Anonymous wrote:

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

'Paying yourself first' mean that the first payment you make from your salary is in your retirement account and your savings/investment account. It means you are paying yourself first. It also means that you have a good handle of ho much money you actually are left with in each pay cycle for housing, childcare, food, insurance, royalties, utilities, loan repayment, utilities etc.

'Selling your time for money is your only income' means that you are only earning money from your job. You are not generating passive income from rent, dividends, stock market, options, side hustles, copyright etc. Jerry Seinfeld did not get rich because he acted in a TV serial. He got rich because of other gigs, reruns and royalties (https://moneymade.io/learn/article/jerry-seinfeld-net-worth)

Anonymous wrote:Getting married and having children really clipped my income/career progression. I know a lot of people who pull it off successfully but I did not. Throw in some bad luck (children's health) and we never managed to get ahead of the curve.

My only positive trait has been that I am cheap as the day is long. I would have comfortably quit working years ago if I was single.

Anonymous wrote:

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 wrote:Leasing trucks

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You have to write down everything you buy every day in detail. After 30 days of writing all expenses, you will have a fair idea of what you are spending on.

So, don't just write "starbucks". Write down "Latte Coffee" and "Muffin" and break down that cost in a way that you can understand. My DD buys a lot of snacks and junk from Trader Joes. A lot of her food is grocery she uses. Then a lot of stuff is low cost junky but cute stuff. Unless she writes it down, she will not know what she is paying for. Same goes for filling gas in her car. She will stop at the gas station and buy water and gum.

I gave her the same advice that I gave you. Write down every single thing that you spend on.