I really liked Chevy Chick's post and went to look up the guy and found this at the Dollar Stretcher's website:

"A number of people have asked for some words of wisdom about poverty and being "poor". To respond, I visited Marie, who was a close friend of grandmother's. Marie is 103 years old. Although her eyesight is beginning to fail, her mind is tack sharp. In her own words, she raised nine children on little more than spit and polish. Marie was in her favourite place, the solarium of the retirement home sharing a booktape with her 93 year old friend. When asked to give her views about being "poor", she happily did so. Marie, one of ten children herself, raised nine children during the depression on one of the poorest farms in the area. Eight are still living - two doctors, two lawyers, three teachers and an engineer. Marie says, "Consider this your pep talk for the day".

"Being poor is the ultimate opportunity handed a person. Being poor is no excuse for being filthy and uneducated. You have access to the same libraries, soap and water and schools that others do. Being poor is no excuse for living in a dirty house and wearing dirty clothes. Being poor is no excuse for living surrounded by clutter and garbage. Being poor means that, if you can't presently afford university/college, you can educate yourself until such times as that goal is within your reach.

Being poor means being surrounded by necessities. Being rich means being surrounded by "things". Being rich you can buy perceived happiness. Being poor you make happiness happen. Some are born with a silver spoon in their mouths and some have to go looking for it. They end up better people for chasing after that silver spoon, because they've had to learn valuable lessons along the way. Sometimes they turn that silver spoon into one of solid gold. Being poor means you start at the bottom and work your way up. Being rich means you start at the top and slide your way down. It's harder to work your way up, but the trip is worth the effort. You'll never forget what you learned along the way. You rarely slide your way down again. Being poor means you have to give back to life, you have something to look up to, something to achieve. Being rich means you are always looking down. For some being rich means that rather than earn achievements, you try to buy them. Stop saying I'm poor, poor, poor. Pretty soon you'll begin to believe it. Start saying I am at a temporary financial disadvantage right now. I can do something about it.

Stop saying I can't even afford to put food on the table. My family ate potatoes three times a day for more than eight years and look at us today. I'm 103. All my children would still be alive if Charlie hadn't gone skiing at age seventy-four and cracked his skull.

Stop saying the government has to do this for me, the government has to do that for me. The government does not have to pull you up by your bootstraps. You are master of your own destiny, digger of your own rut. Destiny can be altered. Ruts are filled all the time. If you lie in yours too long, someone will bury you in it. Self pity is the cruelest form of poverty because it is in your mind.

If you don't like the word poor, just substitute that fancy new term "financially challenged". Keeping up with the Jones's is a game you cannot ever win. Never spend more than you make. Save a bit from everything you make - one penny today, two tomorrow. Tuck the money away and forget you ever saw it come into the house. My children went to university on money we tucked away, and good hard work on their part to make it happen. They never heard us say "we're poor" - "we can't do it". We said that it might take awhile, but if that is what you truly want, it is achievable".

When Marie did stop to take a breath, she asked what I was going to do with the information. I told her it was going on the Internet to be read by hundreds of people.

"They'll say. Times change. She's an old woman living in the past. She is not in touch with reality. Well, tell them that when it comes right down to the crunch there are only six basics are really important - a roof over their heads however slanted or leaky it might be, something to put in their tummy however boring it tastes, clean water, soap, heat in a cold country, and love of life and family". Her parting shot was - " Tell them too that if they can afford a computer to read this, they are definitely not poor as I understand the term". Marie always gets the last word.

And yes, before you ask, I know where she's coming from. There was no silver spoon awaiting my birth."

Poor


I must say I have never been poor. I have lived when there were times when we were extremely broke but not poor. My husband on the other hand has had times when there were no water or electricity growing up. To me that is poor. It does take hard work to move away from that kind of life experience but it also teaches lots of lessons.

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To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. -Elbert Hubbard

Couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you for posting this. There are no real "excuses", your life IS what you MAKE IT. Period, end of story.

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Chopey

I understand and agree with it to an extent. I am sure there are situations that defy what she says, for instance, everyone had the same access to soap. When ever penny, literally counts, are you going to spend it on food for your kids or soap? She says it doesn't matter if you have to eat the same boring thing three meals a day. I know there are people out there who don't eat three meals a day, boring food or not.

I know there are people out there in our country and our world, just struggling every minute of every day to just keep themselves alive and just inching by. I can't imagine the toll that takes on your life and your spirit.

That is a great article- I think I read that sometime before! I love her last sentence!

She sounds soooo like my grandma. As a child I never appreciated what she had to say until she was gone - now I wish I had her back - I'd have lots of questions.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing! Puts everything into perspective even further for me.

I loved that! Words of wisdom. I grew up very poor. We were homeless a few times, sometimes without electricity or heat and our food stretched to feed us and sometimes it didn't. She reminded me a lot of my mom. My mom prides herself that even though we were poor, we were clean. Whenever she talks about how tough it was, she'll say, "Mrs. so and so would always say, how neat and clean you children were." Many times we washed our hair with bar soap or dish detergent and brushed our teeth with baking soda. There isn't any excuse for being dirty.

I agree with all of this.

This only applies to poor people in "developed" countries....