It's not ok

There’s an insidious prejudice that has become as socially acceptable as smoker bashing. Those who struggle (or fail) financially are regarded by a breed of self-righteous people as lazy, gluttonous losers that got what they deserved because they never learned to live within their means. I’d like to offer of a real-life scenario and I would welcome any solutions:

I’ll use the median household income in the U.S. is $46,326 as gross pay. Net pay would be around $3200.

Now the debits:
650 rent (cheapest they could find)
125 ambulance bill (financed in order to avoid wage garnishment)
285 insurance (car, life, rental)
250 heating
135 electricity
120 water
150 telephone, Internet, TV (basic package – waiting for contract to expire)
25 3 pay-as-you-go cell phones for emergency use for family
500 gas for two cars (live in rural area with long commutes; could move closer to jobs but would cost at least $400 more for rent so it wouldn’t save money) (cars are getting 25-29 mpg)
$125 little over minimum on credit cards (only emergency items were charged on the card, no luxury items)
80 student loan
50 Rx/supplements, etc.
50 car maintenance

This leaves $655 for groceries (not just food but things like toilet paper, etc.), clothing, gifts, vet and doctor bills, savings, etc. Even on a good month that leaves only $5 per day per person for food for a family of four. With this income level a family would not qualify for food stamps. Sometimes the months are not so good. Maybe someone had to go to a doctor. Maybe there was one of the multitude of fees due at school. Maybe someone had a birthday. Maybe it’s the middle of winter and the heating price was more than double what it usually is. Since this is based on median income there are many families who have less than this.

Now here are some suggestions from “experts” on “ways to trim your spending:” (I can’t fathom who these people are talking to but here we go…)
· Avoid paying ATM fees by using the ATM at your bank. (People do this?)
· Never shop for recreation. (WTF?)
· Before spending over $100 on an item wait at least 24 hours. (If I spend more than $25 I have to budget at least a month in advance.)
· Buy generic. (Who doesn’t?)
· Don’t buy new clothes until your current wardrobe is paid for. (That’s hilarious! My wardrobe is older than my kids except for the sale rack nabs.)
· Think twice before buying anything that needs to be dry cleaned. (Derp.)
· Own an economy car – preferably a used economy car. (Let’s see…one vehicle is 19 years old, another is 12 years old, and the last is 9 years old. Is that used enough?)
· Stop subscribing to magazines you don’t read. (WTF?)
· Vacation at off season rates. (What is a vacation?)
· Save spare change. (What is spare change?)
· Take lunch to work. (We often just skip lunch. Even food from home costs money.)
· Skip latte and take your coffee to work. (Um… yea.)
· Cut cable to basic. (Here’s a better idea—once the contract is over, cut the cable.)
· Don’t buy videos – rent them. (Here’s a better idea – check them out from a library.)
· Go to matinee movies instead of during regular hours. (I haven’t been to a movie during regular hours in about 30 years and the matinee showings are considered huge splurges that might happen four times per year.)
· Have hair appointments every six weeks instead of every four. (I cannot begin to fathom getting my hair cut every four weeks. I get my hair cut twice per YEAR IF I have the money. There have been years where I only cut it myself. It doesn’t look great but…)
· Do your own manicures. (WTF?)
· Color your own hair. (Say a prayer first. But if you can pull it off that’s great.)
· Avoid fast food. (Who can afford fast food? May as well get that latte. Actually you can get a venti brewed coffee at Starbucks for around $2 and if it replaces lunch that’s a pretty good deal.)
· Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when full. (I didn’t know that people did otherwise.)
· Set your thermostat at 68 degrees in the winter and turn the heat off at night. (Where in the hell does this person live? Turning the heat off at night in the winter in some places is lethal.)
· Plan errands to use the least mileage. (Derp.)
· Don’t carry PMI mortgage insurance unless you really need it. (Why in the name of sanity would anyone voluntarily carry PMI insurance?)

I do not know these people who spend money like this. But I bet many of them are the same people who think the homeless guy didn’t plan ahead or the people who file for bankruptcy are just irresponsible or the people who lose their homes to foreclosure were greedy and bought a bigger house than they should have.

One person said to me, “There are always choices. You could get government assistance.” Please give me a pie chart on how relying on government assistance is living within one’s means?
I want to hear from people with real solutions on how the large numbers of people who make modest incomes are supposed to never use a credit card, save money for retirement, eat decent food, get an education, and have a decent roof over their head. No more bullshit suggestions about skipping the latte and manicure. Let’s hear it.