My grandmother and mom always used them, never with any accidents, though everybody seems to know somebody who had one blow with spaghetti sauce all over the ceiling, ha-ha. I do great northern beans and green beans routinely, foolproof every time. Once in awhile over the years, I used to be able to pick up decent ones at garage sales or thrift stores with the seal and pressure thingy in good shape, but not lately. Also interesting, I've found a few of the little pressure cooker instruction/recipe booklets that used to come with the older better-made pressure cookers. My latest one is just not as heavy or nice though it works fine (Presto, 17 bucks for a small one at WalMart, and I hated buying it new).
This is off topic, but when I do hit the thrifts or garage sales, I'm always on the lookout for small kitchen appliances as I've always had pretty good luck with them. I've got a small backup collection of crock pots (these are great for the main course and dessert), percolators and found a swell electric skillet, hardly used, for a buck. My kinfolk and friends don't laugh anymore; I've given away some of my finds and most of the time, people say how much better the old stuff holds up and where did I find it.
Ah yes, because people from Africa, India, and the Middle East wear robes and are farmers/peasants and refugees. I think this would be considered extremely offensive I'm afraid.
Your body become a radically better furnace if you exercise regularly. Make sure to, at least, walk in a fast pace a couple of times per day. Doing this and after a while you will notice you both get warmer and improved appetite. This is because the body gets better at taking care of your food, or "burning it" better:)
I want to say that I completely agree with Kitten's post. What is the point of this? I understand that it's beyond the comfort level of some affluent people to realize that they live in supposedly the most developed nation in the world and yet have fellow citizens who struggle for basic needs like food, housing, heat, and health care. But attempting to pretend that the impoverished are just a bunch of whiners or that they're exaggerating their ills is ridiculous. Why don't you try living the way you've described? Go and get a minimum wage job and then try to support a spouse and a kid on said income. Remember though, that you don't get to stay in the comfortable residence you probably live in now or drive the car you probably drive. You'll have to rent an apartment and then walk to whatever job will hire you. When you actually do it, come back and post and maybe then we'll take you seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for frugal living and living within one's means, but it's getting to the point in this country where things like nutritious food, safe housing, and health care are "beyond the means" of many poor families. And I'm not talking about the welfare cases. I mean the working poor, the ones who are just a smidge too rich to qualify for Medicaid and food stamps but not wealthy enough to make ends meet. They have real problems and real struggles and for someone who by his own admission grew up in a household where the breadwinner was a college professor to marginalize those struggles with a "If only it was still 1950, then they'd realize how great they've got it" schtick is just, well, heartless.
The comments suggest that none of the posters have lived in utter poverty.
The only facet that really demands money (or cunning, or a humane government) is medical care. You can save your teeth with brushing, saline solution treats a lot of wounds, and other traditional remedies treat other ills, but past a point you die without medical care.
The other material needs are actually social, and while they are very real, they're more related to the degradation poor people suffer in American than physical needs. When you used to heat your water on the fire, and now can heat two 1/2 gallon jugs in a microwave and take a shower in 10 minutes, that's luxury. A bicycle? Whooooo, that's cruisin'! A full shower? $1-2/day if you go to the YMCA or join a health club), plus you can get in some exercise and nap in the lounge chairs. Food? Snort! There are plenty of places you can starve, but America usually isn't one of them. Food stamps, food banks, supermarket dumpsters ... in America you can eat passably well with no money, in most places. There are places where one looks in envy on the family that has a nice watertight cave turned away from the prevailing wind, so rain isn't blown in, and good ventilation for the fire.
The only things the poor can't have in America are dignity and the right to sleep where they will in peace -- and those are no small things. The transition the homeless have to make to reach mere poverty is sheer Hell, and then the Hell of poverty begins.
(That's if you're American, of course. If you're from Mexico or the Punjab or wherever, you may have your own community, and the dignity that comes with that. Plus you can probably find 10 square feet to sleep where the cops can't get to you easily as you claw your way out of poverty.)
