When the market was much better, lots of people were investing their money and finances into stocks and it worked out quite well for them. So, today, they are able to live off of their financial investments. On the other hand, many people have won the lottery or gotten settlements and have frittered it away only to end up poor and even in debt, once again. Now, keep in mind that this article is not referring to the rich and famous. It is talking about the wealthy and average. No fame or fortune proceeded the examples in this article- simply normal, every day people who were and are wise with their finances. Here are some differences between those who became rich and stayed that way and those who could not.
They Don’t Spend it All in One Place
Meaning, they don’t fly across the country in a private jet and have lunch in the fanciest restaurant just because they can. At least, not every day. Many wealthy people will still make their own lunches to take to work with them or out and about. There was a lady who used to carry carrot sticks in her purse in case she wanted a snack. When asked why she did this when she could simply buy something while she was out, she replied, “That is a waste. If I’m going to buy carrots to keep in my own, then I need to eat them, whether I am in the house or not.”
They Don’t Act Like They’re Rich
They don’t flaunt their money. If you notice, people who have a lot of money and are savvy with it (meaning they don’t have a financial advisor or manager but are able to do their financial planning themselves) will do interesting things like use a $2 off coupon at a restaurant or shop off the rack. Wealthy people who are not doing anything for show, don’t feel the need to act like they’re rich. Unless they are trying to impress the paparazzi, people with money still live like they did when they didn’t have money. The difference is that they probably own their cars and houses outright rather than making payments or they do a lot of travelling or something that is meaningful.
They Still Use a Budget
You may not think that wealthy people use annoying things like budgets or money management techniques, but they do. People who have money know exactly how much is in the bank. They may have to keep it all written down in order to remember where it all is and what investments they have, etc but they keep track of it and update their budgets and stick to them. They also usually know what their credit scores are and what their general net worth is if they sold all of their assets.
They Still Save Money
The wealthy understand that there is no amount that you can reach that makes you officially ‘rich.’ It doesn’t work like that. They also understand that they could lose it all with one wrong decision. Because of this, people will money still tend to save money. Maybe not in the same way that we do; they may not be setting aside a percentage of every income check, but they will do things like setting up tax free funds in order to avoid having to pay taxes on everything that they own. In fact, the more assets and money you have, generally the more taxes you have to pay so savvy financial minds will work away at ways that they can keep more of their money for themselves and not have to give it to the government.
We all wish we could be rich but if you can’t stick to a budget, save money, use coupons or curb spending now, then you will never be rich because you wouldn’t be able to do it when you have money and you would end up wasting it. Try and cultivate these habits now, while you build your finances and then you will be able hold on to them once you get them. Being able to set good habits now while failures and mistakes will not be detrimental, will help you immensely as your bank account grows over time.
