Three rules for staying out of poverty

LOL you are absolutely right I 100% admit I don't make a million dollars as a chemist, I also own a few businesses, have a husband who is into oil and have various other investments
But you are 100% correct, Dupont salaries are generally in the 2000-300K pre bonus. except the name is Eliza.

It's actually worse than you think. I'm currently taking baking classes. my goal is in 5 years to launch a line of absolutely fabulous gourmet cup cakes. My ultimate dream would be to have my cupcakes in Disney land Paris, Disney land CA and Epcot. I guess I'll really have no right to complain.

Dh works for Dupont. He's an electrical engineer, and makes half of your salary at best. Most of the engineers here make 80 to 90 per year. Because he had 20 yrs of specialized experience in manufacturing/robotics, they bumped him up a little. Wow!! mAybe there's a salary differential due to geographic location.
 


haven't read the whole thread. (disclaimer)


I want to agree with Mrs. pete.


I would tell my younger self (and my younger hubby's self)....

divorce is expensive.... even if you can agree on one lawyer, it still costs you.... sigh.

do NOT want to get into it..but divorce is one of the most expensive.. AVOIDABLE expenses
at least we didn't do the worst... do NOT let 2 lawyers eat up all the equity in a house.
 
So you were raised in an *upper middle-class home* and yet you chose to go on welfare instead of continuing to live at home and have your family help you?

So instead of your family helping you out, we the taxpayers got stuck footing the bill taking care of you and your child? :thumbsup2

And you think that was the right thing to do? :sad2:


No kidding! That is the honorable thing to do?!
 
I would add in some sort of training beyond high school. It could be a tech training or a certificate of some sort, but basic high school doesn't get you all that far without some sort of additional training.
 


I struggle with that also Muushka especially with my sons.
I will absolutely never ever lie and say a wealthy background did not give me advantages. I knew from day one I was going to college and I knew I would not have to pay a dime to do it. I'd like to think I was appreciative of it and my parents also instilled a hard work ethic. I knew that if I fooled around and screwed up my pop had no problem yanking the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg. Yet I also did not worry about gunshots in my Harlem apartment that was bigger than most houses. I went to private catholic schools, so can I turn around and say a kid from the South Bronx had the same opportunity? No, I don't think I can. So for me, it's not hard for me to have sympathy. I can't imagine having to dodge gunshots to get to your school. Let me turn it around, would I have been as successful as I am now if I was born in poverty exposed to the daily violence that I see in the kids I work with? I know folks here always say that the people they know on welfare are living in mcmansion and going to disneyworld but the clients home I visit, let me tell you the best description of them are hovels.
Would I have exceeded living like that?

I also am very aware of the fact that my wealth still brings me advantages. You know Sid the squid (honorable son # 1) is an Asperger kid. I know the advantages I had getting him the best care in this country. I read peoples stories of fights they have had with the public education getting help for their learning disable kids and I thank the Lord that I did not have to deal with that. like other so famously in the news I make well into the 6 figures and because of the current tax system, I routinely pay 12-15% income tax. I have never and probably will never pay any where near 30%.
I like to think that I teach my sons strong work ethics but Rizzo is now doing his college search, never once did he have to think about cost. He does have to worry about me wringing his neck if he fools around but is his life easier because he doesn't worry about his next meal, or graduating with tons of college debt. I've told you about our cross country college searches. He does know that his choices are only limited by his grades. Have I done the right thing by giving him those opportunities?

I try to make him understands the sacrifices others have made on his behalf and what we expect from him.

I have a grandson with Aspergers and he is in the public system and it has been a struggle, but there are services out there and he had some good and not so good experiences, but a solid loving family helps him along. Yes..people who have all the right eggs in their basket have better shots, and kids who can manage to have just a proper egg or 2 can be strong and rise above. My DD, who was the one in the gifted programs, goody 2 shoes, etc., had a rebellion and missed all three of those 3 things you should do to stay out of poverty. She got pregnant young, and when she went to school pregnant and then after the baby got so much grief she dropped out. She then sucked it up, got her GED, moved out and put herself through school with very little help from us, but plenty of hard won scholarships, and now has her BS in Nursing and is a labor and delivery nurse. It is what is in the person that determines if they can overcome or not..and it goes back to the old question of nature or nuture..probably mainly both, but there are many cases of someone who had not one positive influence in their lives excelling and plenty of cases of those who have it all, money, solid parents, etc. who trip down the wrong path and never get out of it.
All we can do is what we can do to encourage ours and those we have contact with or support groups that do positive things.
BTW..I have no grief that you pay the lower rate..that is clearly unearned money and was taxed well at the start. Capital Gains income should not be double taxed at the same rate..so no grief from me.
 
