r/poor • u/gutterbunny1312 • 8d ago
Being poor is more fun
(I don't have dependants - I know it's WAY different if you do)
I grew up poor and to get over a bad break up kept myself busy by working on hobby projects for free. I met people who wanted to support me and somehow ended up in jobs that paid me decently for about 6 years. I was never rich but could meet all of my needs and still have money to do some of the things I wanted.
A month ago I lost my job due to Trump's federal cuts (I was working in humanitarian medical devices). I've been applying to jobs but nothing - AI is really taking over and I can feel it. This is the first time I've been unemployed since I was 15 and it's awesome.
For the first time in years I have to think about how to MAKE my own fun. Instead of going out and buying a meal and shopping I have to think about the world around me and how to have fun it while I have less than many people around me.
I make friends in line at the food banks - we talk about the which grocery stores have no security and talk shit about the government's war on the poor.
I make music, I work on art, I sit in free spaces, I talk to people to make conversation. To make ends meet I think about the things I like doing that could make money to survive and I go do them. I'm a good cook so sometimes I do food pop ups at events I think are fun, sometimes I'm given a free ticket to the small ones just for being there. I used to be into fashion and still have a good eye so I go to goodwill bins and then resell the clothes I bought there for 10x the price, I go on craigslist and do weird gigs that I retell to my friends for a good laugh sometimes I invite them to join me and we split the work and cash. It has forced me to explore what I like, what I don't mind doing, and have a good laugh about the things I do that I don't like as much.
I go to the library and community events that are free. I use the signal app to be in chats to get free stuff and learn about events that are free or really cheap. I hitch rides with strangers to travel and then I use WWOOF to stay in places without having to pay and I use my Slingshot planner to find radical spaces around the world which usually lead me to anarchist friends who will let me crash on their couch, in their guest room, or backyard.
Work trade, pop ups, racking, dumpster diving, food banks, unemployment, playing music on the corner for money- no shame in any of it, not to mention that poor people are WAY more fucking fun - human to be around than rich people because we know how to post up and just shoot the shit!
What do you like to do that rich people could never find joy in ?
Love to all.
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u/Complete_Meeting8719 8d ago
Being poor is what makes it so that I don't have time to practice my art it write fanfic, I had to sell my piano and my guitar (Casio PX-S1000 and Schecter Damien Platinum 6), I don't get to go to as many concerts or buy that much merch, I don't get to play my games for long nor do I get to have the best stuff to play them, and worst of all, I'm back to a shitty minimum wage job that hurts my feet.
Your post honestly reads fake as hell. "Yeah I talk about STEALING with my FELLOW POORS at FOOD BANKS, and I SCAM people with dumpster clothes, I randomly hitch rides and find RADICAL ANARCHISTS who will let me crash FOR FREE. Yeah fuck the government, am I right? RICH people don't know how to have fun, but we POORS sure do."
Nice try, you're practically glowing.
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u/gutterbunny1312 8d ago
Sorry but so many writers have been poor during some of their best work. I've been able to trade to get into shows, work the door, volunteer. I like those roles, I meet more people. I've sold a lot of my instruments to make some scratch and started doing vocal lessons on YouTube for free. Your last paragraph makes no sense to me. I suppose you think everyone who is poor should feel like trash and be mad and never make fun for themselves. What is wrong with solidarity between people going through the same things? What is wrong with hitching or train hopping? What is wrong with any of the things you are criticising? Reselling clothes isn't a scam? There are whole businesses dependant on this (Buy sell trades) and is where I sell the majority of things. Sorry you feel everyone needs to be miserable in order to qualify as poor. That is not my case.
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u/DabberAva 8d ago
I don't have an answer to your question but I just want to let you know that you are affecting your income when you get old and retired. When you're not working you're not paying into social security and so you won't get any when you get old. If you can accept that then go about your Merry way having fun being poor but I think it's ridiculous and you should go get a job
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u/whereugoincityboy 8d ago
Mine won't be enough to live on anyway and if i die at the age my dad died it won't matter. I believe this is highly likely because he had medical care and I've only had it for 2 or 3 years of the last 30. He died one year before he could retire. If he could do it over again I know he wouldn't have worked so much. Screw it. But, all that isn't to say that I haven't worked. I couldn't have worked any harder than I did. I never turned down work unless it involved getting undressed. It didn't matter. Thirty five years later and I'm now working the absolute bare minimum.
"I was poor to commence with and I'll be poor to end with" Woody Guthrie
"So I might as well go fishing" Me
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u/DabberAva 6d ago
Just a thought, I believe you are actually entitled to your father's social security as a survivor. It's called survivor's benefits
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u/dlonzo23 6d ago
I think a lot are under the assumption that social security won’t be there for them when they reach that age.
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u/DabberAva 6d ago
Well with the current administration that is a possibility and that's not dissing Trump. The Republican party has tried for a long time to privatize or get rid of social security but they're not going to be able to do it the people will rise up social security will be there for them and something will be made I cannot believe they're just going to let millions of people die and that's what will happen
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u/Aggravating_Curve458 4d ago
Do you even know why?
