What is the difference between poor and broke

On the other hand, poor means not having a roof over your head or knowing where your next meal is coming from. It means that a single surprise, accident, or medical issue would be catastrophic. Poor is a life-threatening condition that affects entire families across the country. I pray you and I never experience it. We may not all have the newest car, shiniest toys, or top-of-the-line devices, but you know what?

This statement immediately shows that someone is in a scarcity mindset instead of an abundance mindset. Robert's rich dad would say, "There are two kinds of money problems. Not enough money, and too much money.

Which type of money problem do you want? For those with the scarcity mindset, there is never enough money. But even worse, come retirement time, too much money becomes a real problem because they are afraid of all the forces, like taxes, that take that money.

The scarcity mindset is so worried about having enough that they don't see the opportunity to make more. On the other hand, those with an abundance mindset see the world in a completely different way. They look at the problem of too much money as a good problem, not a bad one that should be avoided. Now, the problem of too much money does need a solution.

But with the optimism that comes from an abundance mindset, you can find creative ways to leverage too much money, such as investing in real estate or starting a business that defrays tax costs.

There is a cost to the abundance mindset: your time. Rather than spend your off hours doing things like watching TV or shopping, you spend them thinking creatively about money and pursuing interesting things that can make you money.

Some turn hobbies into an income stream. Others make their business or investing a hobby. When they spend time with friends, they do so with people who think like them, often dreaming about what can be rather than complaining about what is. Those with an abundant mindset live a fundamentally different, and I would say more rewarding, life. Ultimately, how you want to live is up to you. For many the scarcity mindset is comfortable, and changing the way you view the world is admittedly scary and hard.

But I can promise you it's worth it. Just remember, a different tomorrow starts with a different today. Also, my parents probably talked to me about money more than I realized. I learned how to write a check in 7th grade by a teacher with big, curly blonde hair. It was exciting to see this sneak into adult life by writing pretend checks in a 3rd floor middle school classroom.

This is what I knew about checkbooks at the time: the checkbook lived in my moms purse, it enabled them to buy groceries, and a maybe a Jaclyn Smith t-shirt from K-mart for the start of school, if I was lucky. I remember wracking my brain trying to figure out how people paid for places to live and food and clothes and cars and everything else.

Were they secret millionaires??!! Money was a complete mystery. So, how much of it is our responsibility to break free from the financial comfort level we grew up with? Can we go from being poor to being debt-free? I think so. Can we go from being broke to being debt-free? I know so. What do you think? What is the difference between being broke and being poor? Ready to get out of debt ASAP? Check out the Spending Fast Bootcamp! Your email address will not be published.

I think you're right in your distinction- being broke is from spending outside of your means. Being poor is just not having the means, period. I'm very at odds with this idea. Although others MUST be out there, right? My family made the decision for me to be a stay at home mom. This is a role seemingly reserved for higher income families. We are NOT a higher income family, we are able to do it by the skin of our teeth. This creates an odd scenario for relating to many other families socially where lifestyle is considered.

I totally agree with you on that being poor means there is no money to begin with and being broke means you aren't managing the money you do have. Right now, I would consider hubby and I broke. We make good salaries but we're just not managing it as well as we should be. We go out too eat far too often; socialize with our friends too much and just waste money on this and that, almost without thought.

I struggle with our society and me wanting to get bigger and better instead of just making do with what we have. The funny thing is if something happened, like job loss, having bigger and better is the least of our worries.

I'm trying to change my mindset by being more aware of my finances and really trying to to talk to our kids about money — where it comes from, why we work why we save, why we should avoid debt, and why we should live within our means.