Now, before we start I’m not calling anybody poor. This article is merely created to get you to think about how you can become richer. Understanding what behaviors need to be corrected is the first step to achieving wealth.
Read: 10 Realistic ways to make a million-dollar in 1–3 years
Table of Contents
1. You watch too much TV and spend too much time on social media
Let me ask you something, how many hours do you spend on social media every day? Even though research seems to suggest that the average person spends 2.5 hours a day on social media, that number should be drastically larger for most people. I believe most people spend more than 2.5 hours a day on social media.
Now, let me ask you something else, what did you get out of watching TV or spending time on social media? Most of you will say nothing.
The things you do every day define how your life will be a year from now or ten years from now.
When you spend your time doing something that doesn’t bring you any value it is essentially a time-waster.
Many people seek different ways to escape the pain of being alive. It could be something that they experienced in the past that kept them up at night. It could be something in their daily life that they find hard to cope with. Whatever it is, many of us turn to watching TV and scrolling social media as an escape. It may offer you temporary freedom from your overwhelming thoughts but it may also bring you deeper into dependence for it in order to continue surviving.
Rich people are very good at using their time. They spend time on the things that bring them value. This doesn’t mean that they work 24/7 and never procrastinate but they do consciously make good choices on where their time is going.
Rich people spend their time reading books that help them grow in some ways, networking to expand their connections, learning things that aid in their success, socializing with friends and family to keep the connection alive, and taking care of their bodies so they can be here for the long haul.
You don’t have to reframe from watching TV or scrolling social media entirely but it is something to think about: how much time do you spend on something useless?
Something I must note is that for those of you concerned with productivity. It doesn’t mean that you should stay away from all things non-productive to think like the rich. Instead, the rich know how to relax the right way. You can’t pour from an empty cup so if you don’t take care of yourself you can’t do much else.
What you think may be an unproductive task can be in fact a nourishing way to make sure the rest of your time can be productive. Take, for instance, a relaxing bubble bath may seem like a waste of time when in fact it can be a great way to recharge and unwind at the end of the day so you can face tomorrow with a full battery.
Read: 7 Smart ways to make time go by faster at work
2. You eat too much fast food and convenience food
Something that you’ll realize if you can travel back in time to 500 years ago is that rich people tend to be fatter than the poor. Look at the modern rich people and poor people and you’ll realize a reversal. Rich people tend to look fit and healthy compared to poor people who tend to be a bit rounder in the waist. Why is that?
Well, in the past, only the rich can afford enough food to grow fat. Today, it’s not about the lack of food but the type of food that people of different social classes eat.
The poor opt for non-healthy foods and junk foods that aren’t healthy because it’s cheaper and more convenient.
The poor don’t make time (or don’t have time) to take care of their health as much so they eat whatever is the most convenient for them which oftentimes can be unhealthy.
Think about how cheap the food at Mcdonald’s is and then look at how expensive fruits and vegetables seem to be in major stores. You can understand why the poor make such food choices.
The rich typically are quite conscious of their health because they want to be here for a long time.
You are what you eat.
If you want to think more like the rich. You need to eat like the rich.
Fresh fruits and vegetables power your brain longer and make your brain less foggy than if you were to be filled with sweets and junk food. To make smart decisions, eating right is your first move.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. You can eat healthy without going broke. How? There are stores out there that sell less expensive fruits and vegetables than those that you find in major retail stores like Walmart. These stores are typically ethnic. Asian supermarkets typically carry fruits and vegetables that are fresher and cheaper than veggies that Walmart sells. With more experience, you’ll know what kind of vegetables and fruit to buy at Asian supermarkets and what not to. For instance, bananas are typically fresher at Walmart and the dairy products are typically cheaper at Walmart while most vegetables and fruits are cheaper and of higher quality at Asian supermarkets. Go to your local Asian grocery store if you want to save some money on food.
Read: How to make money as an artist: 19 Unheard ways
3. You have a lottery mindset
What is a lottery mindset? A lottery mindset describes the type of person who buys a lottery wishing that they’ll win the jackpot and become rich.
Most people who buy the lottery think that the ticket they have in their hands may make them rich. They may not hold much hope to it but they still think there’s a chance worth pursuing.
A person with a lottery mindset may apply this type of thinking to other things in their lives be it the NFT they just bought, the cryptocurrency they just spent their entire lifesaving on, etc.
Listen, it’s not wrong to want to become rich or spend some money on the lottery, NFT, or crypto. What is wrong is if you only do these things hoping you’ll make it big instead of working hard to make your goals come true.
Most people want to become rich but most don’t do anything about it. You see, most people who want to become rich would seek out ways that could potentially make them become rich in a short period of time without hard work.
Sure, you may luck out and become a millionaire with your NFT, crypto, or lottery but the chance of that is pretty low. You may lose everything chasing such a small chance.
Instead, what you should do is to think like the rich.
The rich don’t chase small hopes of making it big without much work. The rich get to work.
They make a clear plan of how they want to achieve their goals and strive after them. It may take a year or two or even longer but their persistence will pay off.
