Here is a related article:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/EmptyingTheAtticToPayTheBills.aspx
I guess when they run out of stuff to sell, they resort to begging.
I know I'm new to this whole "saving" thing ($750 and rising, BTW!), but I feel that articles like these do nothing but "tug at our heartstrings" and ask us to pity those who lived above their means for far too long.
I might be cold, (and so be it), but it seems that the lady in the story who spent the past few years buying D&B bags wants us to pity her... she now lives in a "sparse apartment" with only "threadbare furniture." What about having saved that money?
I know, I know, I know... I'm in no place to judge. She's learning the hard way, just like I did (though not quite THAT bad). I try my best to not be judgemental, but I'm human. I'm more aggrevated by the author of that article. What purpose did it serve to tell us about people having to sell their prized possessions? A different take on the story, one from the POV of the BUYER, would have gotten the same point across, no?
I pity those on a fixed income who are struggling to make ends meet with the rising gas and food prices. That's a tough situation to be in, and those people are either too sick to work, or have some other couse that keeps them out of earning a paycheck. But if you're middle aged and you have to sell your most prized possessions to pay a month of rent, my guess is you didn't save prudently.
To summarize: Stop tugging at my heartstrings to pity people who didn't make wiser decisions.
