Earned vs Unearned: 5 Reasons Some Rich People are Still Very Poor
December 30, 2022
Broke means you don’t have money at this moment. I believe we have all been broke at one time or another. But poor? Poor is a mindset. Whether you make $1,000 a month or $1,000 a day, you can still be poor. Malcom Explains is currently working on “The Money Tree” the first book under the “Ebony Tells” line of books. Below, we talk about the 5 reasons some rich people are still very poor and how you can create your own Money Tree.
- Their Spending Increases with Their Income
New job? New car! New clothes! Bigger place! Restaurants instead of fast food. Kale instead of lettuce. Avocado instead of mayonnaise. If your spending went up just as much as your raise, you are still poor. Now you are just poor with nicer things. Instead of cutting your own hair, now you go to the shop, every week. You can now treat yourself to manicures and pedicures. The esthetician now has your personal cell. No more McDonald’s, we are eating steak tonight. When your spending increases with your income, you stay poor.
- They Try to Keep Up With the Jones’
More money? More problems! Are you parking your economical midsize sedan next to a parking lot full of 3 row, big body SUVs? Did the Jones’ across the street just install a pool? Is the Jones next door drive a new Tesla? Is everyone in the office going to that new steak restaurant? The one where the appetizers start at $40? Is than an 85” TV box at the curb of the Jones’ next door? The Jones’ don’t pay your bills. But, trying to keep up with them will give you more of those bills.
- They Live to Work, Not Work to Live
They go in early. They stay late. They work weekends and holidays. They haven’t taken a day off in 8 years. They’ll tell you that’s how you get ahead. But, what are they getting ahead of, exactly? Life experiences and memories make you rich. On their death bed, no one in the history of everything has said, “I wish I would have gone to work more and spend time with my family less.” Earning that rich money takes a rich investment of time. Time not spent enriching the lives of your family and friends.
- They Save Money
They have to! With more bills, more expenses, and excessive work, they have to save. If they don’t save, they could lose it all. $1,000 a day is nice… Until you realize you’re spending $900 a day to maintain your lifestyle and image. You can’t take that vacation. So you save that $100 a day and hope you will have enough saved one day. Or worse, you save up for a month just to try and take a day or two off. Or even worse, yet, you save up because if something happens, you can’t keep paying for your lifestyle because you can only afford it because you work so much.
- They Focus on “Earning” Money, Not “Unearning” Money
If I go to work, earn a paycheck, then buy groceries… If I want to eat again, I have to go to work and earn a paycheck. If I go to work, earn a paycheck, and buy a catfish farm… I need to sell enough catfish to keep the point populated, then I can eat forever. The difference between “earned” and “unearned” money is effort. A doctor still has to go to work to earn that check. I can sit on the dock of my pond and the catfish still grow. When they spend all their time buying nice things, keeping up with the Jones’, working all the time, and saving what’s leftover, they can’t “unearn” money. Spend your earned money one time on something that will “unearn” money. Then… spend that “unearned” money. You can spend every dollar that catfish farm earns and you will never go broke (and you are definitely not poo). But… if you keep buying catfish, you will still be poor.
