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With Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang in the news bringing Universal Basic Income more into the public sphere, we are reminded just how difficult it can sometimes be to get ahead. There are statistics that show quite a dismal view of how many people are able to afford a financial emergency and of how many people live paycheck to paycheck or close to it. We’d like to see struggling people do things to lift themselves out of poverty but sometimes we don’t really think about just how hard it is to get real momentum going in that direction. The context here from AndrewYang and from scottsantens is that with a small extra income each month it can help people to be able to take care a lot of things that can go a long towards improving our health, our quality of life, and even a long term lift out of poverty. With that said, we started a list with the following tweet:

Being poor is expensive, let's make a list.

-Can't buy in bulk
-No membership to clubs that offer savings
-Less insurance coverage
-One unexpected emergency expense leads to late fees &/or interest
-Organic milk lasts longer but more $
-Tires w/ longer tread life https://t.co/spMwJw2JaF

— Matthew K (@MatthewKray) August 2, 2019

The list keeps growing even as I post this, so the commentary below is just a few of the highlights, feel free to join the discussion on twitter by commenting on the post linked above (or by commenting below).

Having to pay car insurance on a monthly direct debit which often adds over 10% to total cost of car insurance

— Kieron Rees (@kieronsrees) August 2, 2019

@kieronsrees above leads to thoughts about all kinds of payment issues. You get a discount for paying certain bills all in one payment instead of monthly. Similarly:
-Paying up front ensures you can buy things without paying interest
-A lot of companies offer discounts if you put your payments on autopay, but when you’re living paycheck to paycheck autopay doesn’t always work because you worry about a payment being pulled the day before a certain deposit clears, then you get overdraft fees (this has happened to me).

-Deferring routine car maintenance can lead to much more expensive repairs or breakdowns which can lead to
–missed work time
–being stranded on the roadside in dangerous/hot situations
–towing fees & penalties
–Loss of the car

— Paprika Pink (@PaprikaPink) August 2, 2019

This one, from @paprikapink, is huge. Can’t afford to fix the car, can’t afford not to.

-Not being able to buy products that are higher quality that will last and are more sustainable and environmentally friendly, but spending more long term on cheaply made products.
-paying more money from interest over time because you dont have enough currently to pay debt off

— hellsea//chelsea wilkinson 🧢 (@hellseathinks) August 2, 2019

Above, from @hellseathinks, is another one that hits close to home for me. I’d like to buy less from places that don’t guarantee good work conditions, fair pay, and sustainable practices. For me that meant trying to buy American products as often as possible- but they are more expensive.

As we went through this list it also got me thinking about how people might want to move for any host of reasons. Maybe they want to be closer to family and a support network (free babysitting while they work!), maybe they are unhappy with their state’s drug or abortion laws, or maybe they’d like to a state with no income tax. The problem is, even moving for a job opportunity is difficult because moving is expensive!

There are many people who aren’t spending their money frivelously, they are counting every penny, tracking their bank accounts meticulously, they are barely keeping their head above water and just a little bit extra, any break, could make a huge difference in quality of life & mental health.