" By ignoring it , it almost always becomes something worse , perhaps deadly . "
I recently came acrossa poston the popularAsk Redditpage from userwaldo06wherein they asked people, “What’s your example of ‘it’s expensive to be poor?'”
The answers were relatable as well as illuminating, and naturally, I wanted to share. So, here are some of the best:
1.“Overdraft fees.”
2.“Coin laundry. :(”
3.“Food.”
4.“I remember crying in a supermarket because all I could afford was canned food but I couldn’t afford a can opener.”
5.“For folks who don’t have the means to get to a bank, the charges from check-cashing places can add up.”
6.“Any type of credit. The lower your income, the more risk the lender sees. The more risk, the higher your interest rate. Assuming you get the credit at all.”
7.“Housing. The longer you commit to stay, the lower your monthly price. But poor people don’t always know where they’ll be in a few months’ time, especially these days.”
8.“Shoes. Better shoes last longer before they need to be replaced. But they cost too much for me to afford them, leaving me with sub-par shoes that need to be replaced more often.”
9.“Glasses. I can’t afford any other than the cheapest option, but again, the frames wear out and get ugly faster.”
10.“Not being able to afford routine car maintenance and then having to shell out thousands when it breaks down.”
11.“Ignoring minor medical issues, hoping they’ll ‘go away’ instead of being able to get the appropriate preventative medical care now. But by ignoring it, it almost always becomes something worse, perhaps deadly.”
12.“At a transit hub in my city, there is a pharmacy with a limited, overpriced grocery section. It’s very popular among bus users — i.e., the poor.”
13.“It costs money to get an ID, and an ID is required to do so many basic things, such as getting a job to afford said ID.”
14.“Dental hygiene is important as well as expensive.”
15.“Auto insurance makes poor people pay higher rates; it doesn’t matter what their driving record is. Banks won’t give loans.”
16.“On the mental health side of things, being poor is incredibly expensive. Mental health care is prohibitively expensive, and odds are there’s a huge waitlist because services are stretched to their limit.”
17.“University boarding is limited where I live. A poor student who doesn’t qualify for a free dorm would have to rent an apartment or bedspace nearby. That’s a monthly expense, accruing throughout all of college/grad school.”
18.“I couldn’t afford a public transportation card this month ($90/month); instead I’ve been paying for each individual bus ticket ($4 to the grocery, $8 to get to class). I take the bus almost every day. Shit’s expensive as fuck.”
19.“The one that pissed me off in a great many ways, fucks your life in many ways, and is primarily only a problem for poor people is the towing industry. Specifically at apartment complexes. Such amazing amounts of bullshit.”
20.“My electric bill is so low on a larger house because it’s new and well-insulated with solar. There are tiny apartments with higher AC and heat bills than my house.”
21.“I think a good bed and mattress combo is an overlooked expensive-to-be-poor concept. Cheap beds and mattresses impact your daily well-being, and years later, you might have serious back problems or other disorders as a result.”
22.“The inability to afford large quantities (bulk), therefore actually spending more per item.”
23.And finally: “An inverse example is all the things rich/well-paid people get for free: paid vacation days, gym/pool in your building, company cellphone allowance, commute reimbursement, retirement match, investing advice, paid lunches and travel, education opportunities, ability to participate in investment opportunities, references to even more highly paid jobs, etc., etc., etc.”
Note : Responses have been edited for distance / uncloudedness .
