The new American poor... i think i would rather be dead.

I am on the fine edge of being one of the new American poor. I lost my job last year. It took me 9 months to find a good paying TEMP job. Right now i am working, and getting decent pay. But there is no guarantee that i will get hired permanently at this position, or even if it will last for several months. My COBRA health insurance runs out in August. I have used up most of my unemployment benefits and i have gone through the majority of my savings. I pay for food, gas, car payment, insurance and rent with little left over for savings. I am not young either. If i lose my current job and cant find a new job, i will be in serious trouble. In a very short amount of time i could lose my car, become homeless, ........... i really think i would rather be dead than face poverty. I think America is dying, if not already dead. I dont want to live like people do in a third world country. How much better or worse do you think your lives are going to be in the next 5 years? Are you headed for poverty?

You would rather be dead than broke? You give me the impression you grew up with too much money and now your dependent on it.

You would rather be dead than broke? You give me the impression you grew up with too much money and now your dependent on it.

racer8dan

That sucks.

I don't have a long-term job in place yet (28 years old). I just started working - contract is for two years. Hopefully things will be better in the near future job-wise so that by the time I finish with my current job I can find something else without being out of work for a long time.

At least you are employed and you don't have negative income at the end of the year. Save as much as you can when you can.

Take a walk around east baltimore and see if you still feel so hard done by. Doctor-McNinja

Join the military.

Join the military.

Montaya

I would hope mine would get better...but then again..look at my username..:lol:

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

aransom

Sorry, we only bail out banks.

Can you give up the car and just use public transit? Or worst case scenario, go get a crap job as security or McDonalds or something, better than nothing, while you start looking for something better or get an education if you haven't yet.F1_2004

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

muller39

Yes, I agree too.

Its rough out there right now for sure , I got out of the military about 8 months ago and have been unemployed ever since. Im survivng off of my disibilty checks I recieve for an injury I sustained while In Iraq. Im going to go to a temp agancy this week , the idea of temporary work doesnt excite me very much, but I dont know what else to do at this point. Hopefully things will getting better..

- Dont join the military

Join the military.

Montaya

[QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

Doctor-McNinja

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

HoolaHoopMan

He would rather die than be poor. Military solves the problem either way...

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"][QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

aransom

Poorest city in America, i'm sure this is 'normal' in most other countries :roll:

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

HoolaHoopMan

On a side note americans and others need to stop lumping third world countries together, my country is not near as bad as haiti or one of those war torn african countries but it's a 3rd world country none the less.

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"][QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

aransom

Don't worry TC, you aren't alone. I'm in a similar situation. I'm barely employed. I get 20 hours a week, uninsured, and not quite homeless though I don't really have a home either. Basically I have a place that I sleep at. But it's all pretty hush-hush. I shower at work (pretty embarrassing as no-one uses it but me)or a friends house and occasionally I do eat food found in a dumpster. It's day old food with sealed wrappings, but from the garbage nonetheless. I also ride my bike all over because I lost my car. The military is not an option due to taking anti-depressants for 2 years... Anyway. Good luck with everything and I hope you find a good job soon.

[QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

Doctor-McNinja

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"][QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

aransom

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

aransom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc&feature=related

Join the military.

Montaya

Because wasting your life in war isn't totally pointless:roll:

You could join the Reserves.

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

muller39

yeah then you can both live in poverty and get killed or mangled. perhaps the wheelchair will help you get spare change at the train station....

"Do you know why they call it the American Dream? Because it only happens when you are asleep."

[QUOTE="aransom"]

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"] Please tell me that wasn't serious. :|LJS9502_basic

"Do you know why they call it the American Dream? Because it only happens when you are asleep."

one_plum

for the love of....there's jobs to be had out there...they may not be your dream job or pay the salary you're expecting..but if you want to work you can.....if you have the desire and the determination you can make a decent enough wage and get yourself a place to live.....I swear...people just like to ***** and moan....there have always been tough times.....how you deal with them is how you're defined....Omni-Slash

Additionally, there's also the possiblity of working more than one job too. You have to do what you can.

