The words you use every day shape your money, and 15 common phrases, from “everything is so expensive” to “that’s just the way it is,” are excuses in disguise that keep people stuck. The language of the poor is universal. It has nothing to do with accent, neighborhood or country, and you may be using it without realizing, but it shows up in your bank account.
This article takes the video’s view: each phrase below is paired with what it really translates to, plus the way someone who builds wealth would think about it instead. The tone is blunt on purpose.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The 15 phrases at a glance
- “Everything is so expensive” (0:22)
- “There are no opportunities” (1:23)
- “It won’t work because it’s impossible” (2:02)
- “Life is so hard” (2:49)
- “The system is rigged anyway” (3:30)
- “I’ll pay you back when I get paid” (4:46)
- “We’ll see…” (5:15)
- “This is what I wanna do… at some point” (5:45)
- “They don’t care about us” (6:09)
- “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be” (6:46)
- “This is just temporary” (7:33)
- “Lemme check the balance” (8:03)
- “I’ll worry about that when I get there” (8:31)
- “Must be nice” (9:08)
- “That’s just the way it is and always has been” (9:37)
- Bonus: you can’t take it with you
1. “Everything is so expensive”
Translation: I have no control over my income and no self-control over my spending. Yes, prices have climbed, but the cost of living has outpaced personal growth, and your value in the marketplace has grown slower than the marketplace itself. The video cites a 2024 federal reserve survey finding that 37% of American adults cannot cover a $400 emergency.
You cannot control what things cost, but you can work on your income. The rich ask where they would need to be to afford everything they call expensive, then reverse engineer from there. The real game is not saving pennies. It is raising your earning power so pennies stop deciding your life.
2. “There are no opportunities”
Translation: I don’t know how to spot opportunities or position myself to take advantage of any. Opportunity rarely knocks. It whispers, and it hides in places you skipped going to. The rich put themselves in position to get lucky.
Saying “they won’t let me in” invents an imaginary “they” holding you down, when in reality nobody cares what you do. It protects the ego from reality. If you haven’t earned your place in a room, get yourself in or build your own room.
3. “It won’t work because it’s impossible”
Translation: I don’t think I could do it, and I don’t want you to try because it would break me if you succeeded. People who doubt themselves often spread that doubt around as a protection mechanism.
The rich are often delusional in their attempts, and sometimes they get lucky or new information makes success possible later. Most of us have said “I know what I should be doing, I just don’t do it.” If it matters, do the thing. Knowledge without movement is self-harm with better vocabulary.
4. “Life is so hard”
Translation: I don’t understand the rules of life and don’t want accountability for what happens to me. Life is supposed to be hard, so ask why your default expectation is the opposite and who told you it would be easy.
This language uses difficulty as an excuse to stop thinking or trying, much like a child giving up when things don’t go their way. “These things always happen to me” and “this is just how life goes” are examples. Life punishes confusion and rewards adaptation, which is how evolution works.
5. “The system is rigged anyway”
Translation: I’m so scared of failing that I’d rather opt out and call it wisdom. The system is rigged in the sense that some people start ahead, know the right people or inherit money, networks, status and timing. But others started in far worse conditions than you and are ahead of you right now.
Poor language loves moral superiority, like “at least I’m not playing that game.” The people playing still end up owning the building. Opting out does not make you pure, it makes you powerless.
6. “I’ll pay you back when I get paid”
Translation: I spend money I don’t have. You are borrowing from a paycheck that hasn’t arrived and have already sold tomorrow to make today feel less embarrassing. The video points to U.S. household debt reaching $18.8 trillion by the end of 2025, with credit card balances at $1.28 trillion.
The way out is brute force: stop spending and double how much you work until you are at least one month ahead.
7. “We’ll see…”
Translation: No. It sounds soft, flexible and harmless, but it is usually cowardice wrapped in politeness. Once you say a clear yes or no, you can be judged, and this language would rather stay vague than be accountable.
“We’ll see” is how dreams die, and it has nothing to do with money.
