Rules
Taking pride in working with your hands.
Taking pride in knowing you earn an honest living.
Paying taxes and knowing you do it to support your community.
Loving other human beings.
Empathy, and simply putting yourself in somebody else's shoes.
Having human feelings.
...
So many things...
Giving a fuck about the struggles of others. Rich people don't see others people's problems because they lack empathy.
Need surgery? Just pay for it.
Why can't you go to the $60 a head restaurant, it's very tasty.
Climate change? Just ac or the heater.
Helping other people out.
I was gonna say: having non transactional relationships
Show empathy with action
Investigate the daily schedules of CEOs.
Learning how to fix stuff yourself, even when it's not properly fixed.
How to deal with bailiffs
The exact price of small items like milk, bread etc
Shopping around for the absolute lowest prices because $1-2 dollars for us is like $0.12 to you
For those wondering about comparison with a billionaire, if you have $60,000 net worth, your $1 is equivalent to $0.00006 to someone with $1B net worth.
So when I buy bread for two dollars, a billionaire could buy a $16,000 item.
Yep, effort is worth it if you're broke
Looking for the best deal to buy something or waiting for that deal
Buying things piecemeal. This is also doubles as an answer to "why it's financially unwise to be poor." We buy shampoo, conditioner, and sometimes even soap in single-use sachets. Of course, it is more economical to buy in larger quantities, because you can control your portion sizes and whatnot. But when that bottle of shampoo costs the equivalent of the day's meals (two, maybe three), then the reasoning becomes understandable. A lot of stuff are hence available here in "single-use" sachets or packets.
A lot of these things have overlap with "travel-size" stuff that are actually quite logical when you're traveling, but for a lot of us here, it's what we buy week in, week out.
EDIT:
Clarified, reworded, and added some stuff.
I have never been close to rich, but never truly poor either. 20 years ago my friend was in a credit card debt spiral of fees. I didn't get it so she explained how the fees for not paying back the credit card prevented her from paying back her credit card and she never had money because it cost money to not have money.
"So like.. what kind of figure are we talking about? What would you need to not have to pay one month's fees? And if I loan you this amount you'll be out of the debt spiral? It will fix this being charged fees so you keep having to pay fees bullshit?"
If you know the Terry Pratchett's Boots thing it was like loaning her enough for one good pair of boots and solving so many financial problems. Even something like that I would never have understood without it being explained.
This is painfully true here as well. Worse, it's not just credit cards. There are payday loans here that, while you can take out a loan without much hassle, you and your loved ones will be hounded by their agents if you even delay a single payment.
And then there's these loan sharks whose main shtick is to provide loans with 20% interest (so-called 5/6--you loan 5 bucks, you pay 6 bucks). It's kinda crazy to imagine that these loan sharks are the most humane one of the bunch, but with these loansharks, you can at least reason with them.
That's insane. This sort of stuff is illegal where I am.
Those payday loans are technically in the clear, legally, via plausible deniability. Those who call and harass aren't supposed to be from the payday loan company, they're independent contractors. And since they target those who are strapped for cash, I doubt they've got any resources to file cases against the companies. The government? Maybe once in a blue moon when it's politically advantageous for them to make a show of possibly doing something about it. Otherwise, they've got other priorities.
The loansharks are like a cottage industry here, and they are kinda small businesses in themselves--just without the paperwork. No paper trail other than a simple notebook where the loans and repayments are recorded. Those who resort to them for loans often have no choice, and won't complain to the police about it even if it were indeed illegal. And the police? They've got other more ~~lucrative business~~ important things to take care of.
Where do you live that they sell single use sachets of shampoo, out of interest?
I want to guess somewhere in Asia.
Yep! Asia is correct. South-east Asia, to be precise.
I imagine something like that yes. No offense.
Our philosophy is a bit different (edit oh right in in the Nordics), there's just really shitty quality things from generic store brands which they've imported from somewhere.
Like the cheapest shampoo is 500 ml for 1€. Whereas actual brand shampoos for like 250ml are ~3-4€.
That's often the way for most economic shopping, buying the very generic brand and family size. But for some things it just doesn't work for a single person. Like when I was 18 I used to buy a generic brand 1kg block of cheese but I never managed to get through it before it was moldy af. So it's very annoying because the market is more aimed at the family size.
Only in recent years have there been smaller packaging sizes of meats and cheeses. Shrinkflation in some cases, but usually they just skip making the package slightly smaller and make it much smaller and market it with the excuse of it being for single people.
I imagine something like that yes. No offense.
No offense taken, don't worry.
I am not sure what the cheapest shampoo is around here, but as far as I can recall, the brand shampoo I usually buy is roughly 3€ (converted) per 250mL bottle. Somewhat surprising that we're paying 1st world country prices in a 3rd world country. I can probably go for a much cheaper one, but I am not sure I can find one that is much cheaper. Most of the really cheap stuff tend to be in bulk, and usually in those big warehouse-like stores that are meant for wholesale buying. This reinforces my point earlier: I can buy cheaper overall, but I have to pay a lot upfront. And when people try to live in under 10€ per day, I don't think it's feasible.
