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https://www.quora.com/Why-are-most-people-broke#ans71584648
Because of their poor decision making.
Most people are poor because they’ve made poor life and financial decisions.
Forget about those dumb statistics about the 1% of the population being in control of most wealth in the world and all that garbage. In my opinion, all that nonsense is just what poor people like to hear because it makes them feel like their poorness isn’t their fault, but in most cases, it is (there are exceptions, though, like if you live in a communist country where opportunities themselves are extremely limited, for example).
It is always easier to put the blame on the economic system, life circumstances, companies, the government, politics, etc.
The truth is, it only takes 2 things to stop being broke: A good decision making process and a lot of effort. That’s all.
I live in a latin country where most part of the population qualifies as “poor”, and it only takes a tiny peak at these poor people lives, and the way they make decisions, to realize that they’re condemned to being poor for the rest of their lives. Why? Allow me to elaborate:
In my country, education has been public, mandatory, and completely FREE since many decades ago. And that includes college education (good quality college education, by the way). If you’re poor, they help you with “becas” (a form of subsidy), if you don’t have money for transportation, they give you student tickets (another form of subsidy). Some primary and middle schools give you food. If you’re in college already and you need money you can opt for an “ayudantia” (they give you money in exchange for helping your university with stuff) or college becas (they give you money just because you said you’re poor). My mom actually finished college and even rented her gap and gown, and bought her graduation ring with the money of her beca, back in the 80’s.
Now, what’s my point? When you analyze how life in the poor areas of my country is, and how poor people’s culture is, you will notice that there are many constants: Most people complete primary education but fail to complete high school or college. Most women get pregnant before turning 18 causing them to dropout from school/college. By their late 20’s these same women have multiple children (in many cases from multiple men). Men themselves dropout from school/college to start working in low income jobs. They completely lack financial education (nor they have interest in learning about it), they tend to be emotionally driven, which usually ends up in more poor decisions and, believe it or not, they seem to be satisfied with their way of life: Work from Monday to Friday, drink beer, party and have sex on weekends. Sounds tempting, right? Yeah, but that’s why they’re poor.
And then there’s another kind of people, like my mom, who finished school, finished college, didn’t get pregnant in her teen years, got a job, worked hard, bought a car, then bought a house, then got married, and had me and my sister. And more importantly, never ended up being broke.
Believe me, I’ve seen this happen countless times. There are soooo many examples out there, you just need to pay attention to the people around you and their life decisions and where they ended up, and you’ll realize what I’m telling it’s true for most cases.
Oh! And before I forget, in case someone is thinking that not all countries have free college education, well, allow me to share with you another experience, this time in the United States:
This year I went to visit a friend who lives in New Jersey (I wanted to visit New York). My friend is also latin, and he’s legally a refugee, however, as of now, he’s on a legal limbo. Technically he’s not an illegal immigrant but he doesn’t have a social security number either, which basically limits his job opportunities by A LOT. Moreover, he doesn’t speak English (at all), and since he’s a refugee, he doesn’t have anything that says he ever went to a school (though he did some college). He also has a wife (who doesn’t speak English either) and a 5 years old child with him. He’s got no family in USA, no friends, and he went to live to US with just a couple thousand dollars that he had managed to save.
Now, what’s my point? When I went to New York I came across a lot of homeless people on the streets with cardboard sheets asking for money, and I couldn’t help but think, how is even possible that even though most of these people were born in America, speak English and probably have a SS number that they can use to find a job, while my friend who is an immigrant with a wife and a child, very little money and doesn’t even speak a word of English managed to get a job, pay a rent, pay bills, buy food, buy clothes, buy toys for his child, even pay taxes, and overall has a pretty decent and regular life? There’s a straight and simple answer to that: My friend made better choices, and he put a lot of effort to them and, instead of sitting on a sidewalk asking for money with a cardboard sheet, he focused on getting a job and being good at it.
Another story: My grandparents came to my country trying to escape all the misery that civil war and WWII left on Spain. They came to the country I was born in with nothing but hope and dreams. A cardboard suitcase with their clothes, very little money, and my father and aunt taken by their hands while they were still children. They worked hard, saved money, and eventually got a decent living. And so it’s the case of many other immigrants who came to my country from Europe escaping war. Most of them did well in the end. I must say. And it was all because of their decision making, and their effort.
Boy, I could go on, and on, and on. But I doubt someone is still reading at this point.
