Is being poor shameful?

I personally don't think being poor is something that should shame a person. However, for some reason people in the US think it is one of the most shameful things. I have to say that as long as a person is making an effort at supporting their family, is not out running around on their wife/ husband, and is spending quality time with their children I would be proud to know that person. My husband and I are poor in comparison to other members of his family. We know that we are looked down upon, and I have come to be okay with that. I like our lives now. We have had a decent amount of money in the past, and it just seemed to cause more problems. I no longer conceal the fact that we are not rich. As long as you have love you are not poor.

i dont think being poor is shameful im poor and proud to say that i am because all my money goes to bills we live paycheck to paycheck but i am proud to know that i am providing for my family and i would never be ashamed of that

It's really just according to how you act about it. I grew up in a family with 6 kids on a dirt farm with an outhouse and no running water. My father was always proud of the fact that we were poor and bragged about it often. He did this in order to see what he could get from others who may feel sorry for us. (As a matter of fact, that's how we got the farm and house). I am poor but, I don't brag about it, I tell people that I can only give what I can but, I will give until it hurts. I tell people that I don't need anything because I am happy with the love of my husband and children not material things. My friends do still insist on giving me their hand me down clothes and stuff but, I even protest to that unless they are just going to throw it away. If you are poor, be poor with honor! If you are poor, be thankful for your family and the other things around you.

It shouldn't but if you are well below the average revenue, others could have little consideration for you and then you may feel shame. But it also depends on you. If you accept it as a gift or as a vertue it may be that people would even admire you and may be willing to offer you a chance to become richer :)

It is not shameful to be poor. Poor people are the most realistic and honest people in the world and happiest too. Poor people are very creative, giving of themselves, and can create fun with the simplest things and others. Many rich people find that they can not define or buy happiness, and are often what I call very "Plastic" people. I don't think poor people need to conceal their poverty, but I don't think poverty is something to announce to the world either. Who needs to know if we are poor or not? And what real difference does it make? Poor also does not have to last forever if one doesn't want it to. Lifestyle depends on the individuals. Some people are very comfortable with their lives of simple means. When missionaries visit poor countries, many of those people don't know that they are poor and are a very happy people. Life choices are what matters to the ones you love. I went from poor to making $50,000.00 per year. The problem was, I gave birth to a special needs child, whose needs required that I be available to meet those needs, yet corporate America demanded a huge hunk of my time, sometimes up to 60 & 70 hours per week on top of the 5-6 hour weekly commutes. Sure, I could afford music therapy lessons and to pay for others to care for my child's needs, and material things, but I was not happy with the quality of care my child received, so I gave up that $50,000.00 per year job, we couldn't afford music lessons anymore, but I gained time to work with my child myself. I knew my child had great potential and was willing to invest time into my child. If you research what a child prefers, new video games, new clothes, or one on one time with a parent, the answer is the one on one time is more important and has the greatest effect on their outcome in adulthood. It is my responsibility as a parent to raise my child to be as independent as possible. I did not want my child to end up becoming a burden on society at the taxpayers expense, but to become a positive contributor to society. Who would care for my child once I am gone from the world? The experts opinion was that my child would never amount to more than working at a local McDonald's hamburger joint. Left to the "experts", that could have developed into a truth. I knew I had at least 18 years to help my child not be in those statistics. We are not done yet, but the pay off to date has been well worth the time invested and a good choice. I can always make more money after I have accomplished my number one long term priority. We have not focused on the "dis" portion of "disability", we focus on the "ability" portion and work on increasing strenghts as well as improving upon weaknesses and set the bars within reach for success, and raising the bar after success is achieved. Yes, it takes longer and harder work than for average folks, but most goals have been achievable. Being a good person is way more important than being a monetarilly rich person. You can't take it with you when you go. If/when I come into large sums of money, I would likely use it to help others in need that wanted help. Like dental care for those who could not afford it, but would like to have dental help. Being rich is not a bad thing either, its what rich people do with those riches that make bold statements about who they really are. I firmly believe that we are on this planet to help each other, not hoard prosperity. My faith teaches that we have greater rewards than money awaiting us. My faith also takes care of my family's basic needs. We have love in our lives. Who needs more than that? Our wedding vows state to love for richer or poorer for a reason. Your wife did not marry you because of your bank account. You are fortunate and rich in love. Hope this has helped you get any "money status shame" monsters off of your back.