The lottery mindset will prevent a lot of you from working hard on something because you think you can make it big with something else if you are lucky enough.
You can certainly spend some money on the lottery, NFT, or crypto once in a while but you have to understand that most self-made riches come from consistent hard work, not quick luck.
Read: How to make money on Etsy 10 easy items to make and sell
4. You don’t save enough money
If you spend more than you make, you should listen up. Not saving enough money at the end of the month could be why you’re broke.
I know some of you aren’t able to save any money because you don’t make a lot and everything you make goes towards paying your bills but if you got spare money after subtracting your expenses, you should save it instead of squandering everything.
If you don’t make enough money for you to save money, you should think about how you can make extra money. Click here to find out 50 ways to make extra money today.
The money that you save has another use, invest. Why? Let’s talk about that next.
Read: How to improve emotional intelligence with these 10 unique ways
5. You don’t invest enough money
The reason the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is because the rich invest their money. The money they put in grows more money for them over time. On the other hand, the poor don’t invest their money. They either spend everything or focus only on saving money. You can’t save your way to riches. You have to be strategic about how you spend your money.
Go do your research on what to invest in. Not everything people are investing in is worth putting a dime into.
Something that rich investors like Warren Buffet may suggest is to look into index funds.
I’m not a financial advisor so you’ll have to do your own research to come to your own conclusion about what to invest your hard-earned cash into.
Read: 15 Signs of burnout you need to look out for
6. You only surround yourself with unsuccessful poor people
You’re the average of five people you spend the most time with. I’m sure you’ve heard of that phrase. This is in large part, quite true.
If you spend all your time around poor unsuccessful people who just want to get drunk on the weekends and party their life away without a care about how they live paycheque to paycheque, that’s who you’ll be.
When you start surrounding yourself around with those who have a vision, a goal, a dream that they are actively pursuing, you start to do the same with your goals as well.
The people you need to spend your time with should be the type of people who gets up early in the morning to work hard on their goals, they make concrete plans of how to get there, they talk about ideas, not people, they educate themselves on personal finance, they save their money and invest, they are positive and influential. Find these types of people, get into their circle, and watch your life change for the better.
Read: How to make money with podcasts
7. You don’t follow through with your plan
You can make all the plans you want but if you never follow through with your plan, nothing will come of it.
No one is good at anything when they first get started. Over time, we learn what we need to improve on and we perform better. Whatever it is. It could be blogging, driving, singing, you name it.
However, if you never make that first few steps you’d never get any better. Achieving your goals can be hard but you need to give yourself a fair fighting chance by at least following through with your plan.
You’ll learn things as you go and it all started with your choice to go through with it.
Read: How much do YouTubers make? You can do it too
Final thought
In the modern age, becoming wealthy is a matter of choice. If you got internet access and some time on the weekend or even an hour before work, you have some choices to make. What do you want your life to look like 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now?
All the rich people in the world today are not much smarter or luckier than you. They worked hard to get to where they are today. There are a lot of self-made millionaires who started out with nothing. If you’re broke right now, don’t use that as an excuse to not start changing things.
Your next step is to figure out where your time is going: Is it partying? Scrolling social media? Shopping? Playing video games? Hanging out with the wrong crowd? Watching TV? Gossiping? Watching porn? Getting drunk? Hooking up?
Once you figure out where you are spending all your time, you need to think about what you’re trying to escape from. Is it low self-esteem, childhood trauma, work stress, relationship stress, etc? It’s okay to admit to pain and hurt you’ve encountered in the past or still going through now. Understand that you shouldn’t let your past ruin your future.
This is what you must do to turn your life around.
I must warn you, it’ll get lonely when you’re getting your ducks in a row. This is why a Lamborgini has 2 seats and a bus has 50 seats (Saw the quote somewhere on the internet. Not my own quote. I personally don’t want a Lamborgini but if you do, this would be a great analogy for you).
You need to stop hanging out with the wrong crowd, let them hate you if they don’t support your sudden change for the better, spend your time building up other sources of income, you need to read personal finance books to educate yourself, you need to find other people who are interested in entrepreneurship, personal finance, starting a business, making money on the internet, building up a brand. Once you find these people, spend your time with them instead.
You need to take the money you earn to invest it. Don’t listen to only 1 or 2 people’s advice on how you should invest your money. Go read books, go attend conferences, go watch YouTube videos, and then decide for yourself.
Instead of partying, use the time to build up a business. Instead of getting drunk and high on the weekend, attend conferences to meet successful people who will mentor you. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself for whatever you’ve been through, use your experience to motivate you. This isn’t it. Nothing and no one should decide for you how the rest of your life will play out. A bad childhood or a bad encounter with people should not justify a lifetime of woe and self-pity. Pick yourself up and tell yourself you’ll make it anyway.
If you’re ready to close this chapter of your life and start another better one: read this article, it’s a summary of Rich Dad Poor Dad — A must-read personal finance book for anyone who wants to become rich. It covers things that rich people teach their kids the poor don’t.
I would also recommend you to read this article on starting your own brand on the internet as a content creator.
The possibility to achieve financial freedom has never been this high in the entire history of humankind. Use it or lose it.