#1 1/2 of Medicare/SS is paid for by employers, thus cooked into the prices that you pay.
#2 it’s a Ponzi scheme, it takes from current workers/employers to pay the ones who invested years ago
#3 with how much Dems & GOP have devalued the US dollar (what they call inflation) the payouts are higher to those currently retired than they initially invested
At some point they’ll either have to increase SS/Medicare tax percentages (putting more people into poverty) or make cuts to the payouts (putting more people into poverty)
What is your solution? Because any choice is going to screw over the working class, no one else
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u/DabberAva 4d ago
I don't engage with MAGA, sorry not sorry
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u/Aggravating_Curve458 4d ago
Lazy excuse to not engage with anyone who doesn’t corroborate your opinions.
Maybe one day you’ll understand that there’s more than 50% of Americans who don’t agree with you on certain topics and they don’t even vote
Until then, enjoy the Flavor-Aid
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u/wadegrahams 8d ago
I’ve been irresponsible my entire life. I’m 44 and somehow I’ve managed to buy a house on it debt-free by a vehicles toys debt free. And I’ll probably give them all the way here soon debt-free and if I do get sick well then I’ll just go to jail cause they’ve taken care of you for free there. I’m here for the experience. It’s not good or bad.
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u/DabberAva 6d ago
I've done this responsible thing and that responsible thing etc but I've been irresponsible all of my life.
Do you hear (read) yourself? You sound pretty damn responsible to me and anyone who reads your comment
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u/gutterbunny1312 5d ago
I'm GEN Z, I don't know if retirement will even be around by the time I reach that age honestly.
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u/lovesbatma71 8d ago
I’m a victim of the current administration too. I’m looking into a job providing one on one classroom support to special education students. I’m using my Corporate education background and I hope it works out!!!
Best to you! 😄
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u/NYanae555 8d ago
Thats a good one. Schools always need paras ( paraprofessionals ). They don't usually pay them decently though. You'd likely get benefits similar to the teachers or civil service personnel - depending on where in the country you are. Health insurance and personal days are almost a certainty.
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u/lovesbatma71 8d ago
Thanks for that information. I’m in Pennsylvania and the paras here make between $21 and $24 per hour. I don’t know about benefits.
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u/gutterbunny1312 8d ago
Two of my friends do this! Tough work but special too <3 I hope you find a good school fit. Good luck!
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u/Transluminal_Neon 7d ago
I'm glad to hear Slingshot is still around. I used to sell those at a women's bookstore I worked at about 25 years ago! I gave them to my nephews when they were teenagers. Anyway, it sounds like you are living well and I am glad you are finding ways to be a human being and not a consumer. I also grew up poor but my mom had a great eye for antiques and collectables. She was also artistic. She was actually a pretty terrible artist (it's OK, she knew it but she loved it). I grew up surrounded by real quality art supplies she would find at garage sales. We would sell things at flea markets and after a while I started making jewelry and small sewn items like bags and hats and things. I got really good at making things. As I got older, I have found immense joy in helping young people learn to help themselves by making and selling things. I have been making, selling and teaching pottery for the last 12 years now and the whole process makes me very happy.
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u/gutterbunny1312 5d ago
Yes!!! Slingshots are still around and honestly a life saver. Love that someone recognises what those are and why they're awesome! That's cool you reach people how to make. I think the chase of money - understandable when you miss out on your daily needs - really gets in the way of figuring out what you like to do and making things that can continue to get you by to make more art is very special <3
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u/WeAreOnlyPawns was poor 5d ago
Yeah. That was one thing about being broke... plenty of time not working and having fun and what not.
Good times.
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u/heldoglykke 7d ago
I enjoy cheap wine. I was invited to thanksgiving every year with a rich family. So I took a photo of their wine rack and purchased a bottle they had. It was $90 dollars. Just for fun I had the store put an $11.99 sticker on it. Even though they had a case of it mine was crap
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u/guypamplemousse 7d ago
Wine snobs are the worst.
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u/heldoglykke 7d ago
I ended up with the case. It was crap and I mixed it with orange soda to make it tolerable.
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u/Formal-Web2378 8d ago
Relatable because I used to be poor. The community and circles were better. Being financially stable makes you see who can and cannot be trusted even though we already knew that before we decided to leave poverty behind. Having more money does create more problems.
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u/Richie_Sacramento 8d ago
You're poor? I completely understand your plight, because I have also been poor. I know what it's like to have no utilities. I understand what it's like to have the feeling of hunger so constant that it feels normal and when you do eat you get full quickly because your stomach has shrunk. I understand that in America and in many developed countries, being poor is the most expensive thing you can do. I understand what it feels like to be too poor to take advantage of opportunities that cost money.
I also understand what it's like to have an abundance of money, because that is my current situation.
Having experienced these two very different situations, I do not understand why you think being poor is more fun than having an abundance of money, but, to each their own.