Because of their poor decision making.
Most people are poor because they’ve made poor life and financial decisions.
Forget about those dumb statistics about the 1% of the population being in control of most wealth in the world and all that garbage. In my opinion, all that nonsense is just what poor people like to hear because it makes them feel like their poorness isn’t their fault, but in most cases, it is (there are exceptions, though, like if you live in a communist country where opportunities themselves are extremely limited, for example).
It is always easier to put the blame on the economic system, life circumstances, companies, the government, politics, etc.
The truth is, it only takes 2 things to stop being broke: A good decision making process and a lot of effort. That’s all.
I live in a latin country where most part of the population qualifies as “poor”, and it only takes a tiny peak at these poor people lives, and the way they make decisions, to realize that they’re condemned to being poor for the rest of their lives. Why? Allow me to elaborate:
In my country, education has been public, mandatory, and completely FREE since many decades ago. And that includes college education (good quality college education, by the way). If you’re poor, they help you with “becas” (a form of subsidy), if you don’t have money for transportation, they give you student tickets (another form of subsidy). Some primary and middle schools give you food. If you’re in college already and you need money you can opt for an “ayudantia” (they give you money in exchange for helping your university with stuff) or college becas (they give you money just because you said you’re poor). My mom actually finished college and even rented her gap and gown, and bought her graduation ring with the money of her beca, back in the 80’s.
Now, what’s my point? When you analyze how life in the poor areas of my country is, and how poor people’s culture is, you will notice that there are many constants: Most people complete primary education but fail to complete high school or college. Most women get pregnant before turning 18 causing them to dropout from school/college. By their late 20’s these same women have multiple children (in many cases from multiple men). Men themselves dropout from school/college to start working in low income jobs. They completely lack financial education (nor they have interest in learning about it), they tend to be emotionally driven, which usually ends up in more poor decisions and, believe it or not, they seem to be satisfied with their way of life: Work from Monday to Friday, drink beer, party and have sex on weekends. Sounds tempting, right? Yeah, but that’s why they’re poor.
And then there’s another kind of people, like my mom, who finished school, finished college, didn’t get pregnant in her teen years, got a job, worked hard, bought a car, then bought a house, then got married, and had me and my sister. And more importantly, never ended up being broke.
Believe me, I’ve seen this happen countless times. There are soooo many examples out there, you just need to pay attention to the people around you and their life decisions and where they ended up, and you’ll realize what I’m telling it’s true for most cases.
Oh! And before I forget, in case someone is thinking that not all countries have free college education, well, allow me to share with you another experience, this time in the United States:
This year I went to visit a friend who lives in New Jersey (I wanted to visit New York). My friend is also latin, and he’s legally a refugee, however, as of now, he’s on a legal limbo. Technically he’s not an illegal immigrant but he doesn’t have a social security number either, which basically limits his job opportunities by A LOT. Moreover, he doesn’t speak English (at all), and since he’s a refugee, he doesn’t have anything that says he ever went to a school (though he did some college). He also has a wife (who doesn’t speak English either) and a 5 years old child with him. He’s got no family in USA, no friends, and he went to live to US with just a couple thousand dollars that he had managed to save.
Now, what’s my point? When I went to New York I came across a lot of homeless people on the streets with cardboard sheets asking for money, and I couldn’t help but think, how is even possible that even though most of these people were born in America, speak English and probably have a SS number that they can use to find a job, while my friend who is an immigrant with a wife and a child, very little money and doesn’t even speak a word of English managed to get a job, pay a rent, pay bills, buy food, buy clothes, buy toys for his child, even pay taxes, and overall has a pretty decent and regular life? There’s a straight and simple answer to that: My friend made better choices, and he put a lot of effort to them and, instead of sitting on a sidewalk asking for money with a cardboard sheet, he focused on getting a job and being good at it.
Another story: My grandparents came to my country trying to escape all the misery that civil war and WWII left on Spain. They came to the country I was born in with nothing but hope and dreams. A cardboard suitcase with their clothes, very little money, and my father and aunt taken by their hands while they were still children. They worked hard, saved money, and eventually got a decent living. And so it’s the case of many other immigrants who came to my country from Europe escaping war. Most of them did well in the end. I must say. And it was all because of their decision making, and their effort.
Boy, I could go on, and on, and on. But I doubt someone is still reading at this point.