Good ideas! Here's one more: Think about all that good water that's running down the drain while you're waiting for it to get warm enough to wash your hands. We fill a plastic gallon jug with it and then use that to fill the dog dish, or water the plants.
Good ideas! Here's one more: Think about all that good water that's running down the drain while you're waiting for it to get warm enough to wash your hands. We fill a plastic gallon jug with it and then use that to fill the dog dish, or water the plants.
I pretty much refuse to pay full price for anything. With coupons, discount codes, and clearance you really don't need to. But probably the most irrational thing I have started doing, or not doing I guess is...... There is a store here called the $5.00 store. It's a clothing store basically with nothing over $5. I loved to go there and buy big sweatshirts for the winter. Recently they became the $5.99 store. Now, I just can't bring myself to buy anything. So, I'm not getting any big comfy warm sweatshirts because of .99 ....
Minimum wage works out to 1040 dollars a month or so. Here in Atlanta, which is not considered an expensive place to live, about the lowest place you can find to live would be a basement room in someone's house, which will be three or four hundred dollars. Less electricity and heat you're looking at around fifty dollars a week to spare for things like, y'know. Food.
That's without a car, even an old junker. Or ever having any kind of social life, because you can't afford it.
By the way, this is all calculated without taxes. I'm generous that way.
Now you're telling us that it's possible to support others on an income like this?
Let us assume, for the moment, that you're right. That through some magical means you've not bothered disclosing to us, everyone can find cheap, rickety housing for a song, which happens to be within walking distance of a place which will hire them (since according to you they don't "need" a car). And they can get by without phones, too, or hot water. I actually know of no such place that's even available, but you've assured us that the teeming millions can find such places. After all, it worked in the 50s.
So what's your point? That poor people today who can't make ends meet should stop whining? That you won't be satisifed that they're really poor until they have taken some sort of monk-like oath to do without any modern conveniences whatsoever? Things like phones and cars which would, you know, expand their employment and educational prospects? Exactly how much do you want them to give up before they have a legitimate gripe in your mind?
I really don't understand where you're going with this argument. You could just as well say that people don't need money at all because the our Cro-Magnon ancestors managed just fine living under trees and in caves and huddling around fires.
Yes, there are always going to be the people who don't understand that they can't live a first-class lifestyle on a nearly minimum wage budget, but the majority of people with low incomes would be happy to get through a month without having an eviction notice tacked on their door, and not have to worry about their electricity getting shut off in their 300 square foot studio apartment. Get a grip, man.
Of course it sucks working for minimum wage. But if you choose to not acquire any job skills (in our society that almost takes you by the hand and forces you to) then that is what you will have.
I, like most of the people reading this, did learn job skills, and I really don't care what happens to people who were screwing around while I was going to school.
I have used ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC Direct for my Emergency Funds in the past - earning around 5%. The one I liked most was HSBC Direct, because they give you a free ATM card, which means you have access to your money immediately, versus waiting 2-3 days for a bank-to-bank transfer or when your local branch location is open. Plus I like that you can partition your account to save for different goals - such as one folder with auto-transfer set up weekly for long-term, one folder for the next big-ticket item you're saving up for, and one for vacation.
I agree with you. The point I was trying to make is that we shouldn't spend money on luxuries as long as we have debt, even "good" debt. If we choose to stay in debt in order to have luxuries, that would be no different than borrowing for the luxury.
I might make an exception for mortgage debt if we are on track to pay it off in 15 years. Fee people would choose wait that long to have a few of the finer things in life.
To the morons bitching about the price of medicines -- none of the name brand only medicines were available 20 years ago. You just suffered or died.
To the morons complaining about the cost of cars. Buy a fucking bicycle. It costs less then 1 car payment. That's reasonable transportation if you can't take a bus.
To the folks talking about minimum wage in CA -- the illegals do it, and still have money to send home. Fix your taxes or fix your illegals, or maybe, just maybe, realize that they're so rich that they're sending money home.
