I never was poorish, but thanks to the boyscouts (when I was young) and an NGO I helped that worked with housing in Brazilians slums, I had great in depth expos

I never was poorish, but thanks to the boyscouts (when I was young) and an NGO I helped that worked with housing in Brazilians slums, I had great in depth exposure to what a poorer life was. And the very first thing to notice is that even if those people live in very modest conditions they still managed to be happy and that is because they had no reference of what a richer life was. Usually their wealth targets were very close to what they had, they were always poor/modest so their reality was that. The greater problem is when people live the wealthier life and makes the the movement to a poorer situation, something that seems to be happening in the US (I don't live there, so I don't have first hand experience). So people who had a taste of a better, more comfortable life, are suffering because of that. That is the reason I live well under what my wealth can pay, it is still considered a mid-upper class but I'm avoiding at all costs the "quality of life trap". If were we (my family) are is comfortable, then all the extra money I get will go to savings) investments to allow us to keep this life as long as possible, not on luxury items or a bigger house/car/TV. Speaking to americans, I get that this is not a mindset that they have.