Re:Retirement Nomads: Too poor to retire and too young to die
by vinceguidry on Tuesday February 02, 2016 @04:05PM
(#11022590)
Every time I read stories like this, I think of dozens of things, little things, that people can do to improve their situation, one thing at a time.
First off, the speeding ticket. You're in an RV, how do you go 15 over the limit? Doesn't make sense to me. You're wasting gas and painting a big red target on your back for the cops. If I were in her situation, I'd have already trained myself to keep to the speed limit no matter what. It's possible, don't tell me it isn't. Even more possible in an RV with limited acceleration. I found it harder to speed in my 20 year old truck than I did to not speed.
Second, the busted water pump. With all the time she had on her hands, surely she could have done some research in the library on how to repair these things and done it herself as opposed to spending hundreds / thousands on paying someone to do it for her. There was no rush, she was able to take her time finding someone, why not take that same time to save even more money?
I say these things because I used to be really hard up for money and resources, and I was able to get resourceful in return. The human brain is amazing, it finds a way. You just have to listen to it and be willing to try stuff out that's outside your comfort zone. For me this kind of resourcefulness is never too far from my mind, as comfortable as my dev lifestyle is right now, if economic circumstances forced me onto the street, I'd work out a way to thrive pretty quick, I simply cannot abide the slow degradation of self-worth that other people in these sorts of situations seem to experience.
But the more I think about it, the more I realize she's already being as resourceful as she can. It's a reminder that deep down, people really do differ vastly in ability, and that we need to be compassionate and generous to those caught in nasty situations with no way to pull themselves out.
But at the same time we need to encourage the kind of inventiveness and resourcefulness that made America great. Times are tough, but we can be tougher.
First off, the speeding ticket. You're in an RV, how do you go 15 over the limit? Doesn't make sense to me. You're wasting gas and painting a big red target on your back for the cops. If I were in her situation, I'd have already trained myself to keep to the speed limit no matter what. It's possible, don't tell me it isn't. Even more possible in an RV with limited acceleration. I found it harder to speed in my 20 year old truck than I did to not speed.
Second, the busted water pump. With all the time she had on her hands, surely she could have done some research in the library on how to repair these things and done it herself as opposed to spending hundreds / thousands on paying someone to do it for her. There was no rush, she was able to take her time finding someone, why not take that same time to save even more money?
I say these things because I used to be really hard up for money and resources, and I was able to get resourceful in return. The human brain is amazing, it finds a way. You just have to listen to it and be willing to try stuff out that's outside your comfort zone. For me this kind of resourcefulness is never too far from my mind, as comfortable as my dev lifestyle is right now, if economic circumstances forced me onto the street, I'd work out a way to thrive pretty quick, I simply cannot abide the slow degradation of self-worth that other people in these sorts of situations seem to experience.
But the more I think about it, the more I realize she's already being as resourceful as she can. It's a reminder that deep down, people really do differ vastly in ability, and that we need to be compassionate and generous to those caught in nasty situations with no way to pull themselves out.
But at the same time we need to encourage the kind of inventiveness and resourcefulness that made America great. Times are tough, but we can be tougher.