Were a lot of the comments on Eric’s “Being Poor Is Too Expensive” post the inspiration for this? Because there’s plenty of actual proof of this theory in the comments on that, not that I’d recommend reading them.

People forget that the shoes and the road may be the same, but the feet aren’t. No two people are the same and the inherent and learned emotional, mental, and physical strengths they possess will vary.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up what they found in the study. It’s not to say you’re right or wrong, and it kind of makes obvious sense when you think about it. When we go through a trying experience, we have a better understanding of it, so it’s easier for us to judge that situation.

I have a history of substance abuse and mental illness (this one is ongoing, of course). I am able to relate and share common experiences with lots of people, but... I will tolerate a very small amount of whining, of people saying they can’t do this or that. The reason is that I feel like if I did it then anyone can…

Of course, on the up-side, if you walk a mile in their shoes, at least you have a good head start and their shoes when they try to chase you down for your lack of sympathy. . .

I have two cats, and am broke. We got them before everything went bad. Do you seriously expect people to abandon their pets at every downturn? Also, they are great for your mental health. I am not working, can’t go out, and can’t see friends and colleagues, but having them around gives me a routine, something to talk…

. If you could fix my decade of poverty with three paragraphs of suggestions, don’t you think I might have stumbled on those answers at some point?

Your comment about taking food home resonates. I put up with so much shit at a catering job b/c they let us take food home. It made a nice break from eggs and spaghetti, which were about 95% of my diet before taking that job!

I feel like if everyone understood the “Not everyone can do that,” this would be an easier discussion to have.

Yep! This was one of the hardest things I had to deal with. In fact, I had to develop the instinct of budgeting for time just as much as money. A lot fewer places will teach you how to budget your time when you’re broke, but it’s essential. I learned how to do things in the background while I did other stuff (for…

If only you understood how public transit worked... One time I was working 4 jobs, living in an area highly accessible by public transit, and it still took me 1.5-2 hours to get to some jobs in the same metro area, when it would’ve taken 15-30 minutes by car. And then public transit went on strike multiple times, and…

When I was poor the one thing I always made sure of was that my rent was paid. I could go without eating for a couple days but if you wind up homeless its much harder to get it back together.

We never did the ramen thing, it was usually eggs, spaghetti, dollar menu or frozen pizza. Gotta have those eggs, that’s your protein. Thankfully I worked food service part of the time, and at a grocery store the rest of the time. My manager would let me take home damaged food and when I was washing dishes I’d get a…

I’ve also found that a phone call works wonders. It’s hard to keep track of all the collectors you need to call, but when I went through some extremely rough financial problems a couple years ago, I was on the phone constantly and all of the billing dept folks were helpful and had a ready plan.

I don’t think it’s specifically designed to humiliate the poor, but helping the poor is not and has never a priority for most politicians. Sadly, this attitude has spread to a disturbingly large percentage of the electorate.

Time.

Call me paranoid, but having lived and traveled through various countries I’m going to advance the craaaaaaazy conspiracy theory that public transportation in most of the United Stes is designed to torment and humiliate the poor rather than to actually be useful and reliable.

Those hidden fees are what kills you and makes it so difficult to get ahead. You're right the margin of error is so much smaller. If something happens to my car, I have access to other people and can take time off of work to get it fixed. Not everyone can do that.

I own low income rental property in a Midwestern city, and one thing I tell every single tenant when I sign a lease with them is that the minute they think they’ll have trouble with rent, call me and tell me. I can’t make rent cheaper, but I am 100% willing to make a payment plan or at least waive late fees if they…

You’ve obviously never lived paycheck to paycheck if you think eating healthy isn’t more expensive than eating ramen and hotdogs...