12 Things That Only The Working Poor Truly Understand | If You Only News
It was the overdraft fees that usually did it for me. I didn't know the bank would debit everything first, then add any credits, so whatever checks I wrote [groceries, usually] on the same day I deposited money would often bounce. Then it would be like dominoes, with the overdraft fees causing other checks to bounce. [I actually had to pay $35.00 for a returned item of 35 cents. Yes: 35 cents. That was the fee charged by another bank to deduct money from my checking acct for a car payment, and it was a separate item from the car payment.]
What this list misses is the horrendous stress of trying to decide what to pay, when you can't pay it all, and how to minimize the cost of gas by planning errands as efficiently as UPS, and figuring out the cost per serving [before they put it on the labels] because you literally cannot afford to waste a penny. And knowing the money you spend to look for a job is probably wasted, but you have to, because you need a job, and who knows? This time, it might work out. Sure.
And late charges, because due dates arrive before payday. [Money in the bank to cover it? Not after the overdraft fees.]
And WORST of all: people who say "Borrow it." [No. Just no.] Or "you shouldn't write checks if you don't have the money to cover them." [I didn't!]
The current practice of privatizing what our tax dollars are supposed to pay for has many city governments turning debt collections [parking tickets, court costs] over to a collection agency with the power to get a bench warrant for the arrest of a person who didn't have enough money. Yes, debtor's prison is making a comeback, because we are that exceptional.
If jobs continue to pay too little for even a single person to cover the basic necessities, [much less a family], I am really afraid for the future of this country.
It was the overdraft fees that usually did it for me. I didn't know the bank would debit everything first, then add any credits, so whatever checks I wrote [groceries, usually] on the same day I deposited money would often bounce. Then it would be like dominoes, with the overdraft fees causing other checks to bounce. [I actually had to pay $35.00 for a returned item of 35 cents. Yes: 35 cents. That was the fee charged by another bank to deduct money from my checking acct for a car payment, and it was a separate item from the car payment.]
What this list misses is the horrendous stress of trying to decide what to pay, when you can't pay it all, and how to minimize the cost of gas by planning errands as efficiently as UPS, and figuring out the cost per serving [before they put it on the labels] because you literally cannot afford to waste a penny. And knowing the money you spend to look for a job is probably wasted, but you have to, because you need a job, and who knows? This time, it might work out. Sure.
And late charges, because due dates arrive before payday. [Money in the bank to cover it? Not after the overdraft fees.]
And WORST of all: people who say "Borrow it." [No. Just no.] Or "you shouldn't write checks if you don't have the money to cover them." [I didn't!]
The current practice of privatizing what our tax dollars are supposed to pay for has many city governments turning debt collections [parking tickets, court costs] over to a collection agency with the power to get a bench warrant for the arrest of a person who didn't have enough money. Yes, debtor's prison is making a comeback, because we are that exceptional.
If jobs continue to pay too little for even a single person to cover the basic necessities, [much less a family], I am really afraid for the future of this country.
