The Truth About Money

With the climate of our nation's economy the way it is and the ever present threat of a disappearing middle class, it is becoming more and more important for us to take control of our financial futures. Everytime I have a talk with friends about this topic, someone inevitably makes the comment that it would be easier to plan and take control of their finances if they had more.. finances. While on the surface that may sound like a logical thought, I've learned that as contradictory as it seems- you can't solve money problems with money.

Hard to believe, I know- however, experts agree that it is very, very true. Believe it or not, 30-40% of lottery winners end up committing suicide within a very short time of obtaining their pay offs while 100% of millionaires who actually earned their money and subsequently lost it all regained their fortunes again. What does this mean?? It's not money that makes you rich, rather it is your thoughts about money that make you rich.

That being said, I am very interested in the habits of the rich. What is it about their thoughts that make them look at money differently from the poor. Although there are many books, articles, and blogs on the subject, the common factors are listed below.

1. The rich pay themselves FIRST. If a rich man is given $1,000, he immediately puts at least 10% aside for savings. The remaining 90% is what he then uses to budget and support his lifestyle. Poor people in contrast, support their lifestyle first and look to save whatever is left- which is often $0

2. The rich are constantly looking for ways to make their money work for them. A rich man would rather pay $500 a month on website maintenance, business advertising, and association fees so that they can own a company that will make him a profit every month while the poor would rather pay $500 a month on a liability such as a car payment- which can never make them a profit.

3. Lastly, the rich realize that wealth has nothing to do with how much money you make, but all to do with how much money you keep. If Person A makes $3,000 a month but after all of his expenses is only able to save $50, he is no better off than Person B who makes $500 a month but lives below his means and is able to save $300. Over time, Person B is in a much better position than person A and can begin to use his accumulated wealth to live a much more fulfilling life.

If you're like me, one of your goals in life is to be wealthy. It's not enough to find a high paying job, we have to change our thoughts and habits as they relate to money. Once we do that, we will soon find ourselves being able to be more comfortable around money and able to think about money practically and positively- and only then can we truly be wealthy.