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Thread: Is it easy to get out of poverty?

  1. #21
    Crow's Avatar
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    Absolutely not. At least, not in my experience.

    My parents were super loaded when I was born and in my childhood. They lost all their money when I was about 10 or so, and they've been struggling ever since. I, however, had about $2,000 in my savings when I first attended college--money saved up from various gifts throughout the years, especially from my high school graduation gifts. I ended up spending most of that when I studied abroad and to pay for college classes (because I was behind in credits). I always figured that when I graduated, I'd just get myself a job, save a bit, then travel and start living my actual life.

    I was super fucking wrong. As of 2016, I've never had more than $5 in my savings account. I have always lived paycheck to paycheck. I have not traveled (excluding cheap Spirit plane tickets to visit home for 5 days max), nor have I ever found a job that could make living easier. My college degree, great resume (I've got tons of reviews on it from former employers, mentors, and peers), cover letters, and solid work ethic has not helped me land a job that pays enough to live comfortably. Safe to say, I've been pretty miserable for most of my adult life. Due to my financial problems, I have had serious mental and physical issues in the past, and to be frank I'm lucky I'm still here right now.

    Is it easy to get out of poverty? Not at all in my experience. Can it be done? I wholeheartedly believe so, yes. I always knew if I just settled for a higher-paying job that I knew I'd loathe, my life could improve. But I couldn't do that. I'd rather be poor and happy with the majority of my life, then have money and loathe my entire existence, feeling stuck and pointless. There's lots of more low and morally wrong venues I also could've taken if I really wanted to escape poverty. But again, couldn't live with myself if I did those things.

    I'm finally turning things around before hitting my 30s. I've chosen to join the military. Not for financial reasons, actually, but because of an inner strive to be and do better (and because I really love my country and want to show some patriotism). However, the pay and sign-on bonus I'm getting are definitely a nice little boost for me. It'll be the first time in my life I'll actually have some relative amount of money so that I'm not panicking every second wondering if I'll be able to pay for groceries next week (aka whether or not I'll get to eat). I also came to this decision because I realized that the main thing I want in my life is to own my own house and have a little land. I can't do that with how I've been living the last 4 years. So it's time for this change and push.

    All I'd say for those struggling to get out of poverty is do what's best for you. Figure out your main goal and work your hardest to get yourself there. As long as you can accept your path to get there, then go for it. Don't give a damn about what others may think or say about you. This is YOUR life and you have got to OWN IT.


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  3. #22
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    I think it REALLY REALLY depends on the circumstances you were born in (even in the case of poverty). But hard work definitely helps.

    That being said, my parents got out of what people would consider poverty or even extreme poverty.

    They were both born in villages in rural China where nobody ever progressed beyond elementary school. Nearly everyone there was a farmer or something similar. This was after Communist China had just ended, so things were slowly picking back up in terms of education.

    They worked really hard to go through elementary school and to get into highschool. I remember my dad said his parents would often take his homework and use it to line the henhouse or something, throw it in the chicken pen basically. My mom wanted to read books but had little money and there weren't many books around, so she'd read whatever she could. She would go to the roadside stand where they sold books or magazines and try reading them, even if the person selling them made her leave most of the time because she wouldn't buy anything.

    I can't recall if they had to go to middle school but I do remember they had to work on entrance exams to get into highschool. After that, they had to live at school and work extra hard to get into university, with more entrance exams. They were both the only people to get into university from either village they were from, so it was already a pretty big achievement. Then my dad went further with his education and eventually applied to study here in Canada. He came to Canada with $300 bucks basically, that was it, and worked his way to get my mom and brother to join him here. They lived in poverty for many years, then he ended up doing really well.

    So I wouldn't say it's easy but it's POSSIBLE with hard work and dedication. Every time I slack off I kinda feel crappy because I think about how hard my parents worked and how I don't live up to that at times...

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  5. #23
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    Wow, so many interesting stories in this thread.