To the folks who complain about how crummy cheap housing is ... compare it to 1950 when there was no running water, and hot water came from a pot on the stove. You haven't seen poverty until you've been to central africa. The slums in Rio look like paradise compared.
Well the price in #24 is more competitive ($1997) compared to the other MMA products ($3500) and cost is really one of my biggest concerns about these programs. The HELOC arrangement is a bit of a bother to me, but I may just be old-fashioned about borrowing against my home.
The BankRate article is interesting and I like its info (the site is on my blogroll) but there is one, critical difference between the UK/Australia program and the US process in regard to the HELOC account. In the UK for example, the account being used is a combo savings/checking/mortgage/home equity account (see comment #11) and not a HELOC account and separate mortgage account. So the UK account owner doesn't incur additional, unnecessary finance charges that may be generated using the HELOC but rather money earns interest (via the savings/checking account).
It can be a dilemma to decide pay off early vs. invest; I have a mutual fund account that I was thinking of using to finish paying off my mortgage. I'm glad I didn't this year because 2007 spread (to date) of investment return - interest rate is over 20%. Of course, now I am wondering if I should take my gains and pay off the mortgage in case the fund doesn't do well next year. If you have a low-interest loan (6% or less), it may be wise to invest rather than pay off early.
Still, I understand that if the program works for you and it helps establish discipline, that's great -- seeing results is motivating. If anyone wants to download my spreadsheet, that may work well for many also.
1. i unplug pretty much everything while i'm not using it. It only makes a small difference in power usage, but it counts
2. i rinse out and re-use paper towels for things like wiping around the kitchen sink, sweeping up lint, etc.
3. instead of expensive hair styling cream, i just use plain (cheap) lotion to smooth out my hair...it's practically the same thing
4. i always cut open bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. to use every last drop
5. whenever possible, i line-dry my clothes
6. i use every edible part i can whenever i buy meet...the trimmings and fat on the meat are usually really good as part of a broth or soup
7. i never eat out if its something i can make myself (like eggs and coffee at a diner)...BUT i never, ever go cheap on a tip if i do (since the waitress is probably pretty broke too)
Health care technology has improved, but quality and availability of care has decreased for those with lower incomes. I spent my early years in Chalmette, a small poor area outside of New Orleans. We had window units for air conditioning, one car, and a black & white tv. This was in the 70's and 80's. We were, however, able to go to the doctor when necessary. We were not required to pay the entirety of the bill up front before we even saw the doctor. Also medication costs were not as absurd as they are now.
Today a one month supply of a medication with no generic can cost between $100 and upwards of $500 for "everyday" medical concerns. A one month supply of diabetes testing equipment (not including meds) for a person without insurance runs on average $120 if testing twice daily. Self-pay costs for doctor's visits can run from $75 to $300 (higher end for specialists).
Emergency rooms are only required to stabilize people who come in without insurance. Stabilizing is NOT the same thing as treatment.
The only "good" debt that I can think of is a mortgage. After realizing how much my wife and I initially spent on car payments, credit card payments, and other debt, we've realized that all debt is bad debt. Borrowing to help buy a new Espresso machine might be good, but it's a risk. What happens if your business still goes under? Then you have a (fairly) worthless asset and still have to make payments on it.
The problem with looking at debt like that is that many people fail to take into account risk. There's really no such thing as a "sure thing", so it's unwise to make a habit of borrowing money to pay for something that may or may not actually have a return on investment.
So I would put everything except a house (a primary residence only) into the "bad debt" category. It may be an overly simplistic view, but I think it's also the most frugal and wise.
Phillip, encouraging frugality and having perspective is good, but the nasty flip side of your argument is that poor people aren't really poor, they're spoiled and have high expectations, because back in the 1950s we didn't have cable TV.
