Reply #5: I lived that way for the last 3 years

[Warpy]

only it was $800/month when the mortgage took the first $560. I didn't ask my old truck to do much and either walked or rode an electric scooter for errands. If something broke, I fixed it, found it in a thrift shop, or did without. One of the closer thrift shops magically came up with everything I needed when I needed it, and that was a help. I ate whole foods, prepared simply. I've been poor several times in my life and I know it can be done.

However, it gets old fast. Thrift shop clothing already has a lot of wear miles on it and doesn't last long. Repairs on the house just got put off and I hoped there were no hungry termites in the vicinity. I was lucky (if you can call it that) that my last surviving relative, my Pop, died last winter and I inherited his estate. You are lucky in that you are going to school and there's a light at the end of your tunnel, too.

Most folks in this country who survive on a patchwork of low paid, dead end and thankless jobs don't get that light. For one reason or another, they don't have the wherewithal to go to school and they're certainly plumb out of relatives with money. The grinding poverty I was in and you are in is their permanent lot in life and there is no exit.

This is why I am a socialist. This is why I vote for Democrats. My taxes may go up. I don't care. I know poverty. I think we can afford to get most people out of it and into decent lives.

For the record, I'd rather still be poor and have my Pop with me.