Raising your rent, insurance, taxes etc.

Marketing low quality cheap stuff to people that will keep them coming back to replace it.

Pricing out high quality stuff that lasts

all kinds of ways they keep us down.

Yeah i think poor was the wrong word to use i mean broke

Im talking about the niggas that have steady cash flow but instead of allocating their money and saving it they spend it on dumb s*** and go broke

crazy thing is I Am Love that ur quoting literally posted something similar to this thread. He said something like "If Jay Z can grow up poor and become a billionaire you have no excuse"

This is a fact tho

I see ops point now

the answer: what op is describing generally might play a role, however it would be unfair to assume that this is the exact reasoning for ppl to stay poor

almost no one, given a choice between wealth and poverty, would choose the latter.

so I think you're asking a different kind of question here, which is- how often is poverty a product of our decisions rather than our environment?

to that I would say our environment is a determining factor in our decisions, both in terms of how we develop and in terms of what options are actually available to us.

so with that in mind dominant systems like capitalism are the largest contributor to poverty. for example, financial illiteracy is often a consequence of underfunded schools, lack of familial wealth, a consumerist culture, etc.

there are some exceptions though. really this gets into some tough questions about free will and accountability that have no clear answer IMO. but superficially that's what I think

This the secret they don't want you to find out. When I was sitting on that unemployment money, I was more frugal than ever because it became my goal to make that money add up more than it subtracted so that I could keep a consistent buffer.

To me, if I have any less than like 4k in my bank, I'm broke because I'm about 2 major money events away from having no money.

The fact that men screenshot my posts on here instead of getting money

Yall the niggas im talking about

btw if we discussed that irl 99% of ppl would tell you its by choice if going by your logic

yeah we're all as financially and artistically gifted as Jay Z!

why do you think people would answer differently IRL

not disagreeing just curious

Being broke is temporary as f*** until you get your next check

Niggas gonna get checks until they get a bigger check.

Like if I make $12 an hour at the post office, I'm only gonna be able to have so much left over if I feel like buying things over the two weeks. But this the job I'm working until I land a $53K salary job, then I'll have more money to spend.

Why y'all hating on people for buying fye s***.

Like I got this Yeezy hoodie on now. Why can't I buy that s***? This is one of the things I wanted money for to begin with. Since we talking about "broke" and not "poor", s***... niggas gonna get money back. Ain't nobody tripping about that s***. It's just bread

who is this post even for tbh

99%

The exeption (jay z ) proofes the rule , or howecer it says

I didn't quote nobody. It's an open response to a public question posed by the OP

Just commited a communism itt

im confused as to what he means by that

This is what im talking about

Why are u relying solely on checks? What if u get fired or laid off? You gonna be down bad

Youre not always promised to make youre money back thats why im saying instead of buying s*** you dont need set aside some money for a contingency

So that you dont gotta look forward to the next check relying on the s***. You already got money stashed away so that if s*** happens youll be good

Jay was literally saying the same s*** on 444 that op is saying and y’all praised him for that so why ya gotta bring op down? All he’s saying is instead of impulsive buying some s*** to make you feel good in the moment, blowing your paycheques away and hating yourself when you get to that next week when you’re living off ice soup go invest some of that s*** into something whether it be gold, index funds, stocks, real estate, crypto, art, anything that appreciates in value over time and think about the future especially if you’re young you could damn near lay out your future for yourself so you can think damn in 10 years with this money I’ve gained in the background i will be way way less worried about being financially secure and possibly even way way up to the point that you’re living ez

speaking in hyperbole cause u got nothing to go off of lol

just what u wish was there to support your opinion

If you constantly complain about your life, and how you never have money, and also wave your fist at banks & gov offices, you’re a f***ing loser.

OP phrased it weird and had to edit it a few times i think to frame his point