The fact that poverty was truly terrible 50+ years ago doesn't mean poverty isn't terrible today. And I don't mean air conditioning--I mean things like starvation, or people losing all their teeth to rot because there was no dental care. The Great Society programs came in response to the horrible suffering people went through if they were poor.
In 1950, fully two-fifths didn't **need** an automobile.
And yeah, I'd be MIGHTY surprised that minimum wage can support a family of four today. BULLSHIT.
Prove it. It can't be done.
40 x 6.50 = $260 per week x 4.2 work weeks per month = $1092 (before taxes and any deductions).
Or 2080 hours per year x 6.50 / 12 = $1126.66 before taxes (not much better).
Rent will consume half or more of the realized, after tax income. Utilities, transportation, food, clothing, medical, etc.
I SAY BULLSHIT. Knowing many young people earning "minimum wage" and living in a fairly cheap area comparatively speaking to other parts of the country, they can't make it on their own.
Not unless the have been given a (large) helping hand and they sure as hell can't support 4 people on that income.
I always carry enough cash on me to get keep me going. The last time I was caught without cash was during a power cut in London. I was stranded in the city wearing a t-shirt during a cold autumn evening. The trains stopped moving, there was no lights across the capital. I learnt one lesson that night - the cash machines don't work if they don't have power. I always carry cash now to get out those jams now.
Also the chicks dig a bloke who pulls out a fat roll of notes.
When using your computer for many consecutive hours, keep the door closed to the room with your computer and it will help warm the room. (If it gets too toasty it's time to have your machine checked!)
Crumple aluminum foil and use it to clean the grill after it cools. It will scrunch down, smaller and smaller, as you work but it does a good job. If it gets too small and flattened just start with a new piece.
My grandmother and mom always used them, never with any accidents, though everybody seems to know somebody who had one blow with spaghetti sauce all over the ceiling, ha-ha. I do great northern beans and green beans routinely, foolproof every time. Once in awhile over the years, I used to be able to pick up decent ones at garage sales or thrift stores with the seal and pressure thingy in good shape, but not lately. Also interesting, I've found a few of the little pressure cooker instruction/recipe booklets that used to come with the older better-made pressure cookers. My latest one is just not as heavy or nice though it works fine (Presto, 17 bucks for a small one at WalMart, and I hated buying it new).
This is off topic, but when I do hit the thrifts or garage sales, I'm always on the lookout for small kitchen appliances as I've always had pretty good luck with them. I've got a small backup collection of crock pots (these are great for the main course and dessert), percolators and found a swell electric skillet, hardly used, for a buck. My kinfolk and friends don't laugh anymore; I've given away some of my finds and most of the time, people say how much better the old stuff holds up and where did I find it.
Go as a person from another country...
Ah yes, because people from Africa, India, and the Middle East wear robes and are farmers/peasants and refugees. I think this would be considered extremely offensive I'm afraid.
Your body become a radically better furnace if you exercise regularly. Make sure to, at least, walk in a fast pace a couple of times per day. Doing this and after a while you will notice you both get warmer and improved appetite. This is because the body gets better at taking care of your food, or "burning it" better:)
So keep up the pace!
I want to say that I completely agree with Kitten's post. What is the point of this? I understand that it's beyond the comfort level of some affluent people to realize that they live in supposedly the most developed nation in the world and yet have fellow citizens who struggle for basic needs like food, housing, heat, and health care. But attempting to pretend that the impoverished are just a bunch of whiners or that they're exaggerating their ills is ridiculous. Why don't you try living the way you've described? Go and get a minimum wage job and then try to support a spouse and a kid on said income. Remember though, that you don't get to stay in the comfortable residence you probably live in now or drive the car you probably drive. You'll have to rent an apartment and then walk to whatever job will hire you. When you actually do it, come back and post and maybe then we'll take you seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for frugal living and living within one's means, but it's getting to the point in this country where things like nutritious food, safe housing, and health care are "beyond the means" of many poor families. And I'm not talking about the welfare cases. I mean the working poor, the ones who are just a smidge too rich to qualify for Medicaid and food stamps but not wealthy enough to make ends meet. They have real problems and real struggles and for someone who by his own admission grew up in a household where the breadwinner was a college professor to marginalize those struggles with a "If only it was still 1950, then they'd realize how great they've got it" schtick is just, well, heartless.