the only way for a POOR to considered SHAMEFUL is when the situations that you have a plenty of opportunity before to engage in school, but what you did is schooling in the city mall dating with your partner, and time goes by, plenty of job opportunities, and since you did not finish studies there goes.... since you are now jobless, but brave enough to produce 12 kids... how's life???? sending kids to work as a Child Labor instead of schooling because the income is extremely low... as the Poor Cycle of Life is only passed from father to son.... then by this.... BEING POOR IS A SHAMEFUL status......

Your not poor if you have love and faith within your family. Money doesn't buy happiness but, instead, can break a family up. My parents worked hard all their lives, saving every penny and not throwing it away. They are now millionaires and I'm a heiress to it but ya know what, I don't want it. My hubby came from a poor family. They barely scraped by but they were happy. We are now barely making it paycheck to paycheck but we are happy cause of the love and the faith we share. We have a house but struggling to make the payments. So, no, being poor isn't shameful at all unless you make it shameful. Just need to learn to live within your means is all. :-)

i didnt felt any shame for me or for my family just because i grew up and until now poor in compare to others. i am very well proud that we grew up in good hands bearing good behaviors. i learned to be the best that u could be without much money. I am proud that now i am the bread winner of the family. it is so enjoying that even we are poor, we are always happy and contented. we know well be rich someday, and if ever we turned down to be poor again, no sadness or madness cause we had experienced to be poor and dont have fear to experience it again.

Being poor is not shameful, especially if the person has an honest job and works hard. Your father was willing to work and was not some lazy @$$ bum. There are plenty of people who are poor and work yet don't seem to make enough to get ahead. It's sad that the kids are the ones that have to suffer the most.

it is neither a shameful nor blameworthy "ACT" to be poor. It is NOT a culpable condition of the soul. In my opinion it is more blameworthy of those who make stereotypical opinions of a person's worth and abilities by the amount of income he makes.

Being poor is nothing to be ashamed of.My parents always had financial problems my mom's parents were never rich.But he worked hard and he had a home and everything he needed even though they never had too much money.But they weren't ashamed.People who don't work and who are poor and who really don;t want to work and get homeless because they don't want to work they should be ashamed. People who don't have a lot money are most of the times the friendliest people and most of the times also happiest people.That counts more than being rich. I can tell you that you are one of the good people and wonderful people in the world. Thanks for sharing your story.

I don't think being poor is shameful but not doing something about it is. I was born of a poor family but my parents managed to make our lives better by working hard for it. What is shameful is being poor but not working for change and just merely asking what the government can do or giving any charitable institution a responsibility.

I don't think it is something to be ashamed of. But I do know that some people look down on others who don't have much. If a person is in debt they will say it is your own fault, just because they have money they will feel superior to someone else. I hate people like that. Growing up we had a lot of money, BUT I had no parents so to speak. Both of them worked all day and I had nobody there for me. So that is the other side of the story. I turned out pretty ok if I say so myself. I now have kids of my own and choose to have less money (very very little) but at least I am home when one of my 3 kids needs me. So I am not ashamed to be poor at all. Ofcourse it is not something I would shout from the rooftops, but I am not emberassed about it either.

