Do you think there is a Rich and Poor Mindset?

[Brogues]

I only came across this theory (Rich dad Poor dad) a couple of weeks ago and I’m not sure or maybe we’ll never be able to not think ‘poor’?

Me and DH were brought up ‘poor’ - comfortable but in council housing, with working parents but worried about unexpected bills. We both went to university are now professionals in our work and are high earners (not top 1% of Mumsnetters by any means admittedly) so ‘rich’ but we still buy stuff like TVs rather than focusing on investments. Can we get out of our ‘poor’ mindset or isn’t there one in the first place?

Nicked from google:

Look up the growth mindset. You need that to 'get on' from whatever your background. If from a wealthy background your starting point is a heck of alot easier. And family/society support matters a huge amount.

I don't agree with anything on that list but observations I have from growing up in a poor area to now living in a wealthy area.

Taking advantage of opportunities is a big one. We often chat to a young lad in our local supermarket and for 3 years now my DH has been helping him with his cv (he works in this area) and trying to put him forward for jobs as the young lad hates his job. As time goes on he has just got less and less motivated. Contrast to another young lad who my DH met in the gym, he has asked for so many calls with DH, asked to be put forward for referals and is so on the ball. He had the confidence to push himself. The way he communicates is so different to the other boy and they are the same age but vastly different upbringings.

Another observation is based on the many wealthy friends I went to university with. There was much less fear of failure. If they didn't like their course they just decided to do another one. Failed a module... It was OK. They didn't seem to stress even though thousands had been spent on their education. I could never have said to my parents I just changed my mind.

@Sparklyboots

Hmm, that list looks like it's been written by a person desperately trying to "manifest" themselves out of structural inequality.

Yes the whole coaching/manifesting vibe came from both that and Rich Dad Poor Dad but I didn’t want to dismiss it all iyswim.

That list is awful, and a big heap of bullshit.

Especially enjoying the idea that the poor mindset is to 'spend money' whilst the rich mindset is to 'invest money' - all those feckless idiots with their £20 extra UC have been wastefully spending it on food, heating and shoes instead of investing in a property portfolio. FFS.

Well some of these sort of make sense. If you don't have any savings then you will fear change. If you have savings / rich family who can help out in an emergency, it's a lot easier to embrace change.

@Brogues

It’s just that old line that’s trotted out every-time someone mentions rich people on here and how they don’t spend any money on cars or clothes and certainly not on handbags. We spend on all of those things ergo we are not rich even when we can afford them?

You are confusing capital with income.

I think are some mindset differences about attitudes to money, but none of those things.

The thing that I think is different is attitudes to second hand things. My partner's family was better off than mine (in a his granddad owned a factory mine worked in a shipyard kind of way), he went to public school, I'm state school educated but I have the higher paying, "better" job now.

His mum regularly says that he rarely had anything new as a child - hand me downs from an older cousin, second hand shops, things passed down through family etc and he's still a bit like that now being happy to buy second hand when he can afford not to.

My parents, Dad particularly, grew up quite poor and associate second hand with not being able to afford to buy new. My parents wouldn't have countenanced me wearing anything second hand as a child and all my toys and things were new. Partner's mum's attitude is why buy a brand new bike when there's a child up the road whose grown out of his perfectly good one, my Dad's would be I can afford to buy my daughter a new bike so I will.

@CheeseyMcCheesefaceTalking about money is not tacky.

More people should understand the stock market and investments and how to go about it sensibly. It's taught by osmosis within wealthy families but there's nothing mysterious about it. Wealthy families hang on to income generating assets,such as land, buy more assets and hand them down - in very simple terms, that's it.

Bragging about money is tacky but that is something altogether different

[quote Nayday]@CheeseyMcCheesefaceTalking about money is not tacky.

More people should understand the stock market and investments and how to go about it sensibly. It's taught by osmosis within wealthy families but there's nothing mysterious about it. Wealthy families hang on to income generating assets,such as land, buy more assets and hand them down - in very simple terms, that's it.

Bragging about money is tacky but that is something altogether different[/quote]
Yeah bragging is what I meant.

