To Become Wealthy, You Need to Unlearn These 6 Bad Money Habits First

Nearly half of Americans have less than $500 in savings.

Crazy, right? If that statistic isn’t bad enough, more than 60% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. And that stat also applies to many who earn more than $100K a year.

So, what the heck is going on?

Is it all the government and inflation’s fault?

Partially, and we’ll get to that, but it’s the habits of so many people today. They live with terrible money habits that make them broke or keep them from ever achieving financial freedom. And that’s the saddest aspect: It’s an unintentional choice resulting in their poor money habits.

So, let’s explore how we can be more intentional with our money by unlearning the habits that made us poor and keep many from ever breaking through to abundance.

1. Lack of Financial Discipline

If people were as disciplined with their money as with scrolling social media, everyone would be rich.

The average person checks their phone every 12 minutes or roughly 80 times daily. According to the latest available data, people spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes daily on social media.

They could use that two and ½ half hours daily to create better money habits. Instead, they aimlessly doom scroll.

These same people (funny enough) are also the ones who have less than $500 in savings and live paycheck-to-paycheck.

If that’s you, devote less time to these social sites and implement the following habits and money goals:

Not Having a Budget/Not Tracking Spending

As Brandon Carter taught me and often says in his content, “If you’re not tracking, you’re slacking.”

Studies have shown countless times how tracking anything (money, weight loss, etc.) improves results.

Create a budget and track every cent you spend. Monitor what goes in and out of your bank account.

No Savings Goal

The same crowd also had no savings goal they were working toward. So, the obvious next step is creating a savings account goal.

You can’t hit a target you don’t see. And you can’t see a target that doesn’t even exist.

Create a target savings goal and work toward it daily. Yes, daily.

Late Payment Charges

Never fall victim to this scam.

Financial institutions know that society is lazy. And they bank on the laziness and irresponsibility of the masses with late charges.

Create banking alerts to warn you of your balance, and if you have bills due on specific dates, turn on the notifications from the corresponding apps. Take it further by putting reminders in your Google calendar so this never happens to you.

Impulse Buying

This tactic is another trap companies create to steal money from you.

Every dollar matters if you’re struggling to make ends meet, living paycheck-to-paycheck. Every cent matters! And you’ll never break free unless all of your money is put toward your goal.

Never give in to impulse buying. I don’t care if you’re with friends and feel “social pressure” or whatever else you tell yourself. It’s all an excuse to justify poor habits.

Make your financial discipline ironclad. Only spend on the essentials.

2. Relying On Handouts and Thinking They’re Good

Relying on someone else for success or a “lucky break” is a recipe for disaster.

Many think, and sometimes expect, that the rich should give away their money or that the government should help them out of their financial turmoil. People love getting handouts and stimulus checks from the government.

I’ll let this quote about free money do the talking:

You may get free money, but what good is it if the cost of living increases?

Inflation is a tax. Since the 2020 stimulus checks, living costs have increased 19%. How? Because the inflation calculation you hear in the news is cumulative.

Inflation is how you are taxed again if you don’t own financial assets. It’s a big reason why the middle class is disappearing. The worst money habit in history is relying on handouts.

Become self-sustaining instead. Become immune to inflation through investing and acquiring assets.

3. The “Lottery” Mentality

This concept is one of my favorites.

It’s the idea of “quick” wealth. People think that if they could just win the lottery, strike it rich, go viral, etc., their money problems would solve themselves.

Money isn’t the problem. You and your habits are.

Nearly ⅓ of lottery winners are entirely broke 3 to 5 years later. And that number increases to 70% over five years.

Wealth isn’t built quickly. Creating the mindset, habits, businesses, and skills to generate and keep wealth takes time. Sure, money can always be made quickly. But having lasting, impenetrable wealth takes time. And a lot of it.

Stop looking to get rich quickly. Start cultivating the habits and actions that’ll keep you rich forever.

4. Running From Boredom

Most people who struggle with money act like they have ADHD while high on cocaine.

They’re so desperate to make money and break free that they suffer from “shiny object syndrome.” That means they never stick to anything long enough to bear the fruit of their labor.

They start a business, get “high” on the idea of making money from home or their computer, announce their brand to the world, expecting money to flow in, and then the high wears off because reality shows up.

No money drops in their lap. Instead, the cold-hard truth hits them in the face that they need to grind and put time and reps in to grow their business and income. That doesn’t feel good, so they hop to the next new “shiny” opportunity to make money. And the cycle of wasting time and not getting results continues.

Here’s the secret: Your income directly correlates to how much boring, tedious, monotonous work you are willing to put in for long periods of time.

You will have to send more messages, make more sales calls, and do more fulfillment than you’ve ever imagined. And it’ll take even longer than you think, so be prepared.

Boring isn’t sexy. But it is effective. There’s power in consistency, and consistency is undefeated.

5. Needing to Have Multiple Streams of Income

This nasty habit is a companion of the former.

People don’t have one job and a side hustle. They have a full-time job, an online clothing store, a dog walking business, and they drive Uber.

You might laugh reading this, but I’ve spoken to prospects on sales calls that list off all their “income streams.”

You’ll often hear a saying in business: “The average millionaire has multiple income streams.”

That’s true. Some millionaires have more, and some have less.

Society hears that and then thinks that’s what they must do to become rich: Have and create multiple income streams! What they need to remember is that millionaires have multiple income streams. Not the average Joe, living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Most millionaires made the bulk of their money with one method, sometimes after decades of work. ONE stream made them wealthy–not three, or five, or seven, but ONE. It was only after they made their money that they created other streams.

If you have more than one side hustle or “business,” you’ll stay broke forever because you’re splitting your focus into too many directions. Focus on one method, one stream, to build your wealth. Then, expand and diversify how money comes to you.

6. Spending Time to Save Money

The poor person laughs when someone rich says they never cook. They think it’s ridiculous. Of course, they laugh because they don’t understand it.

They think it’s because the rich have money and can afford it. They (poor people) see eating out or ordering meals as an expense the rich use to flaunt their wealth.

Not cooking, grocery shopping, or ordering a meal service isn’t flaunting wealth. And it’s not an expense either. It’s an asset.

I’ll let this quote illustrate my point:

Tattoo this on your brain: Poor people spend their time to make money. Rich people spend their money to save time.

Saving money doesn’t make you wealthy. Making more money does. So that’s where you should focus your time.

The BMM Takeaway

Oftentimes, growth isn’t about adding something new. It’s about letting go of what’s holding you back.

Many people have money “beliefs” that they unconsciously live by. But growth requires us to look at what we think we know and question it. When we do, we often discover what we felt was fact was actually a myth or a limiting belief.

You’ll never be open to learning and implementing newer, potentially better, money habits without questioning your habits.

For example, when I was younger, I thought only doctors, lawyers, and engineers had the highest-paying careers. Once I got serious about my money, though, I quickly learned through studying money and implementing better habits that business owners make much more–a lot more.

Have the courage to question your money beliefs and habits. Then, make sure you take new actions to get new results that reflect in your bank account.