this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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United States | News & Politics
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Huh, being raised poor I hardly ever buy anything for myself. I generally fill out my I-9's with zero dependents so that I get more tax taken out throughout the year and get a little back at tax season. We buy used cars rather than paying interest on car payments. Never had school loans because I knew I wouldn't make enough in the real world to pay for it. Never had debt on a credit card other than a few periods of unemployment, but paying those off when possible was always a priority.
Never had much support from my parents, and I'm naturally good with numbers and statistics, so I tend to think in terms of value gained for purchases.
But I also could pack everything I own onto a pick-up truck and drive off with it, still wear clothes I bought at my frist job at Sears almost 20 years ago.
Just accepted from an early age I was going to be poor, and really leaned into it.
So was I. My wife and I grew up poor. Imagine then what happens when you go from celebrating a $200 bank account balance to $200k/yr in two years. We got caught up in the typical life of endless debt that was suburbia during the dot-com boom. After I lost my dot-com job (technically the company stopped existing) and we realized how trapped we were, we got our senses back and we haven't had new debt since. If I can't buy it cash, then I can't afford it.
Yeah it can be a hard lesson to learn, glad you are able to grow and overcome!