Classism and Consequence: The High Price of Not Being Wealthy

Last weekend I returned from an extended trip to California. I went to speak for the Financial Therapy Association’s 2024 conference which was sort of a homecoming from me. While San Diego was very much a vibe, I decided to extend my trip to spend time in the LA area visiting my brother and his family which capped off my birthday weekend.

Flying from the East Coast to the West Coast is always an ordeal but, the return trip quickly turned into a nightmare where I spent 24 hours in travel limbo trying to make it home.

Why is this important?

Fortunately on my way to California and back I was able to enjoy certain luxuries despite multiple delays, a travel diversion, and an overnight stay. That “fortune” however was predicated on access to funds that made me reflect on the invisible lines of classism that are often overlooked in our day-to-day interactions, while we navigate personal convenience as a luxury vs a necessity.

A Luxury, Once Enjoyed, Becomes A Necessity

I remember traveling nearly 2 hours to save $100-$200.

In my journey to healing financial trauma, overcoming limiting beliefs, and creating a better relationship with my time and money, certain practices once held have slightly changed or I have allowed to fall away completely.

One such practice involves trading time under the guise of “saving money”. In its place, I’ve started intentionally spending for comfort and convenience. I live in a state where there is an airport. I’m also bordered by two states that have larger airports. Flights from my state may stop in either of these airports on the way to my destination which increases the cost of travel for me. In the past, rather than pay for the cost of convenience in traveling from my state, I would commute nearly two hours to save on the difference in cost.

I thought I was being money savvy when instead I was:

• Spending nearly the difference in commuting fees back and forth
• Spending additional time I can’t get back in transit to travel
• Operating in scarcity

These days I pay the extra to leave my state and return to my state…but my awakening didn’t just stop there.

On this recent trip in particular I also paid for:

• Wifi to stay connected to friends and family while in airplane mode across a total of 4 flights ($20 x 4)
• An unplanned hotel stay due to a delay and plane diversion ($103)
• An Uber to and from said hotel because how else would I get there ($50 x 2)
• Access to a members-only lounge offering day passes ($75)
• Food ($20)

I remember calling my mom when I found out that I’d have to wait 9 hours overnight before being able to board a new flight and her telling me to find a comfortable spot at the airport away from people and to sleep there.

Absolutely not.

While I recognize my privilege in being able to spend the extra money to enjoy small comforts amid crisis (around $400 additional dollars in total), I thought of all the people who couldn’t.

How my heart swelled with pride and relief at being admitted to the member-only lounge that separated me from the general population, but also the shame of enjoying it. A keen awareness of the fact that there were people who were hungry but couldn’t eat, tired but couldn’t leave the airport to enjoy a bed and hot shower, or panicked but couldn’t communicate with their loved ones once news broke that our flight would be diverted to another city until we landed.

By no means do I consider myself to be wealthy in the traditional sense of the word, but it would appear that the poor are punished for not having and even more, that they are forced to spend on necessities that were once considered luxuries simply for survival… and that ain’t right.

Would you spend an extra $400 for convenience or an extra 2 hours to save $200?

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**Originally seen on Substack at "Overcoming Financial Trauma"