Aren't they poor because they've already made (some) bad economic decisions?
It sucks living a year without hot water.
Stuff happens. Flat tire could have been lost cash, doctor appointment, anything $20 or more.
The bigger problem is that once you are down, regardless of whether it is your fault or not, it can be quite possible to get to a point that it becomes impossible to pull yourself out without some help. I kid you not, I've had buyers remorse over spending $.50 to avoid getting the store brand that I didn't like. There simply aren't many choices left at that point.
this is a common justification for "its not me, its being poor", but its because many people only plan ahead at best to the line. if something gets in the way, they dont make that line and blame what ever stopped them instead of changing the bad habit of planning up to the line.
i had to yell at someone in my family just recently, they said 'I dont need that, i only need this much' and i exclaimed "you idiot, do you know the future? you dont know what you will need or what will happen. if something else comes up your f*.'
another one is people simply JUST DO NOT MAKE CALCULATIONS. i cant tell you how many people have no idea in the world how much they spend on food, entertainment, transportation, etc on a monthly basis. even worse, how much all of their debts and moneys (cash, savings, retirement, etc) add up to, let alone what it was last year or the year before.
Or worse: live in a place with lots of valuable resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse
Take from it what you will. One thing is for sure, it definitely can become an endless cycle once those 2 events(bad decision(s) and poverty) happen within a small time frame. For me personally, having a guilt-inducing high-salaried SF tech job gives me the peace of mind of not worrying about money; allowing me to read all kinds of articles/comments on topics like this, as well as financial & nutritional material - which I assume lead to better decisions for me & my family.
But in short, I was just an average gamer/jpop/anime fan like all my college friends. We all fantasied about getting to Capcom & SquareSoft. A lot of them worked at places like Gamestop, from there a few ended up making connections to get into Namco and SONY as beta-testers. I wanted that too but my parents drilled it into my head that I must go to school first. I ended up getting a BSCS hoping it would help me get into beta-testing. From here, a series[1] of events happened that I don't necessarily believe I earned. I was just at the right place at the right time and it led me to the tech scene of the bay area. None of other college friends were able to stay in the gaming scene; layoffs took 'em out and they lost their connections to get back in. I run into them from time to time. They either work at a gas-station or unloading trucks for major grocery store chains.
1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8245217
I didn't do anything amazing to get that job in at&t in 2001, stepping over way-more-qualified people who just got laid off in the dotcom meltdown, other than knowing the right guy at the right time. I didn't do anything special to get my 4 bedroom house other than the economy was giving away houses around 2003 and AT&T was a big enough name for them to give me a house. I had no business expecting Pixar to call me when they have a huge[2] stack of resumes touting superior trained digital artists and that Pixar event changed my whole life. I still have the email. That Pixar recruiter has no idea the energy & hope she sparked in me; how it's immensely benefited my family as a result. I thought if I could get Pixar to look at me, I could do anything. I refinanced my house to take all the equity out so I could pay for my soon-to-be wife's nursing school. A few months later, 2007 happened and everyone else lost their equity and/or house. I still had mine sitting in the bank. When it came time for a private school payment for the nursing program, it was going to be like 40k-50k or something, instead my wife somehow got into a public college program. Over 900 people apply and they only take 40. She got it. That ended up only costing like 6k. I have plenty of money left over, then some kind of law was passed and I was notified that I could refinance my underwater-interestOnly house loan. So now I pay less on my mortgage and it's a 30-year fixed paying principle+interest.
At the end of the day, I just like computers & gaming like all my friends... but somehow I'm the only one with a crazy salary, a job I love, a house, etc. Money & opportunity just fall out of the sky for me. btw, this is why I play the lottery. I figure enough crazy things have happened in my life that I might actually win.
2. ">>It’s perhaps no wonder, then, that the interview process is harsh. With an estimated 45,000 applications received for each new position, only a chosen few make it." --- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10144531/Monsters-Un...
Actually I believe every one deserves my luck in life! And I am happy that you have it!
I don't think those companies are throwing money at you just because they think you're a swell guy with a rabbit's foot. Give yourself a little credit, would you? :-)
It may just be wording, but I'm going to pick out the word "assume" from your sentence above.
I found for me that keeping logs and planning my future off of past metrics greatly helps in making better decisions. If you don't have a way of measuring what has worked, and wind up assuming, you may face a harder time in planning which directions to go, and which actions to take.
I do applaud your interest in finances and nutrition. Just make sure your reading is paying off and is worth while by keeping track of what works for you.
Illness is an obvious one. If you've got 1 year of savings, and are severely ill for 2 years, you're going to have a rough financial time.
Even products like income protection insurance will eventually stop paying out for things like severe depression.