My husband and I disagree on whether someone can truly go from "rags to riches". I say that yes you can achieve great financial success even if you are poor, he says no way! What do you think?
[question posted by shewolf52002]
responses and comments:
There are indeed two ways of looking at the world. Your husband, it seems, is looking at the dark side of it. I like your attitude. I think too that one can change one's status in life with lots of hard work and creativity, and most importantly, luck. [veganprince]
I agree with you! Even though the poor can and will be the rich on the condition that they have the opportunity and luck! I believe"knowledge is wealth"! good day! [venchaul]
I think it depends on what your definition of "financial success" is. Are you talking "well-off/sustainable" or "ridiculously wealthy"? I think people definitely CAN go from "rags to riches", although it's not the same kind of experience that someone born into it would have. I don't think someone who's grown up in poverty could ever really LIVE the typical rich life (careless with money, snobby, high-maintenance etc), but live a modestly wealthy life. I think with the right combination of education (college degree) & experience, pretty much anything can happen! happy (or at least that's what I'm hoping for.. lol) [maezee]
I say if you work hard enough you can go from rags to riches. I agree with you. [Shaun72]
I have great doubt that you can truly do from rags to riches, unless you have something completly new to give to the world. It can be a great talent in any fild and also the ability to administer it. [atacamaval]
It takes a little money to get started but you can start small and reinvest your profits and build up a good business. It is a hard way to go and takes a lot more time to start paying off. I had a young man working for me one time and he was wanting to tale a night class in auto mechanics at our local Jr college. I encouraged him to do it. He we ahead and worked for me and got his training. He started out with one old car he bought cheap and fixed up and resold. He made some profit so he starting reinvesting his profits and started a small aut salvage yard selling used parts. After about 12 or 13 years of this his wife divorced him and took half of everything he had. When they figured up his books he was worth well over $1 million. He started with one old car that I believe he told me he paid $25 for and maybe spent another $50 fixing it up. My first wides brother did about the same thing in another type business. I say if you have enough "stick to it" you can do it but it can be really hard. Art [Arkie69]
You need to understand that both men I mention wound up with a lot of money invested in their businesses but the one with the salvage yard built his business strictly from profits. He didn't borrow anything to expand his business or anything like that. My brother in law bought a half interest in a friends business for $100,000 and paid it out. He paid the debt in 1 year strictly out of his profits. Then in about 5 years they had built the business up to the range of $1million and he bought his partner out. He ran the business then for about 15 years before he died. He was worth several million at that time. My brother in law had a 6th grade education and got married when he was 16. His wife helped him take care of the books and he did the work. He probably had at least $1 million invested in the business but it was all cash from his profits and his business was rock solid. One of his sons still runs it. Art [Arkie69]
You NEED money to make money. First of all, you need to be able to risk money and time to make money. For another point, most people who make money on the internet have to pay money for the internet. the internet is their provider, just like someone who is going to get rich, starting poor, has to pay for something inorder to make something. [smanty]
It only happens very rarely, but it does happen.. just look at Walt Disney... I heard he came here with just $60 in his pocket and all he had was an idea at the time. Most of the time people keep themselves poor because they keep doing the things that keep them poor, and the ones that are affluent keep doing the things that keep them rich. My grandfather had orchards .. the farm was handed down from generation to generation... when my grandfather died he was very well off. He gave the girls $10,000 for their inheritance which was just a pittance of what he gave the boys. He gave the boys the farm. The boys sold the farm and never had to work a day afterward. Hicks Orchards in Granville, NY was my granddad's farm. [OreoCookie3]
Sam Walton, (Wal Mart) is another good example. He started as a dirt poor country boy in the Arkansas hills. Art [Arkie69]
you can make money from nothing, I have done it myself. tho it is easier to make money from money. but making money from money is also the biggest risk as you could loose all your money. [benny128]
Hi, Yes I have heard people go from rags to riches but I have also heard that not many people can do it, and it isn't easy. Here is how I perceive these things. In order to make a decent amount of money, you need money. This money is either needed to invest, make risks with in order to make a profit, or even buy something that you can build upon such as a reasonably small business. But on the other hand, you can make money from no money. When I mean this, I don't mean huge money, I actually mean just a couple of dollars. It gets hard if you are dirt poor to become reasonably wealthy, but it can be done. Consider both of you correct, your husband and yourself! Have a great day! [EliteUser]
Gotta love it when we both get to be right! I have to say I am leaning your way, absolutely no money would be nearly impossible to make anything out of. Even to make money on the internet requires... well the internet! lol and it costs money. Thanks. [shewolf52002]
Believing in one's self will make someone make some. There are many poor people who became rich through positive outlook in life coupled with hardwork. If we keep on thinking that we have no way to get rich, definitely we will not become rich. [dorisday1971]
Why not? Money is just a means to an end, if you want it you can work for it, beg for it, steal it, rub two dimes together, whatever. Poor is a state of mind, rich is a state of denial. We are all born wanting things, that's why we come out with our fists clenched. [gitfiddleplayer]
Lol, you always have a unique way of looking at things! [shewolf52002]
hi shewolf I am not really the rags to riches type I am not really wealthy and have to live on a tight budget. But I believe you can make your life comfortable in saving up some for a rainy day and in pulling yourself together with forsaking yourself these little money thieves to be able to get something more valuable and better later. What I mean is this, stop falling for these small money thieves everyone else seems to have cause its hip. One of these things here in my country irating me to no end is that craze for coffee to go and it has to be labeled "starbucks" or bought for an outrageous price on the train commuting to work. I myself deny me that instant granting of a whim (I want coffee now and I want everyone to see I am rich enough to get me one cardboard cup of coffee costing 4 Euro). I wait patiently till I get to the office and then I make myself a giant cup of Nescafe which only costs me cents. My husband also is a thrifty shopper and where does that take us?? LOL LOL LOL in a time where everyone blames the recession blames the state and blames the supermarkets for prices rising up we are able to save the small sum of 200 Euros a month on groceries alone. This goes on the savings book towards my bigger goal of stopping to work with 60. See the retirement age for my age group would be 67 and I want to drop out of that commuting and working 7 years early. Reasons are I am not getting younger and I am suffering from extreme back pain now for over a year which wont get better. Then when I am 60 and just opt out of the office cause I can bridge the time to retirement with savings, all these who now laugh at me being frugal and who squandered their money with the 10th new shirt here and 20 coffee to go a month there will say how on earth did she manage that. lol lol lol you will see who is the one laughing then. [book1962]
have to admit I tried it two or even three times and found it great but as you say what should make me pay as much for a cardboard cup full of coffee as a whole pound of coffee costs here in Germany. Like these young so called businessmen who travel one hour from Cologne to Frankfurt with a fast train and use the time to tell all the working world on the cell phone what they do and how important they are. [book1962]