700 Watt Microwaves Are Used:
Almost half the price, almost twice the cooking time, and the over-cooked center of a plate of nachos will be surrounded by un-melted cheese.
Not All Light Switches Turn Something On:
During a power outage it is annoying to try to turn on a light switch out of habit and find it doesn’t work. This is called Electrical Entitlement. Who are you to assume everything works out of habit? People living in poverty have no time to determine the original purpose of a light switch that no longer works. They must choose to focus on the switches that work and to find a way to pay the power bill.
Asking Someone In Poverty How Much Money They Make Isn’t Rude:
Since people living in poverty usually have an hourly wage that is about the same, they will often ask each other about compensation for many different reason. Sometimes this is a hint they like the person, might want to work with them, and the question is an attempt to get a feel for how that person might want to work with them. Plus, they are often willing to change jobs for a few cents an hour more, which could be the difference between disaster and making their minimum monthly credit card payment, which obviously is a disaster to the educated, especially those who are educated about the power of compound interest.
Breech of Contract is More Common:
A breech of contract occurs when a good or service does not match what was promised on a written and also a verbal agreement as well. It is especially common during a move. Considering moving in with someone on Craigslist who says they use marijuana occasionally? Expect to hear bong rips before your alarm goes off in the morning. Does the rental contract say half of the damage deposit will be refunded if the place is clean at the end of the term? You will be the only one who cleans and won’t be rewarded for it, especially at the end of lease. If you are counting on that damage deposit for your next apartment, you are going to be in trouble.
Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Usually Are Missing Batteries:
Despite impoverished conditions they can still afford 9 volt batteries. These life-saving and legally required devices are purposely disabled due to clogged kitchen fan filters and indoor smoking, common during winter months, parties, and family gatherings where all family members are also cursed by poverty and addiction. If you have an opportunity to live with someone who smokes opium you may notice windows that don’t open, kitchen vents that don’t work, and boxes piled up that block the fireplace. This is done to keep the smoke in and fresh air out. Addiction doesn’t need to make sense to be addicting, it just has to be addicting to remain addicting, which is why it doesn’t make sense and remains an addiction that doesn’t make sense. It is a tough loop to breakdown and explain and you could have a breakdown trying to explain it in a repeating loop.
Your Neighbors Will Scream:
Many people living in poverty scream. Does their screaming cause them to not be able to find a good job or do the conditions they live in cause the screaming? Researchers don’t know for sure. It actually isn’t a topic researches want to address because they don’t want to hear screaming. The reason PhD’s have spent so much of their time studying is to get a good job so they don’t need to live in a terrible apartment where people are screaming. And plus, they are accustomed to studying in peace and quite. Even if their thesis did attempt to study this issue, they wouldn’t be able to think clear or make good notes while someone is screaming anyway. Nobody can think with someone screaming. Outer space is a better topic and that is why we know so much more about it. I have the only accurate research for the reasons people in poverty scream:
Cause of Screaming as a Percent of Total Screaming For Those Living In Poverty:
25% Misplaced Items (Non-Drug)
25% Excessive Alcohol Consumption
15% Tobacco Lending / Borrowing Disagreements
10% Misplaced Drugs
5% Overdraft Fees
5% Lack of Drugs
5% Excessive Drug Consumption
5% Arrival of Unfavorable Mail (Traffic Infractions, Court Summons, Late Notices)
5% Missing High Sugar or High Fat Food Items
2 / 2
3% Math Errors
Stackable Washer / Dryers Are Used:
The first one of these I saw on my Grandparent’s boat in the 80’s. I didn’t think much of it. I wouldn’t see another one until 2010. My friend Ryan had one that seemed to constantly be in use, which seemed strange because he took all his shirts to the dry cleaner. These horribly tiny machines have almost half the capacity of the washers and dryers normal people use. If you have roommates who share one of these stupid stable things and wait to do laundry until you are totally out of clean clothes, you are going to be wearing dirty clothes the next day or two. It is also possible nobody is removing the lint from the awkward little lint traps by the way.
Fake Cheese Is A Real Passion:
Velveeta Cheese is not real cheese but it is real common to see it as a staple in the diets of those who are poor. Despite the high cost, low nutritional value, and poor taste, it remains popular with the poor, just like cigarettes. The reason for it is the same: It is highly addictive. Get an Egg McMuffin for 6 days straight, then try having yogurt instead on the 7 morning. You won’t feel good.
Black Mold Is Viewed Differently:
Their landlord isn’t going to fix it. Being alarmed or worried about it will just add to the negative experience of living in poverty. They push it out of their minds and try to avoid talking about it.
They Don’t Put Medicine In The Medicine Cabinet:
They are not concerned about who the medicine was prescribed to originally. If they think the pills they happen to see will help symptoms they have (or taking them will be fun in their mind) they are not going to care if your name is on the bottle. For this reason, people living in poverty hide their pills from each other and do not keep them in the bathroom. Pills are also commonly traded for tobacco or other pills.