my child support is payed off but WOO unto you who haven't  started paying yet.

Amie, I know you are right.

Good ideas from frugal dad- but he seems to miss that some of us just don't have the income-and from time to time we may complain, but mostly we don't.Investments? I guess that would be the MRI I just paid part of for my husband. Luxuries? Eating out? Get real! Ok, I did spend $2 renting movies last week- but I worked overtime, and needed a break! I don't work my job because I am stupid- a dumb person couldn't DO my job. I do direct care with the mentally ill because that is my 'calling'- and I contribute to society plenty, don't take the welfare I am entitled to, save the taxpayers a ton of money, and yes, I may complain once in awhile about the cost of gas and food, but I don't like the stigma of being considered "perpetually poor" and labeled a whiner!!!!!

you see advice like this all the time you people have not got a clue what the poor really go through. cutting back means laying off your illegal alien maid, or getting a new Prius to "go green" or perhaps watching your own kids(god forbid!) eventually,though,you will all see very hard times.This time of ease and grace will soon pass. The poor will be much more prepared to cope with what is coming.WAIT till the next fake terrorist attack,your house of cards will soon crumble.An example is the hurricane "evacuation" of Houston a few years ago. Once the gas was gone, you were stuck,in line, or on the freeway,or ATM. Then nobody got out. It was one step away from chaos.Don't worry though,FEMA will save you!, or maybe the national gaurd.Where are they,anyway? I'd also like to thank all the good"Bushies" for $4.oo@ gallon gas and outrageous health care costs.Many of our soldiers are on food stamps by the way. Please tell us more on how to be frugal.

my husband is so tight that a bb couldn't squeak by and we still are living paycheck to paycheck.... we do not drink, we do not go out, we haven't even been on a date in 4 years! we are responsible with our money and we do not drive new cars, we live in a trailer that we hate and are miserable in, we only have 20,000 total debt including student loans, house car and everything else... he has worked his butt off working 2 jobs and going to school full time to get his associates degree,( we read books more then we watch tv) he got the degree and the jobs in this town only pay 10.00 an hour, so we went to get our CDL's  and we ended up going over the road, that was great money and it  worked for a while, but he has a daughter from a previous marriage that needs him so we came home...he got a job for the same amount as before,  and then by luck, he got a union job and i was doing in home health care, things were good, we could pay extra on all our bills, but then i got pregnant,I had a high risk pregnancy...and i had to quit working( just our luck) so my husband got a 2nd job, and again, worked 7 days a week my point is, we are responsible with our money,we both work and any extra money we have goes straight to bills. we were both raised in poverty and sometimes when you start from 0 with no help and no resources, you do what you can to better yourself  but sometimes it isn't enough!!!! my husband i a brilliant man and has million dollar ideas however, there is no capital to start with and going further into debt, scares the crap out of us because we are struggling with the debt that we have now! so yeah, i think that we have the right to say....we work hard and i think that instead of people judging our situation and others maybe they should walk a mile in their shoes!!!!!

this article smacks of of class prejudice. there are people across the wage spectrum who appear to manage their money poorly. and it is easier to raise other people's kids. (a saying of my mom's) to label the poor referred to in this article is to lump together an economic class based on some generalizations. so you see a guy buying some smokes and beers. there are other 'perpetual poor' pulling two shifts of low-paying jobs just trying to get by. they are poor because of the low wages and lack of benefits, in addition to other circumstances, that keep them poor. it is all well and good to aspire to greater things - improving your 'station' in life - but adding a bachelor's degree to your credentials will probably only make the debt hole deeper. tech school would probably get a better return on the investment dollar. or you could buy self-help books. those are nice. and helpful. as far as earning 8% on that mutual fund investment - good luck with that. survivorship bias comes immediately to mind, distorting the returns on a mutual fund to make it appear that the investment has paid off. which it has, if you chose the right fund. there are too many generalities in this article to give it any credibility. if it is an attempt at humor, comedy central is not in your future. in my opinion this article is only a reflection of upper class prejudice and bias against the working poor and those who depend on welfare to survive. that line about most millionaires starting with nothing? prove it. pull yourselves up by your bootstraps you lazy mothers. it's the american way.

I am sick and tired of hearing advertisements blaring "GET THE <fill in the blank> YOU DESERVE" Since when does anybody deserve anything except for life, liberty and the pursuit of =) ? The perpetual poor explain why they buy this or get that because "they deserve it." Because they're poor? Because they're alive? Because someone else told them so? Part of the blame for the subprime mess goes to the perpetual poor who believe they are owed a house because others have one. They miss one important fact: OTHERS WORKED FOR IT AND CAN AFFORD IT! Just because the perpetual poor signed paperwork making them a homeowner doesn't mean they are one if they can't afford to pay for it.

SWEET!! Someone standing up to the inept, and urging them out of the gov't. cheese lines.  Be responsible, work hard.

The people who don’t like what this article has to say ARE the perpetually poor.  Instead of taking offense, take some notes.  

Reminds me of the people on my street, working low-wage jobs, who go up to their eyeballs in debt to buy their high-school kids brand-new gas-guzzling pickups or sports cars. Then they wonder why they can't make ends meet. Maybe because little Johhny is out revving his truck and burning gas at $3.50/gal around the block until 1:00 in the morning every night.