When You Live in a First World Country, It’s Easy to Forget How Rich You Are
Think about it.
What if we all lived on the same street?
My 4-year-old niece asked.
I thought. Do I explain to her that her life wouldn’t be the same as our neighbors’ or do I tell her that Santa Claus wouldn’t like it?
Santa Claus wouldn’t have time to play with all the children at the same time. I told her. She smiled.
Globalization is becoming more and more a reality, but there are still big differences between the way of life in different countries, especially in terms of income.
Many social problems can be solved using psychology, not anything else. It’s healthier to change perception than reality.
Your lifestyle in the US wouldn’t be the same in Brazil.
$1K in Brazil means you live like a rich person. That’s almost 6 thousand in the local currency. The minimum wage in Brazil is nearly $320. $1K in the US might not be enough to pay rent for a month.
One way to feel richer without changing your net worth is to compare your financial situation with that of other families around the world.
The Dollar Street website aims to do just that by documenting the lives, aspirations, and favorite and desired items of families in 50 countries.
There are more than 30,000 photographs, organized on the site by area, and by a “street” logic, in which income determines the location of the houses.
On the site, you can click on different family profiles to see what the beds, bathrooms, bedrooms, and other amenities are like for families all over the world.
What do the houses look like, what kind of objects do the families own, what are their next buying intentions, and what are these people’s dreams, what do they want to own? Everything is documented in photographs, organized by theme.
And so you can see the beds where the families visited sleep, their bathrooms, bicycles, and books.
This is a site that is well worth a look and one that you should revisit whenever you want to understand that the world and the way people live are still very different and with imbalances that are difficult to understand.
Angel investor Naval Ravikant could have said it best:
“The purpose of having money is so that you don’t have to be in a specific place at a specific time doing something you don’t want to do.”
Because there are a lot of people complaining with their bellies full. Because imagine that:
Not being able to pay rent
Living in poverty in a third-world country
No water running through the tap, no electricity, let alone internet
No financial accounts
Working without an employment contract
This is the reality of many people around the world. If you don’t experience this, you’re rich. If you say you’re not, you’re a liar.
That’s the real mentality — not to change your situation, but to change your perception.
When you live in a first-world or developing country, it’s easy to forget how rich you are. One way to feel richer without changing your net worth is to compare your financial situation with that of other families around the world. Read that again.
The Dollar Street website has changed the way I look at the world now.
One filter you can apply when searching on Dollar Street is “Things I Dream of Having”.
This filter shows pictures of various things that families plan to buy when they have money.
In countries where the income per person per month was less than US$100, almost all of the “next big things I plan to buy” were things like food, doors for the house, cell phone batteries, clothes, or blocks to build a mini house.
In countries where the income is US$3,000 per person per month, the “big things” are usually new furniture, cars like Tesla, the latest generation iPhones, or Apple computers.
At the lower end of the income scale, the “bed” was almost always a simple mat on the floor. At the top end of the scale were beds made up of soft mattresses with lots of blankets and pillows.
Searching the site for just a few minutes helps you better understand how your wealth really compares to families around the world. It changes something in you. If it doesn’t, you should think twice.
To wrap up.
Undoubtedly, having more money in your bank account will improve your quality of life in most cases.
Sometimes, however, you can use a few other realities to improve the perceived reality of your financial situation and improve your day. Your life. Period.
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.