“How To Become Poor and Stay Poor”

“I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need if I die by four o’clock.” ~ Henny Youngman.

 Very few people voluntarily choose  a life of poverty. Most of those who do are monks and nuns who have chosen  religious vocations. While the rest of us don’t plan to be poor, there are some surefire ways to end up poor. Let’s take a look at ways to ensure a life of poverty.

1.      “We don’t need no education…”  Drop out of school, fail to complete a basic education, and the odds are heavily stacked against your chances of achieving success in life. If you are in college, don’t waste your time studying. Go to the clubs every night and have fun. First you’ll lose that free education lottery money, and then you’ll probably flunk out.  However, you or your parents won’t have to pay those tuition bills or buy expensive textbooks anymore.  If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance.

 

2.      Develop an addiction.  This is an excellent way to waste money and ruin your health.  Cocaine, heroin, crack, crystal meth, etc. are quick ways to a life of poverty, crime,  and hell. If you choose to partake of these illegal and dangerous substances, the chances are very high that you will end up in jail. Time spent in prison will drastically reduce your earning power and chances for a decent job. I personally know a bright young man who tried to join the military, knowing that he desperately needed  structure and discipline to turn his life around. Guess what? A prior drug conviction kept him out of every branch of the armed services. Now he works a dead-end job and continues substance abuse. What a way to go.  Chronic alcoholism is an age-old choice that has ruined many careers and relationships. Habitual gambling works very well also. It is true that some drug and alcohol abusers can function and some compulsive gamblers win.  It is also true that the addictions almost always win in the end.

3.      Go to jail.  Nothing will send your job application and resume to the trash can  quicker than a criminal record.  Even if you don’t do “hard time,” convictions for shoplifting, writing bad checks, driving under the influence, etc. will almost certainly cause  the great majority of potential employers to reject you. You simply won’t be seen as trustworthy.

4.      Stay in a low-paying, dead-end job.  A low paying job is fine if you are early in your career and striving for something better. Or perhaps you really love what you do and can afford to work for little money. The sad fact, however, is that too many people hate their jobs and barely earn enough to make ends meet. You may just love working at that trendy store in the mall, but ask yourself if you want to be doing the same thing twenty or thirty years from now? Do you want to spend eight hours a day standing on your feet, then have to go home to cook dinner and deal with the demands of your family? Do you want to work for minimum wage and no benefits when you are the age your parents are now? We live in a country of boundless opportunities. We live in a country where the son of minority immigrants was able to rise to the rank of four star general, become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and complete  his distinguished  career of public service as Secretary of State. How was this possible? It’s called ambition. The choice is yours. Think about it.

5.      Hang out with under-achievers.  If  you wish to be poor,  hang out with drop-outs, lounge lizards, lay-abouts,  bums, substance abusers, and those who waste life’s opportunities. Soon, their habits, ambitions, goals, and outlook on life will be yours.  Your relationships decide your self-concept.   Your success in life will be decided by who you listen to and believe. This in turn determines how you see yourself.  All of our lives, we have heard “You are judged by the company that you keep.”  This is so true. The company you keep determines how others see you and how you see yourself.  If your friends and associates are not trying to better themselves in life, then neither will you.

6.       Go into debt.  Borrowing to buy a home, to finance an education , or to purchase investment property can be wise. Borrowing for consumer goods, meals, entertainment, etc, is NOT wise.  An excellent way to have a life of poverty is to max out your credit cards and keep borrowing more money until your debts  are overwhelming and you are forced into bankruptcy.

7.       Don’t save.  Here are directions  for a trip down the road of poverty:  Spend all you earn. Live above your means.  When you get a bonus or extra money, blow it on having a good time.   Live like there is no tomorrow. 

8.      Ignore your health.  Engage in dangerous activities that put you at risk. Be sure to smoke, as it is proven to cause lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease. We  know that using smokeless tobacco causes oral cancer.  Be sure to bake yourself in the sun, as that may lead to skin cancer. Don’t exercise. Eat a high fat, low fiber diet high in sugar. Don’t forget to abuse drugs and alcohol. Never buckle your seatbelt. Don’t waste time and money on regular medical and dental exams.  The main cause of personal bankruptcy is uncontrollable medical costs. You may have medical insurance, but a major illness or accident can still ruin your finances for life. Let’s say that you are in intensive care for a couple of months and require several surgeries.  You receive the best high tech medical  care  that America has to offer. Your hospital bill is over a million dollars, and your insurance pays 80%. Now you owe over $200,000, and can’t work because of your health.  Most of us know someone who has ended up like this.