For fairly non-perishable stuff like shampoo, toiletries, detergent, and the like, I guess it really makes sense buying in bulk (or what one can use up in a reasonable amount of time). Food though? That's the first thing that went "single portion sizes" here. Heck, there was a time before "single-use" cooking oil sachets, where we can just buy that stuff to the mL. We just need to bring our own containers and the store will put the appropriate amount on it. Same goes for vinegar and soy sauce (which are basic kitchen staples here). Now? That stuff can be bought pre-packaged in amounts as little as 50mL.
Basic brands are like 3-4e, but special shampoos can be more than 10. Just saw one for 35e.
Yeah it's expensive being poor, no matter which part of the world.
Buying in ml sounds actually nice. Wish more products were available like that.
Like a nice food shop where you can get most things by weight. Deli, basically, but not just for food but for cooking stuff as well. Like "I'd like this jar filled with garlic mince, here's a box for 400-500g of soffrit, heres a container for rhe demiglaze but I only need some 150ml. Then uhm, that wonderful spice rub you have, yeah, could I get this jar of that. This jug balsamic vinegar pls, top it up, yep."
Automation can be a good thing if it increased "artisan shops" like that, imo.
Yeah!! I actually find it quite nice, nevermind that the necessity that gave rise to it is communal poverty.
If the same kind of piecemeal purchases (minus the dizzying amounts of plastic) can be adopted for more products, here and everywhere, that'd be very nice. I can't imagine it'd be any more troublesome than keeping a huge vat of whatever, a weighing scale or some sort of a liquid measuring device and a person to make the measurements and handle the payment.
Well, I guess it can't handle a rush of customers, though, hence the 50mL sachets of food stuff (and 5mL of shampoo, dishwashing liquid, etc).
It wouldn't be complex at all. Have a scale under the dispenser. Place your container on it. Then it tares it (discounts the weight of the container), then you just pour and it sees show much it gave and that It matches what the weight increased by. Don't even need a person.
All sorts which are a bitch to make at home because of the time and usually large batches and limited room in the fridge. I'm thinking of buying an extra freezer.
I don't think single use plastics were bad... IF the global infra for producing actually biodegradable plastics existed and was used. But it doesn't.... yet.
Actually work for the money earned
So much labor! The amount of work I have to do to make sure I don't have to spend money when I'm out of the house. So much planning, not just in the packing up, but also in stocking my house so that I can pack up everything we'll need for an outing because food from the grocery store and water from home is so much cheaper than buying anything on the fly. Packing for a trip is exhausting, but I'd sooner die than have to buy a cheese stick or a bandaid at the theme park price. My brother-in-law is so freaking chill because he uses money to solve all his problems. Cold on your trip? Buy a jacket! Spill in your car? Through a car wash! Headache? Buy the single packet of Tylenol! Hungry? Buy lunch wherever is closest! Don't like the taste of the beer you ordered? No sweat! Buy a different one. I wish I could be non-chalant like him, but if I want to have half the experience he has, I have to put in so much work up front!
Avoid taking out vacation days
Do you not have a mandatory minimum of vaction days per year?
I do. Paid. But when I was poor, I never took out more than the minimum, as vacation pay accumulated for the entire year, but my hourly wage came sooner, and I was so cash strapped that I couldn't wait.
Ok, I don't get that system at all.
I just get paid per month and it doesn't matter at all if or when I took vacation days.
payed
*paid
If the bot from The Other Place is correct, "payed" is only for nautical ropes or something.
thanks.
Note: This is my rough understanding on how it works while on an hourly wage. I only did this for a couple of years, so I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy.
Basically it goes like this: On top of what you earn, a certain percentage (11%, I think. Not sure) is NOT paid out to you every month, but set aside by your employer. But you get it next year instead so that you can take time off an still have money at hand. It's common to have this paid out in June, but you can choose a different month if you want to. The minimum vacation time you need to take out is three weeks - if you don't take your three weeks, you forfeit parts of your vacation pay. You're entitled to take out more vacation days (don't remember how much), but it doesn't result in any more vacation pay, so if you're short on cash, it's better to just work instead.
Now my situation is very different. For starters, I am doing reasonably well financially. Secondly, my contract explicitly states that there is no vacation pay involved, but I get an extra 20% as "compensation" instead. And I'm on a fixed monthly wage, no matter where I am and what I do. I take out vacation days whenever I feel like it without problem - worst case scenario is that I have to be available to assist via phone in case something stupid happens at work.
Struggle
Order Wendy's from Doordash with $120 in the bank.
Honest question: why buy from doordash at all when you have 120$ in the bank? Why not buy groceries and eat a simple, healthier, cheaper meal?
That was my question to a former bf of one of my daughters. His answer was, "I haven't had Wendy's in like 2 months."
Buying groceries at Dollar tree because it's the only food you can afford.
That Jesus was poor because money is a social construct.
Relating to other people without an accounting system.
Depending on if they ever were poor: fueling your car for 10EUR at a time
Just about everything...
Exist...