Have you met Americans who admit they're poor?

Neorebel

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There is a mentality that we're just one big break, one promotion, one lottery ticket away from being rich too!
 

Kiel

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bryan

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I admit I'm poor all the time.

Damn straight. I also admit I don't work at least 2 to 3 months every summer. I watch my brother and friends make 4 times the amount of money and no more to show for it and NO TIME. You make more, you spend more. I know I can make more money, but that won't make me happy. I LOVE not working, lol. Bills are still paid and I can watch my daughter grow up and still have a little left over for fun. I am happy and content making less than $20K a year. Not that I would turn down more but I don't want to trade summers off and being home before 4pm when I do work for an extra $20K. I have done the math many times. For an extra $20K I would have a 40 minute longer drive to and from work and stuck on a night shift leaving at 2pm and getting home at 1am. I would pay an extra $100 a month in gas. I could go on and on but I am happy being poor and not having to work today.
 
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GregN

aka The Grinch
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It's all relative. In the short-term, I'm not. In the long-term - I am. I make buying games a priority, and am a tightass on everything else. I wear old clothes, I shop @ thrifts, I shop at Aldis for most of my groceries. My German ancestors would be proud. I avoid debt if possible, although I am paying for my current car with payments. I don't buy more than I can afford and pay off my credit card balance in full every month.
 
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o.pwuaioc

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I'll be lower-middle class until I find tenure. I used to be poor in college. In fact, that seems to be a thing for college kids to say, especially if you don't go to a private liberal arts college.
 

Jibbajaba

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I'm always saying that I'm "poor", but it's almost in a self-effacing kind of way. I used to work in the private sector and had a lot of disposable income (which is when I bought all of my Neo-Geo shit) so maybe for me I feel poor now because I am back working in a public sector job with less cash in my pocket (but better benefits). The only other people that I hear saying that they're poor are middle-class folks like myself who in reality are doing just fine, but aren't doing as well as previous generations with similar jobs and education levels. My wife and I are both college-educated and have no kids, so we should be baller-as-fuck. In reality, we get by just fine, and are able to put money away every month, but we don't have nice cars or expensive toys, don't go on a vacation every year, don't eat out all that much, don't even have cable TV. In fact, I give myself an allowance of $200 every month to spend on lunch, booze, video games, etc. So I guess we "feel" poor in that we feel like we should be more flush with cash than we are.

To more directly answer OP's question, most poor people that I see are trying to make it seem like they aren't poor. There are migrant farmworkers in my area driving brand new Ford F-150's that they clearly can't afford because they're trying to make it look like they're doing better than they actually are.
 

Sherlin

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I'm not poor. Just broke. Big difference but still sucks.
 

cdamm

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I'm always saying that I'm "poor", but it's almost in a self-effacing kind of way. I used to work in the private sector and had a lot of disposable income (which is when I bought all of my Neo-Geo shit) so maybe for me I feel poor now because I am back working in a public sector job with less cash in my pocket (but better benefits). The only other people that I hear saying that they're poor are middle-class folks like myself who in reality are doing just fine, but aren't doing as well as previous generations with similar jobs and education levels. My wife and I are both college-educated and have no kids, so we should be baller-as-fuck. In reality, we get by just fine, and are able to put money away every month, but we don't have nice cars or expensive toys, don't go on a vacation every year, don't eat out all that much, don't even have cable TV. In fact, I give myself an allowance of $200 every month to spend on lunch, booze, video games, etc. So I guess we "feel" poor in that we feel like we should be more flush with cash than we are.

there is a difference between being poor/ feeling broke and being responsible.
 

IcBlUsCrN

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It seems they all say they're middle class.

Its the other way around Most people who call themselves poor are actually working class.

I bet a lot Americans dont know what it is to be Poor much less the definition of it.
 

o.pwuaioc

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Its the other way around Most people who call themselves poor are actually working class.

I bet a lot Americans dont know what it is to be Poor much less the definition of it.

$20k a year for a family of four.
 

Maury V.

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I made less than $10k in 2014. Probably less than that this year (so far). I'm about to board the plane back to South Korea so I can make the money I lost.
 

HDRchampion

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It's all relative. In the short-term, I'm not. In the long-term - I am. I make buying games a priority, and am a tightass on everything else. I wear old clothes, I shop @ thrifts, I shop at Aldis for most of my groceries. My German ancestors would be proud. I avoid debt if possible, although I am paying for my current car with payments. I don't buy more than I can afford and pay off my credit card balance in full every month.

Im the same, i have boxers old enough to vote.

I really dont even know what's poor & middle class in the USA. You see people who nice clothes, car, & iphone but uses an EBT card...
 

joecommando

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It's all relative. In the short-term, I'm not. In the long-term - I am. I make buying games a priority, and am a tightass on everything else. I wear old clothes, I shop @ thrifts, I shop at Aldis for most of my groceries. My German ancestors would be proud. I avoid debt if possible, although I am paying for my current car with payments. I don't buy more than I can afford and pay off my credit card balance in full every month.

I'm the exact same way and I aint afraid to say that im poor.
 

Endlessnameless

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Im the same, i have boxers old enough to vote.

I really dont even know what's poor & middle class in the USA. You see people who nice clothes, car, & iphone but uses an EBT card...

Tis true unfortunately. See people come in to the hospital with an iphone, all sorts of jewelry, etc and find out that they are on medicaid or some other form of government subsidized care. Not unusual where I live to see this with a 24 y/o on disability that has no problem moving about.
 

GohanX

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I'm the richest poor man alive.

Poor is also relative. I can go to some trailer parks outside of town and see cars much nicer than mine and everyone has a 50" tv.
 

GutsDozer

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Is this thread giving out free money?
 

WoodyXP

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I know all kinds of Murkins who admit to being poor. Most of them have mortgages and fancy cars/toys that they can barely make payments on.
 
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