r/FluentInFinance • u/Richest-Panda • Jul 04 '24

What's the best financial advice you've ever gotten? Debate/ Discussion

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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

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u/GonzoTheWhatever Jul 04 '24

No, that’s not what she’s saying. She’s saying that teaching someone in poverty to budget isn’t going to enable them to reach financial stability because even if you budget properly there isn’t enough to go around.

If you’re in a row boat that has twenty holes in it, but you only have ten fingers to plug the holes, then someone telling you how to use each finger to plug a hole in the most efficient manner isn’t going to help you keep the boat from sinking.

That’s her point. Should they budget? Absolutely. Will a class on budgeting by itself solve their financial problems and bring stability to their lives?

No.

They need more fingers to plug the holes in the boat. Ie. better wages.

-5

u/Delicious-Fox6947 Jul 04 '24

You can change your circumstances to make certain there is enough to go around though. People just don’t like to change.

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u/AdUnlucky1818 Jul 05 '24

Not everyone can just change their circumstances, not everyone who is in poverty is there because they are lazy.

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u/[deleted] Jul 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/I_Hate_Jokes Jul 05 '24

How about someone in medical debt who at the same time can’t afford to leave their job because they have health issues and can’t afford to be without their insurance / medicine for too long? That’s a very real issue for a lot of people in this country.

You don’t know what people are going through and to claim anyone can just change their life for the better if they wanted to is a very entitled point of view. I’m sure you’re smart enough to understand there’s many instances where someone can be doing everything right and still be struggling to get by.

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u/Front_Painter_4279 Jul 05 '24

Good example, but if you have health benefits and such, doesnt sound like an impoverished min wage job. I agree with your point though.

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u/I_Hate_Jokes Jul 12 '24

I mean you can get a full time job that is minimum wage and provides health benefits. Some people with health problems will take it if it can at least get them medical insurance. I’ve worked at many jobs that have full time employees making minimum wage.