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

Same here... Believe it or not, I grew up (till like 6th grade) a millionaire -but **** and life happen -ended up quite poor -but I am sooooo glad I did...I was an insufferably spoiled jackassrawsavon

[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

I sincerely agree with you. Growing up as a kid, I thought that money would solve everything and make me into a better person. However, I know that the disadvantages I had during my childhood has made me into a better person. As for the OP, just do whatever it takes to get by, short of robbing someone. I go to school, work, AND pay bills/tuition myself. Just find enough willpower within you to do so.

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.

pianist

This is great advice.

Not to downplay anyone's misfortune, but from my experience, a lot of people don't think like this and that is part of the problem.

[QUOTE="rawsavon"] Same here... Believe it or not, I grew up (till like 6th grade) a millionaire -but **** and life happen -ended up quite poor -but I am sooooo glad I did...I was an insufferably spoiled jackassOmni-Slash

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"]Take a walk around east baltimore and see if you still feel so hard done by. Videodogg

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?

Videodogg

Sorry man, but that is what happens when you work for Cobra Commander.

But lame jokes aside sorry I hope you can find a way out of the gutter. Or atleast get some stability, I have been trying to find a job too, but my situation is nothing like yours.(I am still a teen). I do know it is difficult, but I have a family that takes care of me. Also stop all that "I would rather be dead" bs, be a man and push through.

[QUOTE="muller39"][QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

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

[QUOTE="aransom"]

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

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

[QUOTE="Mercenary848"]

[QUOTE="muller39"] Agreed.Videodogg

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

I'm not in the situation you're in so I can't imagine what you're going through. However, it doesn't sound all THAT bad. No mortgage and credit card debt is a good start. I would just think about taking a second or even a third job. Just do what you have to do to scrape by for now. Best wishes man.

[QUOTE="Mercenary848"]

[QUOTE="muller39"] Agreed.Videodogg

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

See guys the military is a good option for some but not everyone. Also I am shocked at people saying enlisting, is just getting into a war to get blown up.

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

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.

PannicAtack

trinidad.

[QUOTE="Montaya"]

Join the military.

HoolaHoopMan

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"][QUOTE="Espada12"]

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

trinidad.

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"] Out of curiosity, what country do you live in?PannicAtack

trinidad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"][QUOTE="Espada12"]

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

trinidad.

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"]

[QUOTE="aransom"]Of course I'm serious. We've got the richest poor people in the world here. People below the poverty line have color TVs, cellphones, mortgages, second and third cars ...

Famiking

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

It can be relative though. I think there's also a difference between being poor in a rich nation where you are constantly reminded by the media what you can't have and a modest nation (not the extremely poor ones) where your earning is as modest as other people but not having to worry what you don't have.

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

[QUOTE="PannicAtack"] Out of curiosity, what country do you live in?carrot-cake

trinidad.

To be honest it seems that aside from the crime, most are pretty content with their lives and I don't have any complaints myself. I know people from all walks of life and I've never seen anyone truly unhappy.

[QUOTE="Famiking"]

[QUOTE="Doctor-McNinja"]

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

It can be relative though. I think there's also a difference between being poor in a rich nation where you are constantly reminded by the media what you can't have and a modest nation (not the extremely poor ones) where your earning is as modest as other people but not having to worry what you don't have.

Agreed.muller39

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

[QUOTE="one_plum"]

[QUOTE="Famiking"]

Wow, if that's America's poorest than I don't really have that much sympathy :s But either way, a homeless person is a homeless person. So I don't see how it's better in the US. But being "poor" in the US isn't bad compared to other countries - the world's average salary is $6,000 afterall. The cost of living tends to be higher in the US though.

DEVILinIRON

It can be relative though. I think there's also a difference between being poor in a rich nation where you are constantly reminded by the media what you can't have and a modest nation (not the extremely poor ones) where your earning is as modest as other people but not having to worry what you don't have.

The media is quite subtle; there's not a lot of places that you can go without feeling the effects of the material culture: you see ads on billboards; you hear your friends talking about their new Playstation 4; you see the new Louis Vuitton clothes outside the new store windows; you see the BMW on your neighbour's driveway that you always wanted to buy but you can't afford it.

Not saying that you need luxury to be happy, but we are exposed to material culture and are influenced by its culture more so than we think.

