Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quitting smoking may seem obvious, but it's important to consider the context. Middle class people grow up in homes that are very anti-smoking. In the rare case that a middle class family isn't anti-smoking, middle class schools certainly are. Hell, I was indoctrinated with anti-smoking feelings starting from age 10 in school. Whereas a lot of poor people are probably being given cigarettes at age 10. Combine this wi…
I wasn't claiming that quitting smoking is a reasonable money management strategy. But a pack a day is something like $1500/year straight to your bottom line. No matter what your feelings about tobacco, it is an obvious luxury that you can live without and save a lot of money. This relates to a very important distinction between being working poor and impoverished. And it isn't money. It is whether you've given up. S…
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#181I agree with your distinction and it is an important one. It is also important to define the function by which one becomes either a part of the working poor or impoverished. I argue it is a function of personal motivation, race, sexuality, religion, and a myriad of other factors. Indeed, pointing this out was the point of my previous exposition regarding smoking. I'm wary of those people that place too much weight on the personal motivation term in the above equation.