I’ve heard it many, many times. Most recently, while I was complaining that for some reason it seems that even though I’m making more money, I’m not really getting anywhere. I still don’t have enough money. Even though I reach each monthly goal that I think I’ll never make, it’s never enough.
“Everyone knows, the more you make, the more you spend,” says good friend I’m complaining to.
Yes, everyone has heard that. But it can’t possibly be a valid excuse for staying broke. It actually doesn’t even make great sense when you think about it. This I think is why broke people stay broke. We think we need more, we think we deserve more, we spend money on things we didn’t need before we had the money.
I heard once that broke people stay broke mainly out of habit. A bunch of bad habits to be more specific. Which explains why a person could win a truckload of cash on a scratch off ticket and be right back where they started in less than a month. You’ve heard the stories. We’ve all gasped and thought, “what a moron. I’d never…”
When broke people get money they spend it. We get a tax refund, we spend it. We are given a few extra dollars, we spend it. We work more and make more and…we spend it. Fiscally intelligent people and people with money, know that if you don’t have any money and you get a couple thousand extra, you don’t treat yourself to a fantastic dinner party, shopping spree for your entire family, a new car you didn’t need before, or a vacation that will leave you with nothing to show for it. It is nice, as I’ve stated in previous posts, to treat ourselves. There is a difference between wasting every penny of extra money that we get and rewarding ourselves occasionally with a latte.
This is obviously a problem I have or I wouldn’t have been complaining in the first place. I struggle with having extra money and not touching it. I’ve cut out a lot of expenses, I have paid down a bunch of bills and I have budgeted fairly well for over a year. I am still not doing well, and if I get a big head thinking I have somehow accomplished something I could end up right back where I started.
No matter how much money you make, if you don’t manage it wisely, you won’t get anywhere. I should know this from my past and I should have learned by now.
My new Anti-Broke Person’s Mantra: I will not be a broke person my entire life. I will be one of the financially intelligent.
It may not be now or anytime soon, but my reward will be a debt free life. I just have to keep my head on a little while longer.
5 Comments
I definitely applaud this mantra! I know that we all like to scoff at people who spend all their lottery money, but we’d like to do the same things. I read some posts on reddit that were posted by a millionaire who had won the lottery. He gave his sister, mother, and father each one million and told his parents that any money that went to the relatives had to come from their $2 million. Then he put $2 million in an eff-you-I-have-money account and put $14 million in a blind trust. The first two million he spent on properties and flying around the world. One of his goals is to hit every country in the world.
Oh you make me laugh, Mneiae. I especially like the eff-you-i-have money account. That is definitely something we should all work toward!
Everybody is different, but it is easiest for me to take some off the top or “Pay Myself First”. I have quadruppled my income in the past twenty years, but it still seems like my paycheck runs out twice a month and the bank account is near zero. Luckily, I have already put away 20% by then and am never really broke. My idea of an eff-you fund is not being stuck in a job I hate. Travel is next on the agenda.
Smart idea (about the 20%). I’ve heard this before, then at least when your account is empty, you’ve at least already put away your savings. Agree on the eff-you fund. Wish we could all be freed from those jobs we hate.
Great article! I’m looking forward to reading more.
Blessings,
Kellie Alexander