I'm pretty pissed off at being poor.

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I am. College degree, work hard, get along with people... Haven't I been doing right? Anyway, I'm pretty pissed off.

silver skein, Monday, 7 June 2004 05:31 (twenty years ago) link

Tell me about it mate. I know we all are, but It's really starting to reach right now. It's not even a bummer any more, just a total and utter drag.

dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 7 June 2004 05:41 (twenty years ago) link

anger is an energy, etc.

hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 7 June 2004 05:45 (twenty years ago) link

Define poor. Do you have running water? Do you own a computer? Do you eat more than one meal a day? Do you own a change of clothes? Poor is very relative.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Monday, 7 June 2004 07:16 (twenty years ago) link

You say that you 'work hard' - does that mean you have a job? Maybe you just need to learn to manage your money better, in that case.

C J (C J), Monday, 7 June 2004 07:19 (twenty years ago) link

I agree with kate here. I always say that I am skint, but it is money to spend on luxuries & going out that I am lacking. I have a roof over my head, my bills are paid & I eat well, so I know I am fine.

Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Monday, 7 June 2004 07:51 (twenty years ago) link

many people who think they are poor are not, because others in the world are poorer and must spend the money that the people who think they are poor spend on cake and deodorant, on other things like light and heat, and many people think "i am poor" when actually they have more money than some other people on earth, in another country. it's extremely complicated.

Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 7 June 2004 07:55 (twenty years ago) link

apparently.

Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 7 June 2004 07:55 (twenty years ago) link

My definition of whether I am poor is whether I am able to pay for the roof over my head, and put food on my table. If I can still do those things, I am skint, I am broke, I don't have money for luxuries, but I don't consider myself *poor*.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Monday, 7 June 2004 08:02 (twenty years ago) link

last night i was moaning slightly that i probably wouldn't be able to afford both a new computer AND a trip to France next month...so yeh, not poor.

stevem (blueski), Monday, 7 June 2004 08:16 (twenty years ago) link

I am more in stevem's boat, I think. I am very thankful to not have to go to bed hungry anymore (or eat cereal for dinner, etc).

roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:26 (twenty years ago) link

My financial situation is about to change drastically, and probably for the worse. But seeing as the dilemma is "do I rent for a while, or do I try to buy?" and "should I go full time or stay part time?" I really can't consider myself poor.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:28 (twenty years ago) link

Right. God, "should I go part time" is possibly the most confounding Big Question in my life right now.

roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:35 (twenty years ago) link

oh god objectivist mimsy. if you feel poor, you are poor. but i'm not talking about money.

Sir Stewart Wallace (Enrique), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:45 (twenty years ago) link

I eat, I have a computer. But I really struggle with mundane things like rent and council tax and paying off the masses of money I owe. God, it's depressing.

Anna (Anna), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:52 (twenty years ago) link

I was planning a holiday to Transylvania last night whilst supping a fruity Galician number, so I guess I'm dandy.

Mikey G (Mikey G), Monday, 7 June 2004 10:59 (twenty years ago) link

My computer is dying on its ass, which is a very bad thing, and I'm earning a lot lot less than I pay out on food (ie I clear about 40 quid after rent/council tax). But wtf, credit cards, you know?

Sir Stewart Wallace (Enrique), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:01 (twenty years ago) link

Poor is relative...It's scant consolation to have running water/place to sleep if you're still on way below the national average salary for example.

Bob Six (bobbysix), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:29 (twenty years ago) link

Well, then, compare it to other nationalities' average!

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:33 (twenty years ago) link

But that doesn't work! You can't measure it against things totally outside your experience. And ina nyacase it's like saying, Oh, you stubbed your toe? Big wow, people are being tortured. Or: you want me to meet this deadline? Well, you and your family will one day be maggot-fodder.

Sir Stewart Wallace (Enrique), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:38 (twenty years ago) link

If you're say earning £16k a year in London, paying out most of your money on rent, continually overdrawn at the end of the month, luxury free, and haven't been away on holiday for 5 years* - you are poor.

