There are quite a few folks who have good jobs and can spend, spend, spend! They have no trouble paying bills and some might even have enough to buy stocks, and save for the future. It would appear to all who know them that they really spoil themselves with all sorts of gadgets, clothes, trips, etc. A person in this situation may be totally devastated if he or she lost the great job and couldn't quickly (or ever) get another one.
Years ago, in one of my previous careers, I was a seamstress. One of my ladies, Evelyn, was extremely well-off. She was a single woman, in her fifties, and had worked as a sales rep for many years for the same company. Evelyn always enjoyed new cars and a fine, big home, enabled her grandson to stay unemployed because she supported him, and had lots of beautiful clothes, custom-made by me. All of a sudden, Evelyn was fired in a company down-size move. As an older woman who had experience in only one job, she couldn't find a similar job and had to work as a Wal-mart clerk. She ended up selling lots of her possessions and her large home. Her grandson didn't want to move into her house so he got a fast-food job and survived. The last time I saw her, her appearance had aged twenty years or more because of this loss.
Contrast this with the Americans who lived during the Great Depression of the 1930's. The ones that survived, like my grandparents, knew how to live cheaply. Grandpa's salary was cut 50% then, and Grandma had to go to work scrubbing floors for rich women. Neither had an education past the sixth grade yet they were wise and street-smart. When Grandma died in 1980 (after Grandpa died in 1974), they owned three small houses in the Germantown section of Louisville, Kentucky.
How did they - and all the successful folks of their era - accomplish this? 1) There were absolutely NO FRILLS in their lives. Eventually, they owned cars, but for years, Grandpa walked to work and saved the 10 cents he could have spent riding the trolley. I remember walking with Grandma to church and shopping as a little girl. 2) They raised their own vegetables and preserved them by canning. 3) Everything they bought was used fully. If one of Grandma's dresses or Grandpa's shirts were worn and shabby, Grandma saved them and used the scraps to make quilts for their beds. Nothing was wasted, NOTHING! 4) They managed to save a very small amount - the change from Grandpa's pay every week. In 20 or 30 years, they had enough to buy false teeth for both of them. 5) There were no thoughts about what was fashionable. The criteria for all purchases was quality.
Since virtually all Americans except the very few rich were living in the same circumstances, and doing the best they could, I don't think there was a feeling of "poverty." They could eat, they had a roof over their heads, they had each other, and appeared to be surviving well. They felt blessed.
I never thought about it until today, but I'm in a similar situation now. After I retired last year, my income was approximately 50% of what I earned when I was working. It definitely has been challenging to live with this, but I'm fairly sure I can do it. Since I had a large family, I have lots of skills in stretching income! And, you know what? It probably is healthier to 'cook from scratch!'
The bottom line is to think of low income, if you ever find yourself in that situation, as challenging, not negatively, as poverty! So, I don't get a new car every few years, so what! I plan on trying to get at least 600,000 miles out of my current 2007 Toyota! It might not be pretty by then, but it will run!
Dear God, we know without a doubt that You provide for us what we NEED, in abundance! We thank You sincerely!
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