Posted on 11/11/2014 5:12:39 AM PST by Kaslin
This could be one of the messages from last Tuesday.
Poverty is a state of mind. Broke is a temporary condition.
Get married and STAY married. Spend less than you earn, and invest the difference.
I went through a year of poverty and setting conditions to move on, back in the late 1960s. I knew my assets....no debt, a college degree in something I'm quite good at, and an ability to put together a functioning budget and life plan. I also knew what challenges had to be met that year.
It's life style experience everyone should go through. Temporary work with eyes wide open for a suitable long term job, rooming house then cheap apartment for the year, figuring out how to eat, stay healthy, pay bills, stay out of debt.
A lot of what the gov has done to make things better have made things more difficult for those trying to make the break from true poverty to a life with more stability, but it's doable. What would make it easier? Give people back our lives, free of unfair restrictions and competition.
W-O-R-K. Stop Looking For A Handout.
Good reading. Been in similar straits before. A fair amount self inflicted but I never took a penny of public assistance. Besides, I am a white male so I wouldn’t get anything.
Later
They literally wince as if I've said something shocking and uncomfortable, and then sometimes they give this uneasy chuckle, like I must be joking. I don't understand them at all. Like this author, I grew up poor. Joined the military, put myself through school, didn't do drugs, didn't have kids, and now I am not poor. It's not rocket science.
Here’s how to earn more than minimum wage.
1) Show up on time every day.
2) Do what you’re asked to do.
3) Speak respectfully to everyone.
Notice that no specific job skills are involved. Follow the above and you’ll earn more than minimum wage.
As Reverand Ike used to say: the best thing one can do for poor people is not to become one of them.
Good advice and I would add one more: don’t sire kids till married.
Been homeless, hungry, unemployed gainfully without a vehicle to even sleep in many times when I was younger. I remember the constant hunger, sleeping on surfaces like floors without pillows and how stiff you were when you woke up, how it felt to be invisible to people who walked by without a care in the world, etc...I remember sometimes people would see me and recognize that I was hungry and offer to buy me something to eat though I never flt comfortable with them doing that because it made me feel sort of sub-human (hey just being honest here; it’s not who I am now). I recognized that those people who showed me kindness were Christians who had been through rough patches too. They taught me to pay it forward years later. Being homeless it taught me me self-reliance when I realized I could earn money even if it was simply knocking on a door and asking if they needed a lawn mowed or their leaves raked; that only I could truly take care of myself and that I was the person responsible for my own success or not. It taught me how to relate to people that I never could have years later when I had to interview them and believe it or not God spoke to me as I labored and I learned to be still and listen to His voice. I never applied for government assistance nor did I expect handouts. I’m still alive...: )
Lets make a list. I will add:
4)Always write emails, texts, letters with proper English punctuation and spelling. Whenever I read an email message written in slang, I immediately perceive the person to be uneducated. I am not saying you do not add a LOL in a email to your wife/sweat heart. However, when conversing with anyone other than a personal associate, write properly.
We could roll that up into #3.
I like to keep the list short, that way the minimum wage crowd doesn’t have the “easy for you to say” excuse.
The picture reminds me of a couple who stand on the main road here in Nashua everyday. They are a 20 something man and woman. They typically stand at intersections about 2-3 blocks apart. They both hold signs that state: WILL WORK FOR FOOD.
The irony is that last week they were at the intersection where there is a McDonalds on one corner and a brand new ChicFilA on the opposite corner. Both businesses have NOW HIRING on their signs just like the picture in the article.
All along the street where they stand everyday there are NOW HIRING signs. Our unemployment rate here is just over 5%. Anyone that wants a job, can get one. Apparently, they do not.
Agreed, I revise it to 3)a.
LOL :)
Get a job. Any job. Find a cheap place to live even if you don’t like the people living there. Avoid debt like the plague including driving cars you can afford (i.e. pay cash for it). Because if you manage to save $1000, you are rich.
Don’t rely on the government for your income. She is a fickle provider. I know many people on Disability and if the government ever asks them to prove they are disabled, they are sunk.
Sonny Drysdale: Father said an awful four-letter word in front of me.
Mrs Drydale: (gasp) Don’t say it, spell it.
Sonny: W-O-R-K
For most, that may be true. This couple that you mention may have served time for felonies, which would severely impact their ability to be hired. I know it would dissuade me.
I used to think like you do, until my nephew got hooked on drugs. Then he stole to support his habit. He’s in jail now, but no one in the family trusts him anymore. If he ever gets out, he’ll never get a regular job again.
So if I ever see him on the side of the road, asking for work, I’m still not sure I would hire him. He isn’t trustworthy at all. It makes it really hard, because we want to beleive he will turn his life around, but so far, there has been no change in his attitude.
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