Say Goodbye to These 11 Financial Blunders That Keep You Poor

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We all know those people who constantly whine about how “poor” they are and can’t seem to afford certain luxuries no matter how hard they try. But then you notice their spending habits and realize that they just suck at spending money and spend it on ridiculous things. Users of an online forum share the ridiculous financial decision people make daily that bury them in a hole of debt without them realizing it.

1. Starting a Business without Research

Starting a profitable business takes planning and thought to determine fair market prices, sourcing material, employees, etc. Starting a business of any kind (whether online or brick and mortar) on the fly one day will result in disaster and lost money.

Someone shares an example: “My ex-SIL went to Walmart and bought a sh** load of nail clippers, files, polish, and anything to do finger nails with. I asked her what the hell she planned on doing with all that. She told me she was going to start a flea market.”

2. Monthly Payments on Completely Friviulous Items

“When you ask them how much they paid for something and they only know the monthly payment amount,” someone writes. When making monthly payments, a large percentage of that goes to interest, making it significantly more than the original “ticket” price. Thus, for anyone trying to make financially savvy moves- it’s best to buy things in cash within their means or find something that is more within their budget and can be paid off as quickly as possible.

3. Trading Rent for Fun

Someone shares a common head-scratcher, “Can’t pay rent on time, but never misses a night out.” A night out can add up quickly; imagine how much better they’d be sitting financially without all the partying? Other users talk about this concept with any other extraneous spending, such as a new tattoo.

4. Backwards Priorities with Kids

Similar to partying instead of renting, it seems some people have their spending habits and priorities all jumbled. Someone writes, “My neighbor can’t buy her kids school shoes – but has custom rims and wheels.” Another mom writes about her frustrations with her brother-in-law, that buys brand new $50k cars but gets annoyed that his oldest son doesn’t want to attend college because of the cost.

5. The Money is Burning a Hole

“Every time you get a chunk of cash, you think you have to find a way to spend it,” shares someone. Another user agrees, saying it’s a “poor person” mentality. Rather than building up a savings cushion or reinvesting for more money later on, they just want to blow it on something, anything.

6. Distraction by All the Shiney Things

“Having the top of the line everything with a minimum wage job,” shares one user. How can they afford it? They’re either in debt or barely scraping by each month- neither of which is very fun. All in the name of having “nice things.”

7. Asking Friends for Money

Many users recall stories of lending money without ever being repaid. “Burning friends by asking for “emergency” money, (based on some fake story), that you will never repay. Yes, oddly specific. Yes, all too common.” This is a recipe for lost money, debt, and burned bridges.

8. Personal Deliveries on Repeat

Anyone struggling with finances should know the benefits of cooking, baking, and brewing at home. Yet, there are often stories of people blowing their cash on take out delivery when they had plenty of time to cook their own meals or brew their own coffee. Someone writes, “I know someone who is always struggling with money. Then I found out he has individual cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee delivered to him (via third party apps of course) while he’s working at home. You know, instead of making a pot of coffee for yourself.”

9. Quitting a Day Job for an MLM

Sadly, many MLMs are complete scams that result in lost money- at least for most that stay at the bottom of the pyramid. A user shares, “Remember an acquaintance, barely scraping by, complaining that this program better start working for them, even as they were paying out so much money, trying to fend off foreclosure on the house, and trying to talk me into signing up for this sh** show.”

10. Keeping a Credit Card Balance

“Carrying long term balances on credit cards. That interest will eat you alive. I know sometimes there are emergencies and people get overextended, but if you have a variety of debts than credit card debt is most likely the one to try to take on first.” With credit cards, it is always best to spend within your means, or it’ll add up quick an leave you bankrupt!

11. Renting Furniture

“You haven’t seen bad with money till you’ve seen someone pay day advance to make their payment on a rented couch,” shares someone. Many were shocked to learn that people actually make monthly payments on high end furniture, rather than finding something within their mean. Many pointed out that it’s not that hard to find gently used, nearly free furniture if funds are tight.

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