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

The problem is that the unemployent rate is still pretty high. That means a lot of people LOOKING for jobs, which means more competition for jobs. Furthermore, companies all over the place have been cutting back on hiring, which means it's harder to find a new job.

In many places, jobs just aren't there.

Yeah times are tough, luckily I work for a company that maintains foreclosed properties. Now add that to living in the Detroit metro area and I have a pretty secure career. However, I see new houses every day that have been foreclosed on and can't help but imagine the families that lived in these houses. With unemployment rates around 15% things only seem to be getting worse. Who really knows what the future holds for America, I hope everything gets back on track for all our sake.

Your life isnt great, but you arent third world yet.
You can make it if you presevere..
Dont be a coward like that guy who killed his family because he lost his job..

Also, I couldnt stop laughing in my head when you said Cobra.
I think GI Joe has better health coverage, should try there.

My grandma told me before she passed away last year, That she fed herself and six kids off making $2 an hour back in like the 1950's not sure of the exact date but you get the idea.

When the minimum wage was bumped up to 5.25 she pretty much worked all her life on that wage until she passed and guess what! She passed away with about $150,000+ In CD's and bonds and had about 10-15 credit cards with limits of about $15,000 to $20,000 on them and a few with $50,000 (she had extremely good credit) . Now yes I know this is not a lot of money but the moral of the story is, If you just live frugal you can survive on minimum wage.

She always used coupons when she went shopping and always looked for sales and what not. She would buy like $200 worth of food and pay like $40. She collected jugs and jugs of pennies and coins and what not. When she was on her deathbed she told me that she dosent know how people cant live on low earnings/ minumam wage, she said "I did"

Moral of the story is if you dont have a good paying stable job and the only thing you can do is work for minimum wage, just live with in your means and be frugal with your money.

She was pretty much the money pit of our family, when ever someone needed money we would just go to her and she would just put it on her credit cards.

Im not exaggerating on the cards also. I dont think she ever missed a payment since she had her first card and that was a long time ago and obviously credit card companies trusted her with money.

NOTE: This was a black lady with know kind of education and grew up in hard times, so like i say she did not die with a lot of money but you get the point.

Sorry for the grammar, dont really care at this point.

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

aransom

My grandma told me before she passed away last year, That she fed herself and six kids off making $2 an hour back in like the 1950's not sure of the exact date but you get the idea.

When the minimum wage was bumped up to 5.25 she pretty much worked all her life on that wage until she passed and guess what! She passed away with about $150,000+ In CD's and bonds and had about 10-15 credit cards with limits of about $15,000 to $20,000 on them and a few with $50,000 (she had extremely good credit) . Now yes I know this is not a lot of money but the moral of the story is, If you just live frugal you can survive on minimum wage.

She always used coupons when she went shopping and always looked for sales and what not. She would buy like $200 worth of food and pay like $40. She collected jugs and jugs of pennies and coins and what not. When she was on her deathbed she told me that she dosent know how people cant live on low earnings/ minumam wage, she said "I did"

Moral of the story is if you dont have a good paying stable job and the only thing you can do is work for minimum wage, just live with in your means and be frugal with your money.

She was pretty much the money pit of our family, when ever someone needed money we would just go to her and she would just put it on her credit cards.

Im not exaggerating on the cards also. I dont think she ever missed a payment since she had her first card and that was a long time ago and obviously credit card companies trusted her with money.

NOTE: This was a black lady with know kind of education and grew up in hard times, so like i say she did not die with a lot of money but you get the point.

Sorry for the grammar, dont really care at this point.

Dub_c6969

Hell, I can SURVIVE earning zero dollars an hour, and getting food and shelter out of a dumpster.

I just like to think that living is about more than surviving.

Yeah, minimum wage is cool. The problem is, there are a hell of a lot of people now who can't even get THAT. It's not as if everyone can get a minimun wage job as long as they're willing to give up their dignity and go apply as a janitor or fry cook. No. Those jobs are hard to come by as well. Jobs just arent there. We're talking about "good job or crappy job", we're talking about "ANY job or living in a cardboard box". A lot of people right now would MURDER to get a minimum wage job at McDonalds.

pianist

I'll be happy just to break even with my investment at this point :P

On topic: I subscribed to online job search engines that would send me updates on new jobs opening thatmatch my search criteria. For a good while I didn't get any updates from them... there simply was no job openings at all. Lately I see a gradual return of those, although nowhere near the number of openings back in 06-08, jobs are returning slowly but surely.

