What money habits keep you poor?

[Anonymous]

Following a passion career while coming from a LMC background

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Children

I see many people make the mistake of overspending on their children. I understand they want their kids to have a certain type of childhood, but what looks like a middle class lifestyle costs so much more than it used to.

[Anonymous]

Addiction
Gambling
Spending on wants vs needs (ie fashion, expensive cars)
Renting instead of buying early
Paying bills and taxes late
Getting sued
Divorce
Counting on someone else’s career to provide for you
Not maximizing earning ability
High interest loans
Credit card debt
Being gullible, naive, trusting or exploitable
Being conflict averse
Not collecting debts
Not standing up for yourself
Lending money to friends or family
Borrowing against future earnings at high interest
Buying disposable junk instead of quality
Paying a financial advisor more than 1%
Prioritizing being hip, cool, blue, liberal, or in a specific place over being financially sound

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read this list somewhere. Add yours.

What money habits keep you poor? [quote/]

1. Lack of spending discipline. - Yes
2. Lack of earning power - No, but I am currently underpaid and not aggressively enough seeking higher paid employement.
3. Lack of work discipline. - Not at all. I am a superstar and am capable of a lot.
4. Lack of financial literacy. - No
5. You are not paying yourself first. - Yes
6. Impulsive buying. - Yes
7. Broke people are influencing you. - No
8. Selling your time for money is your only income. - Yes

My DH and I are both unfortunately spenders. I have to continually remind him of the importance of saving (outside of retirement) but it doesn’t come easily to me either. We have a healthy HHI income but are living paycheck to paycheck, which I find pathetic and infuriating. I am working on it.

One thing we have improved upon is eating at home. We were spending hundreds a week eating out. So…baby steps.

[Anonymous]

Being so afraid of debt that I didn't go to grad school. My earning potential is pretty lackluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read this list somewhere. Add yours.

What money habits keep you poor?

1. Lack of spending discipline.
2. Lack of earning power
3. Lack of work discipline.
4. Lack of financial literacy.
5. You are not paying yourself first.
6. Impulsive buying.
7. Broke people are influencing you.
8. Selling your time for money is your only income.

7 and 8

[Anonymous]

Being too frugal that I don't value my own time and mental stamina despite having more than enough income to outsource most work / labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Following a passion career while coming from a LMC background

This.

[Anonymous]

Lack of earning power. I’m a teacher, I can piece together $1000 stipends here and there but I will never have excessive money.

[Anonymous]

--Having three kids
--Being a woman
--Working for social-justice oriented nonprofits instead of a more lucrative field
--Buying too many shirts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of earning power. I’m a teacher, I can piece together $1000 stipends here and there but I will never have excessive money.

This is depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Children

I see many people make the mistake of overspending on their children. I understand they want their kids to have a certain type of childhood, but what looks like a middle class lifestyle costs so much more than it used to.

True, with all of what that entails: a larger house with a larger mortgage because every kid has to have their own room/American Dream, a good school district because!, so many activities all over the place that two cars are necessary, and then evenings are so chaotic that take-out is so convenient, and then the kids want cars at 16 to drive to school but they need to be new because safety, and it's an arms race for college so tutors and test prep, and then it's shameful to go to community college so paying 60K a year for a loser college instead, if the kid isn't good enough to get into the state flagship or a higher-tier college.

It's EASY to fall into that trap. We did buy in a great school district and paid a premium for it, although we sacrificed space so we don't have that large a mortgage. We did pay thousands in tutors and test prep. And our oldest DC, who has special needs, is going to a private university with a 50% acceptance rate - so not loser college, but we did turn down UMD honors because we knew disability services weren't going to be that good. And come what may, we try to cook from scratch because it's cheaper. And no new cars!

But I can feel the temptation of just paying more and more for all kid-centric things...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read this list somewhere. Add yours.

What money habits keep you poor?

1. Lack of spending discipline.
2. Lack of earning power
3. Lack of work discipline.
4. Lack of financial literacy.
5. You are not paying yourself first.
6. Impulsive buying.
7. Broke people are influencing you.
8. Selling your time for money is your only income.

1 and 6 are the same. Yes, unable to control your spending would be no. 1. it's not how much you make, it's how you spend your money.

No, sometimes it’s about what you make. There’s a limit to how much you can reduce fixed costs. If you are a single parent in the dc area making less than 50k you are going to stay poor no matter how financially disciplined you are.

+1 for how much you make being more important than monitoring spending. Sure, there are some people that have no self control and don't save anything, but those are outliers. For most families making more money will move the dial in terms of lifestyle vs pinching pennies.

[Anonymous]

-Divorce
-Addiction
-Having a child with an unstable support system at a young age/before you have savings built up
-Taking out Parent Plus, private, HELOC, 401k or TSP loans to send your kids to college

[Anonymous]

Leasing trucks