How to be poor?

[CS1983]

This titular question comes from plain ignorance. It doesn't come from malice or joking. I'm genuinely curious because, due to the vaccine mandates by the pudding eating Commander in Thief, this may be more reality than mental exercise in the near future... the very, very near future.


Background: I've done the poor thing before (well, I think so at least?) but I was single, fresh out of the Army, and my VA/Army retirement was able to pay for a very crappy studio apt ($500/mo at the time), basic food (maybe $200/mo), and I could do odd jobs when and how I wanted; in short, I was poor but not in a state of manic desperation. I didn't have to do food kitchens or contemplate crime. I somehow lived joyfully and very simply on something around <20k a year in the higher cost of living location of Colorado Springs. I even paid off a vehicle by scrimping and saving. I'd randomly force myself to go to bed hungry sometimes to "practice" in case it got worse, though I thought worse meant bad and at the time I thought I had it pretty darn good (which I did, compared to many). But I have no idea how to be that level of poor with kids, a 2021 mortgage, or in an environment that's not permissive to a rapidly unpopular mode of thinking with very little upward or even lateral mobility. It was a different time.


So tell me... if you have been, are, or are intimately connected with assisting or interacting with poor folks in the context of family and much higher cost of living: how do you, or they, do it? I want honest answers. If you are embarrassed by the reality, please PM me.


Tips?


Tricks?


What sort of things were lines in the sand for you and how did you mitigate those perceived needs and the need for crossing the line?


Does the current environment change how you might approach things?


Feel free to add to things I might not have asked.


Thanks.

[Irving]

I don't think I have any real advice like your looking for. That said, we can talk about something to get the conversation started until others chime in.

I suppose in preparation of being poor, it's important to get rid of a much debt as possible. Knowing how to fix things will be important. Home cooking and meal planning will be pivotal as well. I used to hate thrift stores (because I didn't grow up needing them and thought they were depressing), but now I find all kinds of good stuff there, especially when I shop at ones adjacent to well off neighborhoods.

[CS1983]

I don't think I have any real advice like your looking for. That said, we can talk about something to get the conversation started until others chime in.

I suppose in preparation of being poor, it's important to get rid of a much debt as possible. Knowing how to fix things will be important. Home cooking and meal planning will be pivotal as well. I used to hate thrift stores (because I didn't grow up needing them and thought they were depressing), but now I find all kinds of good stuff there, especially when I shop at ones adjacent to well off neighborhoods.

No debt, currently (aside from soon to end lease and an impending mortgage).

I can generally fix things or know those who can.

I agree on meal planning and food prep.

Thrift stores are good, but one has to be careful of getting themselves into a bunch of money-depleting deals. I can "save" us right into my wife glaring at me.

[Great-Kazoo]

No debt, currently (aside from soon to end lease and an impending mortgage).

I can generally fix things or know those who can.

I agree on meal planning and food prep.

Thrift stores are good, but one has to be careful of getting themselves into a bunch of money-depleting deals. I can "save" us right into my wife glaring at me.

No debt. Buy in bulk, well stocked with provisions. If and when possible, buy in to a 1/4 - whole livestock. Per pound averages out much lower, for better quality, product

Pay off credit cards , when used, on time.
Live within, not beyond your means.

Learn how to barter , as well as know your way around tools. A simple plumbing issue can coat $100's unless you can diy . NETWORK.

AND hope you die before your savings run out.

[MrPrena]

(Spending > income ) = POOR+ in debt
(Spending = income) = Poor
Spending < Income) = NOT a pay check to pay check poor
((Spending < Income) + Investment + Interest) = accumulation of Cash/wealth


Then we have a cost side (accounting) we can do too.

[ray1970]

Semi related. When I watch some of those tiny home people on YouTube it always impresses me how happy most of them seem. While I?m sure some of us have become accustomed to luxuries like cell phones, cable or satellite tv, owning multiple vehicles, or having a house with multiple bathrooms, the ability to live and be happy without those things is real.

I think a simplistic lifestyle (i.e.- poor) is totally sustainable but likely easier to accomplish as a single individual or perhaps with a very like minded partner.

[kidicarus13]

A substance addiction will keep you poor and without motivation to become unpoor.

[BladesNBarrels]

When I got out of the service, I went back to school at CU.
GI Bill then was $135 per month flat - From that came tuition, books, housing, food, and any extras.
Saving factors were I was young, healthy, motivated, and sure that the future was going to get better.
Some months were lean. One month after paying tuition and books, I didn't have much left.
I bought a 50 lb bag of pinto beans and that was the staple of the month. It also was corn ripening season, and I managed to find a few edible ears here and there.
I had learned to pan for gold when I was a kid in Sacramento, so I did some of that up in the Colorado creeks and found a jeweler in Boulder that bottled the dust for sale to the tourist trade.
He paid higher than the fixed $35/oz of the time.
Odd jobs through the University's bulletin board for day labor and eventually permanent part-time jobs with both the University and NOAA.
I think the lesson I learned was to persevere and keep looking for ways to improve my situation.
I am not sure that people that think they have no choices or opportunities, or are disabled, can see ways to change their lives.
There was a radio show in the 2008-2010 time period in the rural areas where the host encouraged people to get out of debt as fast as possible.
He would highlight different ways of achieving that for people who seemed to be stuck.
One example he described was a single mother, who had no job or education, started cleaning houses for neighbors and off bulletin board announcements.
She did a good job and soon had a regular client base that got her out of her circumstance.
Horatio Alger type stories.
Everyone has a different set of experiences and influences, and each circumstance and perceived situation is unique to them.

[BushMasterBoy]

Most money I ever made easily, was Ebay. Buy stuff cheap from yard sales, thrift stores etc. Sell it on Ebay for whatever the market will bear. I would also sell items for other people for a good percentage. I specialized in military items, uniforms, boots & gear. Hardest part is the shipping. Other venue is Craigslist. Made easy money there, too.

Converted a lot of income to silver bullion. Banks don't pay shit in interest. For the right exchange rate, I would trade all the silver for gold. I heat the house with wood in the winter. Cool it with swamp cooler in the summer. Small house I paid for in cash. The down side is it is a lot of work. Maintain my 1 acre and all the vehicles means I am busy all the time.

[MrPrena]

Most money I ever made easily, was Ebay. Buy stuff cheap from yard sales, thrift stores etc. Sell it on Ebay for whatever the market will bear. I would also sell items for other people for a good percentage. I specialized in military items, uniforms, boots & gear. Hardest part is the shipping. Other venue is Craigslist. Made easy money there, too.

Converted a lot of income to silver bullion. Banks don't pay shit in interest. For the right exchange rate, I would trade all the silver for gold. I heat the house with wood in the winter. Cool it with swamp cooler in the summer. Small house I paid for in cash. The down side is it is a lot of work. Maintain my 1 acre and all the vehicles means I am busy all the time.

same. Reselling is getting more difficult nowadays, but I started by selling my personal items. Then I start selling 5.11 on arbitrage, and sell many safariland holster.

Now I evolve to selling many but mainly sporting goods.

I sell over 8 platforms and 4 are mainly local listings.