Why are so people so keen to deny it?

* Not these days personally - but I've paid my poor dues.

Bob Six (bobbysix), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:40 (twenty years ago) link

poor is relative tho, that's the thing

stevem (blueski), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:42 (twenty years ago) link

Well, you can either try and look on the bright side (i.e. wow, Western standards of poverty would be riches to a Sub-Saharan) or else you can try and change your way of life to be more money-wise and live within your means, or else you can sit around complaining OH MY GOD I'M SO POOR. Take your pick.

x-post

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:42 (twenty years ago) link

Radical solutions all, but I prefer a good interweb whinge.

Sir Stewart Wallace (Enrique), Monday, 7 June 2004 11:44 (twenty years ago) link

one year passes...
Today:


Utilities will be cut off if I don't pay 585 dollars today
Rent is *still* due (900 dollars) from last due date (i.e. for March, must pay by 30th to avoid eviction) and then of course it's due again after that in a few days
Just finished recording yesterday, owe 350 to the guy for my 1/4 of the cost, but I can wait to pay that
Owe each of my 2 sisters one hundred dollars, one of them is ok with it and the other is kinda PO'ed
Have no glasses (they broke), can't afford to get new ones and can't drive, see, etc
...But also can't drive because my tags are expired and I can't afford new ones (it's 60 dollars).
My cat needs a vet visit to get neutered, he is driving everyone insane.

Did I mention I also have unpaid parking tickets and am supposed to be trying to get my license un-suspended?

I just don't know what to do. At all.

RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Friday, 24 March 2006 14:45 (eighteen years ago) link

rob a bank. do a "home neutering" experiment. i see options!

kyle (akmonday), Friday, 24 March 2006 14:59 (eighteen years ago) link

speak to your bank. explain the situation. ask for an increased temporary overdraft. be honest with them and they should understand.

speak to yr utilities company. explain the situation. ask to pay back in smaller instalments. be honest with them and ditto.

ditto landlord.

if you were in the UK i'd be saying "get thee to the citizens advice bureau", but i've no idea if a similar service exists in the states. i assume it must?

grimly fiendish (grimlord), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link

you'll notice i don't mention the sisters ... forgive me, but i think family will have to wait here ;)

and the landlord might require a lot of pleading.but surely they have a heart beating in there somewhere?

grimly fiendish (grimlord), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:04 (eighteen years ago) link

Apply at Modest Needs asap.

Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:04 (eighteen years ago) link

Free or low-cost spay/neuter programs.

Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Also, try a settlement house. The one I work with will help people with utilities and rent payments. They can help with money as well as with the utility/landlord to buy you more time.

Dave AKA Dave (dave225.3), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:12 (eighteen years ago) link

what's a citizen's advice bureau?

teeny (teeny), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:18 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe like the state social services?

Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:20 (eighteen years ago) link

CABs are where social workers and lawyers volunteer to help people who need help with forms and stuff go in the UK - it's where a lot of women volunteer on career breaks.

suzy (suzy), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:22 (eighteen years ago) link

Roxy, also contact your local United Way. If they can't help, they might be able to point you to an agency that can, especially with the utilities.

Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Thanks for all the advice guys, I am looking into a couple things.

Forgot to mention: I am 200 dollars overdrawn at the bank, and they are on my ass.

RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Friday, 24 March 2006 15:47 (eighteen years ago) link

dude, you guys, in america you cant HAVE an overdraft at the bank.

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:01 (eighteen years ago) link

or at least my bank you can't.

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:04 (eighteen years ago) link

coincidentally i have a £30 overdraft at my UK bank account

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah in my experience to overdraft at a bank you have to agree to "overdraft protection" when you open the account (and agree on the amount then and there too), or when you have money in it, and only on some accounts, at some banks. It's not like this big universal, and they sure as hell ain't gonna let you sign up for bigger protection when you're already bouncing checks. And some of them, like apparently Roxy's are really, really nasty about fees and getting it back immediately.

