Hi friend, welcome back. Today we’re talking about 10 of the biggest mistakes that the poor people make but the rich do not.
Now when I say the poor, I’m talking about people with a poverty mindset.
A poverty mindset will eventually make you poor, if you adhere to it. People with this mindset will never be able to climb their way out of being poor, even if they start making a million dollars a year income.
I bet you think I’m crazy for saying that, but it’s actually true and proven. And we’ll get into all that soon here.
But the important thing is that you start to learn what mistakes to avoid and what mindset qualities you need to take on in order to truly start building wealth.
People with a poverty mindset will never be able to build and maintain wealth. And conversely, people with a wealth mindset will always be able to do so, even on a low income.
Again, you might think I’m crazy for saying all this, but I have personally built a multi-six-figure net worth from only a low income. And I also personally know multiple people who have six-figure incomes, but remain broke.
You may be saying, “Rebecca, there’s no way you built a multi-six-figure net worth from only a low income.” But it’s true. I built wealth from a $16 per hour income.
That is definitely a low income in America. I bet the majority of you reading this post in the US make a whole lot more than that, don’t you?
The point is, I can say on a personal level that I know this information to be true. And there’s also data to back this up.
Building wealth is not about your income, it’s about your mindset, which in turn affects your behaviors and your habits.
So that’s what we’re going to be diving into in a minute.
But real quick, let me just give a warning for all my sensitive folks out there. Now I love you, and there’s no discrimination against you here.
In fact there is absolutely no discrimination in this post toward people with a poverty mindset either.
I love all y’all equally and truly hope the best for all of you, and I understand that many people have different value systems. I respect each one.
However, if you are sensitive, this might not be the post for you. Because I’m going to be exposing stuff that a lot of us do, that leads to poverty.
And if you don’t have thick skin, this might sting a little bit.
So this post is going to be for my hustlers out there who have a little bit of thick skin.
This is for you if you are ready to do some self-evaluation and take the steps it requires to get on track to building wealth.
And as a final disclaimer, this content is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a financial advisor so please be sure to reach out to a professional if you need financial advice.
So if that’s you, then let’s go ahead and jump into these top 10 things that poor people do that the rich don’t.
1. Little to No Savings
The first thing people with a poor mindset do differently from those with a wealthy mindset is they don’t save money. Now there are 2 parts to this.
A) Emergency Fund
People with a poor mindset either don’t have an emergency fund at all or they don’t have a big enough emergency fund. Now if this is you, there’s no shame. It’s probably not your fault. Maybe no one taught you how much you needed to save.
I know when I entered adulthood, I felt like I didn’t know a lot of things that I should have known. Even though my parents tried to teach me some things about finances, I still felt like I didn’t know anything and it was very overwhelming.
How much do I need to save? Where should I save it? How can I possibly save enough?
So if that’s you, I get it. But now, let me be your big sis today (even if you’re older than me! lol):
--> Your goal for an emergency fund should be 6 months worth of your normal expenses.
--> Save it in a high-yield savings account.
--> And if you don’t know how you can save that much, then you’ve got to find ways to cut back on your spending and increase your income with overtime and side hustles. Get a second job if you have to.
I worked 3 jobs at one time while also doing more than full-time college. I also did so much overtime one year that I don’t remember much of that year of my life.
You have to do what you have to do. And people with a wealth-mindset DON’T MAKE EXCUSES.
B) Retirement
So the other part of not saving enough is that poor people don’t save for retirement.
They tend to spend all their money and assume that their children or the government will take care of them later in life.
And again, I’m not here to knock anyone’s values. If that’s what you believe in, that’s fine.
But if you want to have a wealth mindset that will lead to building wealth, and leaving a legacy for your children, then saving for retirement is going to be part of that.
--> Aim to save at least 15% of your income each month.
--> Save it in a ROTH IRA that you open on your own, or a 401K with your job.
2. Lifestyle Inflation
The second thing that poor people do that the rich don’t is to allow their lifestyle to inflate over time. Or especially with income raises.
Now you may be saying, “Rebecca, what are you even talking about?” That’s ok, let me explain.
When people with a poor mindset start making more money, guess what they do? That’s right – they start buying more stuff.
Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of rich people like to buy things too. But those with the wealth mindset will always have stuff as a last priority.
They’re more concerned about making sure their money is invested so that they can have the benefits of that money multiply for them over time.
But when poor people get more money, they want to get the nicer car, the nicer house, new clothes, more vacations, more chickens. (If there are any chicken ladies reading this, holla at ya girl in the comments).
But seriously, poor people will spend the additional money that they make instead of investing it like rich people do.
