MILF and BoB: You're both focusing on entirely valid, but also entirely distinct, points. Huxley is focusing on overarching social/political problems, whereas Daniel is focusing on how to deal with one's situation personally. None of your points are mutually exclusive.

On one hand, the system sucks. It's created, funded, and continued by the people with money, who are most interested in keeping their own wealth. There are serious, systemic disadvantages with being poor that are incredibly difficult to overcome.

On the other hand, you still have to control what you can, and it's always possible to do something better. Just because a given situation sucks does not mean it could not suck somewhat less with some planning, organization, and effort. I don't think Daniel was dismissing the former issues (or at least I did not see any reason to think he was in this thread), but viewing them as a separate issue to the problem of managing one's own life. Because, well, it is, unless you just want to rant or make other people aware. But that still doesn't help short-term.

If anything, Huxley, you seem to be minimizing the importance and feasibility of careful planning and budgeting, which should be the main concern of one's personal life... and was the entire subject BoB was talking about. Nothing you said took away from anything Daniel and others such as Psy have said. I think your comment about BoB "having no clue" was unfair and unjustified. Something Psy said deserves special emphasis:

Quote Originally Posted by Psy
Budgeting is the first step. No it's not a cure all, of course it isn't. It's a way of making what little you do have stretch as far as it can.

So much stuff is out of your control and unfair when it comes to money. This is one thing you can control. It won't solve it, but it'll make a dent. And let me tell you, being able to finally control something about their finances, however small, has meant so much to a lot of desperate people.