25 Traits of the Not-So-Well-To-Do

Free From Broke ("A personal finance blog for regular folks") posted an amusing list of "25 traits of the not-so-well-to-do." The blogger (I can't locate his name anywhere on the site, but he says he's male so I'll refer to him as a "he" here) explains that he has has observed that people who are in debt share 25 similar traits. Those include buying the latest consumer technology, eating out frequently, getting a new car every few years, and maintaining poor health habits.

I'm inclined to agree with the blogger. It's easy to jump on the latest-and-greatest techno-gadget bandwagon because new gizmos provide a surge of excitement when you get them. But is it really worth paying hundreds of dollars to be amused by a boost in megapixels or high-definition video when these features are something you didn't even think about in the past? Lately, I've been keeping myself from buying new technology and learning to appreciate the stuff I already have. In addition to saving money, the benefits of this decision include not having to learn how to use a new gadget and not having to deal with all the packaging it comes in. That means I'm saving time and helping the environment too, in addition to saving money!

I also think the blogger is right-on about diet and exercise. When I eat right and take long daily walks, I have more self control over spending money. It could be that when I feel in good health, I don't need to spend money to buy things in an attempt to feel good.

What other traits do you think are common among the not-so-well-to-do? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Mark Frauenfelder – Mark is the editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular Boing Boing weblog. He was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998, and the founding editor of Wired Online.

Comments

[David Powers]

This is a very well written blog. Great info I look forward to seeing more of your articles and interviews!

[FFB]

You have an interesting point in that exercise and eating well makes you feel better naturally and you don't need to shop for "stuff" to boost your esteem. Thanks for the mention.

[LinkPlz]

Interesting, but where's the frackin' link to the original article you cite so poorly?

[Avi]

The link that is for some reason missing from this post:
http://freefrombroke.com/2009/05/reasons-not-rich-wealthy.html

[Mark Frauenfelder]

Sorry about forgetting to include a link to the post. I tried to edit the post, but for some reason, the editing platform won't let me!

[cgeye]

Well, there's the conflation of people who have high incomes and high debt with those who have lower wages/dead-end jobs with high debt, so we've got all the classist stereotypes (unhealthy pigs at restaurants, too lazy to get a better job, shiftless about budget planning and priorities) with the eat-the-rich stereotypes (buy a new car every year, latest iPhone/computer, generous with cash).

It's sickening to see all those "I'm so much better than them!" memes in one place, especially when the blogger's good advice of assessing available resources, planning, and making long-term goals is sound. I'm surprised the blogger didn't rant about bling-bling and that heathen rap music, while he's at it.

The one thing the blogger never mentions is that the ideal rich person in his mind -- one with no ostentatious clothes, jewelry, gadgets, cars, but with a fat online savings account [insert ING ad here] and the guiltless ability to leave a 10% tip for good service -- wouldn't have anything to do with his cheap self, because of that overweening money anxiety that allows him to judge everyone else around him primarily on principles of financial soundness.

If this is how he behaves around people who he considers to be "not-so-well-to-do" (which means in debt, yet not wearing sackcloth-and-ashes), I wonder how he sees really poor people who can't even get credit, or whose debt came through massive hospital bills. Guess they're unfit to breed, too....

[Dave]

The connection between health and personal finances is interesting, but I think straightforward interpretations are dangerous. Does good diet/exercise cause you to keep better track of your money, or is it easier to take good care of yourself when you don't have to worry about money? This is a classic example of the causation/correlation fallacy.

[bk]

The health one is sketchy at best as a causal factor. I've noticed that poorer people tend to be in poorer health because junk food is vastly cheaper than healthy food. It's a downward spiral, but I don't think they're in debt because they eat little debbies... they eat little debbies because you get 12 snacks for the price of an apple.

[Matt]

That's an excellent point in the comment above about the "poor people suck!" being mixed in with what we might call "sancti-money" regarding people who buy, you know, things.

This is pretty ugly. There's a huge difference between

"There is a fairly strong positive correlation between income and educational level"

and

"I don’t want to rag on people who don’t like school. It’s not for everyone and not everyone needs it. But it seems a lot of the not so well to do’s have little or no college education. Just saying."

I already have an uncle who'll tell me things he's noticed about poor people, Hispanics, women, and Southerners (just saying! just saying!). Seems a shame to give this guy the ad revenue for advice that boils down to "you should have gone to college back when it might have mattered."

[cheap maplestory mesos]

The health one is sketchy at best as a causal factor. I've noticed that poorer people tend to be in poorer health because junk food is vastly cheaper than healthy food. It's a downward spiral, but I don't think they're in debt because they eat little debbies... they eat little debbies because you get 12 snacks for the price of an apple.

[John]

Smoking and and to a lesser extent, drinking (especially drinking out). The poorest of my employees and the ones who complain about their finances the most also smoke. A couple of thousand dollars a year down the drain, at a pack and a half a day.

Everything else is spot on...and one can buy luxuries and live a good life without substantial debt (or any debt at all) by forgoing the lure of credit, saving, and most importantly, always shopping frugally.

[gulogulo]

is this a joke? this is the most classist ridiculous shit ive ever seen.

[grisha]

Holy crap I can't believe people actually write crap like that blog post. Totally offensive, totally classist, and totally arbitrary.

Let's see some backed up scientific studies, or at least _some_ kind of statistically valid sample.

Flat screen TVs??? Come on, it's the only freakin kind of TV you've been able to buy for the last 3 years, and are generally cheaper than tube TVs (if you can find them).

Overweight? Seriously now.

What scared me more was the comments. They look suspiciously like they're moderated, as I could only find positive comments (most of them being "wow, totally excellent post"). I can't believe the crap those people will slurp up from that jerk.

[Aaron Hershey]

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