Reasons You're Not Rich

I came across this article by Jeffrey Strain entitled,"10 (More) Reasons Why You're Not Rich." I chose five of the reasons he wrote about and added some insights of my own.

1. You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved. (Not just your car, it could be your clothes, your house, or any other stuff you use to impress people.)

2. You feel entitlement: If you believe you deserve to live a certain lifestyle, have certain things and spend a certain amount before you have earned to live that way, you will have to borrow money. That large chunk of debt will keep you from building wealth. (There is good debt and bad debt. Good debt are used to buy assets. Bad debt are used to buy liabilities.)

3. You lack diversification: There is a reason one of the oldest pieces of financial advice is to not keep all your eggs in a single basket. Having a diversified investment portfolio makes it much less likely that wealth will suddenly disappear. (As what we say in our wealth course, "create multiple streams of passive income." The only secured investments are investments in yourself, your personal growth and your education.)

4. You don't like to learn: You may have assumed that once you graduated from college, there was no need to study or learn. That attitude might be enough to get you your first job or keep you employed, but it will never make you rich. A willingness to learn to improve your career and finances are essential if you want to eventually become wealthy. ("If you're not growing, you're dying." Enough said.)

5. You fail to take advantage of opportunities: There has probably been more than one occasion where you heard about someone who has made it big and thought to yourself, "I could have thought of that." There are plenty of opportunities if you have the will and determination to keep your eyes open. (Opportunities abound everywhere. We have to train ourselves to recognize them. Playing Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 is a good way to do this )

Read the complete article at:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105934/10-Reasons-You%27re-Not-Rich