Can't afford a night out? You're poor!

lazygal

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/a-quarter-of-population-cant-afford-winter-coat-or-night-out-with-friends-29068735.html

Is not being able to afford a night out really 'deprivation'?

Duggys Housemate

lazygal wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/a-quarter-of-population-cant-afford-winter-coat-or-night-out-with-friends-29068735.html

Is not being able to afford a night out really 'deprivation'?

Yes.

TGi666

whats the price of a pint these days?
€4.50? that's 2 pints for €9
or stay at home €10 for a 6pack of your choice
I know what I'd be choosing anyway

Interceptor

lazygal wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/a-quarter-of-population-cant-afford-winter-coat-or-night-out-with-friends-29068735.html

Is not being able to afford a night out really 'deprivation'?

No. Feed your kids, then see if you can afford a night out.

jaffacakesyum

Water is free in most pubs/clubs.

mike65

The definitions of poverty become more "wussie" by the year. Soon not being able to afford a 12 pack of Dutch Gold will be proof of penury.

hightower1

mike65 wrote: »

The definitions of poverty become more "wussie" by the year. Soon not being able to afford a 12 pack of Dutch Gold will be proof of penury.

LOL, I can see it now!...


"Nearly 22% of households cannot afford basic amenities such as heating, ESB or Netflix"

G Power

we are social creatures so yes not being able to socialise without sacrificing some other essential for a week or two is certainly being poor in my mind

Would I consider it poverty? no.
Would I consider it a pretty sh*tty existence? yes.

I'm grateful at how lucky I am.

BraziliaNZ

Yeah well I mean people drank in pubs in Dickensian times ffs, so it's a human right at this stage! I have to go to the pub on the reg, I live alone and it's a great outlet for chat with the regulars from the area.

Celly Smunt

G Power wrote: »

we are social creatures so yes not being able to socialise without sacrificing some other essential for a week or two is certainly being poor in my mind

It's fairly easy to socialise without sacrificing essentials.It's called not having alcohol rule your social life.

Cupcake_Crisis

I have no kids, no major bills bar rent, no real outgoings and i still can't afford a night out. Least of my worries tbh.

bedrock#1

Social contact outside of the home and/or work is essential for human beings because we are fundamentally social creatures. Isolation has a powerful effect on people. If our aim is to create a society where as far as possible we have fully functioning human beings then we should take all aspects of life into account. "Man cannot live on bread alone". Some people have a very narrow sense of what a "LIFE" actually is. But sure in Ireland we are expected to just grit our teeth and carry on regardless of the state of our mental health, sad really.

awec

"Anti-poverty groups have warned that one in four of the population are unable to afford at least two items generally considered necessary, including a warm winter coat, a night out, a roast once a week or home heating."

Only 2 things on that list could be considered necessary, a winter coat and home heating.

The others are luxuries, pure and simple.

bedrock#1

awec wrote: »

"Anti-poverty groups have warned that one in four of the population are unable to afford at least two items generally considered necessary, including a warm winter coat, a night out, a roast once a week or home heating."

Only 2 things on that list could be considered necessary, a winter coat and home heating.

The others are luxuries, pure and simple.

So good nutritious food (which is essentially what a roast is, meat and veg) is a luxury?

dr.bollocko

awec wrote: »

Only 2 things on that list could be considered necessary, a winter coat and home heating.

We need a bit more bolshevism in this country. You only need one or the other Mr. Aristocrat.

lazygal

What if you don't like roast dinners and have a coat that last a few years?

awec

bedrock#1 wrote: »

So good nutritious food (which is essentially what a roast is, meat and veg) is a luxury?

That is not even close to what I said.

Is a roast dinner essential? No. Are roast dinners the only nutritious food out there? No.

Are there much cheaper but still nutritious alternatives? Of course.

I love fillet steak. Fillet steak meals are lovely and nutritious. If I can't afford a weekly fillet steak am I poor? Of course not, that's idiotic reasoning.

squod

bedrock#1 wrote: »

So good nutritious food (which is essentially what a roast is, meat and veg) is a luxury?

People won't be happy on here 'till we're living in the gulags.

jank

Every year they come out with this ****. Of course you have people like David Begg and Jo Higgins spout off these numbers as some sort of proof that ireland is a third wold country being exploited by those greedy capitalists, while at the same time calling for more tax hikes. It's amazing how the term "poor" has changed over the past 25 years.

bedrock#1

awec wrote: »

That is not even close to what I said.

Is a roast dinner essential? No. Are roast dinners the only nutritious food out there? No.

Are there much cheaper but still nutritious alternatives? Of course.

I love fillet steak. Fillet steak meals are lovely and nutritious. If I can't afford a weekly fillet steak am I poor? Of course not, that's idiotic reasoning.