    While my parents have always been lower middle class, they've always had this belief that money shouldn't be saved or invested over the long term, because the government or the next crisis will wipe away your savings. So whenever they earned more than expected, they bought an expensive holiday or item.
    I was raised to believe the same things, but never quite trusted that sort of mentality. I hated when we got an expensive new gadget rather than saving the extra money.

    Then, around 2009, I was looking for my first job. There were practically no jobs then in my city, so I looked for around 9 months, then got a shitty low-paid part-time position and felt fortunate. That last winter before I got a job, I couldn't afford heating my rented room. I used to notice my arms and legs all blue in the mornings and wonder what could happen to them if it got even colder. I could've asked for a loan that winter, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. I ate the cheapest stuff just to keep myself going. I remember telling my mom I'd find a good job eventually and her doubting it.

    5 jobs later, I'm doing well, but I can never allow myself to spend money on anything besides bills, groceries and gifts for friends and family. It always feels as if my good fortune can't last and I'll go back to barely affording to live.

    Nonetheless, I've rarely ever felt poor. People in my part of the world usually think of poverty as being in debt, which I've almost always avoided.

    So no, it's not easy getting out of poverty, and most of all it's horribly difficult believing you can get out, when your family and everyone around believes differently or doesn't see the point of saving and investing.

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  7. #24
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    No. I've been working straight out of high school and am still living paycheck to paycheck. I just lost my last job thanks to the company downsizing. I've been a manager, a consultant, and a contractor and none of these things has improved my finances. The one thing that keeps me afloat is my partner coming from an upper middle class family. They have a good college education and secure job. Their parents have given them thousands for a car, and have offered the same for our future house. I would be homeless, despite the long hours I've worked over the last ten years, if I did not marry somebody who did not grow up in poverty like I did. Generational wealth sure makes a huge freaking difference, and the only "easy" way out of poverty is to luck out and marry "up."

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  9. #25

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    It feels impossible unless you marry rich.


    Honestly at this point I've just decided if nothing changes by the time I'm forty or something I'm just going to kill myself.
    Deep in the generational poverty here. Not to mention getting my back and neck hurt pretty bad in a car wreck last year that's cost me about a inch of height and giving me cervical kyphosis. (I wasn't even the one driving I'm completely non-at-fault)

    Which means my neck has lost it's natural curve and pops and cracks all the time and I have problems controlling my right arm and some times my right leg just..drags instead of lifting up when I take a step. I don't have insurance, and can't afford to get a MRI done to see what all damage was done to my muscular system. The low income health clinic I went to was also useless and that doctor was convinced he could fix it with PT.

    well, not even fix my neck. But fix my lose socketed joints.


    which aren't even the problem. The spinal compression and nerve damage is.


    I can't work because I can barely function. I had to switch from being right handed to left handed because of deterioration in fine motor skills with my right arm and using it for any length of time triggers extreme nerve pain and my fingers lock up.

    But nobody's willing to help me go for disability either.

    The entire thing is a joke. WTF am I supposed to do to have any standard of living? I can barely walk and do you have any idea how difficult cooking with your non dominant hand is?

  10. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirtylittleliar View Post
    It feels impossible unless you marry rich.


    Honestly at this point I've just decided if nothing changes by the time I'm forty or something I'm just going to kill myself.
    Deep in the generational poverty here. Not to mention getting my back and neck hurt pretty bad in a car wreck last year that's cost me about a inch of height and giving me cervical kyphosis. (I wasn't even the one driving I'm completely non-at-fault)

    Which means my neck has lost it's natural curve and pops and cracks all the time and I have problems controlling my right arm and some times my right leg just..drags instead of lifting up when I take a step. I don't have insurance, and can't afford to get a MRI done to see what all damage was done to my muscular system. The low income health clinic I went to was also useless and that doctor was convinced he could fix it with PT.

    well, not even fix my neck. But fix my lose socketed joints.


    which aren't even the problem. The spinal compression and nerve damage is.


