Everybody wants to be rich, but most people will not become rich; only a select few will. The question is, will you be among the top few, or will you barely make ends meet for the rest of your life?
The truth is, that everybody has the potential to be rich, but some people will never be rich. You might be wondering why that might be, but you may unknowingly erect obstacles to your financial success. Below are 10 reasons why you will never be rich.
1. You are happy being poor
There is a difference between being content and being complacent. You can be content and happy with your lot in life and still strive to have more. But if you are complacent, you are too self-satisfied to think of having more. Contentment is key to living a happy and content life, whereas complacency will tie you down and prevent you from soaring higher.
Some people think being rich is a privilege awarded only to lucky people, and if they are not destined to be rich, there’s nothing they can do to change that. You should view being rich as a fundamental right you ought to have.
When you see rich people, think to yourself “Why not me?”. Establish high standards for yourself. When you begin to think like that, you will slowly begin to develop the mindset to become wealthy.
2. You do not have a plan
The main reason most people don’t get what they want is because they don’t know what they want. Rich people are rich because they decide to pursue money, so if you want to be rich you have to consciously pursue money.
And it’s not enough to want to become rich, you have to think of a way to get there. Setting a clear, defined objective before creating a financial plan will make the process of building money simpler and more pleasurable.
First, think of where you want to be in the next ten years. Would you want to purchase a home? Do you want to live overseas? Have a significant net worth and savings account? Put these objectives in writing.
Clearly define what you want your net worth to be by then and the standard of living you want to have. Next, set important milestones for your 10-year journey, then break it down little by little. Little improvements daily are better than a big achievement once in a while. So develop daily habits that will bring you closer to your goal.
3. You have no skills
Almost everyone can amass enough money, and maybe even enormous riches, to enjoy the pleasures of life with a little bit of education, a lot of hard effort, and discipline. But if you have no education or professional skills, then you have no means to make money in the first place.
Most times, credentials alone are not enough, you need a skill to be invaluable to employers if you want good compensation. You also need a skill most of the time to provide value to others if you want to be self-employed.
To become rich education is fundamental. Your education may not conform to the standards of society, but without knowledge, you will go nowhere in life. Even billionaires who were school dropouts used the knowledge they had to create something invaluable to society and that has made them rich today. With knowledge, you can build skills and with the skills you have, you can start making money and work your way to wealth.
4. You work hard not smart
You will never be rich if you are lazy, but if all you do in life is work really hard, you’re never going to get wealthy. Working smart is just as important as working hard to secure future riches.
So how do you work smart? You first need to work hard. You need to lay the groundwork first, then build your skills to the level where you can do more in less time and with minimal effort. Look for ways to make your current job easier, find a job that pays better, delegate some work to others, use technology, create passive income streams, and so on.
5. You do not save or invest
We always fall into the temptation of improving our lifestyle first when our financial situation improves. We want a newer and more expensive phone, a nicer apartment, a car, a change of wardrobe, and so on even if we do not need those things. We only think of improving our savings when our needs have been met.
Having that kind of mindset will turn you into a spend-only individual. Because let’s face it, you will never run out of things to buy, but you will quickly run out of money to spend. Save first, then spend, and then save what’s left over.
Building money requires making saving a top priority. Start by setting up an emergency fund that may be used in case of sickness, unemployment, or other unanticipated disaster. After you have saved a healthy emergency fund, the next step is to start investing. Without at least making some investments, it will be quite difficult for the average worker to become a billionaire.
Even while you may feel secure because you are putting your life savings under the mattress, inflation is eating away at your buying power, and you are losing money every day. You will want the assistance of compound interest via some kind of investment if you wish to become and stay financially independent.
I will acknowledge that investing in any kind of financial instrument, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and even real estate, has some risk. The dangers of not investing, in my view, are considerably worse.
There will never be a better time to begin saving than now, so stop putting it off. You will be in a better position than if you never began, even if you are only able to save a little amount. You’ll be shocked to learn that you don’t even miss the money you’re saving. Over time, the small savings rate might increase to a significant amount.
Remember, wealth isn’t measured by the amount you make each year, but by how you’ve saved and invested over time.
6. You spend too much
A sad fact is that most people are living above their means. The secret to financial success isn’t blowing your whole income every month. Neither is depleting your bank account or increasing your debt. Tracking monthly expenditures is a good place to start when trying to control spending. Look for places where you can make cuts that are not necessary.
Although new items are pleasant, they are sometimes not the greatest investments. Consider automobiles. According to some experts, a new car loses 30% of its value in the first two years, including the instant decrease that occurs as soon you purchase the car. Estimates vary, but after five years, the typical car’s value drops by 44%.
7. You are surrounded by the wrong people
What determines your future more than anything is the type of people you keep around you. Never underestimate the power of peer influence. If a majority of your friends are smokers, chances are that even if you do not develop the habit, you will taste it at least once.
We all want to feel among, no one wants to be the odd one out. While this is usually viewed as a human flaw, we can use it to our advantage. If all your friends are rich, then you will be motivated to become rich too and you will have more opportunities to become rich.
8. You don’t spend money on yourself
Spending money on cars, clothes, and fun, is spending money on wants not on yourself. Spending money on anything that will not increase your value is a waste. After saving, you should be the top priority. Spend money on education, boot camps, and courses that will help you grow your skills and value.
Spend money on things that will help you improve your health both physically and emotionally. Get a medical checkup, eat healthy, go to the gym, buy self-care books, donate to charity, and so on. These will help you become a better person all around.
9. You chose the wrong career
A career takes a long time to build, so choosing the wrong career is damage that will take a long time to repair. Selecting a profession that you like and that has the potential to pay enough to support your preferred lifestyle is a significant life ambition for many people, even though it may be easier said than done.
When you’re just starting your journey in the professional world, you may be confused about the career you want to pursue and that’s okay. You can spend time pursuing different careers before finally deciding on the one to follow for the rest of your life. It’s better to spend time choosing now than regret your choice along the line.
10. You lack basic financial knowledge
This might be the most significant barrier to your financial success. You’re restricting your future earning potential if you don’t invest in financial training, personal growth, and ongoing education.
If you cannot manage the little money you have today, you will never be able to grow your wealth, and even if great wealth is handed to you on a silver platter, you will end up squandering it away.
You don’t need to be an expert. All you need is the barest minimum – know how to create and follow a budget, and the basics of investing. With that, you can keep growing your knowledge and master your finances.
Conclusion
If any of the points above apply to you, then you will never become rich in your life. However, it is not too late to change course. You can always put a stop to the bad habits that you have and develop new ones that will help you achieve your goals in life.