Allyzay Rofflesberger (allyzay), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:10 (eighteen years ago) link

But if you have a debit card, some of them are set up in a way that if you overdraw, it becomes a credit card in effect, and you have a credit balance and big fucking fees and interest payments.

Dave AKA Dave (dave225.3), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:13 (eighteen years ago) link

wow, sorry roxy. i'm in almost a similar boat. trying to go the austerity route, we'll see if it happens.

hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:14 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, that's what I had at Citibank, basically I had to agree to the amount of credit when I signed up though. Some banks, if you have both a checking account and a credit card with them, and have linked them, will automatically just move "overdraft" charges and checks to your credit card somehow...

Allyzay Rofflesberger (allyzay), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah overdraft protection is always in the form of a credit card, which sucks.

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Roxy - kind of a last resort, but can you pawn some stuff to get some cash?

Or, can a parent bail you out? Sadly, everytime I've been in a situation you've described, I have to go to mum & dad, usually. But I am lucky, I guess, in that my parents will do that for me.

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:17 (eighteen years ago) link

I have worked for a bank, and I was appalled at the way some of the fees were set up and designed to take advantage of people who didn't know what the fees were or how to avoid them.

Dave AKA Dave (dave225.3), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:19 (eighteen years ago) link

My mom has already helped me a biut -- paid my cell phone bill a few days ago which was 70 bucks. That helped.

RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:22 (eighteen years ago) link

if you go down to dfcs and check 'no' on every question theyll give you food stamps

+++, Friday, 24 March 2006 16:35 (eighteen years ago) link

that might just be in georgia tho - where are you!?

+++, Friday, 24 March 2006 16:35 (eighteen years ago) link

tennessee, i have already applied for food stamps

RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Friday, 24 March 2006 16:37 (eighteen years ago) link

RIP Como Osco ;_;

Trip Maker, Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:40 (fourteen years ago) link

Jealous of people buyin' beer from Walgreens.

http://tinyurl.com/MO-02011 (Pleasant Plains),

???
I used to get beer at Walgreens in West Memphis because they had a good import selection and better prices than TN.

earnest goes to camp, ironic goes to ilm (pixel farmer), Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:46 (fourteen years ago) link

Maybe Crittenden County's on border rules or something. There are three Walgreens within two miles of me and about the strongest thing you can buy is that weird ass canned Arnold Palmer drink.

http://tinyurl.com/MO-02011 (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:50 (fourteen years ago) link

that arnold palmer drink is delicious!

Moonlight Graham (chrisv2010), Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:50 (fourteen years ago) link

^^^

the walgreens beer is called Big Flats

nakh get on my lvl (roxymuzak), Thursday, 13 January 2011 20:34 (fourteen years ago) link

WTF.

Moonlight Graham (chrisv2010), Thursday, 13 January 2011 20:37 (fourteen years ago) link

Pictures please.

Moonlight Graham (chrisv2010), Thursday, 13 January 2011 20:37 (fourteen years ago) link

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2010/12/img00113-20101221-2303.jpg

"it's the water that makes it"

i got a small advance towards my loan this afternoon, actually, by going to the bursar's office and acting crazy, basically. it's a small amount but it will tide me comfortably through the last few days preceding granthood. immediately bought the above and some groceries, got gas and got my tags renewed (they had been expired FOREVER). i'm cool til monday = GRANT DAY

nakh get on my lvl (roxymuzak), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:21 (fourteen years ago) link

PREMIUM BREW
Genuine Brew

positive reflection is the key (harbl), Friday, 14 January 2011 00:05 (fourteen years ago) link

i have determined that trader joe's name tag (2.99/6-pack) beer is actually more tolerable on its own than its pricier friend la playa (3.99/6-pack). however, the addition of a slice of lime to la playa edges it over the name tag.

tehresa, Friday, 14 January 2011 00:10 (fourteen years ago) link

you know, if you feelin splurgy!

tehresa, Friday, 14 January 2011 00:10 (fourteen years ago) link

splurgey? i dunno.

tehresa, Friday, 14 January 2011 00:10 (fourteen years ago) link

hey y'all, 2% less social security will be withheld from your paycheck now.... so.... less poor now... poorer in retirement? but really it's ok because it's not like we were gonna get any of those social security dollars anyway.

tehresa, Friday, 14 January 2011 00:12 (fourteen years ago) link

Yesterday when buying food with my EBT card I had this weird feeling that I was doing something wrong — it was hard not to shop with my own budget. I guess I'd better get over this.

