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Originally Posted by Henry17
That they are happy is just a matter of adapting. No matter how bad something if people are stuck in that position they are happy. It is just what happens.
People who make less money arent necessarily "stuck in that position".
Some people make the explicit decision NOT to go down a career path that would pay better, because they don't value the things money can buy nearly as much as others.
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Depends on how you define poor. I personally wouldn't have started a topic like this but if I had I wouldn't use the term poor since most people tend to use poor in a very objective sense (or at least they think they do but it is actually a lot more subjective to their own status). That being said there is also a way to define poor that is based on the ability to meet the expectations of your peer group. I think that is what OP is talking about -- it certainly is what I am talking about. There is plenty of stuff on OP's list that is a luxury by a $30k/year person's standard but there is nothing on that list that would be considered a luxury by middle class standards and yet he is struggling.
Poor is understood relative to the people around you, but modern technology has put us in a place where a substantial percentage of the population enjoys a quality of life nearly identical to the extremely wealthy.
The effect of diminishing returns on income is enormous.
It isn't just a matter of "getting used to it", it's the fact that those things actually provide very little above and beyond the psychological benefits associated with status. Which is significantly less important to some people than others.
I can tell the difference between and prefer a high end steak house to the keg, but the increase in enjoyment from a $30 meal and a $120 meal is negligable to me. The only thing that ends up determining how enjoyable the dinner was, is how interesting the conversation was.
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You don't have to be poor to be thrifty -- lots of people are cheap but that is a conscious choice. If being thrifty is imposed on you by necessity then you are poor assuming your wants are reasonable for your income.
It's called compromise, and the fact that people have to accept some in their life is not a sign that they're poor - only that they're not insanely rich.
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What if they pack their lunch but don't shop for cloths at second-hand stores -- can they complain about money being tight? There is always something else that can be done or sacrificed to make living less expensive -- at what point do we allow people to complain?
Not unexpectedly I tend to find that most people draw the line of what it is reasonable to expect of others just under their own social status.
My personal definition?
Safe / comfortable housing, healthy diet, transportation, health insurance, adequate pension (or equivalent savings), with at least some left over for recreation.
If he worked a bit harder at adjusting his budget and reconsidering some of his spending choices, he could make all of those things work.