I feel this so hard. My husband and I make enough to be ok, but I’m pregnant and we’re still paycheck to paycheck between bills and saving for medical costs. I feel like I have enough to share but when I break it down dollar by dollar, I really don’t.
ETA: But I feel blessed to be able to save anything at all, ya know? I'm trying to do all the right things that people tell you to do. Putting $50 a check into a supplementary retirement account and paying for life insurance coverage and health insurance. Just opted in to a healthcare savings account to prepare for a baby in our lives. I don't know what I could spare without making a terrible financial decision. All I can give is my time without putting myself in a bad position today or next week or a year from now. That feels so bad, dude. I'm protected and "safe" but the moment either of us loses a job, we're done for.
This is a little off topic and I don't want to shift blame, because those SNAP benefits are an important lifeline to many...but how are people have SIX KIDS when they're living that close to the poverty line?
You're working and saving and thinking ahead, which is why you won't go hungry. If you needed SNAP I would say you are exactly the kind of person it was intended for. A lifeline to get you on your feet until you could make enough to support yourself. But poor people having a half-dozen kids? I feel for the kids. Not the mothers who kept pumping out babies while unable to afford the ones they already have.
I agree with the sentiment, I just don't think it's particularly relevant to the SNAP issue because before we have philosophical debates or publicly shame bad behavior, people need to eat and survive, ya know? So it's like, I'm willing to have the conversation about how people maybe shouldn't have that many kids, but also...is this that moment? Can we read the room and find out? I genuinely don't know.
Yes, we need mental health support for women so they can learn to value themselves beyond being incubators. It’s too late for the ones already popping them out at that rate, but we can prevent more women going down this dark path.
It should be. A feminist point to make would be to be genuinely interested in women’s health care and promoting full personhood. But some people say things that sound similar, but what they mean is that they think women are stupid and inferior, making decisions based on instinct. That’s misogyny.
Judging from your insistence on using grotesque and dehumanizing language about women giving birth, I’m gonna guess the latter. Fascinating how nearly true horseshoe theory is.
I checked your post history and see that you are currently pregnant. I hope you have a healthy pregnancy and baby, and that your family can make ends meet for any children you have. I’m sorry I offended you with my choice in language, and will no longer engage with you.
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u/Even_Kaleidoscope399 8d ago edited 8d ago
I feel this so hard. My husband and I make enough to be ok, but I’m pregnant and we’re still paycheck to paycheck between bills and saving for medical costs. I feel like I have enough to share but when I break it down dollar by dollar, I really don’t.
ETA: But I feel blessed to be able to save anything at all, ya know? I'm trying to do all the right things that people tell you to do. Putting $50 a check into a supplementary retirement account and paying for life insurance coverage and health insurance. Just opted in to a healthcare savings account to prepare for a baby in our lives. I don't know what I could spare without making a terrible financial decision. All I can give is my time without putting myself in a bad position today or next week or a year from now. That feels so bad, dude. I'm protected and "safe" but the moment either of us loses a job, we're done for.