[QUOTE="HoolaHoopMan"][QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

Espada12

He would rather die than be poor. Military solves the problem either way...

Wasn't it something like, "Do you know why they call it the 'American Dream?' Because you have to be asleep to believe it" or no? George Carlin if anyone is interested :P

entropyecho

for the love of....there's jobs to be had out there...they may not be your dream job or pay the salary you're expecting..but if you want to work you can.....if you have the desire and the determination you can make a decent enough wage and get yourself a place to live.....I swear...people just like to ***** and moan....there have always been tough times.....how you deal with them is how you're defined....Omni-Slash

[QUOTE="aransom"]

Poor in America is still better than normal in most countries.

Treflis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc&feature=related

[QUOTE="entropyecho"]Wasn't it something like, "Do you know why they call it the 'American Dream?' Because you have to be asleep to believe it" or no? George Carlin if anyone is interested :P

Omni-Slash

Very similar...my mom worked 2 and a half jobs (2 regular jobs + one cleaning job) to support me and my 2 sistersrawsavon

Well, I feel for you. I think you should put some effort into exploring your options for reducing "necessities" that you don't really need, just in case the worst comes to pass. For instance, if you have any cell phones, web site memberships, entertainment subscriptions, or so forth, they can probably be axed. If you eat out at all, stop doing that - not even a cup of coffee or bottle of water from the local vendor. Obviously stop smoking or drinking if you do either, and no gambling either - the thrill of the occasional win doesn't change the fact that gambling establishments become wealthy for a reason. And if you have ANY debt at all, your first priority is to get rid of it. Do whatever it takes to eliminate it, even if it means selling some of your possessions. Paying interest on unnecessary consumer debt is just about the biggest waste of money I can think of. Do you live alone? One more thing that really helps with money is renting out rooms in your house. And that money can be applied to eliminating debt or building savings.

Basically, look at EVERYTHING you spend even a few dollars on and ask yourself "do I REALLY need to be spending money on this?" That even goes for groceries. Take advantage of coupons and deals. Don't buy anything that isn't on sale unless you absolutely have to. And do your best to keep your job by being an excellent employee and kind to your coworkers.

The economic recovery is on shaky ground. It does not mean that it will collapse, and things WILL eventually get better, but the average North American worker probably isn't going to feel the effects for many years, and there is still quite a bit of sentiment out there that we could be looking at an eventual second big dip for the recession as the last of the bad debt gets churned through the system.

As for me, I came out just fine. As a young music educator, I've never had an especially large income, but I've been interested in investing for a few years, and the markets have been very kind to me in the past year or so. I'm actually at my all-time high for net worth, and with a reasonably strong spring (perhaps doubtful, but I can hope :P ), I'll be in a position to eliminate my mortgage. I'll then own my house, both pianos, and my car with no debt except margin for my stock accounts at age 29. And I'll STILL be very close to my previous all-time high levels for liquid assets.

So I want to make this clear - it wasn't investing that put me on solid footing, and it certainly wasn't my job income. It was frugality. I'm a penny pincher, and that's why I had the money to invest in the first place. If you want to stabilize your financial future so that you don't have to worry about economic downturns (or even better, can take advantage of them through deflated stock / property prices), you need to do that too.

On a side note americans and others need to stop lumping third world countries together, my country is not near as bad as haiti or one of those war torn african countries but it's a 3rd world country none the less.

Espada12

[QUOTE="rawsavon"] Very similar...my mom worked 2 and a half jobs (2 regular jobs + one cleaning job) to support me and my 2 sistersOmni-Slash

[QUOTE="Omni-Slash"]for the love of....there's jobs to be had out there...they may not be your dream job or pay the salary you're expecting..but if you want to work you can.....if you have the desire and the determination you can make a decent enough wage and get yourself a place to live.....I swear...people just like to ***** and moan....there have always been tough times.....how you deal with them is how you're defined....rawsavon

I sympathize with the TC's feeling of being sick of poverty, but he has to realize that it could be much, much worse.

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

HoolaHoopMan

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

muller39

He said he was older, he might not be qualified.