Instead of subscribing to lifestyle inflation, the rich will save or invest the additional money they’re making.
3. Work for money instead of putting money to work for them
The third thing that the poor do that the rich don’t is working for money instead of making their money work for them. And I know that sounds a little confusing, so let’s break it down.
Many rich people do tend to have good work ethics, so that’s not what I’m talking about here. When I say that the poor work for their money I mean they let it be their boss.
Let me ask you this. Do you already know that your next paycheck is going to be gone as soon as you get it?
Do you have to work to pay for the nice car you bought or the new iPhone you put on payments or the vacation you went on last year, or the new home you moved into?
People with a poor mindset spend so much money on nice things that they have to go to work on Monday just to keep their head above water.
People with a rich mindset, on the other hand, live below their means by creating a strategic budget so that they can choose when and where their next paycheck goes.
‘Living below your means’ simply means you spend less money than you make.
So next time you see someone with a nice car, nice house, new iPhone or nice new clothes, think first before you assume they’re the rich one.
They’re probably stressed all the time knowing they have to pay for this lifestyle they’ve created.
4. Oversleep
Another thing that people with a poverty mindset do is they will spend whatever time they have instead of using it as an investment.
That’s right – the same way they spend money instead of saving and investing it, they also don’t budget their time intentionally either.
So the 4th thing that poor people do that the rich don’t is sleep too much. People with a poor mindset will sleep until the last minute before they need to get to work.
Sometimes they will even end up being late for work because of this habit.
But people with a wealth mindset get up early and go to bed at a healthy time. They’re not the ones out there partying or playing video games all night long.
They discipline themselves. They do what they know will truly benefit them, not just what will feel nice in the moment.
Wealth-minded people understand that we all have 24 hours in our day and it’s up to them alone to decide what to do with those hours.
You can’t blame anyone but yourself for how you choose to spend your hours. If you stay up late watching TV and then sleep in til noon, that’s no one’s fault but your own.
Everybody gets the same 24 hours a day. The rich just choose to invest that time into things they know will nurture them instead of suck their life away.
Who do you think is healthier, happier and more productive, and therefore more likely to be able to build wealth in the long run?
The person who stays up partying or playing video games and then gets up at the last minute to go to work? Or the person who disciplines themselves to get on a healthy sleep schedule, wakes up at 5am to read, exercise, meditate and start their day intentionally?
The person who sleeps away 12 hours of the day? Or the person who disciplines themselves to get a consistent 6-8 hours of sleep, which is the healthy and necessary amount?
And let me tell you, this can go the other way too.
If you never sleep or are very inconsistent with your sleep schedule and sometimes only get 2 or 3 hours of sleep (because of poor discipline, partying too much, watching TV or playing games late into the night) you will also be less productive and less healthy in the long run.
5. Watch TV, YouTube, Scroll on the Phone or Social Media
Now the next thing the poor do that the rich don’t can go hand in hand with the previous one a lot of times, and that is to watch too much TV or have too much screen time in general.
We’re talking TV, movies, scrolling on social media, playing video games or phone games, and watching too much YouTube.
Now I do think educational stuff is different from just the mindless entertainment stuff. You know you can tell the difference.
But watching too many entertaining shows, always having to keep up on your Netflix shows, endless scrolling on the phone, social media, games; these things are wasting precious time.
And the crazy thing that you’ll find is that people with a wealth-mindset, or people who have successfully built stable wealth, do not waste time on these things.
They just don’t.
Again like we talked about in the previous point, everybody has 24 hours in the day, and a rich mindset does not take that for granted.
They don’t make excuses: “Oh i’m tired! My job is so hard! I just need to veg out!”
When people with a wealth mindset need to unwind, they will try to spend their downtime doing things that truly enrich their lives and nurture their souls and even relationships.
So maybe they spend that time having quality time with family and friends. Maybe they will go get coffee with a mentor or someone they look up to.
So even downtime is spent in a more intentional way for those with a wealth mindset. Maybe right now you’re saying, ‘Rebecca what do you even mean by that?’
Well, people with a wealth mindset will maybe read an educational book.
Or even they might read a novel or do a hobby, knowing the negative effects of screen-time on the brain, they will try to stay away from it as much as possible.
Especially in our day and age where most of us do have to work on the computer, you want to minimize screen-time outside of work as much as possible to try to keep your brain as healthy as possible
6. Wait on someone else to save them, or on God to bless them.
Alright, so number 6 is going to sound a little funky and maybe controversial at first but stick with me.
So the 6th thing that poor people do that the rich don’t is to wait on God or other people to ‘save’ them or ‘bless’ them.
Again, stick with me.
