The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor

[lumberjack_jeff]

100. I'm talking about the OP.

The "life skill" that when you get a check for $5000 in January 30th, you should still have some of it on February 1st. To people with "stupid habits" like the author, doubling the EITC would have no practical benefit. Without dealing with the underlying psychology and skills deficit, it would be impractical to shovel enough money at the problem.

The author uses the example of the penniless lottery winner.

When a windfall check is dropped in your lap, you don't know how to handle it. Instead of thinking, "This will cover our rent and bills for half a year," you immediately jump to all the things you've been meaning to get, but couldn't afford on your regular income. If you don't buy it right now, you know that the money will slowly bleed away to everyday life over the course of the next few months, leaving you with nothing to show for it. Don't misunderstand me here, it's never a "greed" thing. It's a panic thing. "We have to spend this before it disappears."

Once You Escape ...

Have you heard those stories about lottery winners who are bankrupt within a year or two, despite winning millions? That's because they can't turn that off. They can't shake the idea that the money is perishable.

And I'm not going to lie, if I had an unexpected check show up right now, I'd drop all of that fucker right into a new car and a computer for my kids. But for the most part, I've kept my head clear where those rare pockets of money are involved. My truck broke down last week, and for the first time, I was able to get it fixed without having to call my friends for a loan. The reason is because I've learned to manage that money a little better and not spend it in a blind panic when I fall into some.

The mythology surrounding "the poor" from both right (they are poor and should be ashamed because they are morally deficient) and the left (they are helpless pawns in their own lives and have no agency over their own spending habits and choices) are equally destructive. In fact, I'd suggest that at least some poor people have probably been inspired to improve their circumstances through shaming in a way that rationalizing and excusing has not.