Why is my family so poor? - break out of the poverty cycle

Years ago I was incredibly frustrated and confused. I constantly badgered myself with the above question in the title, why is my family so poor?

I use to look around and compare our family with other families and found there was a gaping gap in terms of wealth, power and respect, this really annoyed me and when I confronted my parents with the question they would often reply that luck was not on our side or money isn’t everything.

As the years went by our circumstances did not improve, we were getting by with little, we did not expect much from life and it certainly did not disappoint. I was determined to break the cycle.

I did not want my children or grandchildren to experience what I had experienced. Having carefully analysing our position I had a number of epiphanies which showed why we were not progressing. This sudden realization of the truth helped my family break the cycle and now month by month we are making progress.

The reason I’ve written this article other than to make money is to share some of the habits I put into practice to help me take an axe to this viscous cycle of poverty.

#1: Money is Not the Root of All Evil
Why do Some People Hate Money?

Your opinion of money is formed at a very early age and unfortunately my perception was that money was the cause of all evil. I was always taught to be happy with what I have which is true, I am grateful for having a roof over my head and having food on the table. But I also felt that having or wanting more was a sin.

I finally managed to reprogram my brain after analysing this belief, I was able to change how I thought about money and consequently I was now no longer afraid of money. I came to the conclusion that money is not everything in life, it is however very important as it offers security and independence and the ability to help others.

Only recently I was able to make a donation to a third world country to build part of a home for a homeless person, would I have been able to do this if I thought money was the root of all evil and accumulating is a sin?

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#2: Be More Ambitious
How to Be More Driven and Ambitious

Every time I suggested a way to make extra money in my household I was shot down immediately! I was told it would not work and it’s not worth taking the risk, I was also told that we have enough and more money means more problems!

This kind of thinking made our household shrivel up in terms of ambition and looking for opportunities. Being ambitious opens your eyes, you start looking for opportunities and if you can act upon these opportunities by analyzing the risk and reward then you can make money.

Being ambitious and keeping your greed in check lets you help your loved ones, it gives your children a better standard of living and quality of life, you can also help less fortunate people with your time and money.

Ambition is not a sin, being ambitious and greedy may lead to negative consequences but ambition should not be confused with greed, it’s time to let go of that guilt.

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#3: Talk about Money
Talking about Money is Vulgar, Rude, Tacky & Inappropriate?

We never talked about money, the only time we talked about money in our household was when we had to pay our bills and everyone needed to cough up. Taking about making money was prohibited at the dining table and anything to do with money was frowned upon.

Even taking out money from your wallet and waving the contents around would produce a stern look. Because we did not talk about money our financial IQ and financial literacy was virtually zero, we were taught nothing about finances at school and consequently as a family we did not know how to manage money effectively.

To break the cycle I started brushing up on my financial IQ, I started reading books on personal finance, I read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, I read Think & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill; I also read books like the Richest Man in Babylon and I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

All these books opened my eyes, I was able to see the true value of money and how it could help me and others if I was responsible enough to manage it properly.

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#4: Networking
Does Networking Help You Get Rich

My family was very religious and we networked mostly with other religious families and leaders, we were spiritually seasoned and consequently did not see any need to network with other people. By connecting and networking with financially successful people you surround yourself with positive people who want to improve their standard of living.

I was able to break out of this cycle by meeting new people first on the internet and then more people at conferences and seminars; they always seemed to be upbeat and proactive and wanted to achieve something in life.

There is nothing wrong in wanted to achieve, if you can improve your life you have the ability to improve other people’s lives too. If you’re poor and an opportunity to help someone passes you by is that not a sin?

#5: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
How to Get Out of the Poverty Trap

For me these four habits cost our family dearly in terms of success and progress, we were always taught to look at those beneath you which is very admirable but I think that looking at those above you spurs you to want to achieve more. If you look at more prosperous people and learn to emulate their success then imagine all the people you can help.

The best way to help poor people is by not being one of them. I now have a library of personal development and personal finance books on our bookshelf, we play monopoly with our child regularly and we speak about money when we have to.

We realize that money is not everything and for us it is a mere second to our religion but nevertheless it’s important and taking an ignorant stance won’t help anyone in the long run.

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