Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
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Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
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Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#2FU Money, and FU Paperwork, is basically what I gradually came to live, after gradually unsubscribing from all of it.
It's been an amazing experience, and yes, very freeing.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#3I don’t know if this is tangential or completely related to this article, but at some point I realized the greatest thing I could have was the freedom to change everything about my life at any given moment. I realized that unless I had that freedom, I was never really free. Now, every choice I make is colored by question: if I make this choice, what choices do I lose? How can I make a choice that keeps me from losing any choices.
The unexpected side benefit of this is that if I’m ever in doubt of what I’m doing with my life, I am free to consider changing things, and if I don’t, then I know that I am doing exactly what I want to do. It’s a way to contentment that is almost objective.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#4Poverty is shit. I recommend avoiding it if you can.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#5Good article - Everyone needs to learn the amount of money that they need to become independent. As the author says, it can be as little as a couple of dollars in some situations for some people. Learning about the concept of financial independence really made a big positive impact on my career as it allowed me to walk away from toxic work situations.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#6I don’t know if this is tangential or completely related to this article, but at some point I realized the greatest thing I could have was the freedom to change everything about my life at any given moment. I realized that unless I had that freedom, I was never really free. Now, every choice I make is colored by question: if I make this choice, what choices do I lose? How can I make a choice that keeps me from losing…
I don’t know. I’ve found it very liberating to commit to choices.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#7I briefly experienced "freedom" for a few months where I just stopped paying my bills(no expenses). This was dumb later on eg. cc law suits/tanked credit score. But I had the ability to do so(friends/cheap housing/internet access). I learned how to build full stack websites, I was chasing the dream(high traffic ad-revenue based websites). Meanwhile was in the process of failing out of school/fear of how I would pay my student loans. It was great because I had no reason to do anything eg. get up by 9AM/pay a bill at this day. I could chase some rabbit hole and just keep going even if my sleep pattern was flipped. I could sleep 16 hrs straight.
But yeah I'm going for FiRe I'm still broke af despite making a lot for my area. But I'm at least glad I am in this industry/aware of a lifestyle like that.
edit: I would not advise screwing up your cc haha... it's too bad I didn't learn that till later/too late.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#8>> At one time while I was homeless, relatives helped me deal with some of my financial drama
>> I was able to resist such pressures and make decisions for myself, including moving my bank account at a later date on terms that made more sense for me, because I had some maneuvering room in the form of food stamps and knowing where I could get a free meal or free clothes. Food stamps didn't cover some essential nonfood items that we needed and couldn't get from a homeless services center, specifically peroxide and plastic cups, but we made more of an effort to get better at finding change on the street and we used that to buy those essentials at some local "dollar" store.
This article is a good example of a "First World Problem". Before jumping to conclusions, let me explain. There is world of a difference between being homeless in a first world country and a third world country. This article completely discounts that. Food stamps, bank accounts are something 'poor' can only find in first world countries.
>> Join reward programs, clip coupons, etc.
>> Check Reddit for pertinent subreddits for meeting your needs cheaply.
To access Reddit you first need a device AND an internet connection AND you need to be literate.
>> Ultimately, I concluded that being able to choose wasn't really about money per se but was about maneuvering room. Yes, having sufficient resources helps, but making choices in life and exercising free will is not directly related to how much or how little money a person has. It helps if you have some confidence you won't starve or otherwise experience catastrophe, but that isn't about money per se.
It completely discounts any family members that may be disabled and maybe completely reliant on you for making ends meet. Have you ever seen a slum?(if not, then you probably won't get the point). This doesn't even touch the surface of what real problems most of the world in poor countries face. I don't blame the author for she has probably not been to a third world country but I do not agree with the above points.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#9I feel like being poor has lost a lot of its negative stigma.
These days I find myself casually letting people know that I'm poor in order to get more favorable treatment.
There are so many highly skilled poor people these days that there is not so much stigma around it. Being poor is basically a natural state for the vast majority of people in their 20s to 40s. My ex-colleagues often discuss how little money they have and how hard they struggle to find jobs. This is a totally normal conversation.
Re: Independently Poor: A Twist on FU Money – a.k.a. “FU, Money”
#10>> At one time while I was homeless, relatives helped me deal with some of my financial drama >> I was able to resist such pressures and make decisions for myself, including moving my bank account at a later date on terms that made more sense for me, because I had some maneuvering room in the form of food stamps and knowing where I could get a free meal or free clothes. Food stamps didn't cover some essential nonfood…
This so much. It felt so weird that this person was talking about poverty and blogging/reading on the internet at the same time.
Few poor people in the third world would know what blogging even is, forget about even wasting precious resources like time, money for a smartphone and an internet connection just to read/write some ideas which few are ever going to read and you won’t be making anything out of.
This feels like being written by a person who knows that she’s writing for people who like to think about the idea of poverty living, but haven’t experienced it much first or even second-hand, only knowing about it from the news or glossy donation pamphlets.