Let me make this clear: I do believe in God and his blessings, but I also acknowledge that God will not likely bless a lazy person or someone who is not putting in the effort.
Poor people will just wait around for a blessing from God or for the government to take care of them, or for their children to take care of them like we talked about in the first point.
But wealthy people take responsibility for themselves and get up and do something. They will get up and go to work.
They will do just about anything legal to make money, but they won’t sit around and do nothing.
They understand the law of sowing and reaping, which means that whatever seeds you plant will directly correlate to what you’ll harvest.
If you work hard, you’ll earn money. If you invest your money, it’ll multiply. If you lay around and do nothing, nothing will happen.
And this brings me to number 7.
7. Thinking You’re Better Than Certain Things
The 7th thing poor people do that the rich don’t is thinking they are too good for certain jobs or tasks.
A lot of people with a poor mindset will be lazy at their job because they think that job is beneath them.
Imagine your job is to clean toilets at McDonald’s. Would you take that job seriously or would you drag your feet about it and be lazy at it because it seems like a pretty low job?
Rich people have a different mindset.
If you talk to successful business people, almost all of them will tell you they started out working at McDonald’s or as a janitor or some ‘low’ job like that, and then they built their way to where they are now.
The wealth mindset sees everything as an opportunity to grow, learn and even build character. Those are stepping stones to success.
When I was at a job that I strongly disliked, I still tried to do my very best at it and give my all.
And you know what?
That ended up earning me multiple promotions and raises. But more importantly, I was able to learn skills and techniques in those higher positions that I am now able to utilize in running my own business.
If I had just been lazy at my job because it was a crappy job, then I never would have been able to learn those additional skills.
Humility will take you a long way, so don’t look at things as too low for you. Look at them as opportunities to grow and learn.
8. Use debt for liabilities instead of assets, or for everything
Alright hustlers, number 8 of what poor people do that the rich don’t is using debt for everything.
People with a wealth mindset will only use debt for assets, which are things that will actually make them money.
For example, a mortgage is a loan for a house. It is good debt. The house will bring you equity, and can also earn rental income potentially.
On the flip-side, many poor people will put everything on credit. Furniture, technology, cars. A couch is not going to earn you money, and neither is that new TV for the bedroom.
Rich people, or people with a rich mindset, will not put a new iPhone on payments. They will save up and pay cash for their next car
They avoid debt as much as possible, especially for liabilities - things that cost you money instead of earning you money. Things that go down in value over time.
And one tip before we move on: one of the biggest money-wasting liabilities you can buy is a car. So think first next time you go to buy a nice car on payments instead of saving up for it.
9. Entitlement / Greed and get rich quick
The 9th thing that poor people do but the rich don’t is subscribing to entitlement. We touched on this a little bit already, but now we’re going to go a little deeper.
People with a wealthy mindset understand responsibility. And They don’t make excuses. They don’t expect anything to be handed to them.
Not from their parents, not from the government, not from their children, not from the universe, not from God, not from anyone.
They don’t expect gifts, or bonuses, or to win the lottery. Instead, they expect to work for everything they receive.
The other part of entitlement is expecting to ‘get rich quick’. The wealthy understand that wealth-building requires long-term plays, and like I said, some hard work.
They go slow and steady, consistently, work hard and turn their backs on that temptation of greed to try to find ways to get rich quick.
Then the law of compounding starts to work for them and they will start to slowly but surely build wealth. And then, and this is the powerful part, what started slowly will begin to grow exponentially once the compounding takes effect.
10. Fearing Failure (Don’t Follow Through and Won’t Take Risks)
Now, while wealth-minded people won’t let entitlement, greed, and “get-rich-quick” mindsets overtake them, that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to take risks which may be able to grow their wealth faster.
So the 10th and final thing that poor people do but the rich don’t is fearing failure. When you fear failure, you won’t be willing to take any risks at all.
Now again, people with a wealth mindset do not fall into the traps of ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes.
So those are not the type of risks that I am talking about here. I’m talking about carefully calculated, pre-thought-out risks.
People with a poverty mindset will also avoid failure by not following through. They may have a hundred great ideas for businesses or ways to make money, but they will never see any of them through to success.
Why? Because of the fear of failure.
It’s easier to just sit around and tell people that you could have been a millionaire if you had wanted to. Or, you could have been more successful than this person or that person if you had wanted to.
But actually doing it and proving it is much harder.
It’s harder, but not impossible guys!
So that’s gonna do it for today, but let me know in the comments what you think about this. Is there anything I missed?
If you made it to the end of this post, I’m so honored that you would take your time to be with me and I truly hope this was helpful information for you and your small business.
Until next time, just remember that you are loved, you are not alone, and you’ve got this!