WHO’S TO BLAME FOR POVERTY
Escaping poverty and making ends meet is not only an individual problem but also a national problem. Poverty is a financial burden to a nation. You can do everything you have been taught to do to get out of poverty, and you can still be poor. As an individual you need to do what you can to lift yourself up as much as possible, while the nation needs to provide a fair playing field for the general welfare of its citizens.
It is unfair for anyone to say "if I can do it anybody can do it." As if their burdens are greater than anyone else's. It is a lot easier for someone to start from upper middle class or middle class to become rich or wealthy than it is for someone who is poor. Were they born into a poor family or a poor nation? If your parents are wealthy, they have connections which can get you the best jobs with the best companies. How well you did in school doesn't matter. We have all heard the saying "it isn't what you know, but who you know." Knowing the right people will get you the job, not your grades. There is more to escaping poverty and making ends meet than people think. There are a lot more road blocks for those who are poor.
If you haven't read the blog on the differences between global poverty and U.S. poverty you should read how other countries have reduced or ended poverty in their nation.
Most of those collecting welfare are the elderly and veterans who are also on social security and Medicare. These recipients have paid into the program. If you pay into the system then you are entitled to the benefits.
FOOD STAMPS
Food stamps are also called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Where I was living, SNAP had a lifetime limit of 5 years. In Utah, food stamps could only be used for food. I had to pay for non-food items myself or get them from nonprofit organizations.
There isn't enough funding each month to buy healthy meals. I bought what was cheap and what is cheap is also not healthy. For example, ramen soup, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, and canned food.
What made welfare worse, is I didn't get weaned off welfare, there is an income cut off. Each state is different so it might fluctuate. I have been off of welfare for years and I can say I would never want to go back to that lifestyle. If you have never known anything other than welfare, there is a better life.
MEDICAID
Government healthcare is no better. When I was on government welfare, they only paid for what is “needed” including dental. Have you ever wondered why many poor people have no teeth? Poor people can't afford dental work, it is too expensive.
I needed dental work and needed a couple of root canals. Welfare didn’t pay for root canals for those over 18 years old. They pay to have your teeth pulled.
I asked the welfare department how would I get a decent paying job without teeth? Who is going to take me seriously? They told me I didn’t need teeth to work.
I ended up using my tax refunds to fix my own teeth and used dental schools to keep the costs down.
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
During the turn of the century manual labor jobs were dangerous and low paying. Parents encouraged their children to go to college, so that they wouldn't have to do dangerous jobs with low pay. Very few people had college degrees. If you had a college degree you would earn more and they were safer.
Years ago, you were rewarded for your loyalty to a company. This was the norm for the “Silent Generation” (born between 1928 and 1945). Today companies are no longer loyal to you, while they expect you to be loyal to them.
If you were a male in the 1950's you could earn minimum wage, get married, buy a house, a car, have a family and your wife could stay home. Today minimum wage is no longer able to pay for what it once did. Both spouses have to work to maintain the same lifestyle.
The number of college graduates has created a manual labor shortage. Today we have more college graduates than ever. Unless you have a master’s degree or a doctorate, the competition is high.
ESCAPING POVERTY
Prosperity is about investing in yourself; if you want a higher paying job, you need to continuously add skills, training, and education.
When I went back to college in 2010, I chose finance to help me make wiser investments. It was math heavy and Financial Analysts were in high demand. Also, math heavy degrees aren’t popular, eliminating some competition.
The downside was that I didn’t know that finance was an ageist industry unless you were a Financial Advisor.
Change your career path when there is a labor shortage. You should see labor shortages as opportunities to get higher pay. Opportunities become numerous during shortages with increased pay, paid training, and sometimes sign on bonuses.
I got my CDL-B license in 2018 because of a shortage of CDL drivers. It offered me paid training and a higher-than-average wage to learn how to drive a bus in Boston. I used that license to become a "transportainer" (tour guide driving a bus). It was such a fun job.
Know what you are good at and not good at. Stop following the crowds and doing what everyone else is doing. You will get advice from others with good intentions. It may have worked for them, but it might not have the same outcome for you.
