People like to blame their finances either on the environment they live in or on society’s standards. No one believes in the American dream anymore. But, it is still here and has been for a while. The only reason you have no money is because of your terrible money decisions.
I understand you want that brand new car or phone, but can you afford it? Is spending $20,000 on a new car out of your $40,000 yearly salary a good idea? No, not at all. People love to live a life that is 10x more than their annual salary, and that is the problem. How do you expect to build any wealth if you are spending more than half of your salary? Here’s what you need to do. First, you need to pay off any existing debts, such as student loans, car loans, and credit card debt. Think about debt this way. The money you have in your checking or savings accounts right now isn’t even for you. It’s for another company or person to take. Doesn’t that make you feel terrible? If you have more debt than actual money, you are considered broke in today’s society. You need to live on rice and beans. Meaning you need to stop spending money on things you don’t need, like new cars, technology, and restaurant food. You need to pay off debt, and then you can finally build some wealth. But how do you build wealth? Save your money, and invest. Your salary is your strongest wealth builder. Avoid buying any items that are considered luxury items.
When you build a lot of wealth and become a millionaire, you can buy those luxury items, that’s completely fine. Also, put money in your retirement plan. If you let that money sit from your 20s to your 60s, you will be considered a millionaire, and you can buy whatever you want. But only invest once you have all of your debts paid off. Invest in the stock market in your 20s. Compound interest is a vital wealth-building tool. For example, let’s say you have an $80,000 yearly salary. If you want to build wealth, you should be living off $20,000 of that and save the rest. That is how you truly build wealth.
It doesn’t help you to think that you can’t become wealthy because of society or the environment. Having that mindset will become destructive, and you’ll always be poor. If you want to be wealthy, take my advice and go out and do it. You are in control of your life, no one else.
