to not understand why so many poor people...

[nybom]

...are being called "poor" if they can afford:

• cigarettes/drugs
• dogs
• large amounts of takeaways/ready meals
• ready cut fruit, brands, air freshners and other superfluous crap, kids drinks/other products specifically tailored to kids
• to go out drinking
• FF babies
• to leave lights on, have electrical appliances on standby, not to use energy light bulbs, to keep the water running, to put on half a load of washing, to leave heating on at night
• to maintain artificial nails, to have hair extensions
• buy loads of beauty products
• to leave their car engine on whilst going shopping/standing in a traffic jam
• to have themed children's birthday parties with loads of props
• and most of all: have CREDIT cards so they can overdraw

i'm talking of regular habits not just occasional behaviour...

several of my friends are on benefits, so the observations are firsthand and not just assumptions.

a friend of mine (single mum on benefits) got a party bus for her DSs last birthday party (besides loads of presents), this year he's getting a wii (and loads of other presents). WTF?

why don't these people simply save more?

i on the other hand spend less than 100 pounds on a family of four (whilst buying high quality, fresh, organic products) by buying 50% of my shopping reduced/offers, at local markets and a lot of things (like toiletries) from pound shops or discounters. we buy value toilet paper (amongst other things); and i go to the hairdresser twice a year, and only to the beautycian for special occasions such as weddings. the children don't get any toys or clothes from us, as there are enough family and friends who don't know what to buy for christmas/birthday parties. so the kids basically don't cost us anything. we have one credit card and we make sure NEVER to overdraw because of the high interest rates.

i simply don't get it...

My level of indignation is at an all time high!!..pre-cut fruit?..FFS..

awwww cmon OP, let's have your response

I have Cleaning to do

Nybom tells us that she "simply doesn't get it"

This is because nybom, for example, is a twat.

and Fartin

"you don;t know for example, that your friend's parents or other people helped her pay for her child's birthday bus and Wii."
lulumaman

actually, i do know that, and they haven't. i wouldn't have written it if i hadn't known because then it would be merely an assumption.

as I said, i'm not talking exceptions/isolated cases but when it all comes together. i am NOT against poor people having dogs or treating themselves or whatever, but i DON'T UNDERSTAND why someone who doesn't have any money can afford to spend 20 pounds a day on ciggis and cannabis AND have 3 dogs AND have a takeaway every evening AND play wii all day! I AM NOT SAYING poor people shouldn't do any of the above. i'm sorry if it didn't come across properly.

BTW, if you're stuck in a traffic jam for 10 minutes (standstill) it does make sense to turn the engine off, doesn't it?

nybom being offensive again, are you going to blame this insulting post on the fact you were not born here as well?

What a lovely friend you must be to scrutinise your 'friends' electricity consumption, water usage, fridges and fruit bowls.
I assume you didn't allow your dc to attend the party bus so your friend could keep the costs down.
How lovely it must be to be you swanning around eating high quality produce, expecting other people to buy your children presents and mingling with the poor

how does one know at the beginning of the traffic jam that it will be a ten minuter?

I really want to know how you can forsee that - oh hang on, it's cos you is not on benefits innit

"but i DON'T UNDERSTAND why someone who doesn't have any money can afford to spend 20 pounds a day on ciggis and cannabis AND have 3 dogs AND have a takeaway every evening AND play wii all day!"

yout title and op make it seem like you are refering to a generic mass of poor people

however in the quote above you mean ONE poor person

ergo One poor person does not a poor population make

nybom....how do you know the person not turning their engine off is on benefits..?

£20 a day on cigs and weed?..hmmm gets out calculator

notso, how do you know she's "not from here"?

Or have I missed one of her posts

I can never take threads like this seriously, I lack the imaginative capacity to put myself into the mindset of someone who actually thinks this way so it just reads like a ridiculous caricature rather than an understandable point of view.

If OP is real maybe she could ask her friends to give her budgeting lessons so she, too, can afford air fresheners to offset the smell of wet dog?

We don't need to turn our engine off in a traffic jam as it is a hybrid car.

£20 a day on cigarettes and weed is a lot of money, did you make that up? You'd buy loads of fags/spliffs with that.

as for traffic jams, I tried that once (switching the engine off) at a level crossing and the land rover wouldn't start again - so I had to push all 1695kg of it up a hill

never ever again

Are the dogs staffies perchance? Worry, just wondered....

3 dogs...chinese/doner daily...hmmm Yes! far too much cash splashing..shakes calculator..thats what you get for shopping cheap dammit....and why do YOU care?

Actually, are there enough hours in the day to smoke £20 worth of weed/tobacco.

Even as a Waster Student I couldn't have managed that

The key thing is, you don't understand. I'm pleased you can admit that.

There is no way we can answer your question about what seems to be an individual you have a problem with but I can suggest to you that you try and learn. Perhaps volunteering would help you. There are myriad reasons why people make the decisions they do and live their lives certain ways. There are addictions that insinuate themselves into people's live and cost money, there are situations that arise from poor decisions, lack of education, chance, misfortune and on and on ad nauseum.

Perhaps the key here is to try and understand some of the complexities of real life.

Yes
Or ours would be if I could drive it properly, it's an automatic and DH's car so I need to practice, I keep breaking very harshly and shocking my boys

Myriad is lovely and oft neglected. Must use it more.