Have you been lied to?
I know I was.
What were you told about money and rich people when you grew up?
I grew up in a household where money was an issue and where the money seemed to run out before the month did, meaning my parents had to decide which bills got paid and which ones had to wait a little longer.
I remember the arguments about money around the kitchen table when the budget didn’t seem to work.
Now I never went without the essentials as a child, but my friends always seemed to have more.
Their parents had their own car, mine didn’t for much of my childhood.
My friends went on holidays at Christmas time, we didn’t.
My friends were given “lunch money” for school to buy treats – I wasn’t.
And I still remember some of the lies and myths I heard about money as I grew.
I’ve since learned that many of these were hammered into most of us as we grew up.
Some were just outdated beliefs that no longer work.
Things our parents learned from their parents and passed them down to us despite them being irrelevant today.
Ideas, like get a good education, get a good job, buy a house and pay it off as quickly as you can and you’ll be fine financially.
Problem is, life doesn’t work that way anymore.
Others were misconceptions from our parents’ limited perspective on life and money.
The problem is that these false ways of thinking about money, which we learned as a child at an age when we didn’t have the perspective to evaluate them, are often still in our subconscious and affecting how we think about money today.
Remember we all have empowering beliefs and disempowering beliefs about money – as I explain in my book Rich Habits Poor Habits, we all have rich habits and poor habits.
This means that with regards to money and financial freedom, we’re driving around with one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake – and that’s why most of us never attain the financial freedom we deserve.
So it’s important to be aware of some of these money myths that we heard as a child and reprogram ourselves to harness empowering beliefs that can deliver on what we really want.
Because doing so will help you…
Turn your scarcity mindset into an abundance mindset
The first step in solving any problem in your life is simply recognising that there is one!
When you were born, you didn’t know anything about money.
But think about it…your first teachers, your first mentors, were your parents.
They taught you how to talk, how to walk, and eventually they taught you right from wrong.
Then later, before you even learned how to ride a bike, your parents taught you about money.
This happened because of things you heard when you were young, things you saw at home as a child and things you experienced.
Unfortunately, for many of us our parents probably immediately linked money with scarcity, by saying things like “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Isn’t it ironic that those who loved you most in life are the ones that seeded a limiting money belief system inside you?
I’m sure they wanted the best for you.
It wasn’t intentional for your parents to set you limits and draw a confining box around you.
Tthey wanted you to think that way because that’s what they were taught.
But my question to you is…
“How did that work out for them, for their wealth?” and “How is it working out for yours?”
So now let’s look at 5 lies you were probably told about money when you grew up:
1. Money doesn’t grow on trees
This saying comes from a scarcity mindset.
The problem is that if you always think and act out of scarcity, that’s what you’ll get.
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And that’s a pity because there is definitely enough in the world for everyone to have abundance.
This means there’s plenty for you if you take the time and trouble to become financially fluent.
The problem is most of us are not taught how deal with money.
Of course that makes no sense…. we spend lots of time learning about how work works.
Yet many of us spend no time learning about how money works.
Yet money is the main reason that we go to work.
On the other hand, a small group of people have realised they can bridge the gap from where they are now to where they want to be by learning to delay gratification, spending less than they earn saving and then investing in “investment grade” residential real estate.
2. Money can’t buy happiness
This is partially correct.
Money is important in those areas of life where it is important, and not at all important in those areas where it can’t help you – like in the areas of health and relationships.
Simply having more money in your bank account may not make you happier — at least, not after a certain point.
However, I’ve often said that any problem money can solve isn’t a problem, and this has been confirmed by a number of studies which show that, in general, rich people are happier.
You see…money provides you a gateway to more experiences in life and it allows you to solve more problems quickly and easily.
Money can also buy you freedom.
It can give you security and reduce stress, as well as allow you to focus on things you really care about and want to do, whether that is traveling or giving your kids all the advantages to live their passions.
3. Money is the root of all evil
This quote has been twisted from what it originally stated, which is “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”
Money—is not inherently good or bad in and of itself.
If you are only chasing the money to get rich at all costs and don’t care about anything else, then yes, at some point it is probably going to get you into trouble. And you’ll probably make a few enemies on the way.
As I see it, money is just a tool.
It can be used for incredible good. There are lots of problems out there, from famine to lack of clean drinking water and sickness, that can be cured with money.
It’s all about the priority it has in your life compared to your other values—and what you do with it.
4. Wealthy people are crooks and thieves
This myth is usually told by those without money as a way to justify why they don’t have it.
It comes from the mistaken belief that “if I can’t get rich, those who did must have lied, cheated or robbed to become rich.”
It makes them feel better about their own lack of achievement.
I have found that most rich people have become so through sensible investment in either businesses or real estate.
In fact, those who share and give the most value to the most people are able to gain the most wealth and keep it long-term.
5. Save, save, save
Some of us with hard-working parents were taught to “save, save, save.”
That was supposed to be the key to success.
It just doesn’t work.
You just can’t save enough, quickly enough to get ahead or stay ahead.
If you want to keep up or get ahead, your mantra should be “invest, invest, invest.”
That way when you retire you’ll find the bulk of your wealth won’t be the money you’ve earned or what you’ve saved, but it will be the tax free capital growth your investment properties have achieved.
The bottom line
If you’ve heard any of these lies, I urge you to consider who told them to you.
While they may have been shared out of good intentions, but that doesn’t mean they’ll work.
How wealthy are those who taught you these myths? How have these beliefs helped them?
Instead learn from those who are living how you want to live.
Instead do what they are doing and thing how they’re thinking.