The comments suggest that none of the posters have lived in utter poverty.
The only facet that really demands money (or cunning, or a humane government) is medical care. You can save your teeth with brushing, saline solution treats a lot of wounds, and other traditional remedies treat other ills, but past a point you die without medical care.
The other material needs are actually social, and while they are very real, they're more related to the degradation poor people suffer in American than physical needs. When you used to heat your water on the fire, and now can heat two 1/2 gallon jugs in a microwave and take a shower in 10 minutes, that's luxury. A bicycle? Whooooo, that's cruisin'! A full shower? $1-2/day if you go to the YMCA or join a health club), plus you can get in some exercise and nap in the lounge chairs. Food? Snort! There are plenty of places you can starve, but America usually isn't one of them. Food stamps, food banks, supermarket dumpsters ... in America you can eat passably well with no money, in most places. There are places where one looks in envy on the family that has a nice watertight cave turned away from the prevailing wind, so rain isn't blown in, and good ventilation for the fire.
The only things the poor can't have in America are dignity and the right to sleep where they will in peace -- and those are no small things. The transition the homeless have to make to reach mere poverty is sheer Hell, and then the Hell of poverty begins.
(That's if you're American, of course. If you're from Mexico or the Punjab or wherever, you may have your own community, and the dignity that comes with that. Plus you can probably find 10 square feet to sleep where the cops can't get to you easily as you claw your way out of poverty.)
Good ideas! Here's one more: Think about all that good water that's running down the drain while you're waiting for it to get warm enough to wash your hands. We fill a plastic gallon jug with it and then use that to fill the dog dish, or water the plants.
Good ideas! Here's one more: Think about all that good water that's running down the drain while you're waiting for it to get warm enough to wash your hands. We fill a plastic gallon jug with it and then use that to fill the dog dish, or water the plants.
I pretty much refuse to pay full price for anything. With coupons, discount codes, and clearance you really don't need to. But probably the most irrational thing I have started doing, or not doing I guess is...... There is a store here called the $5.00 store. It's a clothing store basically with nothing over $5. I loved to go there and buy big sweatshirts for the winter. Recently they became the $5.99 store. Now, I just can't bring myself to buy anything. So, I'm not getting any big comfy warm sweatshirts because of .99 ....
Minimum wage works out to 1040 dollars a month or so. Here in Atlanta, which is not considered an expensive place to live, about the lowest place you can find to live would be a basement room in someone's house, which will be three or four hundred dollars. Less electricity and heat you're looking at around fifty dollars a week to spare for things like, y'know. Food.
That's without a car, even an old junker. Or ever having any kind of social life, because you can't afford it.
By the way, this is all calculated without taxes. I'm generous that way.
Now you're telling us that it's possible to support others on an income like this?
Let us assume, for the moment, that you're right. That through some magical means you've not bothered disclosing to us, everyone can find cheap, rickety housing for a song, which happens to be within walking distance of a place which will hire them (since according to you they don't "need" a car). And they can get by without phones, too, or hot water. I actually know of no such place that's even available, but you've assured us that the teeming millions can find such places. After all, it worked in the 50s.
So what's your point? That poor people today who can't make ends meet should stop whining? That you won't be satisifed that they're really poor until they have taken some sort of monk-like oath to do without any modern conveniences whatsoever? Things like phones and cars which would, you know, expand their employment and educational prospects? Exactly how much do you want them to give up before they have a legitimate gripe in your mind?
I really don't understand where you're going with this argument. You could just as well say that people don't need money at all because the our Cro-Magnon ancestors managed just fine living under trees and in caves and huddling around fires.
