Well
Shine no offence taken. As I said I often don't agree with what Aunti Margie writes.
However did you even read the article? Your bolded words do not appear in her article. They are mine. If I want to take some else's words I put them in Quotes. Too bad that you think them stupid.
I stand by what I said. I do not have a car. I grocery shop every other day and cook most nights.
If you see people as I do daily not buying the specials but rather high priced items, loading up their carts with non essentials etc. it is not surprising that some people with limited resources run out of food money.
During the ice storm power outage the local TV was full of interviews with people in assisted housing bemoaning the fact that they had a freezer full of spoiled food. Of course they couldn't grasp the fact that they had a natural freezer right outside their door.
And her article is correct in that a lot of people are spending on things they do not need or can't afford. If you can't afford cable TV, don't have it. If you can't afford a TV, join the library and read a book. Entertain your children as well as yourself with books and games.
And this goes for all the non essential consumer toys , smart phones etc.
I grew up in a working class family with 5 kids and only one wage earner. We knew what it was like not to have much but my parents always managed with what they had.
We did not have a car until I was over 20 and our first TV in my late teens. I was the only member of my family to get a university education and only because I won a goverment scholarship at a time when less than 5% of high school graduates went to university. I still needed to work part time to supplement our resources.
As for education to learn how to budget and manage money there are community based programs that can teach them that - but they have to want to find them.
People often reach out to
Gail Vaz-Oxlade for advice on stuff such as this.
The Financial Facelift in the G&M often has cases of couples with combined incomes of $150,000 who are in financial trouble because they do not understand money management. And of course as a result they could double their income and still be in financial trouble.
The article is outlining the fact that people do not know how to manage their money. Do you disagree with this?
Rather than objectively consider the subject matter your response indicates an emotional reaction because it is written by 'our Auntie Margie"