You need a car to work. Cars are expensive. You get a old clunker.
You work and live check to check. Maybe $50 or $100 left over after taxes and expenses. Not really possible to have an emergency fund.
A single injury or car breaking down and you need to borrow money. From family, friends or some shitty company.
Oh and then your yearly raise comes around at $1/hr that barely covers your rent increasing let alone inflation.
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. … A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. … But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socio-economic unfairness.
Corporations regularly boast about record profits and the executives get piles of cash and ski vacations but there’s just never enough room in the budget to raise wages for workers. I’m surprised only one CEO has been gunned down so far, the populace has been getting screwed into poverty and it’s not even hidden, so maybe we just take their boots
My issue now with products is planned obsolescence. Any things aren’t made to last like they used to. They also have extra technology in them making them harder to repair. Appliances, cars and more.
Once I bounced a check to our water company and they refused to take checks or credit cards from me for a YEAR as a punishment. It was a one-time accident after paying on time for around seven years. I literally had to drive my ass down there with cash. It’s a small rural water service, not a big corporation - they chose to be complete assholes even after I explained the situation (we had a baby that month and forgot a monthly $ transfer in the chaos).
Same mistake probably cost us $120 in overdraft fees. Society financially punishes people who need money the most and rewards the people who have plenty. It’s ridiculous.
I once had my electricity bill bounce, and they forced me to pay a deposit of $250. So the amount I owed went from $100 to $350. Plus a late fee. And they never return the deposit until I had paid on time for 2 years.
Recurring charges like utility bills are often processed regardless of overdraft protection status - ultimately at the bank’s discretion, and you can be sure they’ll pick the option that gets them the most fees. Overdraft protection only seems to stop you from using your card for a new transaction with insufficient funds.
Food banks are a godsend in these situations. Don’t donate money. Find a local community center that offers assistance and donate foodstuffs. Things like rice, canned beans and mixed veggies are always welcome.
I’ve been here. It’s expensive to be poor.
You need a car to work. Cars are expensive. You get a old clunker.
You work and live check to check. Maybe $50 or $100 left over after taxes and expenses. Not really possible to have an emergency fund.
A single injury or car breaking down and you need to borrow money. From family, friends or some shitty company.
Oh and then your yearly raise comes around at $1/hr that barely covers your rent increasing let alone inflation.
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. … A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. … But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socio-economic unfairness.
GNU Sir Terry
Corporations regularly boast about record profits and the executives get piles of cash and ski vacations but there’s just never enough room in the budget to raise wages for workers. I’m surprised only one CEO has been gunned down so far, the populace has been getting screwed into poverty and it’s not even hidden, so maybe we just take their boots
Yep. This tracks.
My issue now with products is planned obsolescence. Any things aren’t made to last like they used to. They also have extra technology in them making them harder to repair. Appliances, cars and more.
Whoops some bill auto-drafted unexpectedly
Your account is negative now, oh and throw a $25 fee on top.
Looks like you’re scrounging for dinner tonight. And the rest of the week. Maybe skip some meals because you have no choice.
Shit sucks ass.
Once I bounced a check to our water company and they refused to take checks or credit cards from me for a YEAR as a punishment. It was a one-time accident after paying on time for around seven years. I literally had to drive my ass down there with cash. It’s a small rural water service, not a big corporation - they chose to be complete assholes even after I explained the situation (we had a baby that month and forgot a monthly $ transfer in the chaos).
Same mistake probably cost us $120 in overdraft fees. Society financially punishes people who need money the most and rewards the people who have plenty. It’s ridiculous.
I once had my electricity bill bounce, and they forced me to pay a deposit of $250. So the amount I owed went from $100 to $350. Plus a late fee. And they never return the deposit until I had paid on time for 2 years.
That was a bad time.
Get a less shitty bank
Getting a checking account with no overdraft fees is definitely a plus in those situations
Recurring charges like utility bills are often processed regardless of overdraft protection status - ultimately at the bank’s discretion, and you can be sure they’ll pick the option that gets them the most fees. Overdraft protection only seems to stop you from using your card for a new transaction with insufficient funds.
Yeah I meant banks that allow overdraft but charge no fees, Ally for example.
Using a credit card is also a good option, just as long as the budget is managed correctly to avoid running up more and more debt.
Peanut butter and bread it is!
Food banks are a godsend in these situations. Don’t donate money. Find a local community center that offers assistance and donate foodstuffs. Things like rice, canned beans and mixed veggies are always welcome.