=(^ • ‿‿ • ^)= (corey), Friday, 14 January 2011 00:42 (fourteen years ago) link

considering blatz

been a while

arby's, Friday, 14 January 2011 00:51 (fourteen years ago) link

Feeling rich when you are poor is an art.

Aimless, Friday, 14 January 2011 01:44 (fourteen years ago) link

"it's the water that makes it"?? dude, pure theft from olympia beer:

http://diversioncansafes.com/otherimages/exp/52009s.jpg

progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Friday, 14 January 2011 15:37 (fourteen years ago) link

wags of my acquaintance would occasionally use a sharpie to cross out the word "the"

progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Friday, 14 January 2011 15:37 (fourteen years ago) link

Feeling rich when you are poor is an art.

Yes, but you have to actually build/grow a rich life, inner and outer, for this to be possible. ILXors in general are class acts in this arena. I would put anyone on this thread up against any other random 1st world-living person.

Jesus Christ, the apple tree! (Laurel), Friday, 14 January 2011 15:42 (fourteen years ago) link

huh, in nyc "name tag" is called "red oval"

max, Friday, 14 January 2011 15:45 (fourteen years ago) link

guys 40s are a lot more expensive than they used to be

mookieproof, Friday, 14 January 2011 15:50 (fourteen years ago) link

big flats brewed by Gennessee.

Moonlight Graham (chrisv2010), Friday, 14 January 2011 17:17 (fourteen years ago) link

one month passes...

today's review of finances makes me so freaking pissed off. i am earning more than i have in my life, but am somehow in what feels like the worst financial situation i've ever experienced. fuck this.

tehresa, Saturday, 5 March 2011 20:09 (thirteen years ago) link

i was thinking this just today. Gf's in college but she took me to lunch cos i'm skint. Payday was yesterday.

Achillean Heel (darraghmac), Saturday, 5 March 2011 20:33 (thirteen years ago) link

I wish I lived somewhere with $3.99 six packs of beer. A six pack here averages $10 and smokes are $15 a pack. Ugh.

gnarly gnarlingtons in my life (Trayce), Saturday, 5 March 2011 21:20 (thirteen years ago) link

$15! for a pack of smokes, damn

brownie, Saturday, 5 March 2011 23:40 (thirteen years ago) link

ugh

corey, Saturday, 5 March 2011 23:46 (thirteen years ago) link

FUCK being jobless

corey, Saturday, 5 March 2011 23:46 (thirteen years ago) link

Actually my 30-smoke packs have been $19 in some shops :/

gnarly gnarlingtons in my life (Trayce), Saturday, 5 March 2011 23:49 (thirteen years ago) link

the only way i'm ever going to be well off is if i dedice to become famous instead of being a lowly journalist for my sheer love of news and strong sense of public service values

lol

I see what this is (Local Garda), Sunday, 6 March 2011 00:33 (thirteen years ago) link

dedice?? wtf

I see what this is (Local Garda), Sunday, 6 March 2011 00:34 (thirteen years ago) link

don't kid yerself, it's your spelling holding you back son

Achillean Heel (darraghmac), Sunday, 6 March 2011 00:42 (thirteen years ago) link

selling out ain't as easy as it sounds

bury my heart at wounded nerd (Hurting 2), Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:03 (thirteen years ago) link

Neither is spelling out.

