There has been a stereotype for low-income people that they are poor spenders and bad with budgeting. However, that stereotype needs to change.
According to analysts at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, low income families who receive help from programs like food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance and Social Security Income have lower spending budgets than those don’t. They also spend more of that budget on food, housing and transportation.
These families spend far less money than people who aren’t enrolled in government programs. They allocate 77 percent of their budget on food things necessary to live compared to families without aid who spend 65 percent. Analysts found that families without government aid spent less money on luxuries like eating at restaurants. “Food away from home spending was higher in both dollar amount and percent of total spending among families not receiving assistance,” says one researcher.
The stereotype for these low income families is not true, and these government programs were able to keep millions out of poverty last year alone.