Stretched and in debt. Why am I where I am? Lots of reasons - some positive, some negative. I could blame my estranged husband, but what good would that do? I allowed him to do the things he did. I don't receive child support, and I am still paying some of his bills (phone and auto insurance are joint accounts, and I pay his medical because he NEEDS his meds to stay mentally stable.) On the positive side, I am where I am because I worked my butt off, got my master's, passed the CPA exam, etc. Almost all of my current debt is student loans. They are in income-based repayment with a payment of $0. Do I regret them? Some yes, some no. I couldn't have gotten my Masters without them. Hindsight is 20/20. I can look back and say, "If I had done xyz, I wouldn't be where i am." Then again, I wouldn't be where I am, KWIM? I/we made bad decisions in the past. I make less than perfect decisions most days. In the grand scheme of things, none of it matters. I think we (as in society) spend too much time worrying about money. Rich or poor, debt-free or bankrupt, independently wealthy or on welfare - the sun will still rise tomorrow.for everyone. We all came into the world the same way, and will go out the same way. I am generally happy with where my life is now, money or no money.

Never mind - old thread

I agree with this. I remember wanting so badly to follow his advice back when we were very low income, and I would get so discouraged. He would've said we had an "income problem." That was true, but solving that problem was very difficult. I couldn't get a job because daycare was more than I could make at the time. We couldn't work opposite shifts because employers wanted "open availability." I had 6 kids at home, and a husband that wasn't willing to better himself to provide for us. I am very fortunate for generous family members, and I hope to be able to repay them in some way in the future, even if it is by giving someone else a hand up.

Yes and no. With my father it was feast or famine, and the feast was pretty middle class (he was blue collar.) He grew up wealthier, though, and I was raised with those values, attitudes, and habits.

Not true. CNMs are allowed to supervise homebirths in NC as long as they have a supervising physician. That does *not* mean the doctor has to be at the birth. If a doctor did have to be present, then the freestanding birth center where I had 3 of mine would have been illegal as well. http://www.ncbirthcenter.com/ The midwife who delivered my second at Womack Army Hospital is doing homebirths (legally.) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Birthwise-of-Central-NC/274342755952941 There are others as well.

Thank you. The downside is that I lost my marriage in the process of pulling us up. :sad:

This is true. Unfortunately, when poor choices are made, it is VERY hard to "undo" them. A good example - you can't undo a felony. I have a good friend that did something really stupid at 16 and was convicted of a felony. It has followed him throughout his life, and makes his getting a job VERY difficult. It was 22 years ago, does not represent in any way who he is today, yet it keeps him from taking advantage of many opportunities that could lead to a higher income.

According to Dave Ramsey, I should be wealthy!!!! Too bad I'm not. LOL

VERY TRUE! This is what was so difficult about the years we were so bad off. I had no hope that things would ever get better. They did, but it was because I decided to quit waiting on someone else to do something about it. I took charge of my life, and here it is, both good and bad.

I answered under $30K, but that was before the poll changed. We lived on less than $20K income in 2009 and 2010. We did receive food stamps, and that was our entire food budget. $1500 a month doesn't pay for much when you are a family of 8. That was flat out poverty. I don't really want to re-live those details! Now we live off of significantly more than that. However, it still isn't "enough" for savings, vacations, etc. We have a roof over our heads. It isn't a great one, but I rented the "worst house in the best school district" that I could afford. I have a 1993 Celica that I commute in, and we have a 2006 12-passenger van that I use when we all need to go somewhere. The kids have clothes to wear and food to eat. We have Netflix, internet, and a home phone. I have a dryer that actually use. I don't receive child support, which would make a HUGE difference. They are still the "poor kids" in their school, but it isn't near as bad as it was in FL. I would be happy with $60K. We would still be cosidered "low income" by HUD standards, and still below the median income for our county of $67K. The median income number is very skewed, though. Incomes (and COL) on the east side of the county where we live are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than on the west side. However, I could make it work. $65K would allow me to hire someone for after school, which would make my life much easier (and allow my dc to have after school activities.) We're clawing our way to the top.

Is that really true, though? I won't argue that 100 years ago students weren't taught grammar, spelling, reading, history, and math computation more systematically. However, there is way more to current education than the basic level of those subjects. What was taught in the past was pretty much limited to what TWTM covers in roughly 6 years. What about the other 6? We expect more out of students and teachers now than ever imagined then. Our education system stinks - I will agree with that. I look at other countries and wonder where we have gone wrong. However, comparing today's schools to schools 125 years ago will not get us where we need to be.

Our property taxes are much, much lower than that, thankfully. This is not state-wide, just our county's policy. I am glad that they provide them.

In our school district, each student has their own school-issued Mac Book.

Me! I'm hanging out with mine at her restaurant in FL right now. :coolgleamA:

Exactly.

That really isn't fair. I didn't say anything of the sort. If it matters, I have a child who is low IQ. The reality is that no matter how hard he works he will not be able to go to college. I will be surprised if he is able to graduate high school with a regular diploma. Doesn't mean he isn't teachable, but rather there is a limit to how much he will be able to achieve. I expect him to do his best regardless. His future occupation will most likely be limited due to this. It is what it is.

I would disagree that there is not a genetic component. We are not all created equal. It isn't about race or everyone in a certain class. The fact of the matter is that not everyone can be an engineer, doctor, lawyer, etc. Those who can (and put forth the work to do so) will generally end up in a higher socioeconomic group. This, of course, is a generality, but would apply in most cases. My kids get free lunch, so it isn't if I am elitist. Call it 1800 thinking if you want - I call it reality. Hence the reason I don't think that poor people jsut need to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps and work hard to work their way out of poverty." Please don't read more into it than what I said.

I am under no illusion that the test scores at my dcs' school are because it is such a good school. The test scores are directly related to the socioeconomics of the area. It is about parents, but also about genetics.

I'm with you. There are germs EVERYWHERE. We have immune systems for a reason.

It's a big jump from viewing porn to porn addiction.

Test scores were lower for 2012-2013.  New curriculum, new tests, and not enough new materials. It wasn't a big deal. It isn't a big deal. Our elementary school's scores dropped more than 20 points. So what? For comparison purposes, nothing changed. Our school's scores were still the highest in the county, and well above the state average. The kids weren't "geniuses" to start with. They didn't phase in the requirements, so there is a steep learning curve. By the time my current 2nd grader gets to 5th, I bet the scores will be right back where they were. Just in time for them to change the standards again.

Same here. My oldest was a breeze (until he turned 18 and lost his mind, but he was no longer my problem then.) The next one? He's lucky to be alive.

Yes. My now 20 year old shared a room with his now 7 year old sister starting when she was about 9 months old. They are STILL incredibly close. It was never an issue.

In the beginning, CNN was reporting the same story in the same way. They have since changed the focus to, "His comment was taken out of context," so it isn't just Fox News.

I threw all my muddy race clothes out a few days ago. I had put them in the back of my van, and we have to haul our trash. I went to the dump to drop off trash and threw the bag away. Two shirts, sports bra, pants, wool socks, and my shoes. Thankfully, I had already replaced my shoes.