Habits That Keep You Poor
Your financial situation depends largely on your lifestyle and how you handle money. Often, people with similar incomes live very different lives. Some grow their savings through budgeting and planning, while others constantly struggle to make ends meet. Psychologists and personal finance experts have identified habits that set people up for poverty. It’s time to break free from them—especially with the New Year approaching, a time when many of us aim to start fresh. But you don’t have to wait for a special date to make a change: you can set goals and achieve them at any time. Understanding what’s holding you back and what needs to change is the first step toward getting what you want.
1. Self-Pity
People with a poverty mindset often feel sorry for themselves and believe they’re simply unlucky. They think wealth and success aren’t meant for them, blaming their failures on fate, enemies, bad parents, the wrong nationality, skin color, ancestral sins, or a failed marriage. Young people blame inexperience; older people blame their age. Any excuse will do, as long as it helps them stay comfortable in their current situation without making changes.
Constant self-pity is a surefire way to stay poor. Those who pity themselves usually have low self-esteem, lack determination, avoid (or provoke) conflict, and fear change. The result? Low-paying jobs, unfulfilling work, and a life of struggle.
2. Envy and Comparing Yourself to Others
Another common habit is constantly comparing yourself to others, especially those who are more successful. This leads to envy of the rich and successful, and sometimes even resentment. The roots of many revolutions and uprisings lie in this kind of thinking. But the strongest envy is often reserved for people from the same background who have managed to succeed: “Why them and not me?”
Worrying about someone else’s expensive car or fat bank account is a waste of mental energy. Instead, focus on your own goals and achievements. Stop comparing yourself to others and start thinking about your own path to success.
3. Constant Complaints About Lack of Money
Many people are always thinking and talking about not having enough money, telling friends and family about their financial woes. This mindset breeds pettiness and convinces both themselves and others that they’re doomed to be poor.
Constantly whining about poverty annoys those around you and signals your own lack of success. It also blocks opportunities for higher earnings and even basic necessities. We get what we speak into existence. Instead of saying, “I can’t afford this,” try saying, “I’ll buy it later.” The more you focus on not having money, the less you’ll have. Money doesn’t like complainers.
4. Giving In to Instant Gratification
Spending money on things that bring only a few minutes of pleasure—like coffee from a vending machine, beer, chips, cigarettes, or sweets—can add up to several months’ salary over a year. Do you really need these things, especially in such quantities?
If you’re used to buying coffee every morning, drinking beer and eating chips every night, driving everywhere instead of walking, or taking a taxi for short trips, you’re wasting a lot of money that could be used for more important things.
5. Impulsive Purchases
Marketers know that people spend much more on impulse buys than on planned purchases. Spontaneous buying, especially of non-essential items like sweets at the checkout or trinkets in a store, can seriously hurt your budget.
Bright packaging, tempting smells, free samples, and relaxing music—all are designed to make you spend more. Sales and discounts push you to buy things you don’t need. People often fall for these tricks and end up with useless stuff and an empty wallet. If you can’t resist a “super sale” or “special offer,” you’ll always be short on cash. The best advice: shop with a list and stick to it.
6. Chasing Brand-Name Goods
People with modest incomes often buy expensive gadgets and clothes from famous brands to show off their “high status.” These purchases provide temporary psychological relief from feelings of inadequacy caused by poverty.
Trying to imitate the rich is classic poor-person thinking. Buying a flashy smartphone that costs five or six months’ salary, or a used luxury car instead of a new, affordable one, just to look cool, often leads to even more expenses. Don’t overspend on luxury brands if your income is limited. Instead, invest in your education or business. True wealth is about creating and growing money, not spending it on flashy things.
7. Cargo Cults and Imitating “Prestige” Consumption
This habit is similar to the previous one, but here people buy cheap knockoffs instead of real brand-name goods. Fake designer watches, bags, or shoes bought at a market, or a suit “like Elon Musk’s” made in Turkey, are all examples of magical thinking or “cargo cults.”
Trying to imitate the outward signs of wealth without understanding what’s behind them is common among the poor. This behavior doesn’t eliminate poverty—it reinforces it. Don’t waste time and energy on cheap illusions. Focus on making your dreams of wealth a reality. Be real, not fake.
8. Chronic Use of Credit and Loans
We all know people who are always in debt, taking out loans, borrowing from friends and family, and never paying it back. These people rarely inspire anything but pity and annoyance—and wealth is just a dream for them.
Credit cards and loans can be useful tools, but frequent use leads to high expenses and constant financial problems. Borrowed money is expensive—interest rates can be 50% or even 100% per year. It’s psychologically easier to spend borrowed money, since you get the pleasure now and pay the price later. People who live only for today and can’t resist temptation end up in a cycle of debt. Bankers and lenders are happy to help you into debt slavery. Learn the difference between a useful loan (for education or business) and a destructive one (for the latest iPhone or luxury car).
9. Pathological Stinginess
Being overly stingy is just as bad as being wasteful. Always hunting for discounts, refusing to pay for good education, healthcare, or professional services, and loving “freebies” are all signs of a poverty mindset.
Extreme frugality isn’t wisdom—it’s a sign of discomfort with the gap between your desires and your means, or an imbalance between income and expenses. People with a wealth mindset don’t waste money, but they’re willing to pay fair prices and reward others for their services—and expect the same in return.
10. Lack of a Life Plan
Very few people save money “just because.” You need a goal or dream: buying a home or car, taking a vacation abroad, upgrading your tech, or starting a business. A financial plan is always helpful, but it starts with setting life priorities. People without clear goals usually live day to day, spending everything they earn and never seeking extra income. Sadly, this is the majority.
Unpredictable spending, even on small things, is a guaranteed path to poverty. People with low or average incomes will never become financially secure without long-term planning. Financial planning should include big purchases, savings, and daily money habits—like shopping lists and gift planning. Studies show that people who follow a financial plan save 20-30% of their income.
11. Measuring Happiness and Success by Money
Poor people and those from lower social classes often see happiness in terms of money: a certain amount in the bank that lets them stop working and enjoy life—buying expensive clothes, a mansion, a fancy car, and traveling. They believe that having money and the things it can buy will bring them joy.
But life shows that happiness doesn’t come with money, and the pleasure from buying things fades quickly. Truly wealthy people measure success in much more meaningful ways than dollars or euros. For them, money is just a tool for changing the world and achieving their ambitions. So, don’t dream about money—dream about what you can accomplish with it.