Being Poor Is Not Just About Money. Consider This.

We often associate wealth with the size of our bank accounts.  While those with more money have more options, financial figures aren’t the only wealth metric.  Many in developing countries may lack financial prosperity but possess greater happiness, social wealth, and creativity than the average American.

When examining American wealth, it’s essential to consider the factors influencing families and individuals in the lower, middle, or upper classes.  Education, family values, neighborhoods, and proximity to opportunities represent a small pool of influential factors. 

Therefore, we will examine the main driving forces in the United States that predict whether someone will become rich or poor. These will mostly be generalizations, as exceptions occur due to influences that cannot be measured directly. 

Additionally, it’s best to remember that these factors may not apply globally to other countries. 

Correlation Between Poor In Finances & Other Areas   

Wealth remains a hot topic due to various factors outside our control.  Many of us focus solely on economic opportunities, such as our income, as a measure of wealth. For those beyond living from paycheck to paycheck, we also consider our savings and investments, which contribute positively to our net worth.  

Naturally, accumulating wealth comes with trade-offs. For example, working an hourly job means missing opportunities to socialize, relax, and engage in non-work activities. We also face unintended effects on our physical and mental health, which accumulate over the years.  Economically, these are known as opportunity costs. 

The selection of opportunity costs separates the rich from the poor.  People who are emerging in their financial success journeys tend to trade off their time and social wealth to improve their economic situations. In return, they expect to reach a tipping point where they can regain or replace what they sacrificed with something better. Usually, this is called retirement, but others call it financial freedom. 

However, affluent individuals are less sensitive to financial impact.  While they may also trade their time, they focus on generating other forms of wealth, including their skill sets, professional networks, businesses, creativity, and good physical health.   

On the other hand, people in poverty often sacrifice much more to obtain what they desire.  Generally, the less affluent strongly believe that time is money and make that their primary focus to survive.  As such, they don’t have time to pursue other aspects of life as their best physical and mental energies are spent living paycheck to paycheck. 

If everyone knows that there are many paths to success, why do those in poverty get stuck in cycles?  Most have access to the same tools as everyone else: supercomputers in their pockets, opportunities to connect with others, access to great resources on the web, and much more. 

Despite all that’s available, very few break the cycles.  If available opportunities aren’t the reason, what is? 

Signs of Poor Overall Wealth   

While these are good indicators, individual signs of struggling with personal wealth differ. No single metric indicates an individual’s poor overall wealth, but these major driving forces have been shown to influence them greatly. 

The key is to observe whether these signs appear and how they compare. 

1 – Always Complaining, But Never Taking Action  

This sign represents a universal norm for most functional adults. As previously established, we are fully responsible for our own outcomes, regardless of whether we are at fault for them. 

When facing a long-term issue, it’s a different story if someone is in a situation but takes the gradual, necessary steps to overcome it.  After all, major problems and challenges don’t disappear overnight.  

However, if someone is unhappy with their situation, they must take full responsibility to make the desired changes.  Additionally, they must build resilience and a thick skin to fight through obstacles that may keep them there. 

Complaining signals that others assume responsibility, undermining personal accountability and efforts to find solutions.  Most complainers favor an audience over action, trapping themselves in a cycle that obstructs meaningful change. 

2 – Telling The Same Old Stories  

Have you ever been around someone who tells the same old stories repeatedly?  It creates a dull and dreary atmosphere as you anticipate them bringing it up again like a broken record. 

When someone consistently relies on the same story over time, it typically suggests a lack of creativity.  This behavior often reflects an attachment to the past and a reluctance to embrace new opportunities. 

While sharing the most vivid and meaningful highlights of our lives is understandable, we generally prefer to hear current updates to keep relationships fresh. 

3 – Blaming The Government For Their Problems

This behavior is often the most unambiguous indication that someone is facing financial difficulties. They’ve lost all hope of improving their lives, so they blame the government for their problems!  

Regrettably, life is filled with unpleasant tasks, such as paying taxes, obeying traffic laws, serving on a jury, and many others. Nevertheless, most laws in America are created in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.  

What these rights don’t do is hand them over on a silver platter!

Never have enough money? Seek ways to earn more.  Displeased with your elected officials? Vote and inspire others to do the same.  Not fond of the new park added to the neighborhood? Take suitable action. 

Passivity rarely brings about our desired results.  

4 – Not Believing In Their Own Creativity  

This sign can be challenging to detect, as creativity is often invisible to everyone except artists. However, to succeed in any field, applying creativity within a relevant and practical context is crucial for achieving breakthroughs and a sense of meaningful accomplishment. 

Everyone is born with the capacity for creativity, but we often lose it over time. When we face rejection in our work, we tend to scale back our creative aspirations as a coping mechanism to fit in better. Consequently, creativity is frequently perceived as risky; the more we encounter rejection, the less likely we are to incorporate it into our next significant idea. 

Those who experience ongoing and/or significant rejection may believe creativity is limited to a select few. In truth, we all possess the ability to be creative, although it often diminishes as our imaginations confront reality.  

Consequently, those who give up their creativity often conform to the crowd, adopting a herd mentality in their approach to life. Years pass by in a blur, leading them to accumulate regret after regret for not utilizing their creativity to take more risks.  

5 – Afraid of Change or Unable to Adapt  

Individuals who fear change often go to great lengths to remain precisely where they are, regardless of whether they need to change to improve their quality of life.  They cling to old adages, possessions, and habits that keep them locked into the same situation. 

