People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

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HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by HappyDaze »

I was listening to a documentary about middle class Americans who can't pay off debts and came away miffed at the folks featured in it. A lot of whining about how "I am middle class and I WORK A JOB - therefore I should be able to get out of debt - but I can't..." and other similar expressions of "poor me".

There is NO talk about making any sacrifices - they continue to live the same - expecting a different result - like some magic "get out of debt free" pill is going to come along.

One person was listing off expenses...$280 a month for cell phone!!! Nails and hair are professionally done, driving an expensive car, going out to eat weekly with friends - you get the idea.

Listen, I am no financial expert but this is math a third grader can comprehend. To get out of debt, some simple things have to happen: 1. You live WAY below your means and put every cent you can scrape together toward the debt. 2. You bring in extra income and apply ALL of it to the debt. I have done this - it WORKS. It is the ONLY thing that works!!

Along the way - or first - (and this is NOT an endorsement of Dave Ramsey but his book is what turned it around for me), you have to save something for an emergency and STOP the spending!!!

Nobody wants to SACRIFICE a darn thing to get out of debt. Nobody wants to talk about eating rice and beans at home and driving a beater car and lowering the thermostat and doing their own manicures, etc. - they don't CHANGE anything - just throw up their hands and say "I can't do it."

Personally, I was in debt because of car repairs, home repairs and vet bills, and later on I let an ex make that debt worse. The "why" doesn't matter - the debt is my responsibility - but some of these people are in debt because of expensive cars, vacations, clothes!!!

I don't know - am I crazy??? Is it the norm to feel sorry for yourself instead of digging in and fixing the problem that you created? There seems to be such a sense of entitlement or something - I don't understand it.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
mbrudnic
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:57 am

Re: People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by mbrudnic »

That was my EX in a nutshell. I suspect he got tired of me trying to convince him to sacrifice and decided I was making him unhappy. and as he told me "I deserve to be happy". Yeah so do I and the first step is being debt free and preparing to retire. He believed he'd never retire.

I am actually living a bit of the high life right now because I paid off any debt I had and my 26 years of paying daycare/educational tuition for my my kids is completely over. But I am also maxing out my retirement savings. While I mentally have a budget, I am completely blowing it from groceries, sundries, etc. Of course I have not updated that budget in over 6 years.
clemencia2us
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by clemencia2us »

Nope you are not crazy - I see it all the time.

A co-worker over 20 years ago was the one that told me about Frugal Living.

I was basically supporting two households. Having to rent in Oklahoma and still paying for my house in Texas. For the San Antonio area and my rank - the Air Force - provided almost 1400 a month for housing.

Oklahoma - 600! And that was the barely meeting my rent there. So I was out of pocket over a thousand a month! I was still paying utilities in Texas. So I had to tighten the old belt. No more senseless shopping due to boredom!
HappyDaze
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Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by HappyDaze »

mbrudnic wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 10:37 am That was my EX in a nutshell. I suspect he got tired of me trying to convince him to sacrifice and decided I was making him unhappy. and as he told me "I deserve to be happy". Yeah so do I and the first step is being debt free and preparing to retire. He believed he'd never retire.

I am actually living a bit of the high life right now because I paid off any debt I had and my 26 years of paying daycare/educational tuition for my my kids is completely over. But I am also maxing out my retirement savings. While I mentally have a budget, I am completely blowing it from groceries, sundries, etc. Of course I have not updated that budget in over 6 years.
Maggie, I think I have joked before that we were married to the same man. My Ex used to YELL at me when I would fret about debt - he said "debt is normal" and "debt is good".

To me debt is like a rock around my neck and I also feel like I'm living a bit of the "high life" now. It was hard earned and I'm really enjoying and appreciating it.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
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MackerelCat
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Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:44 pm

Re: People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by MackerelCat »

Happy Daze, I want to slap people like that upside the head. Even with being frugal DH and I struggled for many years with medical bills due to crappy health insurance and being stuck in a small town while caring for my mother. Once when our lawn mower died, we had a yard sale to help pay for the repairs. I sold the nice china inherited from my mom to pay for a washing machine. We sacrificed like crazy. It was hard but worth it.
Mackie
floridacatlover
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:21 am

Re: People "Feeling Poor" - a Rant

Post by floridacatlover »

Totally 100% agree! I am so sick of hearing people say they can’t pay their bills because of “Biden’s inflation.” Suck it up and cut back on expenses. Stop going to Disney, Universal and Busch Gardens. Stop going out to eat and drink. Stop replacing home items and clothes just because you want something new.

Like Maggie, I’m sort of living the high life now. Not exactly because I’m watching my budget on some items but if I want to go someplace I’m going to go. I’ve paid my dues. I have no one to leave my money to who needs it and I’m going to enjoy this second chance at life.
Last edited by floridacatlover on Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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