Pleasant Plains, Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:08 (thirteen years ago) link

i just went into the kitchen, where my new roommate, whom i hadn't yet really met, turned out to be making a sandwich, and i'm in sagging jeans and a black t-shirt from my friend's ninth grade play that says HOUSE OF SNAKES and a rumpled red collared shirt over that, and i haven't shaved in a while, and i'd just woken up from falling asleep in front of netflix instant watch, and i was in the kitchen to take a swig of orange juice from the carton, and the new roommate said "are you the writer?"

difficult listening hour, Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:10 (thirteen years ago) link

the writer of House of Snakes?

bury my heart at wounded nerd (Hurting 2), Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:11 (thirteen years ago) link

i hope silver skein is making 6 figures now

diebro (buzza), Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:12 (thirteen years ago) link

the writer of House of Snakes?

i wish. this play was utterly insane.

difficult listening hour, Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:12 (thirteen years ago) link

the shirt also says:

THE POWER OF LIFE
THE POWER OF DEATH
THE POWER OF REDEMPTION
THE POWER OF RESURRECTION
THE POWER OF JUSTICE

HOUSE OF SNAKES

difficult listening hour, Sunday, 6 March 2011 01:13 (thirteen years ago) link

wait i say big flats was 3.99? cause its 2.99.

☠ (roxymuzak), Sunday, 6 March 2011 02:45 (thirteen years ago) link

three years pass...

the way our apartment building works, i pay all the bills and rent and then everyone pays me back
long story short.....
im broke yall!!!!!!!!!!

its my last finals week ever. i need to be spending money on ridiculous amounts of coffee and desserts!!
support me emotionally

thx

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Thursday, 1 May 2014 22:18 (ten years ago) link

Don't give up
'Cause you have friends
Don't give up
You're not beaten yet
Don't give up
I know you can make it good

StanM, Friday, 2 May 2014 00:35 (ten years ago) link

my bf just remembered that someone gave us a chipotle gift card for xmas, we are eatin giant burritos rn

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Friday, 2 May 2014 00:36 (ten years ago) link

so your interest in those lifting tumblrs was not merely sociological huh

j., Friday, 2 May 2014 00:38 (ten years ago) link

Where I live most people have shifted to those little cigar things that cost about $2 a pack. I quit smoking actually, it got to the point where it was shameful and I was only doing it to manage stress and stay awake.

Anyway the cherry ones weren't bad. Someone also turned me on to chocolate cigarillos...like for after dinner. That is about it.

Could use a good bottle of wine, though...

I am Sporadicus! (I M Losted), Friday, 2 May 2014 16:03 (ten years ago) link

so your interest in those lifting tumblrs was not merely sociological huh

― j., Thursday, May 1, 2014 8:38 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha i was going to post something about this but declined

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Friday, 2 May 2014 16:30 (ten years ago) link

The poor need a new cheap anodyne drug to replace cigs. Tobacco always used to be the cheapest way to smooth down the ragged edges of poverty. I suggest we go all-in for replanting tobacco fields with qat (aka khat).

Aimless, Friday, 2 May 2014 17:19 (ten years ago) link

there are periodic scare stories in the london press about the sizeable somali expatriate population's predilection for khat and its supposed cause of paranoia or whatever, mostly similar to skunk panic stories

Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (nakhchivan), Friday, 2 May 2014 17:21 (ten years ago) link

I'd guess long-term amphetamine addicts wouldn't be so ravaged if they had a qat habit instead. I have always been really intrigued with this drug, would love to give it a go.

under the cobblestones, le dogshit (xelab), Friday, 2 May 2014 17:29 (ten years ago) link

Since we have caffeine already, maybe khat wouldn't be the best replacement for cigarettes. Maybe some pharma company could design a drug like soma in Brave New World. The main requirement would be cheapness, but in order to be acceptable to society the effects would need to be fairly mild and not debilitating. It's too bad that coca leaf chewing got ruined by its over-refinement into cocaine.

Aimless, Friday, 2 May 2014 18:04 (ten years ago) link


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