    I can't work because I can barely function. I had to switch from being right handed to left handed because of deterioration in fine motor skills with my right arm and using it for any length of time triggers extreme nerve pain and my fingers lock up.

    But nobody's willing to help me go for disability either.

    The entire thing is a joke. WTF am I supposed to do to have any standard of living? I can barely walk and do you have any idea how difficult cooking with your non dominant hand is?
    Please don't give up. I don't know how the healthcare system works where you are (or even where you live), but please don't give up!

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  12. #27

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    Wow, post is inspiring. I think it really depends on the person. I think how easy it is boils down to a couple factors. I think it's a lot easier for an extrovert to escape poverty because they are more likely to roll the dice and are more likely to develop connections. The other factor that helps a ton is confidence. In short, I think anyone can do it but--it's impossible to do it if you don't put yourself out there/believe in yourself.

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  14. #28
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    I'd like to think I made it out of poverty. I admit, I only lived in 1st world poverty for 2 years. When I mean poverty, I mean that I knew we had no money for extras, as in school trips or fancy clothes. Ate from school a lot to save money. Bought all clothes secondhand. No internet or cable. If it wasnt for my grandmother we wouldv'e been couch surfing. We all slept together (my siblings and I) in 1 room and it had mold.

    My mom has been remarried twice and had to deal with a lot of fallout because of that. Despite being a college educated RPN she still lost her house and had to move in with grandma to prevent her and my siblings from becoming homeless. We ate from food banks a lot, and out christmas presents that year all came from charity. I was just happy my mom was able to relax.

    My mother was born in a 3rd world country and immigrated to Canada in her teens. She understood the value of education, hard. And what she calls "working the system."

    When she means that, she means getting a job with security in mind. She always encouraged me to work for the county/municipality. It's because here, if you work for an organization like that, the pay, schedule and benefits are way better. And iv'e been working for the county since I was 21. Best choice I made. Only way to make $20+ an hour with benefits, with a high school diploma.

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  16. #29
    Why So Serious?'s Avatar
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    In the country where I live, no!
    I live in Brazil and here entrepreneurs are seen as villains. The government detests a competitor. There are high fees for starting a company and keeping an employee under the CLT regime (which entitles workers to work). Assuming the salary of an employee is 3 thousand reais - BRL (our currency), you will pay more or less 7 thousand BRL. It is very difficult, there is very little incentive for the small-medium entrepreneur. Our currency today is very devalued compared to the dollar, 1 BRL = 0.19 cents USD. A popular car in Brazil (without air conditioning) is costing an average of 36 thousand BRL. Our minimum wage is 1.1k BRL. A rent is no less than 500 BRL (almost a half the minimum wage).
    In Brazil you don't live, you survive.

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  18. #30
    Hare's Avatar
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    My partner and I live off one income -- his. I'm physically and mentally disabled and unable to work (though I'm starting physical therapy! so I might be able to work again in some months!). We rent an apartment in which I've lived for over a decade now, first with my grandmother, then a roommate, then my partner.

    We've struggled a lot over the years. He barely gets any increasing wages over the course of most of a decade. He's struggled with the horrific public transit here, and only recently with stimulus were we able to afford personal transportation--an electric kick scooter. I can't work, though I'm trying with my therapy to change that.

    Honestly, the stimulus has helped us a lot, but we've largely been stuck in a rut. Getting the funds for additional opportunities or aid is extremely daunting.

    I think we're ultimately doing...pretty decently, with the cards we've been dealt (between us, we're both mentally disabled/stupid, and neither of us is fully physically 100%) but damn do I feel depressed whenever I see how the middle class and above have it, shit. But I know...we could be doing so, so much worse. Homeless, addicted, etc. So...I have to be grateful, maybe proud, of managing this despite the odds. But damn, knowing how others have is so much better stings, still. And we bust our asses--even though I cannot work, I do bust my ass as much as I can, still.

    Bluh.
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