7 Things Poor People Do That The Rich Will Never Do
The goal of becoming rich is in everyone’s mind. You can’t stop yourself but fantasies to join the club of the wealthiest people in the world.
Especially when you come across stories of people who rose out of ashes and built multi-billion dollar empires larger some nations.
If in the past you had to be born in the noble family to have a shot to get rich, now its different. The 21st century is the best period to be alive, especially if you come from an average family.
Despite the progress we have made, most people are still stuck in the cycle of poverty. And in many cases, it’s not their fault that they have been born in a place where there aren’t many opportunities.
But for those of us who are slightly luckier, Most of us are stuck in the rat race. Where no matter how hard we work, we end up living paycheck to paycheck.
It’s like chasing a dream that you can’t catch. The only problem is, time is limited, so one day you will find out that you are old, it’s too late. You can’t enjoy life as you did back when you were 20, and what did you waste your youth at? You worked hard just to own a house at best.
Does it really worth it? The problem is that there are certain habits that we do on daily bases that keep us poor, and as long as they are part of our lives, chances you will escape the rate race are low, so let’s find out 7 real things that poor people do that are keeping them poor.
1. Poor people have different priorities.
The path to becoming wealthy might not be easy, but there are some obvious rules like work hard, live frugally for a while, or take some risks.
You don’t have to be a genius to figure that out. However, despite that, most people chose a mediocre life. Most people settle for the average.
And that’s not all bad. It all comes down to priorities. What matters the most to you. If you seek a stable, peaceful life where you have a normal job, so that you have time to spend with your family, friends, and so on, if that makes you happy, that might be the best option for you.
But if financial freedom is a more important goal for you, then your decisions are going to be different. There are some sacrifices you have to make, such as spending most of your free time working, denying yourself all the pleasures you can afford because you have to invest all that extra money and so on. Rich people understand that and set their priorities where getting wealthy is at the top of that list.
It doesn’t mean there are better than others. It just means they are just going to be financially free sooner. And that takes me to the second point.
2. Poor people focus on short term gains
If you look at life more broadly, you will realize that we are given a choice either to enjoy short term pleasures now or be patient and get huge rewards later.
And there isn’t a wrong decision. Take Jeff Bezos, for example. While it might seem great to have a net worth of 170 billion dollars, the question comes down to – what did he sacrifice to get there.
While you were hanging out with friends, partying at clubs every weekend, traveling with friends, Bezos had to sacrifice all of his youth to be where he is today.
This is his office back when he was already a multi-millionaire. I bet most of you have a much better office even though you are living paycheck to paycheck. The question you have to answer is: would you rather enjoy short term pleasures or be patient and work hard for long term rewards? Maybe you believe that life is too short and you will be better off enjoying it rather than working overtime.
But at the end of the day, long term rewards are always much bigger than short term gains because of the power of compounding.
A hundred dollars today worth a hundred dollars, but the exact same 100 dollars invested worth a thousand dollars 30 years later at an 8 percent rate of return. Of course, this an extreme example, but you get the idea.
3. Poor people think that managing money means being cheap.
Hollywood movies misled many people about what it means to be rich. Most people think that being rich means spending money like there is no tomorrow and being cheap means you are poor. But in reality, its the other way around.
When you understand the value of money, you know that every dollar matters. Being rich doesn’t necessarily means being able to spend millions on a glass of wine but rather having enough assets that would help you to maintain your lifestyle even if you don’t work.
So that you spend your time doing what you love instead of being worried about paying the bills. The goal isn’t to look rich but to be rich even if that means being cheap sometimes.
4. Poor people don’t know the difference between price and value.
You probably have heard the saying: price is what you pay for, value is what you get. Just because something is cheap, doesn’t mean its a good deal.
Would you rather buy a quality pair of shoes for 500 bucks that would last you 10 years or a 50 bucks shoes that would last a few months at best? This is an extreme example, of course.
But you shouldn’t be looking at prices only but rather at what you get in return, and then look at the price and decide if it worth it or not.
When Warren Buffett invests. He never looks at a price but rather studies the business and figures out if its a great valuable business and then looks at the price to decide if it worth buying or not.
5. Poor people don’t understand the game of money.
Money is a game. It has its set of rules and principles and if you are bad at this game. You are probably going to lose. Just because you are making money doesn’t mean you know how to manage it properly. It doesn’t matter what game you are playing.
If you don’t know the rules, chances you will win are extremely narrow. Master the rules, learn how the game works. And the more you play it, the better you get.
Poor people play defense. Their primary goal is not to win or to be at the top but rather not to lose. They just want to pay all the bills and stay out of debt.
The problem with this strategy is that when your goal is to simply to be above the water, that’s maximum what you will get.
To create real wealth, you should stop playing defense and start playing offense and shoot for the stars. Learn How to make your money work for you, how to build assets that would provide you with passive income.
6. Poor people think they know everything.
And this is one of the fundamental problems. Try teaching a poor person how to manage their money. They will tell you that: its none of your business! It’s my money, and I can do with it whatever I want.
Or when you tell them that instead of getting into debt, how about you try to cut your expenses first. They will end up telling you that they can’t do that.
They have to maintain their lifestyle. Almost every poor person that I have ever talked to honestly thinks that he knows everything that there is to know about money, and everything else.
But in reality, they know nothing. And if you tell them to read a book on money management, for example, they would tell, you think I don’t know how to manage my money? Get the hell out! And this mentality will keep anyone poor and miserable.
One of the fundamental things that I have learned in my life is, if I am bad at something, I have to admit that first and pickup a book maybe and learn.
7. Poor people focus on obstacles.
No matter what you do, there are always going to be problems. It all comes down to whether you are going to focus on these obstacles or on how to overcome them.
People tell me all the time that I want to start a business, but I don’t have enough money, I don’t have the time, I don’t have the skills, and so on.
I get it, it’s not easy, but the question is, why are you complaining? If you want to start a business! Find the time, find out how earn money, and learn the skills.
There isn’t any other option. You either going to do it or not. There is never going to be such a time where the business will start itself, where the time will find itself, and the money will be running to you.
You are either going to focus on how to overcome the obstacles or just keep complaining about them. And that’s your list of 7 things that poor people do that are keeping them poor.
Of course, this list could be much longer. That’s why it’s your time to let me know what would you add to it.