And by extension, mentioning any nutritious food could be termed a luxury by your reasoning. What's your point?

mike65

If you want good nutrition on a budget do not eat roasts! Make beans, pasta, peppers, rice etc the bedrock and embellish from there. More healthy as well.

fishy fishy

social interaction is a necessary part of life. Not being able to go out once every couple of weeks or month won't mean that you are dirt poor, but it does mean that you are probably more likely to become depressed, stressed and your health will diminish.

I know for a fact that for the last few weeks the weather has been driving me crazy, rain, rain, rain. Thankfully I have the privilege of getting away for a week in the sun if I so chose. I cannot imagine how I would be if I could not actually go out for a night to blow of steam with my friends.

I really do think a lot (not all) of posters on this boards.ie are too young to actually understand life yet, or are still living at home with the parents footing the bills, and have not experienced real life yet. good luck to them.

ShadowHearth

mike65 wrote: »

The definitions of poverty become more "wussie" by the year. Soon not being able to afford a 12 pack of Dutch Gold will be proof of penury.

I can't believe that they calling 20k eu per year to be near poverty levels!!! I came from a **** hole country in Eastern Europe and there 20k is a very very very good wage! Damn, I would kill for 20k after tax job even in Ireland. I am around at 11k eu per year after tax, after i got wage and hour cuts. I still manage to live a very decent life.
My misses earns about 20k per year and we find that her job pay is fantastic. So 15k per person in our family. I guess we are worse then those rich poverty bastards!

Celly Smunt

awec wrote: »

That is not even close to what I said.

Is a roast dinner essential? No. Are roast dinners the only nutritious food out there? No.

Are there much cheaper but still nutritious alternatives? Of course.

I love fillet steak. Fillet steak meals are lovely and nutritious. If I can't afford a weekly fillet steak am I poor? Of course not, that's idiotic reasoning.

That's actually a good point to bring up.I have a friend with 3 children who say's he can't afford food,yet refuses to shop anywhere but superquinn (i think it's more the other half).

Poverty isn't what you can't afford anymore,it's what you can't afford full stop.The poverty line is,if an unexpected NECESSITY arises (shoes for the kids etc) and you can't afford it,then you're in poverty.

IzzyWizzy

Well, what are they comparing it to? How the majority of people in the world live or how people in rich western countries live?

I personally don't consider not being able to afford a night out living in poverty. Pub and club prices in Ireland are absolutely ridiculous and if I moved back now, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to 'afford' it either. I'd struggle to buy a new winter coat every year, which is why I buy them second hand. Have a lovely Warehouse coat I picked up for a fiver in a charity shop. Another tenner for the dry cleaning and it's lasted me two years so far. I've never been able to buy new furniture - everything is second-hand, freecycled or given to us by friends. Am I living in poverty? It certainly doesn't feel like it to me, given that we have at least two holidays a year and eat out all the time.

I have no doubt that real poverty exists in Ireland. I also have no doubt that a lot of the people pleading poverty actually just can't manage money at all. I have relatives who are always 'poor', well no wonder when you're smoking 20 a day, have Sky and refuse to buy second-hand clothes because they're 'manky'.

awec

bedrock#1 wrote: »

And by extension, mentioning any nutritious food could be termed a luxury by your reasoning. What's your point?

No it couldn't ffs! This is exactly the sort of hysterical hyperbole that we see in these articles.

If I can't afford my weekly fillet steak am I poor?

Angron

dr.bollocko wrote: »

We need a bit more bolshevism in this country. You only need one or the other Mr. Aristocrat.

Eviscerate the proletariat! :P

bedrock#1

mike65 wrote: »

If you want good nutrition on a budget do not eat roasts! Make beans, pasta, peppers, rice etc the bedrock and embellish from there. More healthy as well.

So, maybe start with a starchy food (potato) and embellish with veg (beans/peppers/carrots/turnip) and add some meat (chicken/beef/pork) - You've just described a roast.

Celly Smunt

fishy fishy wrote: »

social interaction is a necessary part of life. Not being able to go out once every couple of weeks or month won't mean that you are dirt poor, but it does mean that you are probably more likely to become depressed, stressed and your health will diminish.

I know for a fact that for the last few weeks the weather has been driving me crazy, rain, rain, rain. Thankfully I have the privilege of getting away for a week in the sun if I so chose. I cannot imagine how I would be if I could not actually go out for a night to blow of steam with my friends.

I really do think a lot (not all) of posters on this boards.ie are too young to actually understand life yet, or are still living at home with the parents footing the bills, and have not experienced real life yet. good luck to them.

I think you're missing the point that socialising doesn't need to cost money.

mike65

Celtic Tiger cubs seem to be quite out of touch with actual poverty.