Thing I’ve noticed, as I have made more, is that I receive more free stuff. It could be clothes for the children that are good quality and have barely been worn, if at all. You’re more likely to be invited to events that have free food or giveaways. Work will provide free lunches or other things like gift cards that you don’t get in an entry level job. I’m more likely to get discounts on things, presumably because people expect a quid pro quo.

Not meant to be a brag but it is noticeable how much more you don’t have to pay for as you move out of poverty.

Suspicious-gibbon Report

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Years ago, I was a seasonal on call worker for a furniture retailer. I was not offered benefits which i was ok with because i had state benefits for low income. Well, turns out I made too much money for state assistance for medication (diabetes) but not enough to afford the actual medication out of pocket. I had to go into credit card debt to afford my insulin. Luckily that was a temporary experience however it was very eye opening.

BodhiWarchild Report

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There are no grocery stores in your neighborhood and you don't have a car. The Bodega you can walk to is under stocked and extremely expensive. These are your groceries.

There is no bank near you and they close at 4 or 5. So you can't take a bus to the bank. So you have to use check cashing services that take a percent.

You have a mild toothache you can't afford to fix. So I becomes an outrageous expense when it turns into an abscess.

lipgloss_addict , unsplash Report

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As a single mom, I have to stay below a certain income in order to keep free healthcare for me & my kids, and to stay in my “low income” apartment that I pay $1000/month in rent.

So for me, the most expensive part of being poor, is trying to break the cycle of being poor in a system that was designed to keep us down here.

DeShonBenetRamsey Report

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Let’s say you have an accident or stroke. If you’re able to afford private insurance, you are able to get some level of rehab. But if you are on Medicaid….you’re f*cked. Most states’ Medicaid programs DO NOT cover rehab. Physical or occupational. They do pay for nursing home care. They are willing to pay more in the long run to keep you in the system than to help pull you out of a hole.

LostBombusBoy Report

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old cars need more repairs, public transportation is more expensive than driving, rent is more expensive than mortgage, energy efficient appliances cost more, nutritious food is more expensive, burglaries and attacks happen in poorer neighborhoods as does police violence, low paying jobs are not qualifications for higher paying jobs, good doctors don’t take poor people health insurance, pollution is higher in poor neighborhoods, laundromats are more expensive than a washing machine, cleaning dishes takes more time than a dishwasher, late bill fees and tickets are not based on percentage of income

bannishedfromreddit Report

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My husband ends up spending money several times a year on doctors appointments because he can't afford his tonsillectomy and instead gets tonsillitis almost monthly.

My father couldn't afford proper dental care, now he has dentures that he's wiped out his savings to pay off.

My oldest sibling can't afford a house near their jobs, so they instead stay with a friend and commute back and forth across state lines (2.5 hours each way) to spend their days off with their spouse, who is at my parents house.

lysthequeen Report

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Buying in bulk. You can only afford to buy a single roll of toilet paper instead of the better deal for more. Stuff like this. Also insurance. Going to the doctors takes an unpaid day off of work, and it costs at least $100 since you have no insurance.

catsofamericagirl Report

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I went to the doctor to get a checkup for something I was pretty sure was just a swollen/tense muscle (I was right) and the doctor was very condescending and checking everything in the area except where I said it was.

I was sent to get an xray for my foot and was prescribed antibiotics for my other foot as I had a toe that got infected because I clipped that nail weird and it started bleeding.

Antibiotics were I believe $75 which is absurd.

I got a bill from the clinic, a bill for the doctor, and a bill from the xray place, and a bill for the xray tech, which is already what the f*ck, the 4 of which totalled to be over $600. At the time I was making around 900 per biweekly paycheck, and I have other bills that total to over 600.

Which means I was effectively broke until I finished paying off those bullsh*t bills.

SensualSasquatch Report

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I've started my real job 2 years ago. You'd think, hey, now I had enough money rolling in every month to afford some decent clothes (need to be clothed in business chique but all I had left were shirts and worn down sweatpants and 1 or 2 good things).

I've spent roughly 1k, if not 1,5k of my salary during these first 2 years on clothes and I still don't have anywhere near enough clothes to not constantly worry about not wearing the same thing too often. Could I have gone for even cheaper clothes? Hardly, as it wasn't even top notch stuff. Just a wide variety of everything you need but don't have anymore, a decent winter jacket, bras, shirts, pants... ESPECIALLY if you gain weight during your unemployment, which come on, it's so common. You're feeling low, you can only afford junk food, etc. Most people go up a size or two in those circumstances.

Sh*t breaks down too, it's been 2 years of wearing the original good pants and the first wave of clothes I was able to buy. They're trashed by now.

This isn't supposed to be a pity-party-comment, it's just to highlight that rich people don't realise how much you have to pay in order to even work somewhere.

Most importantly; if you don't have nice clothes anymore, your chances of GETTING a job are significantly worse.

Evening-Turnip8407 Report

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The monetary burden of poor people is staggering, but the stress is just as bad if not worse. Owing money that you don't have is incredibly stressful, as is struggling to perform a sh*tty job just to barely scrape by.

