336
submitted 1 week ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

A teacher who launched a GoFundMe to help him afford a place to live has put a spotlight on teacher salaries as the new school year begins.

Bill Atkinson, a fourth grade teacher in Austin, Texas, said he began living in his car this summer when his previous living situation fell through and he could not afford rent on his $54,000 annual salary.

"No matter how much I borrowed or scraped, there was no catching up, because I just did not make enough to cover rent -- because I was so used to living paycheck to paycheck, I didn't have anything in savings to try to cover rent for a couple months," he told "Good Morning America." "So I tried to get a place, [but I] was having a hard time finding a place I could afford on my own."

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Did I touch some sort of nerve? Why is taking about budgeting getting such a harsh reaction? Lemmy is really disappointing, sometimes.

A person can experience homelessness for a variety of reasons. This teacher is without a place to live because he is being turned down for having bad credit. Don't get mad at me for there being credit bureaus in the US, I can't change that.

Atkinson, who is currently teaching at NYOS Charter School, said even after applying for places that he could afford, his application was denied due to bad credit.

[-] Lavitz@lemmings.world 3 points 1 week ago

You didn't touch a nerve you took a very complicated situation and boiled it down to this man must not be budgeting properly. The real issue at play was the last thing you mentioned. You addressed it but it was one sentence. I'm not saying budgeting isn't important I'm saying you're not focusing on the issue. Sorry I was a dick but you're missing the point entirely.

[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I understand the point of the article 100%. Teachers don't get paid enough. Student loans. Medical debt. Predatory lending. The list goes on. It's the system that we live in (in the US and a lot of other places, I'm sure).

This person's story has a "shock" factor so it makes for a good way to spread the word about low teacher salaries. I just disagree with the low pay being one of the only reasons for him to him live in a car. There were many events and decisions made that lead to that result. People end up living in cars for a variety of reasons, no matter if they make $25k/yr. or $300k/yr. It all has to do with staying ahead and making good decisions. Shit happens, be ready.

It can hard to communicate tone with text, so I understand if I came across cold or harsh towards the guy. It's just a story as old as time, and I'm a huge fan of budgeting so I mention it whenever I can.

[-] Lavitz@lemmings.world 1 points 1 week ago

No bud I get the tone you're bringing to the conversation and the lack of empathy for the situation.

[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 1 points 1 week ago

I know we're going back and forth here, but that's ok. I'm very empathetic to his situation, and it's a situation shared by many. A lot of people don't want to hear solutions or preventative measures, they just want to go "awww" and wait for things to hopefully get better. That's a different type of empathy vs. my desire to affect change on the mans life. I want him to have a much better QOL. Pay is only a small piece of the puzzle.

[-] Lavitz@lemmings.world -3 points 1 week ago

You'll get it eventually.

[-] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Just wanted to chime in and say that you aren’t wrong despite comments to the contrary. People haven’t been taught budgeting, let alone sticking to one.

I work with professionals that make 6 figures and even some of them can’t afford the place they’re renting, when I make less and own my own home. I finally got one to start a budget and it’s already started changing the way he thinks about planning for vacations and such. I’ve been thanked already about being positive about it and not making him feel like he’s stupid.

The public school system flat out failed to teach this in this country. I’ve been saying this since I was in high school, where the only place a budget was taught was in the remedial math class of all places.

I’m not surprised many people are pissed that they “can’t afford to live” in this day and age. Prices are higher than ever (welcome to accelerated inflation) and now it’s harder to start one. However, it is 100% possible for most people. Not all, but most.

I’m not burning money going out to eat daily for lunch or even buying freaking coffee. People don’t realize how much they spend on little things every day/month/year. That’s how I got my peer to budget. Break things down to the ridiculous like daily coffee and extract it to the year level. That’s a SHIT LOAD of money we’re literally pissing down the toilet. Figure out how to make great coffee at home, and even with expensive beans, it’s cheaper by a mile.

Now, that’s just 1 example. If you can’t live without your double frappe latte or whatever then look at reducing cost in other things you don’t need or can do cheaper yourself.

[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 0 points 1 week ago

Thanks. I feel like the people responding negatively might be immature and maybe frustrated with their own personal finances. Budgeting changed my life and allowed me to take a career risk that really paid off, so there's no scenario where I can see budgeting as a bad thing.

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Everyone should have a budget, it's like tracking anything else in your life. I always say to look for extra money, so you can get some sort of emergency fund saved up, because life is gonna life. I sold a few things online, did pet sitting and some phase 4 clinical trials. I have to be vaccinated for COVID, so I made over $1,000 taking part in the flu and COVID combo shot study. This allowed me to buy my usual stuff in bulk, furthering my money. Budgeting is super important and super helpful in getting out of the paycheck to paycheck loop. It's like dieting and exercise for your finances to get them in shape.

[-] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 1 points 1 week ago

That's great to hear!

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

Because budgeting isn’t super helpful when it comes up with a negative number and there isn’t much you can do about it other than start cutting basic necessities

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

a budget is a plan, so say this again but change the wording from a budget to a plan and hear how it sounds.

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

Ok.

A plan doesn’t help when you don’t have any options but to start cutting basic necessities

Still doesn’t sound great

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

why is it cutting things out, and no options? increase your income with creative means, every little bit helps. So, no options means, no way whatsoever to increase your income and gradually cutting out necessities is it?

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

“Literally just get another job bro”

That’s what you’re saying and it isn’t that simple.

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

it's not simple, life is not simple, but what I'm saying is think differently, outside of the box and take some sort of action to increase your income, doesn't have to be an hourly job. Go to yard sales and look for items that you might be able to flip, etc. Look for small opportunities and then use the additional income to get ahead, or set it aside to save up to buy something you can make more money with over time. Force yourself to get creative.

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

“Just make more money! DUH!”

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Stay stuck with no plan and a closed mind, focus on doom and gloom with zero options at all. lmk how it works out for you, peace ✌️

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

When did I ever say I was stuck?

You know what they say about assumptions right?

[-] leauxhigh@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

you're completely out of options and can only cut necessities, so any budget or planning is worthless - you in a nutshell when I suggested that having a budget is a necessity to help overcome the paycheck to paycheck loop. So now you're not stuck and have options? Good for you 😊

this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2024
336 points (98.3% liked)

News

22876 readers
3809 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS