I've seen both sides....wealth and poverty. From birth to age 11 I experienced wealth in my home. From age 12 and beyond my parents suffered lots of financial hardship....bankruptcy, foreclosure on our home, collapse of their business, repossession of vehicle, tattered clothes, no money, etc.... We went from Cadillac to Pinto wagon and times were very lean.
My wife has experienced worse though. She's gone from warm house and normal living to utter collapse of family, differing forms of abuse, divorce, time in battered women's shelter as a kiddo, moving school to school, barely living paycheck to paycheck (and many times not), months of toast and gravy for each meal, etc....
People have experienced far worse than both of us ever have, but I'm thankful for the difficult times because it gives us perspective today and allows us to cherish the blessings in our lives so often taken for granted.