8. “This is what I wanna do… at some point”
Translation: give me the emotional reward without any real effort. “At some point,” “one day,” “eventually,” “when things calm down” and “when I’m ready” all mean the same thing: not now. Repeat “not now” for long enough and it becomes never.
9. “They don’t care about us”
Translation: someone else should make it easy for me. Nobody should have to care about you for you to care about yourself. People tend to care about others only as far as it benefits them.
If you complain but expect others to fix things, look at your life and your community. If you are not making them better, the video says, you are part of the problem.
10. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be”
Translation: I have no agency over my life. If it happens it is magic, and if it doesn’t it isn’t my fault. The video calls this spiritual laziness: the rich use faith as fuel, the poor use fate as sedation.
Something is only meant to be if you make it happen. That takes a decision, then action, then consistency until the outcome arrives.
11. “This is just temporary”
Translation: this is my new reality, but I’m in denial about where my actions have taken me. It shows up when people talk about “staying” somewhere instead of “living” there. Birthdays pass in the same rented apartment, and you are three years into a job you dislike with nothing to show for it.
What you call temporary is your everyday reality. If the conditions aren’t changing, it isn’t temporary.
12. “Lemme check the balance”
Translation: I’m in a constant state of financial anxiety because I don’t know how to take control of my money. If your spending decisions happen in public, at the point of purchase and in real time, you are reacting to money rather than managing it.
Look around you. Everything near you used to be money. How many of the purchases you talked yourself into have been useful in the past 30 days?
13. “I’ll worry about that when I get there”
Translation: I accept a life of misery because I don’t want to deal with this mental pain right now. Later is more expensive than right now. The cavity you ignore at $100 becomes a $2,000 problem, and what you don’t learn or do at the right time comes to collect interest.
In the words of Pusha T quoted in the video, yesterday’s price is not today’s price. If you can get something done today, do it today instead of trading your future for a few minutes of comfort.
14. “Must be nice”
Translation: I believe you got lucky, and I’d rather resent you than figure out how you did it. The usual list is that they had help, timing, talent or parents. Even if you did not, the video says, you can’t still be blaming your parents at 37.
You mature when you realize your excuses are not observations. They are an emotional defense mechanism.
15. “That’s just the way it is and always has been”
Translation: I choose the comfort of a known misery over the fear of an unknown attempt at success. The thinking runs: this place is bad, but at least I have one, and what if things change and I get exposed?
This language worships familiarity even when familiarity hurts, and plenty of these phrases get passed down in families. Ask yourself how many you heard growing up.
Bonus: you can’t take it with you
But you can use it. You can leave it to your kids, use it to make them better, donate it to charity or change your neighborhood. If not for others, use it for yourself: see the world, ease the pain of your parents, or show them the world.
We don’t make money so we can take it with us. Money is a tool, and a tool you never use is useless.
Change the words, change the habits
None of these phrases is about money on the surface, yet each one shapes decisions about it: whether you act, whether you take ownership and whether you move now or later. Notice which ones you or the people around you use most often.
Replace each with a question or a decision. Where do I need to be? What can I do today? What would I do if I owned this?
FAQ
What does the language of the poor mean?
It means everyday phrases that shift responsibility away from you, such as “life is so hard” or “the system is rigged.” The video argues these excuses protect the ego while keeping people stuck.
Why does saying “everything is so expensive” keep people poor?
Because it focuses on prices you cannot control. The video argues the better move is to raise your earning power and work backward from the income you need to afford what feels expensive.
Why is “we’ll see” a problem?
It sounds flexible, but it avoids a clear yes or no and so avoids accountability. The video calls it cowardice wrapped in politeness.
What is the problem with saying “I’ll worry about it when I get there”?
Later is more expensive than right now. A cavity ignored at $100 can become a $2,000 problem, and what you don’t learn or do at the right time comes to collect interest.
What should you do instead of waiting for opportunities?
Put yourself in position to get lucky. If you haven’t earned your place in a room, get yourself in or make your own room.
Keep reading
- 15 Money Habits That Keep You Poor
- 15 Things Poor People Don’t Know About Making Money
- 15 Things Poor People Think Rich People Do (That They Actually Don’t)
