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eustaciavye77The trip I took to London was difficult for me financially. It was, however, something I could manage with credit cards and birthday gift money. I'll have the whole thing paid off in a few months. I do the same thing for every vacation I take and every Arisia I attend: make sure all my bills are paid and credit cards are zeroed out before I go. That way the only debt I have after the trip is the trip itself. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I am able to do this. I stay in relatively cheap places and don't eat anywhere fancy and limit my purchases and this is allowing me to slowly see all of Europe, one 4 or 5 day jaunt at a time.
Yet despite this, some people consider me to have "very little money." I get comments where people are shocked that I can't afford some fairly extravagent thing because "you work full time! You should be able to." So consider this a news flash for everyone who doesn't fucking get it: Working means you can pay your bills, it might mean you get some extras. It does NOT automatically make you rich, especially not in this country.
This also means that when someone says "I have no money so I can't afford to take that trip/buy that piece of jewelry/attend that concert." It does not mean they have a little extra each week but don't want to be bothered saving up. It PROBABLY means they don't have enough to even pay the bills never mind spend $50-100 on something that isn't 100% necessity. This is what poor means and people who actually live it are not whining, they are not irresponsible, they are not using it as an excuse. They are actually POOR.
Yet despite this, some people consider me to have "very little money." I get comments where people are shocked that I can't afford some fairly extravagent thing because "you work full time! You should be able to." So consider this a news flash for everyone who doesn't fucking get it: Working means you can pay your bills, it might mean you get some extras. It does NOT automatically make you rich, especially not in this country.
This also means that when someone says "I have no money so I can't afford to take that trip/buy that piece of jewelry/attend that concert." It does not mean they have a little extra each week but don't want to be bothered saving up. It PROBABLY means they don't have enough to even pay the bills never mind spend $50-100 on something that isn't 100% necessity. This is what poor means and people who actually live it are not whining, they are not irresponsible, they are not using it as an excuse. They are actually POOR.
