There are certain things that the wealthy have more of than the poor, including houses, cars, and vacations. However, there are some things that the poor have a lot more of than the rich.
In a recent online discussion, the topic was what poor people have more of than the rich. Here are the top ten answers.
Table of Contents
Resilience
When you are poor, you don’t have much choice other than to be resilient. No matter the situation, you’ve got to pull yourself up and keep trudging onward.
One person said, “People who grew up in poverty will be able to work through and improve almost any circumstance, and see the bright side. People who grew up rich just complain about bad situations and don’t make any steps towards improving them.”
Sauce Packets
Maybe rich people save take-out sauce packets also, but the poor most definitely do. They often have an entire drawer dedicated to their stash.
One woman said, “My partner dumped a whole bunch of little hot sauce packets into an empty hot sauce bottle.” Another said, “We have an ice cream bucket in the pantry that I keep fast food sauces in. Whenever someone has to take a lunch that needs ketchup or ranch or whatever, I use those.”
People Per Square Foot In Their Home
Poor people tend to have to fit more people into a small space than wealthy people do. The wealthy can usually afford to spread out.
One commenter said, “I knew a lady who loved having her kids and grandkids visit, but hated how they made messes and were loud all the time. So she bought the house next door for them to stay in whenever they wanted to visit.”
Dental Problems
Even as a poor person, you are lucky enough to have medical insurance. Dental insurance is a whole different ballgame and premium.
One person said, “In America, teeth are premium bones that require their own additional insurance. And even then, insurance only covers a fraction of the costs.” Hoping to help, someone replied, “Groupon dentists aren’t that bad for a cleaning and X-rays $50-99. If you need work, ask to be a patient for your local dental school. Tricks of the poor.”
Empathy
Rich people frequently don’t have the ability to show empathy for the situations of others, while poor people have plenty because they have struggled as well.
One person said, “Poor people often have a greater sense of community, empathy, and reliance on social connections due to shared experiences and tighter-knit neighborhoods.”
Another said, “More empathy with the other humans around them. I do believe that the more wealthy you are the more distance between yourself and the majority of humanity; often seeing others as servants or failures.”
Children
Some people felt that poor people have more children than the wealthy, but a few chimed in that it’s the middle class who typically refrain from having a lot of children.
One person said, “Poor people have more children than middle class people, but rich people frequently have a reasonable number of children.”
Another said, “People treat their kids like lottery tickets. The more you have, the higher the chances you’ll get someone who will eventually be successful.”
Appreciation
Poor people tend to have more appreciation for life and the things that they have than wealthy people, who have a tendency to take things for granted.
One person said, “I was on a trip with billionaires. Staying at the best hotels in the world, most spectacular locations and food. No one was impressed by anything. There was always some other place, some other event, some other food they’ve had that was better. Their standards were so insanely high now that they could never be completely satisfied by anything.”
Resourcefulness
Wealthy people may have more financial resources, but they don’t have more resourcefulness for making do or fixing things.
One commenter said, “It’s wild how ingenious people can be when they have nothing and something breaks. Well a tire went through my front bumper what can I do to fix that and now magically you have a perfectly fine looking bumper held together by zip ties and black magic. People with enough money just take things somewhere to get them fixed or hire someone to fix things around the house.”
Real Friends
Wealthy people tend to hang around for what you can do for them, not out of a genuine desire for your company.
One person said, “Rich people don’t have friends. They have connections, other people of equal monetary status for clout, people they buy, and hanger ons. Once the money is gone – so are all these people. They will argue otherwise – they just haven’t lost the money yet. Poor people understand friendship cannot be bought. And they understand friendship is priceless.”
Generosity
With all of their wealth, you would think that wealthy people would be more generous. However, poor people are much more likely to give you their last dollar, meal, or the shirt off of their back.
One person said, “These people, with so little, willingly give so much. I once asked one of the families I worked with how they could do that, just give so much when they have so little. They said that it always comes back to them somehow. I think that’s the big difference: when you have little and you get a little back, it feels like a great gift.”
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This thread inspired this post.
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
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