "dead broke" but I lived very much like you did, though I didn't even bother going out to happy hour until my late 20s. I mostly ate stuff I cooked in a crock pot, and most of my groceries came from Shoppers. People who made less than I did thought I was nuts, and even family members teased me about my beater car.

Until I was in my mid 30s I lived with a roommate or 2, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 32 and making over $100K. I had to buy a car at that point, as my old one had over 300K miles and everything was breaking down. Funny thing is that I regretted buying that car new, but almost 10 years later I still have that car, and I haven't had car payments in over 5 years. The car is still running great.

Being frugal allowed me to save up to buy a condo, which appreciated and allowed me to buy a house. Right now, my husband and I are living quite comfortably and spend less less than 15% of our income on our house (mortage + insurance + property tax). Funny thing is that a lot of my friends think we make a ton of money and come from money, when the reality is that we've had no help and the lifestyle we have now is built on my frugal lifestyle from my 20s. (In case anyone is wondering, I came from a poor family. College was paid for by scholarships. My first employer paid for my masters).

Most people I know who are poor buy things that they can't afford - like iphones, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, etc. A lot of them drink every day or most days; even if you're not going out to drink, that stuff adds up. I have a cousin who had a full ride to a state school that was one state over. She claimed she was miserable and moved back to her home state and is now maybe $80K in debt. Her parents are middle class. She constantly complains about not having money (say to pay for groceries), but she's somehow in a rich girl sorority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

Engineer here so I've always had a middle class income. When I first graduated college 20 years ago, I was making $50K in DC. I wasn't "dead broke" but I lived very much like you did, though I didn't even bother going out to happy hour until my late 20s. I mostly ate stuff I cooked in a crock pot, and most of my groceries came from Shoppers. People who made less than I did thought I was nuts, and even family members teased me about my beater car.

Until I was in my mid 30s I lived with a roommate or 2, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 32 and making over $100K. I had to buy a car at that point, as my old one had over 300K miles and everything was breaking down. Funny thing is that I regretted buying that car new, but almost 10 years later I still have that car, and I haven't had car payments in over 5 years. The car is still running great.

Being frugal allowed me to save up to buy a condo, which appreciated and allowed me to buy a house. Right now, my husband and I are living quite comfortably and spend less less than 15% of our income on our house (mortage + insurance + property tax). Funny thing is that a lot of my friends think we make a ton of money and come from money, when the reality is that we've had no help and the lifestyle we have now is built on my frugal lifestyle from my 20s. (In case anyone is wondering, I came from a poor family. College was paid for by scholarships. My first employer paid for my masters).

Most people I know who are poor buy things that they can't afford - like iphones, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, etc. A lot of them drink every day or most days; even if you're not going out to drink, that stuff adds up. I have a cousin who had a full ride to a state school that was one state over. She claimed she was miserable and moved back to her home state and is now maybe $80K in debt. Her parents are middle class. She constantly complains about not having money (say to pay for groceries), but she's somehow in a rich girl sorority.

Don't sororities usually have house cooks? And aren't alot of sororities actually cost savers if you live in the sorority house? Maybe your cousin isn't being forthright with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

Engineer here so I've always had a middle class income. When I first graduated college 20 years ago, I was making $50K in DC. I wasn't "dead broke" but I lived very much like you did, though I didn't even bother going out to happy hour until my late 20s. I mostly ate stuff I cooked in a crock pot, and most of my groceries came from Shoppers. People who made less than I did thought I was nuts, and even family members teased me about my beater car.

Until I was in my mid 30s I lived with a roommate or 2, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 32 and making over $100K. I had to buy a car at that point, as my old one had over 300K miles and everything was breaking down. Funny thing is that I regretted buying that car new, but almost 10 years later I still have that car, and I haven't had car payments in over 5 years. The car is still running great.

Being frugal allowed me to save up to buy a condo, which appreciated and allowed me to buy a house. Right now, my husband and I are living quite comfortably and spend less less than 15% of our income on our house (mortage + insurance + property tax). Funny thing is that a lot of my friends think we make a ton of money and come from money, when the reality is that we've had no help and the lifestyle we have now is built on my frugal lifestyle from my 20s. (In case anyone is wondering, I came from a poor family. College was paid for by scholarships. My first employer paid for my masters).

Most people I know who are poor buy things that they can't afford - like iphones, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, etc. A lot of them drink every day or most days; even if you're not going out to drink, that stuff adds up. I have a cousin who had a full ride to a state school that was one state over. She claimed she was miserable and moved back to her home state and is now maybe $80K in debt. Her parents are middle class. She constantly complains about not having money (say to pay for groceries), but she's somehow in a rich girl sorority.

You're making the same assumptions about others that you don't like people making about you! We have a flat screen TV. My husband literally took it from the disposal area of our complex and fixed it with a $10 capacitor. I guess if you came over you'd think we blew too much money on it?

You can't always judge from only the visible bits of someone's situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay close to home for college. Live at home if possible.

Live with parents for a few years after graduation to save.

If everyone did that, they would be much richer.

