18 Lies Making You Broke

Many of us have been there asking ourselves, “Why do I never have any extra money?” Sometimes this is just a notion we have but other times this is the truth. This truth usually comes from being lied to by our culture. We feel like we need to follow the norms and stick with the crowd.

Today’s article is intended to help you break away from the crowd and stop listening to the lies.

Now, I am not saying you listen to all of the lies below. Hopefully, it is just one or two. Either way, if this article can wake you up from one lie and save you tons of money, I will consider it a win.

Clever marketing has made these lies into cultural norms. We are here to see through those lies that make us broke and get back onto the path to financial freedom.

1. You need to make car payments

My wife and I paid off our car loan last summer and our finances have never looked better! This freed up $405 per month allowing us to be more aggressive with our student loans.

Yes, you need a car to get to work and to run errands on the other side of town. Instead, try to make the current car last longer. If it cannot, try to purchase cheap and with cash only.

When my wife and I first meet some of our good friends they had never paid over $2,000 for a car. They only paid cash and got along just fine.

Sure they were not driving the latest new fancy car but that does not matter. They were still able to get from point A to point B.

Be like my friends.

2. You need a bigger house

Simply put, no you do not. Sure, it would be nice to have a 4,000 square foot home that backs up to a trail system but do you really need that? Do you really need that mortgage payment?

Instead really analyze the size of home that your family needs and really be honest with yourself.

You probably do not need 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, and 3 living rooms. Just saying.

My wife and I could have afforded a larger home when we purchased a couple years ago but that really would have stressed our budget. There was no need for that. We planned ahead and found a nice 1,400 square foot home that fit our growing family perfectly.

Because of this, our budget is solid and we have a surplus of money every month to tackle our debt.

3. You need a lot of stuff to be happy

What’s better than to fill up your 4,000 square foot home with A LOT of stuff? EVERYTHING!

I stress a lot that you do not need random stuff to make you happy. That happiness just fades away after a short period of time.

Instead, put your money in places that will give you longterm happiness such as retirement savings, investments, and experiences.

4. Everything will be better once you get a raise

Here is the scenario. You live paycheck to paycheck. Spending every dollar with each new paycheck. You keep thinking that only if you get a raise your budget will improve.

WRONG!

You have developed some really bad spending habits that will continue on with each raise.

Instead of worrying about a raise, you need to start changing your spending habits. It is only then you will truly start seeing the benefits of your up and coming raise.

5. Your kids will be emotionally harmed if they do not have all of the cool gadgets like their friends

I grew up as the “rich” kid in my town of 2,500 because my Dad was the doctor. Even though we were well off, my sister and I never had the latest gadgets growing up. There was no Nintendo 64 to be played or high-speed internet to hop on or even cell phones to text friends (got my first cell phone when I turned 18) at our house.

Even though I did not have all of those fun gadgets while my friends did, I turned out alright. We learned to enjoy the outdoors better and to spend our money on experiences instead.

6. Leftovers in the fridge suck

Those telling us that leftovers are gross and should just be tossed in the trash are lying.

Leftovers are an amazing way to save money.

Every week I try to make one cheap recipe that provides massive amounts of food. I put aside have of that meal for now and freeze the other half for another week. This allows us to save money on our grocery bill for that future week because we have one less meal to buy for.

7. You need to buy only expensive organic foods or else you will be unhealthy

This is untrue. As the organic market has become more competitive many cheap organic options have become available. This means you do not have to sacrifice your budget by going to Whole Foods anymore.

My wife and I enjoy Simple Truth Organic at our local King Soopers store. We know these products are top quality and cheap. Also, Sprouts tends to have some amazing organic items that do not bust your grocery budget.

8. You need to eat out once a week

For a while, I was under the impression that we needed to eat out to save time. This is not true.

There are plenty of recipes out there that take less than 30 minutes to cook.

Every week when creating our meal plan I try to pick 3-4 recipes that take less than 30 minutes to make. This also usually includes a frozen meal that I mentioned in #6.

Try it for yourself. You will then start to notice savings right away.

