6 Unexpected Signs of Being Poor

Knowing if you are poor or not, is actually a humbling question. The government considers you to be poor if you make less than the poverty level. Certain assistance programs allow you to make more than the poverty level to qualify. So, what exactly lets you know if you are poor?

I reached out and did a poll on being poor. I asked people to give me the first answer off the top of their head and to not think too hard on it. I did not give a multiple choice. I wanted to see what people said without any prompting or swaying. After tallying up everyone’s responses, I must admit that I was very surprised at the results.

For a little background information on the participants, I purposely asked people in every financial situation. Some are retired, some are living paycheck to paycheck, some have huge savings accounts, and some have huge mountains of debt. This was not just a certain small few people that are a certain income level or financial skill level.

How do you know if you are poor?

33% found that Lack of Food was a result of being Poor

Now apparently my participants were either very hungry, or there is a direct correlation with being poor and having a lack of food. The responses that I received talked about having food insecurity, the not knowing how or when your next meal will come. This included living off Ramen Noodles, unable to afford a kid’s meal at McDonald’s, and having to go to a food pantry for free food.

This feeling of hunger is very basic and totally understandable since you need food to survive. Yes, you can last a little while without food or with very little food, but eventually you do have to fuel your body in order to live.

The stories that were shared to me were very telling of what each person had experienced in their own financial journey. Some skipped the meat in their meals made at home to stretch a dollar. One person pissed off friends and family because they always turned down invites to restaurants, because they didn’t want to admit that they couldn’t pay for their own way. Another mom said that she has had to choose between paying bills and buying food, because she didn’t have a way to do both.

31% found that being Poor was Not Having Anything or Living Without

My prediction before doing the poll was that people would say that being poor meant you didn’t have a nice car or a big house. What a good majority of people said, was that when your poor you just simply have nothing, and you learn to live without things that you can’t buy. To push this point further, some people shared that they had lived without heat during winter, not having a roof over their heads, and wore basic clothing until they couldn’t wear it anymore due to tears and holes. They lived in a car, they went without bare basic necessities, and were homeless.

Just hearing these stories of having to live without the bare minimum, was humbling and also inspiring. Those that shared their bottom points, are ones that I know of living great lives now. Even the lowest of lows can be overcome.

18% found that being Poor was living in Fear and Stress

If you have ever been stressed just walking to the mailbox, answering your phone, or seeing your landlord stop by, you definitely understand what it feels like to live in fear. The knowing that you can’t afford to pay a bill, the stressing over how to keep the lights on, and the panic of packing up all your belongings in the middle of the night and skipping town.

I think these stories are the ones that hit me the hardest, because some of these fears and stresses didn’t vanish once they got back on their feet. Some of the participants are well off now, but still fear losing it all tomorrow and having to go back to their lowest point. The constant worrying truly makes your unable to enjoy your life.

10% found that being Poor meant they had no Family or Support System

Here is where we start getting into the meat! I was very pleasantly surprised that so many people felt that without having family or a support system is what made them poor. That just being alone and not having anyone on their side, was truly their lowest point.

Not everyone is born into a loving and caring family, but if you’re lucky you can build up a circle of friends that feel like family. The sense of belonging and having someone look out for you is so important to your core sense of being. It lets us know that we have value.

When no one is looking out for us and caring about us, we feel invisible, and we feel like no one will even notice if we are gone. This is a deep dark pit that takes a long time to get out of it and stay out of it.

5% found that being Poor meant they had no Faith or Religion

This one really surprised me, but it shouldn’t have. I have grown up in and out of churches and have my own faith, so I should have remembered what it felt like to not have a sense of faith. That feeling of just floating around with no rhyme or reason, can really affect one’s mental health.

Most people probably meant this towards an organized religion, but it doesn’t have to be. Having a sense of self honor and living in an ethically sound way can highly improve one’s emotional and mental state. So even if you don’t follow a certain religion or go to services regularly, you can still live your best life with intention and without knowingly causing harm to others.

3% found that being Poor meant resulting to Criminal Acts

There is a very real connection between being poor and committing crimes. This could be a mother shoplifting formula to feed their infant. This could be children stealing food because they are so hungry. Unfortunately, this can also escalate into armed robbery and grand theft.

When people are desperate, they do desperate things. The logical side of their brain seems to shut off and they can get a tunnel vision where doing this crime is the only way to solve this problem. It usually comes down to running out of time and out of options.

Now this is not to say that every crime involving money is committed do to being poor, but I have read a lot of articles where the person charged with the crime felt they had no other choice. I’ve also seen stories of people so hungry and tired of being homeless, that they committed a crime just so they could go to jail and be fed and have a roof over their head. That just breaks my heart.

Why do People feel so Differently about being Poor?

My overall conclusion about being poor that it is just as much a situation that you are in as well as a state of mind. I was blessed with hearing stories of people that grew up in the Depression and were truly dirt poor, but never felt poor a day in their life. You can have nothing and still feel like you are rich.

On the other hand, you can have millions in the bank, and you can feel poor in spirit and in value. The most wonderful part of a state of mind, is that it can be shifted. If you feel that you are poor, you can make a plan, and improve your state of mind.

Have you ever wondered if you are stingy with your money? Check out “What is the difference between Thrifty and Stingy?” to find out!

I grew up in a blue collar family that lived paycheck to paycheck. I know that many times I was told “We can’t afford that” but I never felt like I grew up poor. As an adult, I have gotten myself in many financial pitfalls that resulted in going without food, getting payday loans I couldn’t pay back, and also just feeling like I was less than. Through it all, the biggest hurdle to me was the stress and fear of walking to the mailbox. I dreaded seeing what bill or collection notice would come that day.

So, as I grew financially, my goal was to get to a spot where I didn’t have to worry about if the bills would get paid, if we would have food on the table, or that my children would be okay. That may not be too lofty of a goal, but once I hit it, I have not worried like I used to. I don’t lay awake at night and try to figure out some master plan to rob Peter to pay Paul and keep the lights on. I am at peace with my financial situation and that in itself is a very freeing feeling.