I'm surprised that there is so much suprise about these statements:lmao:
Having children are one of the most highest factors for women living in poverty. Single women are among the poorest in all countries. So it stands to reason that having a child young, before you have completed your education is almost going to be increase that risk.

And getting a high school diploma. I don't think it is just the piece of paper, or that having that piece of paper is going to automatically make you smarter than not having it, but rather is shows something to the character of the person. They had to commit to going, everyday (or at least often enough), commit to studying, learning, even if the situation is difficult and commit to finishing what they started. If I was an employer, and I had two candidates, and one dropped out and one graduated, I think I would lean towards the graduate, not because of the paper, but because of what it stands for.
 
I don't usually post but I thought it would be interesting to give my point of view. I'm a 27 year old african american woman. I was raised in an upper middle class household. Dad was an engineer for GE, mom was stay at home. Wonderful school district. But at 17 I became pregnant, had my daughter right after I turned 18. My parents offered to support me and my daughter while I finished school. I declined moved out on my own with the help of public assistance and food stamps. And by the time I was 23 I had graduated and went to college and became a nurse. And in Nov. of 2010 I moved into a brand new built from the ground up house, and I have also never been married, and had a child way before 21. So when you see people with food stamps, or on public assistance do not judge, because you do not know where they are going or where they came from. And there are no rules for staying out of poverty. God gives it to you and he can take it away. I'm also a left winger waaaaaay left.


So we should be glad that you didn't take any more tax money? Did you have any embarassment that you made decsions that cost other people money? You actually got rewarded-free food, free college. No surprise that you are way left.
 
The first thing that jumped to my mind was divorce, too. My sister just went through it and I was shocked at how emotionally and financially devastating it was. After seeing it up close I was amazed at how many people go through it and how many people survive it.

Also, having a child out of wedlock seems just crazy to me. If you can't or won't commit to marriage with someone why on earth would you commit to having a child with them?

I get that life happens but do recognize that these choices result in pretty difficult consquences sometimes. OTOH no one ever promised that life is all about things being easy all the time.
 
I'm curious who else got an infraction for their post? The only word in my post that could be considered at all political was "liberal." I only praised Oprah Winfrey for gosh sakes! I wonder if the people who used "left" or "conservative" got sanctioned as well. It seem often on this board that right leaning posts are penalized much more often!
 
I don't usually post but I thought it would be interesting to give my point of view. I'm a 27 year old african american woman. I was raised in an upper middle class household. Dad was an engineer for GE, mom was stay at home. Wonderful school district. But at 17 I became pregnant, had my daughter right after I turned 18. My parents offered to support me and my daughter while I finished school. I declined moved out on my own with the help of public assistance and food stamps. And by the time I was 23 I had graduated and went to college and became a nurse. And in Nov. of 2010 I moved into a brand new built from the ground up house, and I have also never been married, and had a child way before 21. So when you see people with food stamps, or on public assistance do not judge, because you do not know where they are going or where they came from. And there are no rules for staying out of poverty. God gives it to you and he can take it away. I'm also a left winger waaaaaay left.


So we should be glad that you didn't take any more tax money? Did you have any embarassment that you made decsions that cost other people money? You actually got rewarded-free food, free college. No surprise that you are way left.

Sorry. I have a lot of problems with people who make a conscious, deliberate decision to live a lifestyle that requires them to be on public assistance.
 
I'm curious who else got an infraction for their post? The only word in my post that could be considered at all political was "liberal." I only praised Oprah Winfrey for gosh sakes! I wonder if the people who used "left" or "conservative" got sanctioned as well. It seem often on this board that right leaning posts are penalized much more often!

I got one. First time. Trying to comply.......biting tongue......:scared1:
 
Well - for some people it's just not that easy.

Graduating from high school is not too hard for some, almost impossible for others. Some kids are living in incredibly chaotic and dysfunctional households, where there is nowhere to study (and they can't go somewhere else because they are looking after younger siblings while their parents are working), nobody to wake them up for school in the morning, nobody to make sure they get nutritious meals. They may have learning disabilities (or brain damage caused by the drugs/alcohol their mothers used during the pregnancy) so that school is very tough for them, and their school may not do much to help. They may have to work long hours because the family needs the income.

And, sure, having a full-time job (ideally with good benefits) is the goal of many people, but for some it's a tough goal to achieve. There are many reasons why people don't get hired and not all of them are things the person can change.

My tips for not being poor would be: be born into a middle-class or wealthy family, with caring parents, who can give you a good start in life.

