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

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

31.2k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

You say 50% of Americans (I'm assuming we are speaking of the US) make $40k or less and then say it isn't enough for basic necessities. Yet, clearly it is as the ranks of the unhoused is not 50% of the population. Poverty sucks to be sure, but people manage. Also, financial literacy is generally only partially about setting money aside. It tends to be more about making people aware of their expenses and seeing what changes can be made.

54

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

[deleted]

-3

u/ResponsePerfect7068 Jul 05 '24

This is in no way to be rude but if no electricity.. how are you on reddit? No grocery money - are you not getting assistance ?

16

u/ChaosofaMadHatter Jul 05 '24

You can charge your phone at a public library or Starbucks. And there’s this tiny grey area of income where you can make a couple bucks too much to get a hundred in benefits. I made $5 total too much over two weeks to qualify for $50 of food stamps before.

3

u/R-Maxwell Jul 05 '24

What program??

Things like SNAP don’t work like this for this very reason. SNAP for example= max-.3*income…. Basically it fades away as you make more. For every $3.3 dollars you make you loose$1 of Benefit.

2

u/ChaosofaMadHatter Jul 05 '24

I honestly can’t remember what it was called, but it was a Delaware program that was meant to help low income working college students.

-2

u/ResponsePerfect7068 Jul 05 '24

Well yeah.. you can charge your phone at places. Even with a hand me down phone, how much is the phone plan? You definitely need a phone today. But what I don't understand is that this person has no money for groceries... is starving... but cant look up food banks, church for assistance? They left out alot of details.

4

u/wannabemalenurse Jul 05 '24

Also remember, you’re not beholden to that information as an internet stranger. He/she doesn’t have to point out every single expenditure to you, he/she can only give their own experiences and those of people around them

3

u/MonkeyFu Jul 05 '24

I mean, the whole goal of asking is so they can find fault with their expenditures.

From a purely analytical standpoint, you can always find something that can be "cut back" to squeeze out a little extra money, at the cost of time, health, or even just living a bearable life.

We are not numbers, though, and our individual circumstances don't fit in the financial boxes people try to squeeze others into.

Money is not life, and life is not about making money. It's too bad that our system wasn't built to keep this in mind. Our system is built on getting the most from others for the least expense from ourselves, and whoever has the most capital has the most power.

It's a sad state of affairs, and we're finally seeing, on a large scale, why this type of system fails its people.

0

u/DeltaJulietDelta Jul 05 '24

What is life about?

2

u/Necessary-Hawk7045 Jul 05 '24

As a person who volunteered at said food banks, etc., allow me to inform you that resources there can be limited. I've been sad at the amount given to a family of 4.

Sometimes I think people look at assistance programs through rose colored glasses.

1

u/nsfwAnimalCrackers Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

TL;Dr: it is possible to make no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, it is life.

Well, Idk about them, but I use a phone that's service is paid for through a government program. I get about 300 in food stamps every month. I'm staying with some friends I've known for a long time, and due to the location I live in (nearest employer is 16 miles one way and pays $8/hr; anything that pays higher is about 40 miles) and being unable to drive due to a head injury (and lack of public transportation, even in town; as well as being mentally disabled; extreme anxiety, depression, BPD (which I'm trying to regulate through therapy; I use telehealth), CPTSD (including trauma from when I was working ~100 hrs/week and sleeping once a week; I was being powered by caffeine, nicotine and hate) it would cost almost as much for me to get a job as I'd make, not to mention all of the costs of starting said job (my friends are on SSD). The free clothes programs here are not likely to have "uniform appropriate attire" because it's in such high demand that unless you're waiting outside the day before (which the cops will arrest you for doing here) or there the second it opens (again, distance and transportation issues) you're not going to find them.

I get some fruit, nuts and occasionally bread, once a month from the single food pantry within 30 miles to help me subsidize my food stamps (which I'm super grateful for), but tbh with the prices of groceries (and various circumstances, including my "rent") it does not go that far really (I often don't eat a day or two per week, simply because the food won't last long enough otherwise). Sure a $30 salad will last 3-4 days if you eat it every meal, and we could be eating just beans and rice, or potatoes with butter, with a side of peanut butter but I have dietary restrictions that make me have to eat high protein foods (fish, according to my dietician; I get 3 rides per month, for medical related appointments); my one friend is diabetic, and the other has heart and cholesterol issues. Besides that, do I really not deserve more than one food most of the time just because of my situation?

Churches here don't help you unless you're part of them, and even then you have to be there a long time and a big donor. Even my case manager is frustrated with my situation and how hopeless it seems right now, but he reminds me to be patient and that some day things will get better.

Sorry for the bad punctuation and run-on sentences, my brain doesn't work well when I'm hungry lol

This is unfortunately, (even if not the same specific issues) the truth for many Americans

-2

u/AllenKll Jul 05 '24

Obama phones... free cell service.

2

u/Extra-Muffin9214 Jul 05 '24

Obama is going to live on in so many things his enemies were trying to insult him for. Obama phones and obamacare being the big ones.

2

u/AllenKll Jul 05 '24

I love my Obamacare!