https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h This is intended to be a self-reflective discussion, not a debate. You may choose to make an anonymous comment, or sign your name. If you choose to reply to another comment, please do so respectfully. If the facilitators reply to comments, we will sign our names. en-us 2020-04-30 17:03:28 UTC 2020-10-21 16:56:32 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776404408 Choosing between my mom's medicine and my child's after school activity. It made me sad and angry that such a small amount of money could make such big differences in the lives of loved ones.]]> 2020-09-24 15:58:24 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776404408 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776414172 Looking at finances and work, and then personal morals and cultural expectations. Very much a "stuck between Scylla and Charybdis" activity.]]> 2020-09-24 16:00:36 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776414172 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776423207 There were no good choices, but made the best I could.  I found choosing job over family agonizing. The stress of these choices over time might cause me to stop caring so much. I see how depression could easily set in.]]> 2020-09-24 16:02:33 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776423207 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776443703 I can see that personal standards of punctuality, clean and tidy appearance, and personal organization are luxuries when living on the edge of financial ruin. I grew up thinking my family was poor, but as an adult I have found that my family actually was on firm financial ground. This activity has certainly reinforce this for me.]]> 2020-09-24 16:06:54 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776443703 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776474066 This experience made me tense and stressed. I understand why planning for the future is a luxury because getting by hour by hour is all you can do. I believe that people do the best they can. There is no place for judging others.]]> 2020-09-24 16:12:49 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776474066 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776492976 This activity gives us the chance to "walk in others' shoes." We can see our own priorities, biases and judgements. We can view our students ( and everyone) with greater empathy as they navigate their lives and school.]]> 2020-09-24 16:16:44 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/776492976 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780241077 Knowing that this decision would be the one to put me in the red made it more difficult but I considered it a need for kiddo's social growth and did it anyway

]]> 2020-09-25 17:49:44 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780241077 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780245986 I've been this broke.  Some categories are practical, some are moral, some are both.  Budgeting a grocery list comes down to nutrient value per dollar. Standing up to a crooked landlord can check all the boxes. Doing what is best for your kid can be arguably based solely on ethics/ morality - I'd contend that the benefits for children are actually just deferred practicality by improving your kids' future.]]> 2020-09-25 17:50:57 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780245986 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780259916 The game provided a false duopoly in regards to decision making. There is almost always another option which doesn't FORCE one to choose from the binary selection of "good" or "bad"]]> 2020-09-25 17:54:26 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780259916 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780270081 To squander in poverty is a choice, sometimes it is the result of myriad other choices.  To temporarily find ones self in a state of poverty happens to almost everyone at some point.  I try to judge people based on their level of effort to effect their own change, rather than based on their current situation.]]> 2020-09-25 17:56:41 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780270081 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780276781 Goals/ plans for the future are about the only way to escape poverty and "survival mode" is the purest form in the first world human condition to experience the need for those goals. It isn't easy to envision life a year ahead of being penniless, homeless, and hungry but it's entirely doable. Survival mode is deciding if I'm going to hustle twice as hard today, or live like this for WAY longer than I should.]]> 2020-09-25 17:58:23 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780276781 curtisseifert https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780300110 This provides a sliver of a glimpse for those fortunate enough to have never experienced seemingly impossible decisions.]]> 2020-09-25 18:04:26 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780300110 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780573273 I chose the waitress job which was a hard decision because they only gave three choices. That is what I did before I went back to school. I lasted 7 days before I went broke. The hardest decision and the one that did me in was when my pet was sick and I used all the money to help them get better. This is actual true to life because I will chose to help my pets rather than let them suffer or put them to sleep if I can help them. I have plenty of beans to eat haha.]]> 2020-09-25 19:30:04 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780573273 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780589054 2020-09-25 19:36:16 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780589054 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780595278 I lost my money in 7 days but still I feel like I made the right choices.]]> 2020-09-25 19:38:42 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780595278 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780596850 I have been there before and can relate to experiencing poverty.]]> 2020-09-25 19:39:19 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780596850 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780636210 It is hard to plan for the future when you are living paycheck to paycheck. I still have a hard time planning for the future right now. Whenever I get ahead with a little savings something happens. I do have a great stockpile of food though just in case...]]> 2020-09-25 19:55:14 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780636210 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780655711 Some people haven't experienced poverty or working a minimum wage job. With rent being so high as well as groceries it is hard to make it. This is a great game that should be shared in the classroom and with children so they can have empathy or maybe to open their eyes to how life actually is.]]> 2020-09-25 20:03:48 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/780655711 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708086 Having the pet suffer and missing work to do other things]]> 2020-09-26 21:04:48 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708086 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708286 I have been this broke before but luckily did not have kids or a pet so they didn't have to suffer with me. I have been incredibly lucky that I lived with friends who could speak to the landlord for me if i was late. These were casual living situations, not really apartments.]]> 2020-09-26 21:05:10 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708286 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708842 There were no good or bad decisions, just consequences.]]> 2020-09-26 21:06:03 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781708842 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781709198 I can see how people can be distracted in situations and make desperate decisions. like when a shift lead was fired at my old job for stealing food on shift. He must have been doing it for a long time for them to fire him. He also definitely had financial issues at home.]]> 2020-09-26 21:06:28 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781709198 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781709754 I have definitely been in survival mode and still operate as such. Sometimes my partner has to remind me that we will be okay if we spend a little money now, it'll pay off in the long run.