Teresa

The essence of perpetual poverty. :sad2: blame someone else :(

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're giving alot of people an excuse- YES, an excuse.
Nothing changes IF NOTHING CHANGES.
 
I have to confess, I'm a little confused. Many posters have said "there are many tools to help people graduate and lift themselves out of poverty" and then someone says that she, herself, availed herself of those very tools and now she's being vilified? She used those "tools" as intended - to feed and house her while gaining skills required to provide a living and life to her family. The end. That she declined her parents' offer really says nothing - perhaps that offer came with strings that might have impeded her eventual independence? Who knows, but the bottom line is that she did what people on this very thread said should be possible for everyone.

On another topic, it seems to me that people have a hard time attributing any portion of their good fortune (in social class, in "choosing" the right parents or country in which to be born) or success at dodging pitfalls to luck. There's something about human psychology that wants to believe that we have earned everything that we have. But, like the students lucky enough to have a teacher to wake them up every day, so much of life is the luck of the draw. What of the teachers who pass everyone no matter what? What of medical issues that go untreated? When we have bad luck, it's skills innate (or not) to us individually that makes the difference (another bit of luck - is your DNA up for the job of giving you the mindset and skills to work harder than everyone around you?)

I've been lucky: upper-middle class parents who valued education, partially paid-for undergrad, income sufficient for grad, married in mid-20s, kids not until planned for, employed to sufficient levels to provide the same (knock wood - there's that luck thing again) for my kids. My sis wasn't so lucky. We were raised identically, and yet our children are in very different economic circumstances. She made some bad choices - but then again, so have I. My luck meant that none of them impeded my success, as hers did for her.

Luck - including lucky DNA - makes all the difference.
 
That she declined her parents' offer really says nothing - perhaps that offer came with strings that might have impeded her eventual independence?

That's not independence when you are just having the government support you instead of your parents!
 
That's not independence when you are just having the government support you instead of your parents!

Agreed. Hence the words eventual independence that I used.

I'm truly curious. If one is not to utilize public support, then exactly of what resources to guarantee graduation and lack of poverty are we speaking? If there are NO excuses for not graduating because there is so much "help" available - as several posters on this thread have asserted - but no one is ever supposed to rely on government assistance (however temporarily), then what help is everyone referencing?

I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm truly curious. I don't understand the assertion that there's abundant help for all to get and/or stay out of poverty on the one hand existing simultaneously with the idea on the other hand that any period of time receiving assistance is shameful. What help is it that's abundant, easy to access, and NOT public? It can't be family, because it's pretty obvious that familial resources are fairly spotty in many circumstances. So...not public, not family, then what?
 
I have to confess, I'm a little confused. Many posters have said "there are many tools to help people graduate and lift themselves out of poverty" and then someone says that she, herself, availed herself of those very tools and now she's being vilified? She used those "tools" as intended - to feed and house her while gaining skills required to provide a living and life to her family. The end. That she declined her parents' offer really says nothing - perhaps that offer came with strings that might have impeded her eventual independence? Who knows, but the bottom line is that she did what people on this very thread said should be possible for everyone.

On another topic, it seems to me that people have a hard time attributing any portion of their good fortune (in social class, in "choosing" the right parents or country in which to be born) or success at dodging pitfalls to luck. There's something about human psychology that wants to believe that we have earned everything that we have. But, like the students lucky enough to have a teacher to wake them up every day, so much of life is the luck of the draw. What of the teachers who pass everyone no matter what? What of medical issues that go untreated? When we have bad luck, it's skills innate (or not) to us individually that makes the difference (another bit of luck - is your DNA up for the job of giving you the mindset and skills to work harder than everyone around you?)

I've been lucky: upper-middle class parents who valued education, partially paid-for undergrad, income sufficient for grad, married in mid-20s, kids not until planned for, employed to sufficient levels to provide the same (knock wood - there's that luck thing again) for my kids. My sis wasn't so lucky. We were raised identically, and yet our children are in very different economic circumstances. She made some bad choices - but then again, so have I. My luck meant that none of them impeded my success, as hers did for her.

Luck - including lucky DNA - makes all the difference.

I have to agree that luck has a lot to do with it. Just being born in North America gives us such a head start. Some people in this world are lucky to survive childhood without dying from malnutrition or some disease. Many people never have anyone teach them to read or are sold into slavery. To be born into a country that values children and values education makes us very lucky. If you have all that plus a family that loves you and doesn't abuse you and a roof over your head and enough food to eat you are already much luckier than many in our world. Having too much can be a curse too though. There are those who never value hard word and believe the world owes them something. I think if you fall somewhere in the middle of too much and not enough you are very lucky.
 

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