Not to mention all of the financial tools you dont have access to because of no/poor credit.
I remember what an incredible feeling it was when I finally worked my up to a rewards card. This magical thing that effectively makes everything I buy 1.5% cheeper. It felt like some sort of cheatcode for life. I remember then being so pissed off that I was able to have this as a rich person getting marginally richer, but not when I was poor.
Oddly, I hate rewards cards because I feel like it's one more thing to keep track of.
I run a small business where I code stuff for a living, and have to continually be thinking up new stuff to survive. It's tough to weigh the value of a rewards card versus the mental bandwidth of managing a set of 'optimal buying locations' associated with rewards systems.
That said, I completely understand your feelings on the matter. When you can't do a thing, and then you're allowed to and it's giving you a discount of some sort, it's a huge help. I have a car payment that's less than I was paying on repairs on the old car I had. There was a time when I wouldn't have been allowed to enter into such an agreement.
Indeed. Technically I have a lower net worth now than when I was poor because I have a significant amount of debt (I bought a new-ish car recently, for example). But going into debt to buy things just isn't an option when you're poor, other than taking a payday loan at usurious rates.
I remember what an incredible feeling it was when I finally worked my up to a rewards card. This magical thing that effectively makes everything I buy 1.5% cheeper. It felt like some sort of cheatcode for life. I remember then being so pissed off that I was able to have this as a rich person getting marginally richer, but not when I was poor.