The longer I analyze financial mechanisms, the more I notice one belief circulating quietly in the background: that wealth is reserved for the “exceptional,” while poverty is simply one of many possible life choices.
Reality is less romantic.
Poverty is not only a lack of money. It is a system of higher costs.
People without savings pay more for access to capital. Payday loans, late fees, expensive installment systems — the price of money increases precisely when it is needed most.
The inability to buy in bulk means a higher unit price. Cheaper products wear out faster and require more frequent replacement. What appears to be saving often becomes more expensive over time.
The absence of financial reserves turns minor events — a car repair, a medical bill, a temporary loss of income — into crises.
There is also a less visible cost: cognitive.
Constant financial tension narrows perspective. When survival becomes the dominant objective, it becomes harder to plan long term, negotiate calmly, or take strategic risks. Energy that could be directed toward growth is instead spent stabilizing the present.
And this does not apply only to traditional finance.
In the digital world, the mechanism works in a similar way. A person without financial capital and without attention capital starts from a more expensive position. Every campaign, every mistake, every failed move costs more. The absence of infrastructure makes decisions reactive rather than strategic. Even on platforms like Instagram, stability — whether financial or reputational — lowers the cost of risk and allows for long-term thinking.
Capital in possession reduces the cost of time, risk, and money itself.
Its absence means paying a premium for stability.
Perhaps that is why stories about the “choice of poverty” sound convincing only from a distance. In practice, a lack of capital is rarely neutral. It changes not only economic conditions, but also patterns of thinking and the range of available decisions.
And that is a cost you will not see in spreadsheets.
— Michał
Refined Money