Poor, broke and the difference

Writing is free. It costs only a little attention and some time, but that's it. And it helps buy perspective, which is also free, and probably why a lot of people don't bother with it. No one likes counting burritos.
For me, frustration comes from the struggle to survive. From scrounging change to buy coffee, since you know you won't scrounge enough to pay the thirty-seven dollar tax bill, to staring at burritos you can't eat in the fridge because you'll be hungry tomorrow too; survival is the state of mind born of being broke.
It's not poor, it's broke.
When you have nothing left in your account, just zeroes, and no way to inject numbers into it until the next pay check, that is broke. When your parents are dead and therefore have nothing to offer you, that is broke. When you count out those burritos and see you have four left, but five days until pay day, so you look to make sure there's still a cup of rice for the fifth day; that is broke. When you know how many miles your car can go with the gas light on, etc., Broke is the look of fear on a person's face when they go home, praying there won't be a note on the door from the landlord.
Poor is a step up. It means there are parents that can give you money when it's needed. It means cash comes at you from other avenues, which you do not have to pay back or work for. Don't say you have no money when you have four thousand in savings. Don't comiserate with the dope counting burritos. One is the fear of the gutter and other is the fear of inconvenience.
And there's a big difference between the two.