Quote:
Originally Posted by Homeslice
so, there were several years before the car accident during which they could have built up some emergency savings, but like the typical American, they didnt.
probably used that money on big-screen tvs & video games instead.....
|
Um...not really a good assumption.
Her parents are older. Her father is 60, mother is 53.
The accident happened last year (Its mandatory in that neighborhood that someone crashes into you) and at that age injuries can really put you out of commission.
As for not "saving"
That neighborhood suffered hard from the economic downturn as there are a lot of blue collar folk there. Given their age and that they are raising 3 kids..they have a lot of costs. Her mom appears to be a nurses aid or some sort of low end hospital worker and her dad drives a cab.
I know a few families in that neighborhood who pinched every penny for years and still lived paycheck to paycheck. People bust their ass and do what they can for their kids. The mentality is "Everything for the kids, I'll be dead before I start collecting retirement so if the choice is $50 so the kid can go on a school trip or $50 to go toward savings....the kid goes on the field trip".
Don't get me wrong...there are lot of shitty houses in that area with "newish cars sitting on a set of aftermarket rims" and a lot of for sale signs in front of houses that under went a remodel during the 2000-2006 season (lot of stupid people with the house almost paid off suckered into refiance\ELOC bs).
However, knowing the neighborhood I can honestly say that a possible reason these folks have no cash is because they did the work we expect illegals to do (while we bitch about them) in an expensive area to live.
Either way, the end result is that a smart girl will be off to college soon breaking the cycle of poverty.