Countless people born into poverty, even dire poverty, have overcome it with hard work and wise lifestyle choices. The great Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung said: “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”  Poverty is no laughing matter. It will always be present in the world. It just makes good sense not to pursue a lifestyle that will surely take you there.

Your Money Personality

Who is not familiar with the Bible’s wise observation”…the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil…”? (I Timothy 6:10, NKJV).  We can say with certainty that money---the use of it, the misuse of it, the lack of it, the desire of it, the excess of it, etc. --- is indeed a root or fundamental cause of so many of the troubles experienced by couples and individuals. 

Why does money affect us so? Why do we get so “knotted up” about money?  Money represents our deepest emotional needs: love, security, independence, self-esteem, control, etc.  Money is not just financial currency, it is emotional currency as well. Money is the criteria by which we judge and evaluate ourselves and other. Our attitudes toward and relationships with money were formed during our childhood and adolescence, but they were influenced more by what we saw our parents do than by what we heard them say. This is because talking about money is the great taboo in families. As a result, most of us grew up without being given good examples about how to talk about money, much less how to use it wisely.  We bring this into our marriages and sadly pass it onto our children. Then along comes our culture and society, and bombards us with destructive messages about the use of money. Advertising urges us to spend rather than save,  to acquire “things” for emotional gratification and self-esteem, and to consume like there is no tomorrow. These messages of our advertising culture have directly contributed to our national crisis of overspending, under saving and massive national and personal debt.  As the cartoon character Pogo said: “We have met the enemy and he is us!”

The current financial crisis is on everyone’s lips and in everyone’s mind. Where ever you go, someone will more sooner than later nervously ask “Where do you think the economy is headed?” “What do you think the stock market will do?” “When do you think things will begin to turn around?” These alarming financial times have caused many of us to seriously re-examine our attitudes toward savings, spending, investment, and debt. It has caused us to pause and reconsider our relationship with money.

In order to understand the effect that money has on us,  it will help if we understand our “money personality.” This will help us understand why we handle and mishandle   money as we do. Psychotherapist and money psychologist Olivia Mellan has identified five distinct money types or personalities.

1. HOARDERS.  These folk love to save money. They almost always have budgets and enjoy the process of making a budget. Hoarders tend to have a hard time spending money on themselves and even on loved ones. They are frugal and often view expenses for entertainment and vacations as frivolous. Hoarders find their security in the accumulation of money. Taken to the extreme, Hoarders may become misers, unable to enjoy their money even when they have more than ample amounts for future security.
2. SPENDERS. The very opposite of Hoarders, Spenders get satisfaction from buying themselves goods and services for their immediate pleasure.  They tend to get great satisfaction from buying gifts for others. Spenders have a hard time saving money and tend to hate budgets and find great difficulty in making and sticking to them. They have difficulty establishing and saving for long term goals.  Spenders are usually in debt.
3. BINGERS.  A combination of Hoarder and Spender, Bingers tend to save and save, then blow their money on shopping or spending sprees. During times of abstinence from spending, Bingers seem normal. Bingers tend to be compulsive bargain hunters, and justify their excessive spending on the basis of money saved.
4. MONEY MONKS.  If you believe that money is truly the “root of all evil” or evil itself, then you are a Money Monk. Folk in this category tend to think that money is bad, is dirty, and that if you have too much money, it will corrupt you. Money monks are uncomfortable with inheritances and windfalls.  Many have negative responses to money due to liberal social convictions, and tend to favor socially responsible investing.
5. MONEY AVOIDERS.  These folk feel overwhelmed by money. Dealing with money causes anxiety and making budgets, balancing checkbooks, doing taxes, etc. causes them to feel extremely uncomfortable. They are troubled by investing money and feel incompetent when faced with the details of their money life.   Some Money Avoiders act (or don’t act) out of math anxiety,  and others out of sheer discomfort with money. Many Avoiders’ main problems in dealing with money are due to  simple procrastination.

Most people are a combination of several money types, and do not exemplify only one tendency. Each type has both good qualities and shortcomings.  In order to change your relationship with money, begin by identifying your money type, then determine what changes you need to make in order to have a successful, satisfying, and personally fulfilling relationship with your money. It may be wise to seek the counsel of an experienced CPA or financial planner to help you identify and make these changes.

If you would like to receive a Money Personality Quiz to help you identify your money type, please contact my office at 731.668.5665.