Is anyone else poor?

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I'm not sure if this is an appropriate question, but I'm just curious. A lot of people who post seem to have what I would consider good jobs. I have never been able to find anything except the lowest paying ones. Please don't get me wrong, I don't feel a bit sorry for myself over it, although sometimes it does make life a little challenging.
When I read what a lot of other people do, I start feeling really incompetent, though. Like, am I the only one who has been a cleaning lady and lived in the slums, wow, I must be a real screw-up. I went to college for awhile, and have always read a lot, but have LDs which make most jobs tricky for me. In the NT world, there are a lot of people who treat you like it's your fault if you are under employed, and some think you are illiterate.
I feel hesitant asking, in case it is a taboo subject, but does anyone else feel comfortable talking about whether they have had similar experiences?

I used to be poor. I got used to it. Now I put 15% of my income into tax-deferred mutual funds and continue to live like I'm poor.

Yeah, I'm poor if you look at my income. But I'm in college and will eventually have a good job. I have a student loan to help with expenses also.

I may be heading the other way:

After 26 years in a profession I'm giving up at Christmas, and going to try to some things that are more fun but almost certainly considerably less-well paid.

I'm currently talking to a man who's trying to expand his toy museum. He's already commissioned me to buld a railway window display but we may be thinking about employee status or partnership.

I'm not going to knock it, but a "status" job, or a well paid one, does not solve anything like all problems. Especially if it comes with continual pressure, frustation and exhaustion.

I agree with Emettman, although I haven't reached that stage just yet.

I have a typical 'middle management' style job which is reasonably well-paid. However I find it really hard work trying to be 'normal' every day, especially when I've always been more bothered about the lifestyle, job satisfaction and learning new skills than I have about the money itself.

I thought the income would enable me to do the things I wanted to in my leisure time, and therefore provide happiness in that way, but I was wrong. I am tempted to jack it all in and simplify my life.

An on-line job search questionaire recommended that I become a lighthouse keeper. That would be superb! I'm not sure there are many opportunities any more, though. Does anyone know?

P.S. Rowland Emett was a genius

Maybe this will make you feel a little better.

I work part-part time cleaning offices in a factory. I would be poor if not for the fact that I live with my parents. Not only have I not gone to college, but I can’t even get my GED do to the fact that I can’t write essays.

My family used to be really poor when I was a kid. My parents went bankrupt and we had to go on food stamps. Sometimes we had trouble getting enough to eat and a few times my aunt and uncle brought us a pickup truck lode of food (and they weren’t well off either). Now days I think my parents would be considered lower-middle class.

Are you sure you're not me?

Lighthouse keeper was a thought that occured several years ago. Only perhaps two other people to get used to, and a great big light telling everyone else to "sheer off."

Sadly they seem to be almost all automated, these days.
How about fire-watching in the US forests? From a couple of distant contacts I gather that's still a little more current.

As an optometrist the career change of choice would be to elephant warden.
1) Out in the fresh air instead of being stuck in a dark room.
2) Not so visually demanding: that big grey thing over there is probably another elephant.
3) Instead of having to be polite to the public you'd carry an automatic rifle, and the public would have to be polite to you.

(It's a fantasy: two days of scorching heat, with the smell of rotten elephant in my nostrils and the poachers shooting back, and I'd be ready for a nice quiet air-conditioned office job.)

And you appreciate Emett? There aren't many of us ! My little bit of Emettania:

http://www.picturetrail.com/emettplus

Those jobs are not as common as they used to be due to satallite survalence and "hands-off" forest management. However, Forest Ranger is still a possibility.

I love the models!

I've never seen any of the mechanical things, only the books. I became interested after finding a copy of "The Early Morning Milk Train" in the Member's Library of the Bluebell Railway. That front cover illustration is still one of my favourites - I particularly love the stoical cows! The Bluebell library book has an additional cartoon inside the cover. A lovingly-drawn no.323 "Bluebell" steams across one page with bluebells flying from its chimney, while on the next page an observing Oystermouth & Far Twittering loco crew peer across in concern, the Driver exclaming, "Dammit, they've stolen our thunder!".

P.S. Sorry Lae, will stop hijacking your thread now

Last edited by sociable_hermit on 30 Sep 2006, 1:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm doing okay financially. The cost of living where I live is one of the lowest in the United States. So much so that you can have a 'poor' salary somewhere else that would make you middle class here. It's all about location, unfortunately, so when I move where I want to live, I'll have to have a better job or lots saved, at the very least.

Thank you all for posting back. I just couldn't help but wonder. Thank you Cherokee, I do feel less alone. I know how it feels to go hungry as a kid, too.
I think by law they have to give the GED in a different way under certain circumstances. It has been a long time since I took mine, and I failed the math, but they averaged it out. They might not do it that way any more. If what we all have is considered a handicap, I think they have to make accomodations though.

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that I went hungry as a kid. I know my family was way better off than a lot of people who actually do go hungry. We always ended up with enough to eat, we just didn’t always get it ourselves. Sometimes our food supply might have been stretched thin, but I was never starving or anything.

With the GED I’m not sure what the laws are on it, also I don’t know if my writing problem has anything to do with AS. My doctor has diagnosed me with AS, but he hasn’t officially written it down yet (he’s waiting for me to get my insurance problem straitened out), anyway when he dose I plain to look into seeing if I can take my GED a little differently.

I dont "feel" poor....compared to my adopted family who have big houses and lots of "toys" I am.Compared to my family who are living on disability....I am "middle class">I have a college degree in psyc and no money for grad school and fels like a worth less piece of paper.(as far as getting a job)
I work as a PCA,changing diapers and cooking and cleaning but it pays $10.75(minus 160.00 for medical benifits)I split bills and 750.00 rent with my boyfriend for a one bedroom in a mixed income
neighborhood(I dont leave the house much ,so the :thugs" dont bother me much)....I have enough money for all my needs but I like to shop at thriftstores,dont go to movies,bars,restuarants(except all you can eat Chinese buffets twice a month....yeah)Sometimes it bothers me that I work with people who barely speak English and are generally poor workers(I am sorry if that sounds racist,it is just my experience at this particular job)I just feel like a "f^&*-up sometimes when I have managers who are half my age and I am "white,educated" and this is the best I can do for a job......Does that make sense?

I have been homeless and lived on Welfare for a while.....so I know what "poor" really feels like....so I dont really feel poor...I feel like I am not living "up to my potential"..or am I?Confussing,really.

The way I look at it, I have a roof over my head these days, enough to eat, books, and a computer, so I feel rather fortunate compared to most of the world's population. The hardest I had it was raising my child alone, and I would never want to go through that again. But I learned a lot about people and about what I can do without if I have to.
I see another reason I like Wrong Planet, most of you seem not to make judgements on the worth of a person based on shallow things like income, etc. A lot of people out there are not like that.

I am extremely well off and have a high powered job which I hate because of all the office politics so am doing a degree in a different discipline so I can be poor and work in academia.

Money does not (necessarily) a happy person make.

I'm doing something like this now too. I live really low right now, not really into expensive hobbies or going out much....except for skiing. I live on maybe $800 month including food and car insurance but save anywhere from $1000 to $1500. I am getting a line of credit this week to pay off a camp and some land I got. When that is done it can be collateral for mortaging rental property. I'm going to be well off and I'm going to work for it too. I lived a rather poor life with my mom and sister before. I think we learned alot from it. But then we had our dad and stepmother a few miles away who had 6 figures comming in and a pool in the back yard.
I've seen both sides really and there's benefits to both.