The mental burden of being poor also requires money to cope with, and since professional help is expensive, it often ends up being dealt with in an unhealthy way (inebriation at best, s****de at worst). Things like drugs can cause additional health issues, as well as potentially risking fines or jail/prison, so it's a slippery slope.

ThrobbingSerpent , pexels Report

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Not being able to save by buying in bulk. Even though it costs less per unit, the TOTAL is higher

Not having access to credit lines with better interest rates / payment plans because your credit score is sh*t or you don't have any collateral

Having to buy cheap sh*t that breaks fast because you can't afford good quality stuff (clothes, shoes, electronics) - Terry Pratchett wrote about it, btw...

Duochan_Maxwell , unsplash Report

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Insurance. I just moved from a decent neighbourhood to another decent neighbourhood, same quadrant of the city, but because the one I’m moving to has older homes that are cheaper to rent and thus have more low income people like me living there, my vehicle insurance shot up with 160 cad. I can’t afford that. I might as well have stayed in the more affluent area. I’ll be drowning in debt either way.

Reasonable_Coyote143 Report

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Chase $35 overdraft fee.

justsomeguyfromny , pixabay Report

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Spending $800 to fix a 22 year old truck that is worth $500 cause you can’t afford a newer vehicle, and can’t get to work without a reliable vehicle (live in the country 30 miles from the city). Or spending $150/wk on gas for said truck cause you don’t have a job, so can’t get a car loan for a vehicle that would cost less than what the cost of gas is.

Thankfully I’m past that point in my life.

peggyi , pxhere Report

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My roommate physically assaulted me and the apartment complex I was renting from wanted $6,300 for me to break my lease, which was more money than I had earned during the previous six months working part-time because I was still in college.

If you own your own home, count your f*cking blessings. Being a renter is utter bullsh*t.

clearlystyle Report

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I worked at Walmart back about 2005. When someone wanted to buy a camera we would always try to push them to the next price up.

If they could afford it they bought it. If they couldn’t we tried to saddle them with an 18-26% interest card. So a $150 camera would end up costing them nearly a thousand and/or ruining their credit score for years.

The entire department quit over the policy.

Taste_the__Rainbow Report

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Had a child with health issues where insurance only covered a portion of the cost. Credit got wrecked so we had 1 “good” car which my wife drove. Couldn’t get a loan on another car for a couple of hundred per month so I was forced to keep buying high mileage cars for 2k or so (all I could ever scrape together) that would last 3-6 months getting me to work. I spent far more buying junk cars over 2-3 years than I would have had I been able to just buy a cheap economical new car.

sparty219 Report

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On occasion I get parking tickets, because the city I live in wants us to move our car to the opposite side of the street every day. To me this is a prime example, because if I was rich enough to buy a home and own a drive way I wouldn’t need to worry about moving my car every single day. It’s a literal tax on the poor.

benjisaurus-flex Report

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Banking fees, overdraft fees, ATM fees, etc. All disappear when you have enough in your account.

Also just everything is relatively more expensive. If you make 10 dollars an hour, to fill up your 12 gal tank is 1/2 a workday (ignoring taxes). When you make 40 an hour, it's 1/8. Car insurance, healthcare premiums, utilities, food. For people with low income, the essentials are a huge percentage, if not all, of income. When you make more money the essentials are a small fraction.

FireEatingDragon Report

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My wife and I don’t have the time and energy to cook for ourselves most nights. A good, home cooked dinner costs maybe $15-20, and I usually make 4-6 servings per meal. That adds up to 4 cooked dinners a week with leftovers making up other meals, or about $60-$80 in dinner money. Instead we’ve been spending $120-150 weekly on fast food bc otherwise we don’t have the time or energy left to feed ourselves. At this point it feels like I’m paying to work.

binf--bird Report

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My mom used to use those check cashing places because she would be short each payday. She must have spent thousands over the years. The first thing I did when I had a job was to tell her never to use those places again because I could spot her any time.

ricric2 Report

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Don’t make enough per hour, need to work long hours at job. Job isn’t very good because you needed it out of high school and couldn’t afford higher education. Can’t make time to study for higher education without reducing work hours… etc.

Suspicious_Machine62 Report

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Sh*tty cars are targeted by cops. I haven't gotten pulled over in a decade but when I drove a POS I always had my eyes out for the fuzz and got a ticket at least once a quarter. I drive the same.

Porkbellyflop Report

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The inability to afford a lawyer or to afford the time needed to consult with one/try to find a good one that might actually work without costing a lot upfront.

This applies in many, many situations, but the one that's fully boned me is disability. I cannot afford a lawyer to help me to successfully navigate the disability application process. I can't even afford the bills for the numerous doctor visits required to build my case. To top it off, each and every form needed from a medical provider requires that I go in for an appointment (paying that expense in time, travel, and the office bill), then pay anywhere from $75-200 per form needed (keeping in mind that most doctors charge that even though they also expect me to fill out and send the form - they just sign it).

