Everyone aspires to be rich and wealthy in their lives so they can find out the truth behind “does money really buy happiness ?” For some, they get to know the truth.
And, unfortunately, they also get to sometimes see the other side of things when they lose it all. Losing all of your wealth can be hard—especially when being rich is all you have ever known.
Dad took it all and left.
One BuzzFeed user said they grew up with a ton of money their parents inherited.
When their dad left, he blew it all. After living rich, they moved into a studio with their mom and lost all of their friends and ties to anything they once knew.
This one hurts, even us.
“I lived with my parents; big mansion, a lot of cars, a lot of clothes, private schools and what not. My mum dies of cancer and my dad marries her best friend. She hates me and made my dad hate me and kick me out of the house when i was 17. I lived on the streets for 2,5 years before finally landing a steady job at Walmart and get an small but affordable room for myself,” shared Reddit user R3TR0FAN
Bad decisions lead to bad outcomes.
“Maybe not rich, but I used to have a few friends who had less money then me while making literally 2-3x as much. Honestly, just bad decisions.
Vacations, credit debts, buying lunches all the time, shopping for 200-500$ just cause, etc. I remember one who was making near 100k per year at 23 and had his power shut off for lack of payment,” said another Reddit user.
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Making the change can be hard.
“I grew up very privileged until my mother left my stepfather because he worked too much. She liked the money that came from working, but she did not like the lack of attention. The hardest thing for me has been changing my spending habits.
I still want the pricey, luxury items, but I have to remind myself that I can’t afford them. Cognitively, it’s a hard transition to make even 20 years later,” shared clandahlina .
People paying for you can be insulting.
One person said they used to be the friend who always said, “don’t worry, I got you,” until they were the one who couldn’t afford to do much or go anywhere.
Being on the other side, they can see how it can be insulting to think someone can’t afford something.
Cars and gas are luxuries.
“Being able to afford a reliable car and gas are luxuries. Going from driving new cars and using gas charge cards without looking at the bills to driving a 15-year-old vehicle and paying for gas with any spare cash you could find was shocking,” said another BuzzFeed user.
Restaurants are great places to grab things you need.
“Things like ketchup packets, sauce cups, Sweet-N-Low, creamers, etc. at restaurants and gas stations become so much more valuable. I never thought I would be so excited to get something for free that was that small,” said another.
Dad gambled it all away.
scotwegian shared that their uncle had a great job, but eventually gambled all of the money away.
It hurt his kids (the user’s cousins) more than anything to watch all of their furniture being taken out of their home on a whim.
The worry never sleeps.
“When I was married to a wealthy business owner, I don’t know that I ever even knew what real stress felt like. Now the pressure of bills, groceries, insurance…the burden on your brain is so heavy, and never, ever goes away. As happy as I am with my new life, it’s impossible to truly enjoy anything without that constant financial worry getting in the way,” shared another.
Doing what you can to get by.
“I’ve had to donate plasma to make ends meet, I’ve gone to payday loans places before they all went bankrupt and shut down in my city, I’ve had to sell many things to get that extra cash even for diapers and gas, etc. Money can’t buy happiness but it can definitely contribute to a better night’s sleep when I don’t gotta lay awake at night wondering how I’m going to pay my rent and put food on the table,” shared mrsnegan .
Even going a town over can put a dent in your pocket.
“We couldn’t go to certain stores anymore, our employment options were limited by how far away they were (couldn’t afford a commute), and we visited distant relatives way less frequently. My mom even made us stop going to our family dentist because he was one town over, and this was a doctor we’d been seeing our whole lives,” said another.
Ups and downs never end.
“We had money and lost it, got money again briefly before losing it once more. We went from flying first class to having to decide between replacing pants with holes in the crotch and buying new food.
I remember my mom literally crying because I was bullied for that in school, and a friend of hers actually stepped in to provide new clothes so my mother wouldn’t have to ration our food,” said shas4edf27c42 .
Watching it go can be hard.
“My family went from comfortable middle class to dirt poor. I mean homeless at times, hungry, pest infested housing, walking long distances because of many days when we couldn’t afford a bus ride.
Watching everything just disappear around you really hurts deeply, Being poor is hard for anyone but it is super traumatic for life to change so drastically for the worse,” shared greenbluepurple
Cleaning supplies are expensive.
One person shared that keeping your house clean when you are poor is hard because cleaning supplies can be ridiculously expensive and not something you see as a “necessity” like food, or even clothing.
Healthcare isn’t cheap, either.
“I used to have medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. Now I don’t because I can barely afford food. When I broke my glasses, I luckily had an old pair I wear now. I used to get my teeth cleaned every six months but now it’s going on three years,” shared another person.