]]> 2020-09-26 21:07:21 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781709754 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781710220 Empathy & to understand what our students go through as Adult Education students. They have not had easy lives.]]> 2020-09-26 21:08:06 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/781710220 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782992582 2020-09-28 01:06:41 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782992582 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782994349 2020-09-28 01:07:54 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782994349 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782995700 2020-09-28 01:08:46 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782995700 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782998418 2020-09-28 01:10:23 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/782998418 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/783001847 2020-09-28 01:12:35 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/783001847 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/783004617 For those of us who have lived through some difficult times, the exercise almost felt patronizing and a bit disconnected from reality.]]> 2020-09-28 01:14:27 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/783004617 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784912493 I became a single parent in my mid 20's. I didn't find any of the decisions to be particularly hard. I think it is because this was my normal for a few years. You learn and adjust. When it is your "normal" you learn to accept that there will always be sacrifices to make. As long as my bills were paid, I had food to feed my daughter and both of us had clothes to wear, we were doing well. I had a rule that no matter how hard it was, I always had at least $150. in my checking account for emergencies. It wasn't easy at times.]]> 2020-09-28 15:59:45 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784912493 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784938476 My decisions were based on a little of each of those. It depends on the decision to be made. When choosing groceries it was mostly financial. I ask myself what is the cheapest yet healthiest food I can buy to feed my family? I was asked if I would pay $15 for my child to go on a field trip, I chose to pay. I think that falls under "other". I chose to pay because I want my child to experience the fun and excitement of going on a field trip. ]]> 2020-09-28 16:05:59 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784938476 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784963292 I made the decisions I felt were good for me and my family. There are no "bad" decisions. There could be hard decisions. I struggle with the word "bad". I made the best decision I could at the time.]]> 2020-09-28 16:11:50 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784963292 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784978477 2020-09-28 16:15:47 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/784978477 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785001371 My decisions alternated between morals, ethics and health and family needs. I mostly decided in favor of the child. I chose to make $50 helping a friend move rather than going to the child's play--but that was only once. I chose cheap, nutritious food that would stretch over several weeks. And, yes, I too have been this broke. It left in me a kind of "pinching pennies" mentality. ]]> 2020-09-28 16:21:24 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785001371 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785003058 Because I have personally experienced living in poverty I know that every decision you make about finances has an impact on you. While it is hard to make some of the decisions, you do your best to provide what you can to your family. I remember a time that my washing machine (a hand me down from my parents) broke. I couldn't afford to go to the laundry mat. I washed our clothes in the bathtub and hung them to dry. You do what you have to do to get things done. ]]> 2020-09-28 16:21:49 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785003058 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785017856 I made a combination of good and bad decisions. I asked for help a lot. One time when I asked for help, I thought it would be to ask to borrow the extra money I needed because the landlord raised the rent, but it was to live with the friend. I forgot about the cash icon on the left, which might have helped. I nearly always chose to support the child and her/his school and/or activities. I am very confident of the food choices I made. I had to blow off some creditors. That did not feel good. Who makes all good decisions? Or even all bad ones? We have to live with our decisions, and it is frequently uncomfortable.]]> 2020-09-28 16:25:11 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785017856 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785021398 I don't think this is necessarily true. I always had a plan for the future and I worked hard to get there. I worked hard to pay off my mobile home, pay off credit cards, etc. so I could go to college. I was able to quit my full time job and become a full time student. I did receive food stamps during that time. I did voluntarily stop the food stamps once I felt I was secure enough to pay for groceries myself, even though I still qualified for them.]]> 2020-09-28 16:25:56 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785021398 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785052783 "They"--Isn't that a bias or an assumption in itself? The "thems" and the "us".
 I recognize that people have many obstacles to contend with, especially when they are struggling with money issues. People who are trying to overcome them are brave and sometimes have setbacks due to a multitude of reasons. It is easy to smoke a cigarette or use a substance to escape at least for a while from your problems. 
Maybe "they" is really "us."]]> 2020-09-28 16:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785052783 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785057504 Everyone has a different life experience. This activity can give people a different perspective on something they may have not experienced for themselves. It makes us aware of the challenges that others may face.]]> 2020-09-28 16:34:27 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785057504 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785084396 They say that the most content people are the ones who have planned for the future. When people are young, they often don't see the need to plan ahead.  They may feel they have time for that, but the future sneaks up on them and then as a middle aged or older adult they can be without resources and injuries or illnesses that prevent them from working like they used to work. I think this game addresses some of that.]]> 2020-09-28 16:41:03 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785084396 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785101902 This game was to teach us empathy for people we encounter in our lives who go through rough financial  times.  It was interesting to me to see my own priorities in the face of my own beliefs. . I liked the challenge, and wanted to see where it lead me. 

]]> 2020-09-28 16:45:04 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/785101902 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/849520124 2020-10-21 16:48:44 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/849520124 https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/849548833 2020-10-21 16:55:10 UTC https://padlet.com/peggy44/3j10etxg9ucj9l3h/wish/849548833