Just have to keep trying and keep your eye open. Explore volunteer opportunities as well, because its a channel to gain new skills/keep your skill current, networking opportunity and a great way to give back to folks who might be less fortunate.

[QUOTE="aransom"]

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

th3warr1or

[QUOTE="Videodogg"][QUOTE="Mercenary848"]

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

Mercenary848

See guys the military is a good option for some but not everyone. Also I am shocked at people saying enlisting, is just getting into a war to get blown up.

I don't see a future for this world. Everything is going down hill, and it's not just money. Economy, animals, poor generations, etc.

I think it's time for the world to do its job and recycle.

[QUOTE="Mercenary848"]

[QUOTE="Videodogg"] I am 48. So, no military option for me. I dont own a home. I have no credit card debt. The only debt i have is a school loan and my car payments. I live in a small, one bedroom apt with my brother ( he sleeps in the living room ). We split a very cheap rent and utilities and food. He gets disability income. I dont drink, smoke or party or spend money on anything except for a few hobbies that keep me happy and sane. But even at this low level of living, it is still very hard to make ends meet and saving money is almost impossible. There is not much more i could give up at this point. If i lose this job, my low stardard of living will become unbearable. I fear i would jump in front of a train or something. Serraph105

See guys the military is a good option for some but not everyone. Also I am shocked at people saying enlisting, is just getting into a war to get blown up.

Yes but there is more to being in the military then putting yourself in harms way.

[QUOTE="Dub_c6969"]

My grandma told me before she passed away last year, That she fed herself and six kids off making $2 an hour back in like the 1950's not sure of the exact date but you get the idea.

When the minimum wage was bumped up to 5.25 she pretty much worked all her life on that wage until she passed and guess what! She passed away with about $150,000+ In CD's and bonds and had about 10-15 credit cards with limits of about $15,000 to $20,000 on them and a few with $50,000 (she had extremely good credit) . Now yes I know this is not a lot of money but the moral of the story is, If you just live frugal you can survive on minimum wage.

She always used coupons when she went shopping and always looked for sales and what not. She would buy like $200 worth of food and pay like $40. She collected jugs and jugs of pennies and coins and what not. When she was on her deathbed she told me that she dosent know how people cant live on low earnings/ minumam wage, she said "I did"

Moral of the story is if you dont have a good paying stable job and the only thing you can do is work for minimum wage, just live with in your means and be frugal with your money.

She was pretty much the money pit of our family, when ever someone needed money we would just go to her and she would just put it on her credit cards.

Im not exaggerating on the cards also. I dont think she ever missed a payment since she had her first card and that was a long time ago and obviously credit card companies trusted her with money.

NOTE: This was a black lady with know kind of education and grew up in hard times, so like i say she did not die with a lot of money but you get the point.

Sorry for the grammar, dont really care at this point.

MrGeezer

Hell, I can SURVIVE earning zero dollars an hour, and getting food and shelter out of a dumpster.

I just like to think that living is about more than surviving.

Yeah, minimum wage is cool. The problem is, there are a hell of a lot of people now who can't even get THAT. It's not as if everyone can get a minimun wage job as long as they're willing to give up their dignity and go apply as a janitor or fry cook. No. Those jobs are hard to come by as well. Jobs just arent there. We're talking about "good job or crappy job", we're talking about "ANY job or living in a cardboard box". A lot of people right now would MURDER to get a minimum wage job at McDonalds.

-Donate Blood/Plasma/Sperm

-Join the military. I know it sucks, but if I was in your situation I'd seriously consider it.

-Try to go to a technical college for a 2-year degree and get some skills behind you. Loans will suck a lot but its a way to get ahead.

-Take a lower paying job, or a higher paying job with a crappy environment. I know meat-packing plants pay well, but the work is awful.

-Cobra insurance isn't worth it. If you don't need health care right now then drop it. If you're below a certain income, you won't have to pay anyway.

-How are you for transportation? Sell your car for a moped or small motorcycle or just sell it and start public transit.

-Find a cheaper place to live.

-Get food stamps.

-Move to a cheaper city or state.

-You aren't alone. You're in a decent country and you can pull ahead.

I think our lives are going to be much worse in five years because the next conservative president won't be able to repair the damage Obama does to us.

I'm actually thinking about moving out of New York State and back to North Dakota. Because we're getting a lot of lay offs in our department.