We all have our cross to bear and have arrived at where we are today based upon a lifetime of decisions, circumstances, good and bad luck; and in many cases, blind optimism.
I know for me, there was a period in my life when I was derided by those close to me for thinking and saying, "There is something just around the corner". And then somehow days slipped into weeks, and months and years and somehow that "something" never landed on my doorstep. I literally wasted years of my life living with and attempting to manage the struggle of inadequate finances. And of course, there were the demons that accompany this lifestyle: debt and collectors, poor credit rating, driving an embarrassing car, shopping at Wal Mart because is was the cheapest way to survive.
Juxtaposed to this is a complete irony. I am a bright guy and a good person. I have had many good jobs but am too honest and straightforward to fit neatly into organizations. Speaking "truth to power" has been career suicide a number of times... but I sleep at night due to not having compromised my integrity to any number of idiots I have encountered as bosses, or for choosing not to do work that had absolutely no meaning in my value system (i.e. selling Yellow Pages ads when the internet was taking over.)
However, even in the times when I was riding a "peak", paying all of my bills and even not having to worry about going out to dinner once in a while... I had no savings, no investments, no real estate, no nest egg. I was simply surviving.
I was one of the WORKING POOR, even when my income was just south of $100K. This taught me about most peoples' reality: most spend what they have and if there is no significant pool of money sitting somewhere in a 401K, or in a bunch of rental properties, or in a Swiss or Cayman Islands bank account, then they are among the working poor as well. I don't care if they are living in a $750,000 house that the bank owns. They have a $4,000 a month mortgage and can use more money.
So by my definition, more people than not are the Working Poor and many (or most) are sleepwalking through life with the blind optimism I mentioned earlier. No plan, but living for today and figuring that somehow everything will "work out".
WorkingPoorNoMore is their alarm clock. We want to wake people up and scream, "THE TIME IS NOW". Wake up. Get dressed. Get better. Pay attention to your life and your future. And we want to do this in a way that is emphatic and supportive but also wearing a boot that is willing to kick someone in the pants who is cheating them-self of their future.
This is who we are. We help people help themselves and be among the working poor, no more.
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