[roadtoharvard]

Hey guys I just finished an article on my blog that addresses poverty and how to escape from it. I wasn't sure where to put this but this subsection of the forum seemed as good a place as anywhere. I'm looking for feedback.

Anyway thanks for the help and here is the link.

http://www.roadtoharvard.com/howtoescapefrompoverty/

[ProLogic]

Awsome, I dropped a comment.

[jasaunders]

The article is good and I commend you on the time and effort you took to writing it. It is a good step forward.
As this is a very debatable topic, there are some things in the article that I don't agree with you on. Namely that you make it sound easy to follow your steps. The largest demographic of poor people are single mothers. It is often hard for these single mothers to get two jobs while supporting their kids on their own. They often don't have the money for child care and are therefore stuck taking care of their kids, limiting their available time to work.

[zoobie]

Wow!...thanks for posting this one...it really is helpful...and I understand where you're coming from..I've also been there but I tried my best to finish College and now I'm working in one of the companies here in the Philippines...I know I don't have much but it's enough for me now...someday I know I can be better.

[MoneyMagnet]

Decent article. I dont agree with the steps referring to selling off just about everything to your name and have but a few articles of clothing and a car so bad everyone will laugh at you. It might decrease the expenses, but it might not be good emotionally. I think people can get out of poverty and not have to live below their current means. Maybe add a step like, learning what a budget is? Also learn cash flow? I liked the article, keep on doing your good work.

[EzMac]

haha I love this line:
"Want to buy something because you deserve it? Fuck you. You don’t deserve it."

[usakos]

Originally Posted by roadtoharvard

Hey guys I just finished an article on my blog that addresses poverty and how to escape from it. I wasn't sure where to put this but this subsection of the forum seemed as good a place as anywhere. I'm looking for feedback.

Anyway thanks for the help and here is the link.

http://www.roadtoharvard.com/howtoescapefrompoverty/

When are you thinking of getting in HBS?

I am hoping to do a joint MBA/Law at Harvard starting in the fall 2009.

[roadtoharvard]

Originally Posted by jasaunders

The article is good and I commend you on the time and effort you took to writing it. It is a good step forward.
As this is a very debatable topic, there are some things in the article that I don't agree with you on. Namely that you make it sound easy to follow your steps. The largest demographic of poor people are single mothers. It is often hard for these single mothers to get two jobs while supporting their kids on their own. They often don't have the money for child care and are therefore stuck taking care of their kids, limiting their available time to work.

It was not my intent to make the steps sound easy. Throughout the post I mentioned that it was extremely difficult and that there is a high chance of failure but perhaps I did not clarify myself enough.

I'm glad you addressed the point about single mothers as I did not cover it in the FAQs. The post is in no way a catch all and was constructed from my own experiences. I didn't address this segment of poverty because I don't know what it's like to be a single parent. Anything that I could possibly suggest would be presumptuous of me as I have never been one. I can relate to them as my mother was a single parent but other than that i don't truly know what it's like.

[rejoice]

If you really want to stop being poor then the thought on your mind at all times should be “I want to stop being poor.”

If all your thinking about is being poor and not being poor and getting out of being poor... what are you thinking about? POVERTY

So what I don't understand is how someone who is thinking poor can get rich? I'm sorry to say but your article seems like it was written by an uneducated parent who tells their kids to get good grades, go to uni, get a good job, and sleep with the boss if all else fails.

[roadtoharvard]

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnet

Decent article. I dont agree with the steps referring to selling off just about everything to your name and have but a few articles of clothing and a car so bad everyone will laugh at you. It might decrease the expenses, but it might not be good emotionally. I think people can get out of poverty and not have to live below their current means. Maybe add a step like, learning what a budget is? Also learn cash flow? I liked the article, keep on doing your good work.

I would rather endure the short term emotional pain of change than a lifetime of mind numbing emotional monotony. As for not LBYM well it takes money to get out of poverty and it has to come from somewhere. If it doesn't come from the reduction of expenses then it has to come in from income.The problem with getting out of poverty solely with income is threefold: 1) You only have 24 hours in a day and can't always work more 2) Pay is usually crappy when you're poor 3) Taxes and deductions eat away at pay (at least where i live). That's why you need a combination of both LBYM and working more to get traction. I like things as much as the next guy but if the long term gain of sacrificing them is greater than the pleasure that they bring presently then they're history.

[roadtoharvard]

Originally Posted by rejoice

If you really want to stop being poor then the thought on your mind at all times should be “I want to stop being poor.”

If all your thinking about is being poor and not being poor and getting out of being poor... what are you thinking about? POVERTY

So what I don't understand is how someone who is thinking poor can get rich? I'm sorry to say but your article seems like it was written by an uneducated parent who tells their kids to get good grades, go to uni, get a good job, and sleep with the boss if all else fails.

Thinking about poverty does not make you poor. Bill gates thinks about poverty all the time but is he poor? Maybe you're looking at it from one of those Law of Attraction views. I don't believe in tripe like that and think it's that sort of shysterism that keeps so many people poor.

The article is not about how to get rich. It was written on how to get out of poverty. There is a difference. If you think you have a better way of getting out then go write about it. I'll keep my uneducated parent view.