“Just pull yourself up by our bootstraps.” “Find a side hustle.” “Spend less, save more.”

All those just equate to someone yelling “to be rich, you just have to have more money!” Well duh. One of the biggest clues that someone has no idea what it’s like to be poor is how offhandedly they can state a comment like it’s the most novel idea in the world and this one quick hack will fix all your financial woes. What they don’t realize is that it comes down to one simple word: options. Money creates opportunities, which means you have more options available to help you. There’s no quicker way to shut someone down than to start a conversation with “well, why don’t you do this?” The answer is because they can’t!

Poverty isn’t just about having less money. It’s about having less time, less resources, less support, less opportunities, less options. Let’s pick your average day as a comparison. A 9-5 job is closer to an 8-5 these days, including breaks and lunch. Still plenty of time throughout the day to get all the things done! Too bad you can’t afford to live in the city that you work and need to commute an hour each way every day! Now it’s a 7-6 job. 2 hours less to hit the gym, to prepare that meal, to sleep and recharge for the next day. Plus you have to pay more in gas to travel a further distance to get to your low paying job that doesn’t pay a living wage. Why not just do remote? You mean the restaurant dishwasher, the store cashier, the millions of jobs required that makes our society run can just be done from the comfort of your own home? Why didn’t they think of that?

Need to visit the doctor or go to the bank? What do you mean they aren’t open on the weekends? Taking time off from your hourly wage job means less money for that day. Which means a negative impact on your mental and physical well-being. Have you tried eating healthier? You mean pay more and eat less? Already doing that without trying. All those videos of being able to live on just $100/week is fake rage-bait. Unless you plan to live on beans, or rice, or rice and beans, and beans and rice. They assume poor people don’t deserve decent food, can eat the same meal for years on end, or don’t need to buy other essentials, like toothpaste, soap, toilet paper, etc.

When someone starts a sentence with “why don’t you just…” it’s an automatic indicator that they have no idea what it’s like to be in that situation. Let’s say your car breaks down. Well crap, now you have to take the bus. Your two-hour daily commute just doubled – your typical 8am-5pm went from a 7am-6pm, now to 6am-7pm job. Without money, that’s your only option. Well, why don’t you just: get it fixed (with what money), borrow a friend’s car (don’t they work too?), use your spouse’s car (you can afford two cars?), call an uber, use a limo service, call a helicopter, use your private plane? The absurdity of the last option to most of us is just as absurd as the first to someone who’s financially struggling. That’s the power of options that money affords you.