Well, I'm just gonna come out and say it- that pandemic was some grade-A horse shit. Not only did it leave our global economic standing worse off than it was before, but nothing was ever resolved- it was just decided that one day we'd be over it cuz it had gone on for so long. Like most everyone, I, for sure, was left off worse than I was before financially. I am what you call generationally poor. That means that I have been poor my entire life, I was born into poverty, and so were my parents, grandparents, and my great-grandparents for as long as my family history can be traced. I know how to be poor because my family always has been well below the poverty line, but this new type of "survival poverty" is a trip.
It's hard to rub two nickels together when you don't even have a penny to your name. For many areas all over the country, pandemic recovery never happened, the greedy bastards in charge just decided they were done with it and washed their hands of it all and told everyone to go back to work. I am fortunate to live in a more progressive part of the country than that (I'm looking at you, Florida), but it doesn't mean that it's not been a struggle just to have the same level of comfort, food, anything really that we had beforehand, because the west coast is more affluent. Here are seven tips on getting by in this post-pandemic era that may help you live a more comfortable life. Many of these tips date back to the dust bowl, so if they sound familiar- welcome to the party.
1. Grow your own food
Sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? That's because it is. A single seed from a cucumber can grow a whole plant that will provide you with enough for the entire summer. Why spend $0.68/ lb. on that organic tomato that might have actually been grown organically, when you can buy a packet of seeds for the same price and have a mini crop to share with your neighbors? Does it take longer? Yes. Will you get more from it? Absolutely yes. And it will taste absolutely delicious having the satisfaction of being the little farmer you never thought you could. For more awesome tips on gardening and reducing food waste by repurposing plant life and other recycleables- check out Creative_Explained on Instagram, Tiktok or his other social media platforms. (I believe he has a book out now too.)
2. Know Your Neighbors
I know you're probably reading this and thinking that I'm being an idiot by saying that knowing my neighbors is important to overall wellness and wealth, so let me explain.
I work in my garage because my machines are really loud and my neighbors and family don't want to hear three embroidery machines pounding out the angry sounds of a design literally 15 hours a day. I don't blame them- I wear headphones so I don't have to listen to it while I work all day. So, when I say that my neighbors bless me with peace of mind when they knock on my door to let me know my garage was not locked properly, or that someone was looking for me in my workspace- it makes a difference. it makes a difference when my neighbors come to me to hem their daughter's dresses, and they pay me to sew on their son's scout badges instead of having someone else do it.
Knowing my neighbors has meant that I can call my neighbor across the street and say, "I'm out of creamer, let's have coffee," or I'm able to help my neighbor at the end of the block by giving her all the snacky foods my kids decided they were "over," so she keeps an eye out for them while they are at the playground below her balcony so I can have 5 minutes of quiet. Know your neighbors and it turns to abundance. Knowing my neighbors has also allowed me to barter for things that I or my family needs instead of having to pull cash from somewhere it doesn't exist.
3. Accept all the help offered
I know that it takes away a lot of your pride to have to tell someone that you need help, have to admit defeat, or feel like you can't do something because you can't do it alone. It's a lot to consider, and it's also really unhealthy, toxic thinking. Humans aren't designed to be solitary creatures. Not every task is meant to be done alone. In fact, you learn better and often work harder when in groups, it's called body doubling. If you have ADHD like me, sometimes it's the only way that anything gets done. When you accept help, the task is halved.
Accepting help should be something that you are seeking to do in all areas of life too. Accept your neighbor's veggie basket, apply for SNAP benefits even if you only qualify for $14 a month. Sometimes taking the small things, no matter how small, make a huge difference in other things as well, so count every blessing.
4. Seek Benefits
Now, I'm not telling you that you should be out trying to game the system and get whatever you can so you don't have to work. It is HARD WORK to be poor. It adds tax. But if there is a benefit available to you, that you qualify for, take it. You may only qualify for $18 in SNAP food benefits a month, but that also means that your kids qualify for free and reduced lunch at school (more savings), You also would qualify for free internet, phone service, and possibly a cheap ass phone too, (tons more savings) just because you're poor. Life has demanded that these are staple things in 2023 and if you can't afford them, there is a way to get ahold of them. First start by applying at your local health and human services department. These benefits aren't just for the elderly, or those with kids. If you are homeless, poverty level poor, and a slew of other reasons, you qualify for many things.