Yes, there are always going to be the people who don't understand that they can't live a first-class lifestyle on a nearly minimum wage budget, but the majority of people with low incomes would be happy to get through a month without having an eviction notice tacked on their door, and not have to worry about their electricity getting shut off in their 300 square foot studio apartment. Get a grip, man.
Of course it sucks working for minimum wage. But if you choose to not acquire any job skills (in our society that almost takes you by the hand and forces you to) then that is what you will have.
I, like most of the people reading this, did learn job skills, and I really don't care what happens to people who were screwing around while I was going to school.
I have used ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC Direct for my Emergency Funds in the past - earning around 5%. The one I liked most was HSBC Direct, because they give you a free ATM card, which means you have access to your money immediately, versus waiting 2-3 days for a bank-to-bank transfer or when your local branch location is open. Plus I like that you can partition your account to save for different goals - such as one folder with auto-transfer set up weekly for long-term, one folder for the next big-ticket item you're saving up for, and one for vacation.
I agree with you. The point I was trying to make is that we shouldn't spend money on luxuries as long as we have debt, even "good" debt. If we choose to stay in debt in order to have luxuries, that would be no different than borrowing for the luxury.
I might make an exception for mortgage debt if we are on track to pay it off in 15 years. Fee people would choose wait that long to have a few of the finer things in life.
That sound like something Michael Jackson does!
Why not make some love with the wifey and after you have both done the deed, smoke some weed and you'll feel the need to retire.
Cheers,
BTW: Sleeping is for the weak! Where did I hear that before?
To the morons bitching about the price of medicines -- none of the name brand only medicines were available 20 years ago. You just suffered or died.
To the morons complaining about the cost of cars. Buy a fucking bicycle. It costs less then 1 car payment. That's reasonable transportation if you can't take a bus.
To the folks talking about minimum wage in CA -- the illegals do it, and still have money to send home. Fix your taxes or fix your illegals, or maybe, just maybe, realize that they're so rich that they're sending money home.
To the folks who complain about how crummy cheap housing is ... compare it to 1950 when there was no running water, and hot water came from a pot on the stove. You haven't seen poverty until you've been to central africa. The slums in Rio look like paradise compared.
Uhh, what's medicaid, WIC, etc. If you're above the poverty line, you can't afford health care; those who don't work get off easy.
Well the price in #24 is more competitive ($1997) compared to the other MMA products ($3500) and cost is really one of my biggest concerns about these programs. The HELOC arrangement is a bit of a bother to me, but I may just be old-fashioned about borrowing against my home.
The BankRate article is interesting and I like its info (the site is on my blogroll) but there is one, critical difference between the UK/Australia program and the US process in regard to the HELOC account. In the UK for example, the account being used is a combo savings/checking/mortgage/home equity account (see comment #11) and not a HELOC account and separate mortgage account. So the UK account owner doesn't incur additional, unnecessary finance charges that may be generated using the HELOC but rather money earns interest (via the savings/checking account).
It can be a dilemma to decide pay off early vs. invest; I have a mutual fund account that I was thinking of using to finish paying off my mortgage. I'm glad I didn't this year because 2007 spread (to date) of investment return - interest rate is over 20%. Of course, now I am wondering if I should take my gains and pay off the mortgage in case the fund doesn't do well next year. If you have a low-interest loan (6% or less), it may be wise to invest rather than pay off early.
Still, I understand that if the program works for you and it helps establish discipline, that's great -- seeing results is motivating. If anyone wants to download my spreadsheet, that may work well for many also.
1. i unplug pretty much everything while i'm not using it. It only makes a small difference in power usage, but it counts
2. i rinse out and re-use paper towels for things like wiping around the kitchen sink, sweeping up lint, etc.
