Playspent - The working poor simulator
 

http://playspent.org/

How would you fare one a very limited income? Playspent is designed by a ministry to illustrate the decisions that need to be made by the working poor.

Think of it as the game of Life(TM) without all of the fluff.

According to the game, my teeth are probably going to fall out, my kids probably hate me, the stress will probably kill me, I have to cook in the microwave and the house is cold, and I better not get stopped by the cops, but I made it with $79 to spare. Woo hoooooo!

I play a real version of this with one of my patients, who desperately needs to be on a strict budget. I have suggested MANY times that she speak with her case manager about setting one up, so that she doesn't run out of money half-way through the month. She has been trying to borrow money from my cow orkers and myself for the last week, ostensibly to do her laundry. She sticks to that story, and I don't doubt her, her meth days are long since past, but she is well aware that I won't lend her money. She is convinced that the world will end before check day if she doesn't do her laundry, and refuses to resort to the old-school method of washing in the kitchen sink and hanging everything on the drying rack I've seen in her apartment.

I ended up with 723. Probably on the verge of suicide, though.

Actually, this was not unlike my life for about 8 months last year.

So, you make sensible, thrifty decisions and then it comes along and say "oh but you maxed out your credit cards and now the minimum payment is a couple of hundred bucks". How did I end up in that state, given that my modus operandus is sensible, thrifty decisions?

I ran out of money on day 21 because I went for the root canal with only $70 left to see if it would let me put in on my credit card, given that I did pay the minimum so they probably want me to borrow more.... it didn't.

I've done this a couple times, but I can't remember: at any time does it mention that your entire paycheck goes to gas to get to work to get your entire paycheck?

(still bitter, probably will get more bitter, as gas rises and they blame it on BoFoForeignLand and not the profit-greed of the people who could probably make a cut or two somewhere to, you know, help the fucking economy and the working poor and the working "well I didn't USED to be so poor"...)

It's all like "Well, okay, YOU made the right decision, BUT a lot of people DON'T." ... Uhhh...okay?

The sim has a lot of annoying and unreal assumptions. And if you play through it a few times it's plain to see that it's a crude decision tree. No matter what choices you make, you're still fucked at the end of the month.

I won't bother to mention the little guilt-trip messages it displays.

No.

IN THE "QUIZ" I made sensible monetary decisions. So why would I suddenly be hit with a maxed out credit card? Yes, if I chose the $100 designer Jeans over the thrift store ones, then it follows. but not if I didn't.......

Yes.

I ended the month with 290 bux in my pocket but nothing bad happened to me AND my kids hate me. I am depressed (though not smoking yet!) with a cardiac arrest on the way. I'm also not a very good person. I hit somebodys car and just drove away coz I couldn't afford to pay the repairs, my kids have 10& thirft store sneakers and I didnt' chip in for my sick coworker (they wanted 20$ from everyone but I said I forgot my wallet). Poverty=selfishness.

I don't think poverty equals selfishness, but it does induce a pragmatic outlook. That $25.00 for the sick coworker will buy your kids some school lunches or better sneakers. It sucks to drive away from the car you damaged, but if you can't afford to pay for the repairs, the end result remains the same - no restitution to the owner. With any luck, his insurance will cover at least part of it, anyway.

Amishmouthbuttfucker.

I played it once or twice but stopped after deciding I don't want to play a game that is basically my life

Yeah, it gets a big, fat FAIL

It needs to stop choosing the McDonalds oatmeal.....

Many people may think they are making a healthy choice but in fact they are broke by Wednesday

Play again?

Physically, emotionally, and financially BROKE, I say!

Physically, emotionally and spiritually bankrupt! :drunk:

Tha's OK. They's a special (spatial?) spot in Heaven for me, and my milk, I mean ilk.

Hang on - I paid my car insurance (mandatory in this country) and still got stiffed for a $250 repair bill?
Is there any incentive for an American to pay for car insurance?
If not, don't a hell of a lot of people get shafted?

And yes, it was all pretty scary.
I had to make different decisions than I had to when I was really on my uppers, but at least I could get free health care.

There are a number of ways in which you are better off here if you are on the breadline. For example I will have to pay for my next prescription and my next dental checkup, but have been able to deal with all of this without worry for a couple of years. Let's hope all goes well at the dentist in March as that can get bloody expensive - if anything was going to happen I do wish it had happened back then! But TBO I'm still with an NHS dentist, not with a private one. And they almost always provide payment plans. And my teeth have so far proved invincible.

I do cringe slightly that this (in the game) is a charity connected to a church. Personally I relied on one when I no longer believed and it's hard on conscience and morality. But it was a specific debt-help charity, and their experience and motivation genuinely turned lives around. Even now if I won money I would make them a sizeable donation. They are the most Christlike Christians I ever came across, and I believe they saved my atheist life.

A certain level of liability insurance is mandatory here as well. (That is, coverage if you hit someone else.) Additional damage/accident insurance is optional but recommended, and most people carry it to some degree. However, coverage for general aging repairs (like the broken heater, the new timing belt, the new spark plugs) are almost never covered.

No, they're not covered here either. But I was in a car crash.
Silly game.

did you lose your hair?

Oh well in that case, it's probably accounting for your deductible, which is regularly anywhere from $250 to $500. Still a silly game though, I won't argue with that.

I live this shit everyday.:blunt:

The working poor simulator.

*snort*

Is that what happened to Britney?

Haggis.
I guessed I was missing a reference there :)

Huh?

I played it once or twice but stopped after deciding I don't want to play a game that is basically my life

Thanks for sharing.It's great