House "Poor": Asset Rich, Cash Poor

What actually is house "poor"? In singapore, I call these people asset rich, cash poor people. Let me explain. House poor is a situation that describes a person who spends a large proportion of his or her total income on home ownership, including mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance and utilities. House poor individuals are short of cash for discretionary items and tend to have trouble meeting other financial obligations like vehicle payments.

People typically become house poor because they buy more house than they can afford, but there are other ways that people can become house poor as well. For example, some people will become house poor after the birth of a child, when one spouse decides to stay at home with the new addition, rather than going back to work.

I have coined another term called Car "poor". These individuals own expensive and branded cars but stay in a small, public housing unit. Why these people choose to be car poor? The reason is simple: People usually do not follow you home to see where you stay. But they do get to see you on and off the road daily. So, rather than putting your wealth in hard solid ground, they prefer to show off their wealth through...right, their rides.

There is simply a high correlation between the car you drive and the type of house you live in. Hence, if you drive a BMW, you must be rich and possibly staying in a big private house. This assumption is faulty but, well, that's what shallow people think. At the end of the day, you are the best person to access who are the real wealthy ones and who are the fakes.