3. instead of expensive hair styling cream, i just use plain (cheap) lotion to smooth out my hair...it's practically the same thing
4. i always cut open bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. to use every last drop
5. whenever possible, i line-dry my clothes
6. i use every edible part i can whenever i buy meet...the trimmings and fat on the meat are usually really good as part of a broth or soup
7. i never eat out if its something i can make myself (like eggs and coffee at a diner)...BUT i never, ever go cheap on a tip if i do (since the waitress is probably pretty broke too)
Health care technology has improved, but quality and availability of care has decreased for those with lower incomes. I spent my early years in Chalmette, a small poor area outside of New Orleans. We had window units for air conditioning, one car, and a black & white tv. This was in the 70's and 80's. We were, however, able to go to the doctor when necessary. We were not required to pay the entirety of the bill up front before we even saw the doctor. Also medication costs were not as absurd as they are now.
Today a one month supply of a medication with no generic can cost between $100 and upwards of $500 for "everyday" medical concerns. A one month supply of diabetes testing equipment (not including meds) for a person without insurance runs on average $120 if testing twice daily. Self-pay costs for doctor's visits can run from $75 to $300 (higher end for specialists).
Emergency rooms are only required to stabilize people who come in without insurance. Stabilizing is NOT the same thing as treatment.
The only "good" debt that I can think of is a mortgage. After realizing how much my wife and I initially spent on car payments, credit card payments, and other debt, we've realized that all debt is bad debt. Borrowing to help buy a new Espresso machine might be good, but it's a risk. What happens if your business still goes under? Then you have a (fairly) worthless asset and still have to make payments on it.
The problem with looking at debt like that is that many people fail to take into account risk. There's really no such thing as a "sure thing", so it's unwise to make a habit of borrowing money to pay for something that may or may not actually have a return on investment.
So I would put everything except a house (a primary residence only) into the "bad debt" category. It may be an overly simplistic view, but I think it's also the most frugal and wise.
Hi everyone
This is my first post.
A bit off-topic but I'll start off with something in the news recently.
http://MyLongLife.com/lifespan.htm
Seems far-out, but who knows?
So did space exploration 100 years ago, and biotech is hot now.
Do you think this could be real?
Phillip, encouraging frugality and having perspective is good, but the nasty flip side of your argument is that poor people aren't really poor, they're spoiled and have high expectations, because back in the 1950s we didn't have cable TV.
The fact that poverty was truly terrible 50+ years ago doesn't mean poverty isn't terrible today. And I don't mean air conditioning--I mean things like starvation, or people losing all their teeth to rot because there was no dental care. The Great Society programs came in response to the horrible suffering people went through if they were poor.
Bullshit.
In 1950, fully two-fifths didn't **need** an automobile.
And yeah, I'd be MIGHTY surprised that minimum wage can support a family of four today. BULLSHIT.
Prove it. It can't be done.
40 x 6.50 = $260 per week x 4.2 work weeks per month = $1092 (before taxes and any deductions).
Or 2080 hours per year x 6.50 / 12 = $1126.66 before taxes (not much better).
Rent will consume half or more of the realized, after tax income. Utilities, transportation, food, clothing, medical, etc.
I SAY BULLSHIT. Knowing many young people earning "minimum wage" and living in a fairly cheap area comparatively speaking to other parts of the country, they can't make it on their own.
Not unless the have been given a (large) helping hand and they sure as hell can't support 4 people on that income.
This article is crap.
I always carry enough cash on me to get keep me going. The last time I was caught without cash was during a power cut in London. I was stranded in the city wearing a t-shirt during a cold autumn evening. The trains stopped moving, there was no lights across the capital. I learnt one lesson that night - the cash machines don't work if they don't have power. I always carry cash now to get out those jams now.
Also the chicks dig a bloke who pulls out a fat roll of notes.
When using your computer for many consecutive hours, keep the door closed to the room with your computer and it will help warm the room. (If it gets too toasty it's time to have your machine checked!)
Crumple aluminum foil and use it to clean the grill after it cools. It will scrunch down, smaller and smaller, as you work but it does a good job. If it gets too small and flattened just start with a new piece.