What do you! class as being poor??

The trouble is magazines, television etc make possessions important. Some people feel these are a 'must have' in order to be accepted in society and it's true, that some people do look down on those who don't have the latest in whatever is fashionable and this encourages their children to do the same.

The result is people spend money they haven't got, for things they don't need and end up in debt rather than be happy. The countryside in many areas is no longer on our doorstep for us to enjoy - buildings have taken over and peer pressure has crept in; or has it always been there? If we all ignored the 'Joneses' and were proud of what we have, would we be able to influence the 'Joneses' in the long term? As I write this I see it as a mental health issue - why aren't we happy with what we have?

being poor is rampaging around London getting your own back because you have no future worth having

being rich is being a banker (spelt with a W) and still wanting more, and actually believing you deserve it

Is owning a smart phone ...the latest fashion ...helping yourself to other's property and selling it on ...having no moral code!

When I was little I was pestering my mum for sweets. She showed me the inside of her purse. One tiny gold safety pin was all there was in it.

We weren't really poor though. We never went hungry.

There are definitely people poorer than that today.

I still use the Pauper's Cookbook by Jocasta Innes and lend it out when people say they are short-it's on amazon still for [mumontherun]. I was a child of the 60s but on a grant-because my father had died . My nextdoor neighbour won some money on the pools when I had small children and she gave me her ancient washer wringer-brilliant -no more hand washing of nappies. We are comfortable now -touch wood-but I still have trouble buying anything that isn't reduced and always search the reduced section in the supermarkets. We have extravagent holidays and make a serious effort to save.

When we where little mum made all our dresses and I alway's felt sorry for my third sister because she had the same Easter dress for three years after me and my second sister had outgrown them,mum made all our ribbons to match and put our long hair in rags for ringlets every night,she could make money stretch like no one else
I have ever known.I still knit for my youngest DGC and have made
some nice curtain's etc instead of buying them.
We are very secure now the DCs are grown up but I still shop
carefully,never buy BOGOF offers only buy for daily menu plan's now
that there are only two of us.
Being poor in this country does not relate to what people in other
far off countries have to deal with,ie.no fresh water,healthy food
and shelter,being poor in this country means not having the latest trainers or the latest phone or a 50in TV on the wall.I did work in the
poor parts of New York in the early 70s and helped treat people who could not afford to go to the hospital for care and helped misplaced people who had no roof over their head,thats what I relate to as being poor

A lot of people believe they are poor because they don't have the latest electronic gadget or can't afford a holiday abroad. When I married we had two second hand chairs and a formica table, a bed and a cooker. I washed every item of household linen by hand because I didn't have a washing machine until my first child was over a year old. My husband worked all day in a shipyard and drove taxis at night so we could pay the mortgage.

In a Western Industrial country like most of the English-speaking world and Europe, very few people are really poor, just relatively poor compared with others.

So poverty is an attitude I believe. Most of us of 'gran' age are perfectly capable of managing on little, and making the most out of life. This is not poverty.

Some people have lots of money coming in, but are never satisfied, ignore their kids, live in squalor, take drugs or drink to excess, and have no ambition, shame, social conscience, or decency.

They are truly poor, as they have removed themselves from everything good in life. Such people were out in force the other day, burning, looting, and hurting people.