Yup. I went to George Mason and commuted. I graduated with $0 in debt, plus money saved from working through school. GMU also helped me land my first local.job. I lived at home for 3 years and saved nearly every penny. Was able to buy my first home in close in Virginia with 20% down at age 25 as a single woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

Engineer here so I've always had a middle class income. When I first graduated college 20 years ago, I was making $50K in DC. I wasn't "dead broke" but I lived very much like you did, though I didn't even bother going out to happy hour until my late 20s. I mostly ate stuff I cooked in a crock pot, and most of my groceries came from Shoppers. People who made less than I did thought I was nuts, and even family members teased me about my beater car.

Until I was in my mid 30s I lived with a roommate or 2, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 32 and making over $100K. I had to buy a car at that point, as my old one had over 300K miles and everything was breaking down. Funny thing is that I regretted buying that car new, but almost 10 years later I still have that car, and I haven't had car payments in over 5 years. The car is still running great.

Being frugal allowed me to save up to buy a condo, which appreciated and allowed me to buy a house. Right now, my husband and I are living quite comfortably and spend less less than 15% of our income on our house (mortage + insurance + property tax). Funny thing is that a lot of my friends think we make a ton of money and come from money, when the reality is that we've had no help and the lifestyle we have now is built on my frugal lifestyle from my 20s. (In case anyone is wondering, I came from a poor family. College was paid for by scholarships. My first employer paid for my masters).

Most people I know who are poor buy things that they can't afford - like iphones, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, etc. A lot of them drink every day or most days; even if you're not going out to drink, that stuff adds up. I have a cousin who had a full ride to a state school that was one state over. She claimed she was miserable and moved back to her home state and is now maybe $80K in debt. Her parents are middle class. She constantly complains about not having money (say to pay for groceries), but she's somehow in a rich girl sorority.

You're making the same assumptions about others that you don't like people making about you! We have a flat screen TV. My husband literally took it from the disposal area of our complex and fixed it with a $10 capacitor. I guess if you came over you'd think we blew too much money on it?

You can't always judge from only the visible bits of someone's situation.

Yep and poor people sometimes have richer relatives who give/buy them nice things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was dead broke in my early 20s. I had no cable, internet, a 25 year old junk car able to register as "classic"
$29 a year car insurance I fixed my self junkyard parts.

Never ate out. No paying coffee free are work. Never joined gym. Lived at home or cheap roommate rentals 22-29.

If you have no monthly fixed costs and no discretionary spending you can save.

My vacation trip was my friends had jobs they traveled and went to LA, PR and Florida for price of flight mooched off their hotel company paid for.

Also knew every happy hour.

Kids today have dogs, new iPhones, go to Starbucks, rent their own apartments, belong to gyms, lease cars and wonder where money goes. They also have too much student loans. They could have lived at home during school and did community college years 1 and 2 and graduated debt free.

They also eat more expensive food. Pretty much whatever frozen food on sale with a coupon I bought. Buying fresh organic food at Whole Foods or Harris Teather is expensive

Engineer here so I've always had a middle class income. When I first graduated college 20 years ago, I was making $50K in DC. I wasn't "dead broke" but I lived very much like you did, though I didn't even bother going out to happy hour until my late 20s. I mostly ate stuff I cooked in a crock pot, and most of my groceries came from Shoppers. People who made less than I did thought I was nuts, and even family members teased me about my beater car.

Until I was in my mid 30s I lived with a roommate or 2, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 32 and making over $100K. I had to buy a car at that point, as my old one had over 300K miles and everything was breaking down. Funny thing is that I regretted buying that car new, but almost 10 years later I still have that car, and I haven't had car payments in over 5 years. The car is still running great.

Being frugal allowed me to save up to buy a condo, which appreciated and allowed me to buy a house. Right now, my husband and I are living quite comfortably and spend less less than 15% of our income on our house (mortage + insurance + property tax). Funny thing is that a lot of my friends think we make a ton of money and come from money, when the reality is that we've had no help and the lifestyle we have now is built on my frugal lifestyle from my 20s. (In case anyone is wondering, I came from a poor family. College was paid for by scholarships. My first employer paid for my masters).

Most people I know who are poor buy things that they can't afford - like iphones, flat screen TVs, designer clothes, etc. A lot of them drink every day or most days; even if you're not going out to drink, that stuff adds up. I have a cousin who had a full ride to a state school that was one state over. She claimed she was miserable and moved back to her home state and is now maybe $80K in debt. Her parents are middle class. She constantly complains about not having money (say to pay for groceries), but she's somehow in a rich girl sorority.

You're making the same assumptions about others that you don't like people making about you! We have a flat screen TV. My husband literally took it from the disposal area of our complex and fixed it with a $10 capacitor. I guess if you came over you'd think we blew too much money on it?

You can't always judge from only the visible bits of someone's situation.

That's wonderful and to be applauded, but you should also admit that this is very rare. Most people who have flat screen TVs or iphones do not obtain these items from dumpster diving.

[Anonymous]

Where does one find a non-flat screen TV these days? Please do tell!