Add the expectation that disability will be denied & require appeal, drawing out the process even further... And that part of my disability includes PTSD related to bad medical experiences, so the whole process is triggering to begin with... Well, let's just say that even though I should qualify for disability assistance, I'm stuck with nothing. Meanwhile, I get to watch affluent ladies with only a small portion of my chronic ailments easily hire a lawyer and get on disability.

SimplySignifier Report

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Uber driver here. I live in a Major city with sh*t public transportation - I can’t even tell you how many rides I give weekly where the Uber Ride one way costs more then the passengers hourly wage. I drive tons of people working part time shifts that pay 12$ an hour when the Ride just to work costs 20$- I feel very bad for them. It’s not like I am making the big bucks driving Uber but sh*t paying 40$ to get to and from work when you only make a few hundred a week just doesn’t make any sense to me- but this is the reality for many

ChickenFrancese Report

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The ones who say eat at home

Sometimes, okay all of the time, groceries are more money than having a meal at McDonald's.

stardewtruffles Report

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My car was repossessed. Until I get a new one, I’m paying Uber $40/day to get to and from work. Sucks, man.

cummy_devil_doll Report

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Friggin' FHA loans.

Actually! Better example: Car title loans. Payday cash advance loans.

Literally if you're rich you can afford a loan from a bank with a normal interest rate. You can afford a regular mortgage. You can pay general cost of living bills on time and not need loans for them.

If you're poor, you can't actually make ends meet, so you're constantly taking out shady loans just to pay for, like, utilities, or co-pays on medications.

You're chronically underemployed because you're always burning out at work. This is because when you have a job, you're constantly trying to work 60+ hours per week so you don't lose your car or house over debt.

But that's unsustainable. You get physically sick or have a mental breakdown and lose your job. Time for another loan!

People kill themselves over this.

Relevant-Biscotti-51 Report

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Banks will take withdrawals out before deposits in order to hit you with overdraft fees. So that $100 electric bill might cost you and extra $50 because you don’t have as much money as other people in your account.

RN-Lawyer Report

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I’m taking time off work to care for wife with cancer, because my checking account balance is low and I’m not receiving a paycheck (no qualifying direct deposits) I’m caught with the $12/month service charge.

scot_bull Report

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currently paying 300 a week for a motel room

mswed5317 Report

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Not owning the means of production.

Sounds like a hilarious trope, right? Not really.

I have a buddy who is notorious from thinking he's the smartest guy ever and that's why he has access to wealth. His parents have him a "starter property" he instantly took a load against it to get a second property, paid for by renting out the first.

Both properties were several acres. He was making more than the mortgage just from the house on one property. With the rest of the land, he hosted WOOFers. They ran his chicken egg business that sold to the local bakeries and cafes.

An additional live-in worker was in his own modified school bus. He maintained both properties' infrastructure, making minor improvements. This included irrigation for the second property to become a licensed hemp farm, where he hired on travelers to camp on his land in exchange for food (from his other property) and space, and a percent of the final harvest.

He "employed" over a dozen people at no risk and with no money up front, simply exploiting their basic human needs for pay. Those who worked there, by the end, didn't have the means to walk away wealthier and often supplemented their pay with food stamps to get by.

The guy didn't do sh*t aside from smoke weed and tell people what to do. He had no idea how to even instruct people to do tasks and had them do the research to make him money. A clueless leader to a personal army built on the fact that his family had a sh*t-tier piece of land in the country.

another_communard Report

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If you’re unable to pay a higher premium on your car insurance, something like a broken windshield will cost $1000+ just to meet the deductible.

Everquest-Wizard Report

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We rented a house once and had to heat it. Delivery for oil wouldn’t come unless you wanted a full tank or xxx amount of dollars of oil. To keep the furnace running we would fill jerry cans of furnace oil from a gas station pump and go a few days at a time, but the amount of $$ we spent on a little bit of oil (or diesel) at a gas station multiple times would be way higher then dropping 900 all at once for a fill up

redditlurker100 Report

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The first time i had large bills to pay was when i was homeless sleeping in my car. I had to put all my stuff in storage. While i worked as a lyft driver during the day and slept in the car at night so i could make enough to afford the storage, gas, maintenance and insurance and fast food everyday.

Chuccles Report

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You know where rich Americans go for dental work?

Mexico.

I just had two wisdom teeth and one molar removed and it cost $2442 because I can't afford insurance, or a vacation to Mexico. Still need two other wisdom teeth removed and another problem molar, but we'll see! I'm poor so I might just die instead!

bakedclark Report

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Not having the money to pay liability insurance getting pulled over and being charged $500+ for not having insurance + $134 for court costs + a insurance rate that shoots up for "lapse"

Slight-Truth-2656 Report

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I have to live with my parents and can only buy 1 meal a day

Serbiarakijaball Report

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Let's not start to mention any type of non violent crimes that get people on probation and/or into the system based off of racist class traitor cops.. Literally poverty enforcers

dqmiumau Report

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I had to sell my stocks to afford dentistry.

monkey-2020 Report

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