Hi my dear friend, My family was also very poor. I grew up with no money, no good clothes, no good school uniform, no nothing at all in my life. I too used to be ashamed of my family's poverty. My friends in the school and college used to look down and even make fun of me. I had no friends coz no-one wanted me to be their friend. My friends would go for shopping, movies, etc. but I would be left alone with no friends. Now also, I am not rich but not poor like before anymore. One thing you must remember is that you should be thankful to be poor in the US. If you go to India, Cambodia, or any other developing countries, you will see poor people looking for food in public garbages. They live like animals. So, I should say that your poverty in the US is just a peanut compared to so-called poverty in the third world countries. You are not poor at all as long as you still have three meals a day, a roof and three walls to live in. There's nothing to be ashamed of. God bless you abundantly and wishing you a merry Xmas!!!

With such a large percentage of North Americans living below what is considered the poverty line I think it really is the norm to live paycheck to paycheck. My husband and I live that way so one of us can be home with the kids full time. I want to share a story with you. A very good friend of mine grew up in a very poor family that struggled to even feed the 5 kids let alone cloth them. The girls all left school before grade 8 to help make ends meet. When my friend was 15 she met her husband and by 17 was having his first baby. Her husband and her lived on his parents property in a 1 room shake with dirt floors and no indoor plumbing. They used an out house and hauled water from the near by well. They lived like this for 6 years before he took a job that afforded them the ability to move into a travel trailer. Shortly after that they took a missionary posting with their church. When I met them she was very ill with lupus and they happily lived in a single wide trailer Their son was married with 2 kids and living in a nice home but was unhappy and their daughter was in a special home built for her due to her being a quadriplegic but was very happy with her husband and 3 kids. Money is not the object of happiness family love is. I hope this story shows some insight to a families love without money. On a side note my friend passed on 3 years ago from a heart attack due to lupus. Her family was lost without her, as was I. Her simple love for life and others is an inspiration to everyone.

Shame is only good for spiritual poverty. Life is like a wheel. You can have it all and be miserable or not have it and be happy. My mother lost everything during the war, including her parents. She start form nothing at age of 18. She never said that she is poor. For sure she was missing her parents. Life if full of abundance and the best in our life is free.

yes its a subject of shame in Ireland. Strangely, most people are not ashamed to be on social welfare. But they would be ashamed to say they can't afford new clothes or something like that. Around Christmas, people overspend, particularly on credit just to prove they are NOT poor, conversely this actually MAKES them poor(er). There is a newish category of people in IReland, we call them the 'working poor' because traditionally it was the unemployed who were considered poor. But these people have no welfare safety net and are struggling to keep up with day to day living expenses such as food and mortgages. I don't know anyone who admits it, but evidence suggests its very common and about to get worse.

Being poor is only a state of mind. The truth is we are lucky to be living in the present time. Centuries ago if you were born poor, you will die poor because you are not allowed access to opportunities that the rich people are given. Now we live in a free world with a free enterprise system. That means anybody can get rich. There's no law against a man rising from rags to riches.

Let me address the poor issue. Look, for one thing, it's NOT a shame to be poor. There are PLENTY people poor in this country. Trust me. I am poor and not only that the folks I hang around for the most part are poor for. That don't exactly make me proud to say since I went to college and all, but that's the way it is for the moment. I don't think being poor at one time should make you shamed. If anything, what you have been doing with your life since is a whole other ball game. Now, Rick Bragg wrote in "All Over but the Shouting" and "Ava's Man" about his poverty stricken childhood in Alabama. Check them out for yourself. He moved on and became a news reporter and writer. If you say you went and applied to get a house, then to me, your not that poor. Matter of fact, I have nothing but admiration for you. Ok, enough on that. Holding back that your poor, well, I don't know what that would accomplish, not much. But it isn't no shame in it. Peace.

It is nothing to be ashamed of. I have worked hard all my life. I have two daughters who I raised by myself for 20 years. I live pay-check-to-pay-check. When I have had health issues (I fell off a ladder at work, have had poloyps, and knee surgery) it put me so far behind I don't know if I will ever catch up. But throughout the years I have tried my best. I have worked hard. It doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank. It matters what you have inside. Never let anyone make you feel bad about yourself because of your finances. Just be the best person you can be.