[thatsamonad]

I would add that it’s not only expensive financially but also in terms of time.

I grew up very poor and was fairly poor as an adult until about 6-7 years ago. I constantly had to make time trade offs. Do I exercise or evaluate and cut coupons to make my meager grocery budget last longer? Do I meal plan to make my money stretch further or spend that time investing in a skill? Not to mention things like not having reliable transportation, which meant taking the bus to and from work which tends to be a 2-3x longer commute. And if the bus was ever late, minimum wage retail jobs don’t really care so you get a “mark” on your record and potentially written up/fired if it happens too many times.

I consider myself very fortunate that I was lucky enough to find myself a tech job and pull myself out of my previous financial situation. But I get the sense that a lot of people here haven’t been through that so they underestimate just how much more difficult it is to be poor, at least in the US.

[vmception]

I’ve had to juggle that in periods of my life too, on the polar opposite side I love how fast things can be.

Buying a car with a cashier’s check after negotiating lower means no financing charges, interest, credit pulls and just having stored value for a little while. So much cheaper both financially and in time.

Right now my used car is worth more than when I bought it.