There are several reasons why people are broke. Here is my short list of reasons why people are broke and will continuously be broke. Your attitude towards money began when you were a child. You had great instructors and in most cases, they were your parents. Remember the axiom "from the root to the fruit?" Usually the fruit does not fall far from the tree, meaning that you are usually a product of your parents thinking. Sound Familiar?
Instead of waiting for your fate to magically change. You may want to take a serious look at all the things you are doing that may be contributing to your financial despondencies. That's right. Everything may actually be your own doing. Here are several known motives why people find themselves broke. You may recognize a few of them. If you follow some of the advice I am about to share with you, in time you will be able to dig yourself out of the hole you dug for yourself.
Many people have crutches that hold them back in life. Some people smoke, drink, eat tons of fast food and don't run unless they are being chased by a rabid dog. So maybe your health is not so great, but at least you are having a great time. Chances are, your finances aren't in good shape either. In most cases, bad habits are a big financial drain on your pocket book and there is nothing great about that at all. As a matter of fact, most people that I have come in contact with have many crutches they are depended upon. No one wants to admit they are suffering from multiple addictions. One thing that I am cognizant of is that if people can give up their personal crutches and extinguish their bad habits they can amass large amounts of money in short periods of time.
Just think about it for a second, a pack of cigarettes costs $8.00 on average and that comes out close to $2,900 a year on a pack-a-day smoking habit. Now, as for alcohol, even restrained drinking can add up. Just think of it, two glasses of wine a day can run you over $1,500 a year, and that calculation is based on consuming the cheap stuff at home. If you are a bar drinker and you prefer Bordeaux, you are paying a whole lot more. Wow! And you complain that you don't have money to go anywhere. I wonder why.
Another reason why people go broke would be that they try so desperately to keep up with the Joneses and don't realize in most cases that the Joneses are living a lie. Just because someone is driving a new car or is wearing an expensive gold watch doesn't mean that they are high rollers. Many people are living off credit cards. 70% of the people in the United States are living well over their head. The IRS states that only 5% of the American people are financially independent. That means that 95% of the American people are faking it. You should never try to live a lifestyle you cannot afford.
Instead of purchasing a new vehicle you might want to check out other options like purchasing a used vehicle in excellent condition. No one will know if it is a new vehicle or not, unless you tell them. The raw reality of it all would be that no one truly cares about you anyway. Lets' put my theory to the test. I want you to go outside every day for a month and ask everyone that you know or passes by to help you pay off your mortgage and vehicle loan. At the end of the month I want you to count the small change you have collected. You will find out what I already know. You will be no closer to paying of your home or vehicle or anything else for that matter. You may have enough to purchase a couple cheese burgers at the golden arches. Now, if you are trying to purchase a home, you may want to put down 20% and keep your monthly payment below 30% of your gross income. The golden rule when purchasing a home would be to own the home and not allow the home to own you. Don't become a prisoner of your home due to trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Do you have more month at the end of your paycheck? Are you taking care of an entourage that is not taking care of you? It is time for you to take a good look at the people you surround yourself with. Are you hanging around the wrong crowd? Didn't your mother use to tell you about hanging around the wrong crowd? I know my mother did. She use to tell me repeatedly "birds of a feather flock together" and she was right. I learned the hard way by hanging with the wrong people and yes, it did lead to trouble. The funny thing about what my mother told me back then still applies to me today. You have to be very careful of the people you surround yourself with. Everyone does not wish you well. You have gold-diggers, leeches, and other parasites out there that will latch on to you and strip your wallet or purse clean without leaving prints. They will come around empty handed and help you drink up, eat up, and spend up your money until it is all gone and once everything is gone, you will find no trace of them until the next time they sense you have something they want or need. They never seem to come around when they have money. Anytime you seen them, they have a tall tale to tell.
You have to make a list and check it twice, for you have to find out who's been naughty or nice. You must shun the parasites in your life. There comes a time in everyone's life to where they have to become cognizant of where they stand. They must take out the trash and know that they will be better off for doing so. You must become disciplined if you stand any chance of negating any bad habits you formed while surrounding yourself by the wrong crowd. Let me be the first to tell you. It will not be an easy road to follow, but it is surely probable.
I know that many people dread hearing about watching TV too much, but if you are watching TV too much you may want to pay close attention to this segment of this article. I get it, there is nothing like coming home from work and kicking off your shoes, getting comfortable on the couch, and cutting on the TV. But if you are falling behind on your financial obligations you may want to re-evaluate your comfort commitments with your TV set and make some major changes to your life-style obligations. Research found that 77% of those struggling financially spent more than an hour watching TV and 74% spent more than an hour surfing the internet for fun. Conversely, the majority of wealthy individuals spend their time engaging in self-development activities, getting involved in alterative income producing endeavors, and/or follow paths of their dreams that could very well lead to hefty financial rewards.
Whatever you do, don't let laziness, uncertainty, or fear keep you from reaching for the stars. Taking baby steps is better than not taking any steps at all when it comes to producing an alternative stream of income. If you have a spare room in your home, you may want to entertain the possibility of renting that room out to make ends meet.
I am sure your parents badgered you about how important it was to get an education. I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but they are right. I found out from experience long ago that your income can't surpass your knowledge. Oops! I let the cat out the bag. Lets' compare life time earnings between a typical high school graduate and a typical college graduate with a bachelor's degree. I am sure you will agree that the statistics are bewildering. Over a 40-year career, a worker with a bachelor's will earn $1 million more than a worker with just a public high school diploma. This is not a misprint. $2.42 million versus $1.37 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. If you have a master's degree, it bumps you up to $2.80 million. That is one world of a difference, wouldn't you agree!
Please keep in mind that going back to school does not guarantee a bigger paycheck, but it sure does not hurt to do so. If you do decide to go back to school, you will want to be cognizant of how much student loan debt you amass. A good practice that you will want to follow would be controlling the student loan amount borrowed. You will not want to borrow any more than you expect to earn in your first year of work.
There are several other reasons why you are always broke but I did mention that this was my short list. Just know that it is possible to turn it all around if you put your mind, heart, and soul into it.
If you would like to learn more about not becoming broke you may want to pick up my latest book "The Essential Keys To Financial Freedom." at http://www.drmarkhuddleston.com What are you waiting for? Do it today!
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