Keep in mind, benefits aren't a free pass for anything. Yes, you can take your food card to the grocery store and load up on steak and potatoes, but whatever the monthly benefit you receive is, it is always only a percentage of the average cost to feed a person for a month. I know my fat ass isn't eating hardly a thing on $3.24 a day. In order to get benefits, most places have work requirements; full time work, kids, income limits, and age restrictions depending on the things that you're looking for. Many benefits, like housing, have long wait lists or they run on a lottery system. If this is the case, it is up to you to be paying attention, and making sure your information is always current. They have too many people waiting to give you time to look up stuff or not be on top of it.
5. Discount stores are your friend
I know that we all wish we could be shopping at the Nordstrom, or that Trader Joe's that just opened up, but we don't have that kind of money. Instead, we shop at places like Ross, Grocery Outlet (or Gross-Out as we used to call it in college), Dollar Tree, and 5 Below. Now that many stores are raising their prices because of inflation, many of these big box stores are finding that less people want to shop there. When this happens their extras that the warehouse isn't taking back goes to places like discount shops to resell.
Often times, places like Dollar Tree and Ross are given overstock of things from other local stores because they don't have room for it, it's out of season, not $100 perfect, so they sell it at discount stores just to off load shit and recoup some of their costs. Check out these places before you go to Walmart, the mall, or wherever. You could be saving yourself some serious money just by being patient. Have fun thrifting and bargain hunting, you might be surprised at some of the things you find on your searches.
Also, don't be surprised to find that you've all the sudden become a hoarder because of discount stores. When you don't have a lot of money, it's important to grab a few staple things or a couple extras when you know you have a couple extra dollars. This often times leads to a pile of notebooks here, a season's worth of tissues there. Things add up, they take up space, so make sure whatever you are allowing into your space will get used. Just because there's a coupon for something doesn't mean you have to get it, even if it's a great deal, if it's something you're never going to use.
6. The one week list
As I said before, I have ADHD and often times it devolves really quickly into "oh, I should check Amazon for that," and then the next thing you know I've overspent and my cart is full again because I was following the dopamine. I now have a one week list I've started on Amazon, but you could easily write it out, or make one wherever you like to shop. It's basically a wishlist but whatever is on it, has to stay there for a week before you purchase it. Any time I'm dopimining on Amazon, I add everything to my one week list and then leave it there. In a week I can go back and look what I put on it. More often than not, I don't remember what I wanted something for or it no longer interests me. If I still hold an interest in something on the list after a week, then I can have it. It then becomes it's own reward for waiting.
Of course there are exceptions to this rule, if it something that you would normally purchase- soap, food, business items (unless we're talking about big expenses) don't qualify as things to be on the list. That second set of $200 colored pencils that you want, does.
7.Give abundantly
You know the old saying, you reap what you sow? It is true. Any time you choose to give abundantly, it comes back to you ten fold. There are so many ways that you can give that most people take for granted. They don't take pause to think about all the ways they can give and the things they have to offer to their neighbors, community, family. If I teach my 18 year old to drive, the end result is that she will be able to drive herself to appointments (which is a huge time saver for me since there is a 5 year age gap to her closest sibling). If I go hang out at the senior center for a few hours, I'm gifting someone my time but I'm gaining their wisdom in whatever they choose to share with me. People remember the givers. Your karma will repay you abundantly if you always remember to give.
8. Don't be afraid to job hop
I know that they say that job stability is supposed to be some magical key to success, but let me just say that that is not always true. I could be like my mom who worked for a publicly owned company for over two decades and not make any more than the new hires making current minimum wage. Did it pay all the bills? No. Did it keep food on the table? Also no, not without the help of SNAP benefits. Did my mom have job stability in a job that was so menial nobody else wanted to do it? Yes. Did it do anything for her? Also No. She was fired by a new millennial manager that came in from corporate.
If your job isn't suiting you, don't stay. If your boss is going to be rude, belittle you, not pay you fairly- Bye Felicia. Ain't nobody got time for that shit. Walk your ass out and find something better. Jobs are a dime a dozen these days, and happiness is worth more than your paycheck.
What have you been doing to live your life abundantly even when you're broke?
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