I think that some of the mindset differences (if they exist) are more situational differences. You need spare money to invest. You need the ability to invest to develop multiple passive income streams. Having multiple passive income streams frees you to take more risk and allows you to plan longer term.

I agree with PP about assets v investments and that is an older idea that links back to a great book called "Your Money or Your Life" which was one of the the triggers for the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement. Why spend your life working hard to buy depreciating rewards to reward yourself for working so hard. etc.

nope. we were poor because my Dad was an orphan and my mum came from a poor family. They had drive, were responsible and expected us to read and study as well as working to improve their own lives.

Wow what an awful picture. I do think there is a rich mindset, especially on here. People will suggest to broke mother's of three things like just hire a cleaner, book a spa weekend, move house to a cheaper location and save money - completely ignoring the fact that moving house can cost a small fortune.

So the last one - multiple income streams.
Often this requires capital or investment to set up a second or third (or more) income stream. If you are working in a ft but low paid job, you cant exactly go and get another job, and probably dont have money to invest in shares or other businesses that might bring in passive income.

Well I reckon I have a poor mindset then.

I think some folks are confused as to what that is. It’s about mindset. So what’s the mindset that will help you get richer and what’s the mind set that will keep you poor. It’s not saying this is how the rich v poor think.

So for example if you’re currently poor, in social housing, but studying for a better career, you don’t have a poor mindset, you have a rich one, as you’re trying to improve your earnings.

However if you’re poor and in social housing, don’t want to study , success is unimportant to you, you spend whatever little extra money you do have on needless crap you’re likely going to stay poor.

The word “mindset” is what’s important here.

I can see that it’s very general and get why others disagree, but I grew up very poor and the ‘poor attitude’ describes my DF exactly. Whenever I have studied or strived to better myself in any way he can be quite derogatory.

It's quite unpleasant.

Success is mainly about your background. Very few people break free from their background.

One thing I have noticed about very successful people though is that they're often extroverts and have extremely good mental health

Being rich or poor sets the mindset far more than having the mindset can change whether you are rich or poor.

If a thousand people apply their 'rich mindset' only a tiny percentage will make it to being rich. Whereas if a thousand people who are rich apply a poor mindset, most of them will still be fine.

If you want to be rich, the best thing to do is be born to rich parents. If you didn't bother to do that, you've no one to blame but yourself.

I know a few wealthy people, and two lots in particular are living what I would class an impoverished life.
Because they view every single move they make on how much some thing costs!
Comments about money constantly!!

Can't relax inspite of being well off. People say.. That's how they got rich but I know wealthy people who also are well off and rarely worry or talk about money because its all sorted and they know.. Paying 20p extra for indulgent parking to get them close to where they want to go won't bankruptcy them.

I don't think it's that black and white but certainly elements of truth

The list only makes any sense at all if you interpret it as "more likely to end up poor" v "more likely to end up rich". Nothing to do with the state that person is in now. And there are obviously lots of other factors involved too (broadly summed up by "luck")

@GrrrlPwr

Look up the growth mindset. You need that to 'get on' from whatever your background. If from a wealthy background your starting point is a heck of alot easier. And family/society support matters a huge amount.

I will do I might be able to get behind that more.

Invests money?

I think there’s a fairly obvious reason that those without much money don’t invest it, so unless you are talking about “poor” people who have plenty of spare cash kicking around that they could have invested, that’s another obvious nonsense statement.

The idea that some people are spendthrift and others are careful (both rich and poor in either group) is certainly true, but a huge amount depends upon your start in life and to some extent on luck. Anyone who tells you that you’re only poor because you have the wrong mindset probably had a lot handed to them on a plate or had a degree of good fortune, one way or another, even if they would aggressively tell you otherwise.

No, in fact social mobility basically doesn't exist in the UK (so you typically make the same or less money than your parents regardless of mindset). Those few who do manage to make more money than their parents probably did make huge sacrifices though.

Nah. All of the 'old wealth' you see today in the UK was amassed through the exploitation of foreign lands, peoples and the natural resources.

And any 'new wealth' - working and middle classes - is a byproduct of the above.