The TRUTH About Being Broke

There is no judgement here. Being broke doesn’t worry everyone. It does however worry many people and is often the cause of relationship breakups and even more serious things such as breaking the law or worse, suicide.

So, why are some people broke all the time whilst others always seem to come up smelling of roses and always have plenty of money in the bank.

It’s not just one thing. It’s a series of things. Maybe you can relate to some of them. I know I can as I have been broke several times before. It’s not a nice place to be, but it can either be a place you live in (being habitually broke) or it can be a learning curve.

Ask any millionaire, most did not come from a wealthy background. In fact, many of them did not even go on to complete their education. Many wealthy people struggled for years before they created their breaks into the big time. A lot of people envy them (mainly broke people), but really, they should be admired for the jobs they provide, and the money they donate to charities.

How Do People Remain Broke?

Anyone can be forgiven for being born broke. This is not your fault, however if you remain broke, without doubt 99% of the time, this IS your fault. Here’s why.

In order to be broke, you have to spend more than you earn. Doing this on a regular basis leads to borrowing which leads to debt. It’s a non stop cycle that usually leads to bankruptcy. Again, no judgement here, I’m just explaining the process.

We all have the ability to add value to the marketplace. The problem lies when people get confused about the word “value”.

You would think that Doctors, Nurses, Carers etc should be highly paid because of the value they provide in helping people and saving lives. This of course isn’t true. Many nurses and carers are severely underpaid. This is because value and perceived value are not the same thing.

Perceived value is the price your job pays per hour as the value you bring to the marketplace. In other words it’s the market rate for the job you do. This has nothing to do with REAL value.

If this were true, all Doctors, Nurses and Carers would be paid large sums of money… 

However.. 

We live in a World where celebrities are valued more than a brain surgeon, this tells us that the saving of human lives has a perceived value to the marketplace of less than a professional footballer. The footballer entertains, the surgeon saves lives.

The reason most people remain broke is because they think of themselves as their job and often think this is all they can do – and never do anything to either change their occupation or move up the pay scale. You can’t rescue yourself form being broke by relying on a 1 or 2% pay rise every now and again.

Being Broke – The Way Out

For more details of my new book, click the image below

Unless you are employed by the government, no matter what you do, your boss has to make a profit from your work, if you don’t make the company you work for, a profit, you get fired. This is just common sense. Companies have to make a profit in order to keep you on.

If you work in a job where your value to the marketplace is low (for example, if ANYONE could do your job) you’ll always be underpaid until you either pivot to a better paid position or you upgrade your skillset. If on top of this you also spend everything or more than you earn, you’ll always be playing catchup.

Bills get higher every year with inflation, but wages rarely keep up. The only way out of this Groundhog day type of existence is to add another income stream to do part time, work towards working for yourself or as I said before upgrade your skillset and spend less than you earn.

Don’t find something to spend every penny you earn, either downsize your spending or upgrade your income.

The last thing i’m going to say here will probably upset a few people. Most people who are broke nearly always think it’s someone else’s fault.

Either the Government’s social security payments are not enough or the job pays too little. Telling yourself this over and over will not increase your value to the marketplace. 

Rightly or wrongly, it’s not how you value your work, it’s how the marketplace values it.. 

You only ever increase your value by increasing your skillset. We all have a value that we are not yet giving. Being broke is intrinsically linked to our low perception of ourselves, we often undervalue ourselves and what we do.

You can’t earn more if you don’t do more. It’s not just about working more, it’s about increasing your hourly value. 

The truth is, we are all capable of more. We are all capable of setting the World alight but most DON’T. It’s far easier to sit where we are and complain.

That’s it. I’m done, If you are offended by this post I apologise but instead of being offended, increase your value to the marketplace. 

I hope this post gave you value. If it did please give it a share and leave a comment below.

All the best

Keith

PS People who liked this post also liked this one. How to Stop Procrastinating And Be A Dynamic Action Taker

PPS For Smart Money Ideas – Join Our Private Facebook Group