Why Some People Are Wealthy While Others Are Broke

In 2012, I got into what is called “the financial services industry”. What this means is basically I started selling investments and life insurance. I never had a knack for numbers, I didn’t grow up with financial affluence, but I liked helping people. When someone showed me that 8 out of 10 Americans at the time were living paycheck to paycheck I was really bothered.  

When I saw how most Americans would have to work at jobs they hated until they died, I genuinely wanted to change that. So, naturally, I wanted to help everyone I could. I started with friends, family, co-workers, clients at my old gym…really anyone I could talk to. I was so excited, and my lack of experience was offset by my desire to help and do the right thing. 

Something odd happened though. People did not want help. At first, I took it personally. I was into a state of propitiation where I would try to bribe someone for an appointment. That didn’t work. I took it so personally that I began to experience pain from the rejection when someone either did not want to meet with me or they did not want to implement my plan for their finances. It was not until years later when I realized it had nothing to do with me. I couldn’t help them because they didn’t want help. 

This doesn’t mean that these people were so lost financially that they didn’t even know they needed help. It’s nothing like that. What I learned is that most people know their finances suck. They are fully aware of it. In fact, they are more aware of it than I am. As mentioned, every week 8 out of 10 people reading this live paycheck to paycheck. In the wealthiest country in the world! The average person reading this with credit card debt has more the $15,000 combined. Only 5% of those who read this will ever be financially secure. These aren’t easy to hear but they are the statistics. And people already know this. But why don’t they want help? This question bothered me for years and I finally discovered the answer. 

The majority of people have quit on money.  

It’s true! From a very young age many of us grew up with terrible examples of money. Most of the fights my parents had were regarding money. Most of the time I was told “no” it had something to do with money. All of the things we didn’t do and didn’t have were because of money. By the time I was 10, I didn’t understand money but I did associate lots of negative experiences with it. This can cause a negative overall attitude regarding money. But that’s only the surface being scratched. 

Here’s another reason: people actually enjoy being broke.  

This isn’t the direct thought that broke people have but let me explain what I mean. People enjoy splurging. It’s fun to have a new car. It’s fun to eat out. It’s fun to blow money. I’ll admit that. People like it. Now these are things that can cause someone to be broke if they lack income to cover all of these expenses and still have a 40% savings surplus. There’s another dynamic to this too. People like being broke because it seems like less work, and it seems like less responsibility. If a person decides to truly build wealth, they must read books instead of binge watching the latest Netflix show. They must save and invest instead of splurging. They must change who they spend their time with instead of hanging out with their family and childhood friends. They must work more and earn more income instead of leisure time. It can be intimidating to think about making all of those changes and it can be intimidating to think about that kind of responsibility and commitment. People like being broke because they are comfortable, and they don’t want to be uncomfortable. Building wealth means for a period of years, you will be uncomfortable.  

Additionally, people are very good at the things that make them broke. We listed a few off in the above paragraph. Most people very frequently do things like eating out, impulse buying a new car, purchasing a home, charging a vacation to their credit card, etc. What you do frequently you will get good, and you will always like the things you are good at. Even if you don’t like them, if you do it enough it becomes mental programming, and you’ll do it involuntarily. These are called habits and changing habits isn’t easy or comfortable.  

Lastly, people have forced themselves to agree with being broke. Wealth aides us in surviving and expanding. That’s just a fact. So, poverty actually hinders our survival and expansion in life. There isn’t any gray area with this statement it is very black and white. Psychologically, many people must find a way to make sense out of why they grew up, as I did, with all of these negative experiences with money and also why they don’t seem to have enough money currently. The answer usually ends up being money is bad. Money is a component resource of wealth and if money is bad then we may also end up believing wealth is bad too. Many people have altered reality to match their perception and now agree with being broke because it is also easier than disagreeing with the way they’ve lived life up until now.  

The most important way out of this is to become aware that you’re in this condition. If you’re here, this is a downward spiral, and you must get out. Don’t do it for you. Do it for your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, your church, your community, and for the 8 billion people in this world who need your help. You are capable of helping many of them of them so long as you step outside yourself. And building wealth is a form of doing that. 

In closing, my mission in life is to help good people build more wealth who make the world a better place.

So, if you’re a good person who wants to help make the world a better place and this article helped you, I want to encourage you to join our free Facebook community, Fetta Financial Alliance Group.

I want to encourage you to start putting this into practice. And feel free to write to me and let me know how it went. Or if you’re a client of mine and you’d like help leveling up, send an email to my team with “Level Up” in the subject line to [email protected].

If you’re a follower and have not read my book The Blueprint to Financial Freedom yet, that is the place to start. This book covers the specifics for each level in the various chapters and you can grab the book for free as my gift.

Click here to get a copy!

The Blueprint to Financial Freedom by Jerry Fetta

To Purpose, Wealth & Freedom,

Jerry Fetta - Financial Expert

Jerry Fetta is a nationally recognized financial expert featured in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Fox, Chicago Weekly News, New York Finance, interviewed on 100+ podcasts with world renowned experts, earning endorsements and affiliations throughout his career with names like Kevin O’Leary, Grant Cardone, Dave Ramsey, and Pamela Yellen.

Jerry’s mission in life is to help create millions of financially educated and solvent families achieving greater financial freedom and sharing the truth about money with those around them.

Learn more at https://fettafinancialalliance.com

(DISCLAIMER: The information in this content should not be considered tax, financial, investment, or any kind of professional advice. Only a professional diagnosis of your specific situation can determine which strategies are appropriate for your needs. Fetta Financial Alliance can and does not provide advice unless/until engaged by you.)