People unwilling to adapt to the changes around them have not developed mental resilience. Although it can be challenging, struggling to accept and adapt to changes is a clear sign that we are more likely to spin our tires and go nowhere. 

Change is an inevitable part of life, after all. 

In the early 1990s, we hardly had any computers in the workplace.  People discovered the power of the internet in the 2000s.  Social networks became commonplace in the 2010s. 

Now, AI is here to stay. 

Who knows what will come next, but one thing is for sure: those who refuse to adapt will be isolated and left behind. 

How To Leave The Poor Crowd  

It is difficult to leave those we care about, but there are valid reasons to distance ourselves from poor people.  Some reasons may make us worse off, so we must evaluate our circumstances and consider the trade-offs carefully before making a decision. 

1 – Evaluate Why You Are In The Crowd 

We all have relationships for a reason. For some of us, these relationships include people introduced by our teachers, parents, and others in our immediate families whom we do not choose. In other cases, our neighborhoods may attract certain types of residents. 

Friendships or alliances are formed when both parties perceive a benefit. For some, this might be simply someone to joke with, go on adventures with, vent to, or seek advice from. For others, alliances are strictly transactional and only function when both parties profit. 

We can assume that we are not at fault for our situation.  However, it is our responsibility to change it. 

To understand how we have reached this point, we must ask: What brought us here, and where do we go from here?  

2 – Ask If You're Benefiting Long-Term From This Crowd 

As mentioned earlier, there is a perceived benefit to every alliance or friendship we establish.  The real question is: Is the benefit indeed what we think it is? 

When we reflect on our alliances, we must be brutally honest about their mutual benefits. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves: Is this alliance symbiotic or parasitic? 

Another way to consider it is: Do my alliances provide Band-Aids to problems or growth and transformation? Band-Aids are temporary and mask problems, while transformation endures. Understanding the difference is essential in deciding whether to maintain current partnerships or let them go. 

3 – Find New People 

If our situation isn’t what we desire, we must find a different tribe.  This doesn't mean that our old friends lack value. Instead, we recognize that to discover new opportunities, we must open new doors. 

When we establish new alliances, they should be mutually beneficial by providing value in exchange for new opportunities.  To achieve this, we need to research and ask about our new alliances. 

Dale Carnegie's timeless classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, provides enduring advice: It is easier to make more friends in two weeks by taking an interest in them than in two months by merely talking about us. 

Thus, any partnership we establish should focus more on them and less on us. This paradox seems backward at first, but the more we invest in other people, the more they invest in us. Additionally, it allows us to listen to others talk about themselves so we can decide whether these partnerships are what we seek. 

Lastly, we must recognize that there's no guarantee that new connections will work out.

Some individuals are paranoid and assume the worst about everyone who tries to reach out to them. Proving them wrong can be a worthwhile challenge in some cases, but it's not worth the time in others.  

Ultimately, we should lean on our intuition to decide whom we associate with. 

4 – Plan Your Breakup 

Planning breakups with dead alliances is crucial to feeling in control of our destiny.  It's wise to wait until we have trustworthy new alliances before severing ties with associates who do not provide a mutually beneficial partnership. 

As we plan our breakups, we must consider how the other person will respond. We need to understand their typical reactions and decide whether to engage in honest conversations or ignore them completely.  

While ghosting someone may not be fair, there are valid reasons.  Former alliances with those who lack emotional intelligence may represent the risk of an unhinged reaction, which could put us at physical, mental, or social risk.  In these cases, it is best to let time fade them out instead of confronting them directly. 

When contemplating the best way to sever connections with these individuals, it is beneficial to have at least one person we trust to discuss such matters.  For optimal results, refrain from mentioning names unless absolutely necessary. Engage in the conversation and listen to suggestions that increase the probability of an amicable separation. 

5 – Say Goodbye Appropriately  

We must plan our breakups according to the individual involved.  Due to personality differences, the best way to say goodbye to one person may not be appropriate for another. Therefore, we must be mindful of how we approach this situation. 

For some individuals, it's best to communicate in person to ensure direct eye contact. There's no need to be harsh, but being firm and confident when delivering the news is essential.  It may be hard for them, but who knows... it might change them for the better. 

In situations where confrontation may not be best due to emotional instability, ghosting a former alliance is usually the best option. As mentioned previously, this is the best approach when confronting someone who represents serious physical, mental, and social risks. 

Either way, we must remind ourselves that we don’t owe anyone an explanation. We are all responsible for our well-being, and securing our oxygen masks first is vital to changing the trajectory of our overall wealth. 

Enter New Riches Beyond Material Wealth 

Everyone accumulates wealth through their choices and responses to their circumstances.  While luck may play a factor in some cases, we must actively work towards improving our situations. 

Changing someone else's circumstances is challenging if they lack internal motivation.  When left to their own devices, most people tend to maintain the status quo, regardless of the potential benefits that change might bring. We need to recognize who is who and decide how to interact with people moving forward. 

The best way to break the cycle of holistic poverty is to change our social circle. If the people in our circle do not inspire us, we don’t have a circle; we have a cage.  We must find the key and unlock ourselves by cultivating new relationships when we find ourselves in a cage. 

As we make difficult decisions to improve our lives, we must remain humble and kind. Some people will respect our choices, while others may resent them. Focusing on those who offer support is the best way to enhance our social wealth. 

What's your first step to entering new riches? Comment below!