I'm 54 years old, and I was a poor kid back in the 90s. At that time, our family lived in a small room of more than 20 square meters, and there was not even a decent table and chair at home, and we slept in bunk beds. But from that time on, our family embarked on the road to prosperity step by step.
In the past 20 years, we have witnessed the process of families from subsistence to well-off to wealth. Among them, the better the family situation, the more you can see some characteristics and signs. Looking back now, these four signs were basically answered by our family.
The first sign is that things at home are becoming more and more "fixed".
In the past, the things in our house would be sold at every turn, and there was more than enough in the family, but it was not as good as what I had. I remember that football I liked most when I was a child, and I was sold after I was reluctant to play it for a week. If you like a book, you will be sold after reading it a few times. Later, with a little money, the family still thinks this way.
But when the family's situation really improved, the situation changed greatly. No matter how many things you have at home, you won't sell them easily, and you will even hoard them. I don't want to sell anything anymore, and I don't care about taking up space or messing up. Because you have enough wealth in reserve, you no longer need to exchange money for existing items.
The second sign is that family members are becoming enthusiastic about saving and managing money.
In the past, our family was a typical "where the money comes from and where it goes". As long as you have money, you will immediately squander it. But when the family situation improved, everyone was content with the status quo, and instead began to understand and put into practice financial knowledge such as savings, funds, and stocks. Families that used to be so short of money have now developed habitual financial habits.
The third sign is that people in the family are starting to become more conservative.
In the past, the family was different dare young. Be open to new things and be bold in experimenting. But when the pockets bulged, the family seemed to start to become more cautious and conservative. It's obviously a trivial matter, and I will think about it repeatedly, for fear that I have made a wrong decision.
I remember one year, my mother bought a small dilapidated house for my family, and we were still in the stage of food and clothing. But it was the dilapidated house, and my mother bought it without saying a word at that time, without hesitation. But now that the family has money, even if it is to buy a small piece of furniture, the family will consider it again. It seems that the rich are the rich, and they are more cautious.
The fourth sign is that the family is becoming less and less satisfied with the status quo.
It stands to reason that when the family is rich, everyone should be content and happy. But the richer you are, the more dissatisfied you are with the status quo, and you always feel that something is missing. In the past, even if you lived in a small room of 20 square meters, as long as you could have food and clothing, everything would be enough. But when I lived in a big house of 100 square meters, my family felt that it was not spacious enough and wanted to change to a 200-square-meter house.
It has become an ideal to build a house without studying a few times a year, and the ensuing expenses such as garage decoration make the family feel as if they have been short of money. It seems that the concept of abundance can never be satisfied in people's minds. Because once you reach your current definition of abundance, your desires will be ignited and amplified again, and your surroundings will become less abundant again.
I think these four signs are very representative, and they more or less reflect the actual experiences and mental journeys of our generations. People are always going from one extreme to the other, always hoping for a better life than the status quo. Perhaps the true happiness and satisfaction is to learn to be happy in the present life.
Remember to be calm, happy, and content. Not only do you have to fight for a better life, but you also have to reflect on what you really need. Otherwise, even if we are billionaires, you and I will still be insatiable and insatiable poor worms in the end.