How can you think more positive when you are living in poverty?

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   moneyfairyposted 11 years ago

   How can you think more positive when you are living in poverty?
   
   I know you can try and have positive thoughts and thinking. But when living with next to nothing how can you be positive? I try and be grateful for the small things but sometimes it's difficult. Any suggestions?

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   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   Find something cheap to keep you positive. It may sound dumb but when we were really poor we found a thrift store that had magazines .05cent each. Between me and my husband we got $2 worth. Alot of them were DIY building magazines. When we got to the register the lady told us they had a bunch of old pallets out back that we could reuse if we wanted. Long story short, we started building all sorts of things out of those pallets then selling them. It gave me something to look forward to and greatly helped us stay positive.
   If you have children, finding a common free or cheap activity y'all can do a couple times a week may help you stay more positive by giving you something fun to do. Getting out helps us clear our heads of all the bad stuff. Camping has always worked great for us. Nothing like nature to remind us how great life really is.

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks peeples. I go to the library for free internet books and magazines and thank goodness I have no children to provide for, just car payments and high insurance and rents that keep going up each year. Like a never ending cycle.

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   Mrs Jil Manningposted 11 years ago

   I think you have partly answered your question when you say you are grateful for the things in your life.  You can only have one thought at a time, and if you dwell on your gratitude, it will make you feel a little better, and encourage more positive thinking.  I can't afford to mend my boiler and we are freezing with no hot water, but I don't dwell on the negatives, and actually feel very positive about all the lovely friends who have let me bath in their houses. Lots of good has come out of 25 years with very little money, as it happens!  There will always be bread on your table moneyfairy, I'm sure, and as for the rest, well, anything is possible.  Health, Wealth and Happiness to you! xx

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Jil!!!! We all have our crosses to bear I guess. it all works out in the end!!! thanks!!

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   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   By surrounding yourself with things you value. You will feel surrounded with riches. It also helps to drive through neighborhoods that have gigantic and gorgeous houses for motivation to get out of poverty. Myself, I love adding paintings with color. But most of it goes down to inspiration. Always have tips and objects and people around for motivation and inspiration.

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      Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      with poverty usually you don't have a car, besides if you do you couldn't afford the gas to put into it.

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      lburmasterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Out of the seven friends of mine who qualify as poverty, five have a car. They usually have enough money to pay for gas. The others always find rides.

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      thank you iburmaster: Driving by beautiful homes is depressing as it will be ages before I could even think of affording anything like that. I just want to pay my bills on time at the moment. Inspiration and positive people are nice though thanks!

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   Sarra Garrettposted 11 years ago

   Hi moneyfairy:  Having positive thoughts isn't very easy to have when living in poverty.  There are so many things you want to do but can't because of lack of money or ever a car.  I want to do my crafts and jewelry to sell but no $$ to get started.  No car for me so it's difficult to look for a job. I started a wicked website, but it's free so I don't get ads on it.  I say to myself WTF on a daily basis.  The only think that is keeping me going right now are my dogs.  Come up with ways to help others in the frugal way you are living and write an article about it.  That's what I am doing and I've gone to Wizzley as well for a change of pace and new people.  email me sista

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Sarra.it just seem that everytime you try to get ahead another bill comes another something I can't afford etc..But I recently got a CD from the Library on the Law of Attraction with Esther and Jerry Hicks.Excellent. Get it at your library!!!

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   Old Empresarioposted 11 years ago

   I see what you mean. I think it's hard to do in the United States, because ours is such a backward society obsessed with phony status and buying junk one doesn't need. Most poor people in the US go to church to feel better about it. How poor are we talking about here? Would it be possible to save up and take a cheap trip to continental Europe and to see a society where it's ok to be poor and to live a fulfilling life?

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      Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I know I'd love to go to Europe and stay there

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      healthylife2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What part of Europe? I didn't think there was any place in the world where people are poor and still able to live a fulfilling life because reality always sets in especially when one is responsible for  children.

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      Old Empresarioposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There is a substantial gap between rich and poor in the US compared to European nations. Also, the quality of life is better there for lower-income people.

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I love Europe and I lived in the countryside of England when I was 18 for a yr. I was a Nanny for a family. There was a 7 yr. old a 9 yr. old and then a surprise. I was responsible for the surprise. It was fun while it lasted.

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   healthylife2posted 11 years ago

   That is a very good question because positive thoughts only go so far. First I would suggest that you stop putting pressure on yourself to be positive and grateful because it is challenging to be stressed financially.Find things to do that give your mind a break from reality such as taking walks,spending time with friends, and maybe volunteer work. Never stop trying to improve your situation. I will send positive energy your way and I hope things improve soon:)

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      Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent answer!  It is very hard to be positive and stay positive when your world has crumbled around you.  Getting back up now it almost impossible especially when you are living alone.

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      healthylife2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Sarra! So many people are in a financial situation that is stressful and it's a normal response to feel discouraged and a little depressed. It makes it more difficult when living alone but there are so many similarly situated .

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      moneyfairyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you healthylife2: I appreciate your positive energy!!!
      Thank you Sarra: I know you understand as you are living it too. Thanks!!!

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   moneyfairyposted 11 years ago

   Thank you all for sharing your answers. I am grateful for the small things in my life. I have done feng shui, I am working on the Law of Attraction, I have done vision boards to create what I want and sometimes it has worked  and other times not. But I guess the bottom line is whatever I think about and thank about I should bring about. I do have a roof over my head and food in the fridge and am self employed. I have just had some setbacks in the last yr. or so. Four clients have died and family members have been ill and life just sometimes doesn't feel fair. But I know we create our own realities and I am trying to create a better one daily. I am doing daily meditations, trying to look for a better feeling place within me and trying to move forward. Life is supposed to be good. I am trying thanks for sharing!!!

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   tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

   Read Dave Ramsey's books and adapt a longer mindset, focusing on goals like saving for retirement and paying down debt. It feels less hopeless when you see progress toward getting out of debt, building a nest egg for the future.
   And when life is more than oh God it's Monday, it can be easier to see the current job as a step toward long term goals.

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    gmwilliamsposted 7 years ago

    
    
    Living in poverty & struggling is nothing to be positive about.  It is a hellish condition.  Instead of thinking more positively, how about DOING something to alleviate the impoverished condition.  That is the problem w/poor people.  They endlessly rationalize their negative & dire socioeconomic situation.  This is inverse logic & reasoning.  To reiterate, there is NOTHING POSITIVE about living in poverty.   
    
    An intelligent & rational person can't be happy about being impoverished.  To be happy & positive about being impoverished is a sign of mental illness, even psychosis.  One has to be a glutton for punishment & be mildly masochistic to be positive about living in poverty.  Poverty is hellish & abominable.   Poverty is the bottomless well.  Poverty is akin to the lowest circles of hell. 
    
    Get out of poverty.  To be happy one has to be at least solidly middle class.  Money is the key to happiness.  The more money, the higher level of happiness.  Only a person who is psychologically amiss is happy w/being poor &/or impoverished.

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