I was going though a series of articles I saved and found “10 Reasons You are Not Rich” which appeared on TheStreet.com back in March of this year. A couple things attracted me to this article, first to save a copy and now that I see it again, to share it with you. First, it’s tough for me to read any author and find myself agreeing 100%, so this is one of those rare moments. Next, there are so many articles that talk about some specifics, retirement, asset allocation, stock picking, etc. Here, we have one that warns of behaviors that can get in the way of all that other good advice.
The article offers 10 things to think about, don’t confuse this with believing that if you follow any one of these, you are on the road to success. It’s more a matter of reading and understanding how some of these reasons may be holding you back. The thought occurs to me, if the author wished, he could turn each of his ten reasons into a chapter of a book, and launch a new title in what has become a pretty popular genre.
Here’s the list –
- You care what your car looks like
- You feel entitlement
- You lack diversification
- You started too late
- You don’t like to learn
- You don’t do what you enjoy
- You buy things you don’t use
- You don’t understand value
- Your house is too big
- You fail to take advantage of opportunities
Those are 10 reasons why you’re poor but may not know it yet.
There’s really only one reason that you’re not rich: you’re not an elite insider. How do you get to be an elite insider? Well, most earn it by birthright. For the rest of us, we must take enormous risks to earn enormous rewards.
Barring reckless risk-taking though, the dismal chances of becoming rich should not be a deterrent to save for retirement by investing our savings in places that will outpace inflation.
I just don’t expect the luxurious lifestyle promoted in 30-second TV spots where 50-something boomers are breezing though their 5000 sqft beach house on their way to a fabulous vacation in Provence.