For the TRULY POOR there is a safety net available. I have posted several references. For the WORKING POOR there is probably not a safety net option for them. That is where planning comes in.
I would have 100% agreed to this statement if it wasn't for the last 6 words. You still seem to believe that the poor, even the working poor, are poor because they didn't plan ahead or they are just not good at planning. As both Viviamus and FHN have mentioned, there are situations where it is simply impossible to put a little aside each month, it doesn't mean that a person doesn't know how to save.
Let me start with an example here (and I know that you will nod while reading this and say "See, I TOLD you so".
One of my friends has a good income, and so does her husband, but they are always short on cash. However, they have a fourwheeler, a snowmobile, a boat, a harley, three cars, including a brand new BMW, two computers, a fax, three TVs, VCR, DVD, she buys new carpets for her bathroom twice a year, she doesn't want to buy clothes second hand, because "somebody else has worn them", she needs a new couch every other year, you name it.. I KNOW, there are a LOT of people who live like that. In her opinion, all the things she has are things she needs. She always tells me that she would never buy anything she didn't need. I let her have her opinion, although I very strongly disagree. However, you can't tell such people that they are overspending, because they would be really offended.
But you MUST understand that not everyone is just like that. Every situation is different and to say that "the poor" need to plan better is rather ridiculous. You have NO idea. Do you know why the reactions of FHN and myself and some others are sharp? Because we know better. It is very wrong to tell people who are struggling to get by that they should have planned ahead, or that this is where planning comes in, because perhaps the reason why they are struggling is NOT because they didn't plan ahead. Chances are that they are perfectly capable of planning. If one has a loaf of bread, one can eat a few slices and put the rest away for later, but if one only has a few cumbs, one has to eat them all in order to stay alive, it's really that simple. We can go on and on and on, but to be quite honest, I don't think it's worth my time anymore at this point.
When I look around my place, I can tell you for an absolute fact that the only items (other than food, catfood, cat litter and bathroom items such as soap and shampoo, and *some* of my books, underwears and socks, are the ONLY things I have ever bought new. Everything else, from the clothes in my dresser to the spoons in my kitchen are second hand items. I don't have a car, a microwave, dishwasher, DVD, CD, dryer, hairdryer, etc... I live on bare necessities. I bought my workboots second hand 5 years ago and they are now held together with duct tape because the soles are falling apart. Should you put all my possessions on a pile and sell them, they wouldn't be worth more than a few hundred dollars, (if that much) although my computer (which was second hand and a gift from someone) might push the total up to about a thousand dollars. After my rent, electricity, phone and internet bill (which is the cheapest I could get at $10 a month) are paid, I have $90 left. Although I live in a very cold climate where 30 below is not an exception, I only use my heat briefly in the morning to take a shower. At this moment, I am sitting on the computer, wearing gloves and a jacket which I bought for a dollar two winters ago. The $90 which is left after paying my bills is for groceries and to pay off thousands of dollars in hospital bills. If you know how to make better planning with those 90 dollars, please do tell.
Why not get a better job, huh? I work a seasonal job, which provides lots of hours during July and August, but comes winter, those hours are reduced to almost nothing. Between September and the end of June, I live off the money I made in July and August. On top of that I am having heart problems and I'm not even supposed to do the kind of work I am doing. An extra job for the wintermonths perhaps? Close to impossible without a vehicle. Also, the area where I live is practically deserted in wintertime, there simply are no jobs. And how does one buy a car if there are only $90 a month to live on? See what I mean? It is a vicious circle. At this point, it isn't about planning, it is about surviving. I am not ashamed to admit that I am picking my neighbor's empty beer cans up from the yard, they throw them all over the place, and it saves me at least $5 a month on my grocery bill.
I am notorious for being "cheap", so I didn't end up with absolutely nothing because I didn't know how to save. At work, they save the little plastic beef and turkey base containers for me instead of throwing them out, because they know that I use them in springtime to start my vegetables indoors. I use my firepit outside to cook on so that I wouldn't have to use my electric stove. The only light in the house is the light which comes from my computer monitor, I use a miniature flashlight to walk around the house. The $50 I pay for electricity includes a $36 basic charge, so I use $14 worth a month in electricity, and my heat is electric!
For the WORKING POOR there is probably not a safety net option for them.
Indeed, that is right.
