Post by shelbysinkhorn on Aug 9, 2011 17:41:35 GMT -5
“Nickel and Dimed” taught me a lot about money and how these days it’s hard to make a living without some sort of education. Living alone, no kids, husband, or even pets, a minimum wage job barely cuts it, if it did at all, for supporting the cost of scarce amounts of food, a “home,” and transportation. The book helped me realize that it is much harder to pick yourself up then it is to knock yourself down. That once you are down it is tough getting out of this miserable cycle of doom due to money and costs of living. You can have one job, you can have two jobs, and you might even have three. You work so hard to just survive, never buying new things, just food and a place to stay. Probably paying for a place and not even being there enough to get your money’s worth, but it is nice to have a place to lay your head at night. Middle class and up really take advantage of any free time or material objects they have when the people in the lower class may or may not ever get that in their life time. “Nickel and Dimed” made me feel like the lower class misses out on so many life experiences because they are so overwhelmed with trying to survive.
One thing that I disagreed with was how Barbara would cheat money and not really live the experience like she said she was doing. When she needed extra money to eat or pay for rooms, it magically came out of her actual savings and not her experiment. Not to mention most of what she brought with her was not purchased during this time. So if her minimum wage lifestyle couldn’t afford a car, she shouldn’t have had a car. I feel like she never really suffered like the actual people who lived the lifestyle because every time she started to suffer, as in the car instead of bus or walking, she used money to pull herself out of it. Even though she spent time each place she went, I don’t believe it was a fair judgment with that amount of time. The people Barbara got to know had been there years, never having enough to risk losing a job and moving. I just don’t agree that a person could ever experience a true lifestyle of someone else unless they truly are in that position too; dealing with the toughness and stress that comes with it.
If there was anything I liked about this book it would be all the characters except the main woman, Barbara. I found her annoying, arrogant, rude, and like I said before, I did not agree with her cheating her way through the experiment with her own money. In a way maybe her strong characteristics helped the other actual lower class characters personalities and characteristics shine. Showing how having little can make you so thankful, compassionate, and hard working. Not all lower class are probably like this yes, but many of the people Barbara met where genuine types of people. Not spoiled or ruined by having everything they want like Barbara and probably most of us.
One thing that I disagreed with was how Barbara would cheat money and not really live the experience like she said she was doing. When she needed extra money to eat or pay for rooms, it magically came out of her actual savings and not her experiment. Not to mention most of what she brought with her was not purchased during this time. So if her minimum wage lifestyle couldn’t afford a car, she shouldn’t have had a car. I feel like she never really suffered like the actual people who lived the lifestyle because every time she started to suffer, as in the car instead of bus or walking, she used money to pull herself out of it. Even though she spent time each place she went, I don’t believe it was a fair judgment with that amount of time. The people Barbara got to know had been there years, never having enough to risk losing a job and moving. I just don’t agree that a person could ever experience a true lifestyle of someone else unless they truly are in that position too; dealing with the toughness and stress that comes with it.
If there was anything I liked about this book it would be all the characters except the main woman, Barbara. I found her annoying, arrogant, rude, and like I said before, I did not agree with her cheating her way through the experiment with her own money. In a way maybe her strong characteristics helped the other actual lower class characters personalities and characteristics shine. Showing how having little can make you so thankful, compassionate, and hard working. Not all lower class are probably like this yes, but many of the people Barbara met where genuine types of people. Not spoiled or ruined by having everything they want like Barbara and probably most of us.