9. Monthly subscription services are cheap

These services such as Spotify or Netflix are marketed to users as only $10 a month. That seems really cheap and to be honest, it is. The issue is when you start subscribing to several of these services. Soon you are spending over $50 a month on different subscriptions. That is over $500 a year!

Be realistic with yourself and try to subscribe to only 2 or 3 at a time.

10. You are stuck with your current financial situation

You are never stuck with your current financial situation. It might seem like it but you can escape.

How do you do this?

• Change your spending habits like I mentioned in #4.
• Budget – we will talk more about this later.
• Never stop learning so you can continue to move forward in your career.

It is not that hard but will take time, focus, and persistence. You can do it!

11. Your job sucks

We all have to start somewhere in our careers even though that first, second, or third job might not be the most glamorous. With a lot of hard work, we will eventually get where we want to be.

In the meantime, there is no reason to sabotage yourself with a poor attitude towards your current job. Stay positive, enjoy the opportunity you have been given, and have fun! This will only increase your chances of moving up.

12. There is no point to budgeting when you do not make much money

I believed this for the longest time when my wife and I were just getting started professionally. We did not have much money so I did not think we needed to worry about our money. Then I started to see our savings dip. This is because I had no idea what we were spending and did not have a plan for our money.

With no budget, there is no roadmap for your money.

Many people believe that a budget is constraining. This is another lie. A budget frees you financially because it allows you to responsibly spend money without sabotaging your future.

13. Do not worry about saving for retirement until later

This is horrible advice. You should start saving for your retirement as soon as you get your first job out of college. Even if you are only able to put $50 into it every month, that money will grow a lot over the 35 years!

You are literally throwing away thousands of dollars from your retirement if you do not start right now.

14. You cannot invest

Investing has never been easier.

If still believe that you need a lot of money and a CFA to invest, think again.

Today there are so many services that allow you to invest for free or even do the investing for you with very little money. This takes all of the stress out of the whole process.

If you just want to have someone take care of the investing for you, check out Betterment. I use this service and love it!

If you want to do the investing yourself and do not want to pay trading fees, check out Robinhood. Andrew uses this service and has saved a lot of money in trading fees.

15. You cannot afford to give to charity

I know, money is tight so how are you supposed to give to charity?

I have learned that even though my wife’s and my finances are not great, we still have it a lot better than most. This is why we make sure we donate every month to help those who need it more than us.

Why do we make a point to give? Well, giving really feels great. It does things to your attitude that nothing else can do. This positivity starts to bleed over into and improving other parts of your life making you wealthy in other ways that finances cannot.

16. You need fancy coffee to wake up every morning

This goes along the same lines as #3. You do not need that fancy coffee to wake you up in the morning. It will only be a temporary fix.

Instead, you should make a simple coffee at home before you leave for work. Or even better, work provides coffee for you. This will save you tons of money every year!

As I mentioned in 9 Bad Spending Habits That are Killing Your Budget, my wife asks for Starbucks gift cards for every birthday and Christmas. These cards allow her to treat herself every now and again.

17. Your primary home is a good investment

I do not think you should think of your main home as an investment. This place is your base camp for you and your family.

Because your home is essential to your everyday life, it should not be held to the financial standards as an investment. It should be a foundation to be there no matter what.

This is different if you own two or more homes though. Those additional purchases should be there to make you money in the long run.

18. If it is on sale you should buy it

I know someone who buys a lot of random stuff. His usual reasoning for buying it, “Because it was on sale!”

I am very fortunate this person is in my life because he made me realize I was doing the same thing. Remember, you do not have to buy something just because it is on sale. That is not how you should purchase things.

Instead, make a list of things you need, not want, and prioritize them. Then budget a savings plan for said needs. Once you have saved up you can go the extra mile by being patient and wait for the need to go on sale.

Since we need to treat ourselves every once in awhile, do the same thing for wants as well.

Are there other lies?

Did I miss any other financial lies out there? Please share with us by commenting below. I would love to get a conversation started!

If you are looking to increase your monthly income to help you escape your financial situation you should check out our Ways to Earn More Money page. Here Andrew and I personally review as many different ways to earn extra money as we can to help you decide if it is right for you.