Poor people have poor ways.

I heard that said a while ago and as time passes the more I believe it. 

I have a friend that doesn't make very much money but seems to do fairly well. He has a decent place to live and a decent vehicle. He and his family eat and seem to get by nicely. 

His vehicles he generally buys used, generally somewhere around 5 or 6 years old and he runs them until the wheels fall off. He maintains them well, changes his own oil and does all of the simple work on them he can.

Two years ago I helped him do a brake job and in return he helped me with a project I needed help on.

Recently he managed to pay off his house a few years early.

He doesn't smoke, a beer on rare occasions is considered a treat. There's a small garden in his backyard and it gives him some tomatos and other veggies during the summer and fall.

He once borrowed ten bucks from me when we met at the hardware store and repaid me the minute he got home. He spotted something he had been looking for on sale unexpectedly and was a couple bucks short on cash.

He repaid me with interest, a nice summer squash from his garden. I wish he'd borrow ten buck from me again. The squash was pretty good.

He does as much of his own work and maintenance as he can even though he's not the most talented person in the world. He's just patient and breaks the job down to a series of simple steps and does them one at a time in order until the job is done.

Both of his kids have gotten educations the scholarship route and are out and employed although one still lives at home. The man makes a little above minimum wage. While not a rich man, he is far from poor.

He is not poor because he doesn't have poor ways.

On the other hand I know a fool that made six figures last year. He always seems to be in dire straits. He's generally behind on payments, is often borrowing money from people and being chased by creditors.

Of course, he dresses in $75 slacks and laughs at people that shop at K-mart. He gets new vehicles often and generally lives in a lifestyle he can't afford. He's constantly working overtime to pay for his fancy lifestyle which he seldom gets to live because he is always working overtime to be able to afford it.

The only thing keeping this guy out of total poverty is the fact that he works a lot of overtime. He is in effect poor.  He chose to be this way.

The reason he lives this way is because he makes poor choices. He has poor ways.

The reason my friend seems to live so well is because he makes good choices.

It strikes me that the truth here is simply that poor people have poor ways.



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY