Our Poverty Myth

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. How expensive it is to be poor is something that is

very rarely acknowledged. Or understood.

I once read something by a person who talked about the real costs of being poor, how you never bought 3 for x dollars because you could only afford the one. That column helped me free myself from my poverty mindset, and while I don't have any more money than I did a few years ago, I do have a different take on my spending. I now do buy the large container of toilet paper or paper towels, because I get it that I only have to front that money every six weeks or so. I pay better attention to sales. I stock up on various personal items.

Of course, I understand that while I'm relatively poor, I'm not absolutely poor, and that makes a difference. My heart goes out to those who can't do what I do -- buy toilet paper or chicken leg quarters in bulk to use up later. Although, maybe, just maybe, at least some of the functionally poor can learn that they can change their ways and improve their lives. I only hope so.