We’ve got too much month left at the end of our money.

Paycheck to paycheck is a way of life for our family.

The little man can’t get ahead.

Have you ever heard people say things like this? (Maybe even yourself?) These are mantras poor people tell themselves to deal with their situation and bask in their hopelessness.

Some very few poor people are that way because of circumstances outside of their control, including real oppression (not very common here in the US) or illness whether mental or physical. These reasons are legitimate and not the focus of this post.

I want to talk about the self-made poor. Those who are poor because of their own decisions. I’ll be so bold as to say that most of the lower-middle class in America are of this sort.

Why are poor people poor & what keeps them that way?

The number one reason is that they engage in poor people behavior. If you want to be rich, do what rich people do. If you want to be poor, then learn this one rule:

Poor people are impulsive and do not think about the future, whether it be what to eat this week or how they’ll live during retirement.

1. Poor people don’t plan their meals, so driving home from work exhausted, they stop at McDonalds instead of having a pre-made meal ready in the fridge.
2. Poor people do not plan their spending, so they use debt (especially payday lenders) to finance their consumption. Since they have not planned, they put themselves in situations where they are at the mercy of scummy bottom-feeders like payday lenders.
3. Poor people care more about having things now to impress their friends than about how they will live during retirement. So they sink (borrowed) money into cars and toys that go down in value. Then they turn 65 and have to keep working just to avoid eating dog food until they die.

These are just a few of the manifestations of poor people behavior. The underlying cause of these symptoms is poor planning. So if you find yourself engaging in poor people actions, climb out of your pit of laziness and fear and DO SOMETHING!

There is hope. Start doing what rich people do and you are on your way to financial security. In the next post we’ll look at what rich people do that makes them that way.

If this post makes you mad, I’m okay with that. My purpose is not to offend, but to wake you up and show you how to live a better life.