AGING OUT OF A CAREER
Poverty is a real issue for people as they age and get replaced by younger workers; forced to take on jobs with lower wages. This happens most often during an economic downturn such as the 2008 recession and 2020 pandemic.
If you find yourselves in these circumstances, you can turn your experiences to help others by offering training or coaching.
BLAMING PEOPLE FOR THEIR LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES
Don’t blame others for their financial misfortunes. Don’t assume that all those that are in poverty are lazy, didn't work as hard, try as hard, or that they have “poor people" habits.
Be careful about giving advice to others. It may have worked for you, but it may not work for someone else. They may not have the same skills or abilities that you have.
Not everyone can do what you have done to be successful. Escaping poverty and making ends meet is not a cookie cutter approach and needs to be individualized. This is why Prosperity Club makes no guarantees. We do not know everyone's circumstances. There are several resources that can help you with an individualized plan. You can go to our Financial resources page for help.
MAKING RENT/LEASE OR MORTGAGE AFFORDABLE
It is difficult to afford an apartment or own a home with the continuous increase in rentals and home ownership. More young adults have moved back into their parents’ homes. Some reasons have been the high cost of living coupled with school loans and the pandemic of 2020. In American culture if you haven’t moved out of your parent’s home by the time you finished your education you are considered lazy or irresponsible.
Many countries outside of the United States expect you to stay home until you get married. In some countries parents would feel disrespected or hurt if you told them you wanted to move out.
If you are a parent that doesn’t need the money, you can help your children save enough money to put down on a house by not charging rent.
Renting out a room can reduce your cost of living. There are websites like roomies that can help you find renters or rooms for rent. You need to know the laws in your state, you must have the proper paperwork and background checks.
You can buy a trailer and park it for low daily fees at parks and other recreational areas? Sometimes you can find places for free. Don’t let anyone shame you for being frugal.
LOWERING FOOD COSTS
Years ago, my husband and I had around 200 chickens we were raising for meat and eggs. We asked stores if they would donate food, they were discarding for our chickens to cut down on feeding costs. They told us that they had to throw it out. We also weren’t allowed to dumpster dive (go into their garbage to get food that they have thrown away). I have noticed that a lot more stores today have their garbage fenced and locked making it more difficult.
We decided to buy our own garbage cans, then we convinced the stores to throw the food items into our garbage cans and we would discard the items for free. We were shocked to see what the stores would throw away. You would think we were getting partially moldy or rotten food. Some of it was still packaged in great condition.
Grocery stores discard items past the expiration date to prevent lawsuits for selling food that has expired. Manufacturers intentionally put dates way before the item goes bad, to get you to throw it away and buy more. We ended up keeping the good stuff for ourselves and gave the questionable food to the chickens.
It is hard to find stores that will give you the food that they are throwing away. However, there is an app called www.togoodtogo.com. Stores advertise the food they are about to throw away at below cost on that app. The app was created to eliminate waste and help low-income families. There is also Misfit foods which bought out imperfect foods. They sell imperfectly shaped foods. Nothing wrong with them other than they are oddly shaped.
With hydroponics now available my family and I are looking to grow our own fresh fruits and vegetables indoors year-round to save money.
WHEN GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE ENDS
For most, government assistance is not permanent. What are you doing to prepare for that day? I used my food stamps to buy in bulk things that can be stored. Living in Utah was advantageous as the stores would have case lot sales where people could be cases of food on sale. The Mormon church believed in having a food storage and being prepared.
If you decide to store food, the shelf life of canned items is between 4 -5 years. Freeze dried food can last as long as 30 years. Frozen food anywhere between 3 months to a year for meats, up to a year on other items, double the life for shrink wrapped frozen food. This only works if you have a freezer or if you can afford to buy one.
Have you seen homeless or street beggars with cell phones? Cell phones are donated by nonprofits and government assistance. It is seen as a necessity. You need to be reachable to interview and acquire a job, for medical and dentists’ appointments.
Luckily, with free smart phones donated to those who can’t afford them, they can now send and receive money through mobile apps.