i may be the sole member of the party that doesnt think benson is actually poor . hes not rolling in it by any means, but hes not missing payments, always has decently stocked cupboards, an empty fridge makes him anxious, reminds him of going to bed hungry as a kid (partially thinks thats why he only topped off at 5'8, 5'9 if he really stretches) always gas in his tank. hes frugal, but hes been in survival mode his whole life, he knows how to budget (maybe excessively). he doesnt "waste" money on new shoes, clothes, why would he get a new car when he can go to the parts place and get a new radiator, pocket some spark plugs, rebuild the engine piece by piece. Don't turn on the heat, we got sweaters . shit from the dollar store works just as well as shit from the supermarket. he has side gigs he helps out with, some above board (his old coworkers dad has a farm that he needs some manual labourers for every now and then), some not (same coworker has a grow-op, he likes the mindless work of clipping weed). He actually has a decent chunk of saving for things he cant be frugal about, like when his ma has a bad attack and ends up in the hospital, when she needs a refill on her prescriptions, the water heater goes and he doesnt know how the fuck to fix it. its never enough to really Change anything, but its enough that they can live comfortably. They're still stuck in the pits of lower class, just inching out over the poverty line, still technically paycheck to paycheck, but theyre better off than they could be
