Do you agree that living like you’re broke can help you prosper? How to Live like you’re poor, feel like you’re rich. Ways To Live Rich While Spending Like You’re Poor.
What if I told you that the poorer you feel, the richer you become? The instant you shed the need for stuff, you begin a journal down a path that is damn near amazing.
There’s a quote I often share with people that might just help you become a better money manager.
“Rich people stay rich by living like they’re broke. Broke people stay broke by living like they’re rich,” the saying goes.
The key to retiring early is managing your lifestyle while you are young.
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This includes resisting the temptation to spend money on things that you don’t truly need. (did someone say big screen TV?) And investing every penny that you can into your future self.
Every dollar you spend now is money that cannot be spent later. One of the best ways to keep yourself in check is to simply live like you’re poor.
In theory, this is easy – simply don’t spend $200 every month on cable or satellite television. Or expensive cell phone plans (do you really need that new iPhone 6?), or that $250 purse.
You get the idea. Live like you can’t afford what you want, and only buy what you need.
The tough part is being honest with yourself about the difference between want and need. You might want a car, but you probably don’t need a Mercedes.
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It is the “I can afford it” line of thinking that keeps so many people working well into their 50s and 60s.
I am sure that we’ve all heard the phrase, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should“. That statement applies very well to living like you are poor.
Just because you think that you can afford a Mercedes does not mean you should buy one. I can probably afford a $1m house, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sink my retirement into it.
How To Live Like You’re Poor, Feel Like You’re Rich
The amount of money you live off of will vary depending on your job, marital, and geographical status.
But as general rule, you should always live beneath your income.
Here are a few of the ways to accomplish your financial goals:
1. Choose Your Friends Carefully
If you’re always hanging out with people eager to eat out at the nicest restaurants, buy the nicest things, and drive the nicest cars, it will be difficult to resist the temptations to spend the same way.
Spend time with like-minded people who will encourage you on your financial journey.
2. Have a Specific Goal in Mind
I know you want to pay off all debt by a certain date, so why not make it a goal.
Then if you have a big purchase coming up, you would save intentionally (on top of our other savings) for that purchase. Plan vacations during this process as well, but pay cash for it all.
Organizations like Christian Credit Counselors can help you get out of overwhelming credit card debt.
They have an incredible team of professional counselors who can help you put together a payoff plan, negotiate with your creditors, lower your interest rates, and consolidate your payments.
3. Stay On The Same Page
If you and your spouse are headed in two directions (even slightly different directions). You won’t reach your goal. Get on the same page and ensure you’re both excited and motivated to achieve together.
4. Stay In Your Own Financial Lane
Resist the urge to have expensive taste or always need to have the newest and best. Browse used furniture, decor, and appliances on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
5. Have a Generous Heart
In order to keep your priorities in order, always put giving first.
All you have belongs to God, so don’t have a greedy heart or resist giving. It usually ends up blessing you more in the long run anyway! Learn to Live like you’re poor, feel like you’re rich.
6. Direct Deposit Savings
Set up an automatic transfer from your paycheck to your savings account.
Label your savings as “Do Not Touch” and only budget what is left after you have tithed and saved. You can essentially trick yourself into being poor by hiding your extra money in savings!
7. Make It Visual
We printed off our amortization table for our mortgage from the bank.
Seeing our timeline “fast forward” with each payment we made toward our principal was extremely motivating.
8. Invest Your Time Instead of Your Money
Proverbs 10:4 says, Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Keep yourself busy serving others, earning extra income, and taking care of the things you do own. It will keep you from wanting to spend!
9. Skip The Little Things
It may sound cliché, but skipping your morning Starbucks run and making coffee at home will save you a lot of money. My wife avoided Target, especially the dollar section.
Don’t go shopping without a list, and don’t be tempted by ads on your Instagram or Facebook. Stay off social media and resist the comparison trap altogether!
Lastly, have a grateful heart. Thank God daily for all He’s done, and ask Him to teach you to be content with a little, so you can give much to Him and His work!
I hope these principles and practical steps help you to forge a financial plan full of contentment and gratitude.
As difficult as it is, don’t compare yourself to others. Pursue God’s will for your life and finances, and be faithful to discern what it is.
By keeping an eternal mindset, do the work here on earth to one day hear, “well done, good and faithful servant.”
Live Like You’re Poor and Feel Like You’re Rich
The simple things go a long way in this life.
The ability to flush the toilet and watch your filth simply disappear is a simple thing that many spots on the globe don’t have the luxury of running water, a warm bed and ways to communicate with virtually anyone are all simple things in life that most Americans – me included – take for granted.
Appreciating the simple things in life is the way to feel like you’re rich. Take a moment and reflect on your life and the things that you have.
The things…all those things, those objects that you once felt you needed. Are those the simple things in life that you cannot do without? Probably not.
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You have so much, but yet, you never feel like you’re truly “rich”.
You don’t feel like you’re rich because you keep wanting more…and more, and more. The more one has, the more one wants. It’s natural human behavior.
We want what we can’t have, but when we do have, we want even more. It’s a wicked cycle.
If you can break free from the want and appreciate what you have, then you instantly graduate from the childish “gimme” attitude and ascend into a more lofty goal – happiness.
Things bring temporary happiness, but like we’ve seen more than most of us would care to admit, wealth does not necessarily equate to being happy. In many ways, wealth kills happiness.
It kills it dead in its tracks.
What if I told you that the poorer you feel, the richer you become? The instant you shed the need for stuff, you begin a journey down a path that is damn near amazing.
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No more worrying about what your neighbor is driving. Nor more jealousy over that friend of yours who lives on the beach and has a jet ski. No more wondering if you will ever be able to retire “in this economy”.
Because if life is important enough, people will find a way to hone in on what truly matters in life, happiness.
Once happiness is found, riches literally pour in. Your retirement age decreases and you begin wondering why you spend all that money on stuff that you thought would make you happy.
This is how to Live like you’re poor, feel like you’re rich to create wealth.
4 Reasons You Should Live like you’re poor feel like you’re rich
1. So You Can Simplify Life
Things are nice, but life can be amazing even when it’s simple. Teach your children the value of saving money for the future.
Show them there’s more to living than a daily trip to Starbucks or the mall. Eat at home more. Avoid using that credit card. Old-fashioned living can be quite satisfying.
2. So You Can Save Up For Awesome Experiences
We all enjoy buying “stuff”. Most the time that stuff isn’t around years later.
Sometimes, we’ll remember that stuff we spent our money on years ago, and it seems ridiculous that we thought so highly of it.
The things I remember most are people and places, and the experiences that come with it.
Next time you want to splurge on an object, put that cash into savings and figure out the best way you can spend it on a memory that can last a lifetime.
3. So You Can Pay Off Debt Faster
I’ll tell you what, debt ain’t cheap. Anyone who’s ever had to throw an unexpected bill on a credit card knows this to be true.
On the occasion this happens, if can sometimes feel like it takes all year to pay it off. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this can definitely be the case.
If you’re spending less, this will give you a chance to pay down that debt a little faster than you’d normally be able to.
4. So Your Children Won’t Treasure Material Possessions
If you never start your child on a path of needing to have the same things as the kid down the street.
Not only will they not feel like their self-worth is based on objects. But they might grow up appreciating the little things in life.
They also may be a little more frugal when they’re spending their own money one day.
There you have it, how to Live like you’re poor, feel like you’re rich. Its a financial strategy to create wealth.
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