The hardest part is changing people's patterns when they get money (I have this same issue to a lesser degree than my friends that had poorer childhood experiences).
That spend it before you lose it thing is really difficult to overcome.
That spend it before you lose it thing is really difficult to overcome.
A lot of it looks like compensation for being on the poverty line. Like her self-esteem can't take the hit of buying the sensible items that she needs so she can get ahead. Doesn't realize she's getting in her own way.
I think culturally we're taught to have nice things and that becomes the goal instead of acting sensibly and doing the right things. Would probably need a couple of generations of kids who value a healthy savings account and an on-track budget more than whatever shiny things they encounter in the media they consume. That's a tall order
But she has a big screen TV so she’s irresponsible?
She is irresponsible though, and short of becoming deeply invested in discovering solutions to all the problems you stated, the best chance she has of helping herself is to become better at managing her own life.
I'm not trying to bust on anyone for buying a TV, I've been there. It's kind of a two sided problem. The really big side with all those societal and government issues, and the other side with the things that people can actually control