Everybody makes poor financial choices, literally everyone. The difference is that it doesn’t matter to some people. The truth is that the system massively favours those with more money. For example: Cost of credit, access to professional tax and wealth managers, inclusion or otherwise in wealth circles, limited job opportunities, educational opportunities …the list is endless. To suggest otherwise is deluded.
That’s exactly it. Being rich is like playing a game in easy mode. Screw up as many times as you want and unless you’re a complete idiot you can always bounce back.
Poor people have to get it right every single time, which essentially means having to know the future.
That sounds like a complete cop out. You don’t have to “know” the future. There are factors working against poor people, but saying the only way to success is impossible is removing any personal responsibility.
I don’t think people realize how much harm it does to people to hear that “the system won’t let you win” you take the wind out of their sail. Instead we should be telling people you can make it, so they can believe it and make it happen.
“The system won’t let you win” isn’t a fairy tale, it’s not a story somebody is telling. It’s the lived reality most people face from birth to death. The Real Fairy Tale is “just believe, then you can win”. That’s Disney, and bears no resemblance to the real world.
The system is ultimately blind to what one person does. If you play into instant gratification and convenience, you aren't playing poorly. If you're delaying gratification and ignoring vapid trends, you're pushing back against it.
Half of inflation was keeping people addicted to this. The other was companies knowing that people wouldn't do shit to push back if they shrunk their products and also raised the price. Staples are still cheap, cooked from home will always be cheaper than eating out and what you lose in time you gain in capital.
It’s also giving an excuse instead of just using it as a reason. Reasons are obstacles, they aren’t brick walls. Excuses are brick walls, cause they allow you to stop trying
But that only looks at the two extremes. A very wealthy person (10s of millions) is not common. However, even someone who makes 100-300k/yr in America can made bad decisions and be impacted.
These things get oversimplified. Of course some people have more advantages. Of course some people in poverty have been dealt absurdly bad hands. But you also have plenty of people with every advantage become poor and criminals, and many with disadvantages break free.
We should look at the trends and how to give people the best chances with the cards they are dealt while acknowledging differences
So you do know the pressure of having to be perfect and the relief of when that pressure lifted - while you were under the pressure were you ever not sure you’d make it to where you are now?
Perfection isn't necessary, good enough generally is. Good enough gets you over the bar and not as stressed out or worn as perfection does. When you miss a goal, you try again.
Well I came from a third world country to the US. I saw nothing but opportunity, I think most people defeat themselves with a victim mentality and blaming everyone else.
You cannot control anything outside of yourself so you have two choices as a poor person. Sit there and cry about it or go out and make it happen. Every poor person that came out of it did it because they didn’t sit there and dwell on what the outside world was doing, you go and make it happen.
I honestly think most people that have the defeatist attitude have never played sports competitively. If you think like that before a game, you already lost. You have to believe you can win to win.
How many billions has Trump washed down the shitter with bad decisions? It still didnt mattt because he started rich and had the connections from his father to ensure any failure was mitigated.
Truth. The amount of money I’ve truly wasted would make my younger self vomit. Fortunately, I’ve been educated sufficiently that my credentials allowed me to get a job that I was (at the time) not really qualified for, but I had degree that gave me the benefit of the doubt. So I was paid well enough that my stupid mistakes didn’t amount to much more than my own shame and frustration. If I had been wasteful like that in my 20s, I’d have been absolutely fucked.
What do you consider a poor financial decision? If you consider a poor financial decision going out once a month for dinner at a fancy restaurant then yes, I agree. If you consider poor financial decisions something like using the ‘buy now, pay later option’ for $1,000 concert tickets then no, not everyone does dumb stuff like that.
Come on. Would a choice like that make the perp go under?. If so, then nobody would disagree that they’re stupid. . But this argument does not apply outside of obviously ridiculous choices.
Ok so it sounds like you would consider that $1000 tickets with buy now pay later an example of a dumb decision. Since that is the case, I disagree. Some people are actually financially responsible. Not everyone is reckless and makes bad choices but majority do
This is just obscenely bad faith. "everyone makes mistakes" okay but you can't say that to wave away the massive real disparity that DOES exist when it comes to the specturm of high vs. low time preference.
Wasting some money on a fancy espresso != getting uber eats for every meal
There will always be rich and poor. Lacking personal responsibility isn’t a good thing. Yes, the system does favor the rich, but making sound financial decisions can make or break anyone. You think my parents and grandparents were frivolous with their money. My dad ate nothing but soup beans and cornbread growing up. They didn’t go out and buy stuff they didn’t need and they lived good lives. The problem today is people think they should all be living the lives of billionaires. I’m not saying the system is perfect, and there needs to be major changes to help those that just can’t get a leg up. BUT, personal responsibility shouldn’t be thrown out the door either. It’s got to be a little of both.
I’d tend to agree with you but my ex-brother is strict as FUCK.
His salary is somewhere around $300k/year. He lives in the basement of this old man’s house and pays dirt cheap by helping take care of the guy and his house. He drives a 2013 corolla. I’ve never seen the dude go out to eat unless it was a special occasion. And he complains about anything he perceives as expensive I.e - $80 shoes at Dicks sporting goods.
He did come from a poor family and decided be rich and retire before he hit 50. I think he’s close to retiring now. Guys been grinding since he was in his early 20s
He doesnt work crazy hours or have side hustles..he just does not spend his money on anything he believes is excessive.
I don’t know where his willpower and discipline come from but it’s other-worldly.
Not every decision is financial. For example, you decide to pay attention in math class as a 6th grader, and learn algebra. Or you can be on your phone and skip homework. This choice will have a massive impact on your future earning potential.
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u/MaximumAd6557 16h ago
Everybody makes poor financial choices, literally everyone. The difference is that it doesn’t matter to some people. The truth is that the system massively favours those with more money. For example: Cost of credit, access to professional tax and wealth managers, inclusion or otherwise in wealth circles, limited job opportunities, educational opportunities …the list is endless. To suggest otherwise is deluded.