Money is for everyone; the rich have it and so do the poor. The only difference is, the rich have it more abundantly. But why?
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Life is a challenge, and so is making money. But if anyone tells you that you can make a million dollars in six months through a tried and tested method that they will show you, think twice before you fall for their get-rich quick schemes.
Now I know you want a good life and all the good things that money can buy. But here's the thing. You see, unless you have an uncle who is wealthy and generous, then you simply have to work your butt out, first to make ends meet, and then have enough to do whatever you want to do with it.
Making money, becoming rich and having the good things of life is hard for some people. But for others it seems like kids play and this raises the question, why is it hard for some people to make money? And why do some have more of it and some less? This blog will try to answer these questions.
Why it's hard for some people to make money.
If you are not born with a silver spoon, then chances are, you have to sweat it out to make a living and eventually raise yourself to a level of financial self-sufficiency. Reaching such a level as to say you have enough not to worry about your present or future financially, requires challenging yourself. Because as with all endeavors in life, making money is a challenge and here's why.
The challenges with making money
There is a challenge that comes with making money, and this challenge is tied in some ways to the objectives or goals that you set in place for yourself. What are some of those challenges that you can place on yourself?
Well, your first challenge might be to tell yourself that you will never be poor again and to make this an achievable goal in life. You can look back into your past and into the family background that you were born and grew up, and the challenges that you faced during that time.
For example, you came from a poor family background in which there was barely enough to eat. Your parents didn't have a house of their own, and so struggled to pay the rent and put food on the table. This realization of being poor, and the desire to get out of that poverty, should spur you into doing something to change your condition.
When you tell yourself that you will never be poor, in reality, you are saying that you will never be broke again. This means that you will strive to make sure you always have money on you, whether in your bank account or wallet. This can be your second objective, which is what you are actually going to pursue.
And so your overall objective is never to be poor again, while the objective that will help you realize that is you never going broke again but always have money on you. But doing this will require a big effort on your part to make it happen. And it requires you to bear in mind that first,
You have to work for the money
No matter how much you believe in lady luck, if you want to never be broke again, then definitely you have to work and earn money. If you are of working age and healthy, then there is no reason why you cannot get up and go out and find something to do.
As an adult, you must realize that there is no free money given anywhere. Governments might have financial relief measures put in place to help the needy, especially in a time of emergency, and this might be an exception. But any private individual or entity that promises to give you free money, is directly or indirectly asking you to do them a favor. When? At a time convenient for them, and sometime when you least expect.
And so challenging yourself to work always, is the first step towards having money. This comes with benefits.
The benefits or working to earn for yourself
Working to earn money for yourself comes with benefits, even though, doing a nine to five day job might suck. But at the end of the month, when the paycheck arrives, and you see the money in your bank account, you forget how bad the job was. That money is money you worked for and is not money that you borrowed. And this is the benefit of working to have your own money, so that,
-you don't have to ask anyone else for money to buy what you need.
-you can avoid asking others to give you money whenever you have need of it,
-you can avoid being humiliated or called lazy.
-you can avoid people looking at you with disregard.
Once people know you to be someone who always asks others for money, or is constantly in difficulty with money, their attitude towards you will change rapidly. They will see you more as a parasite than as someone they can rely on, and will gradually avoid you.
And so to avoid being labelled as lazy or a loser, or parasite, etc. you have to work to earn the money you need; to buy the things you need and to take care of yourself and your loved ones. What this sometimes means is that,
You have to do what is available at the moment.
There are jobs that pay well and there are jobs that don't pay well. Now who wouldn't want to have a well-paid job over a job that pays less, is hard, and sometimes comes with little or no benefits? No one!
But unfortunately, having a well-payed job might mean having certain academic qualifications before an employer can employ you for a specific job. In most cases, apart from the qualifications, a past work experience with another company for at least one or two years might also be necessary.
If you do not meet the requirements for that job, then your chances of being employed are compromised. So what do you do? Fold your hands and wait for who knows how long? No! You have to embrace whatever comes your way.
You have to start somewhere
Do what is available to get by, no matter how degrading you think it might be. Now, you may not like what is available out there. And definitely, what you find may not be the type of job that you are even looking for.
But which is better, keeping yourself busy working, and the money coming in, or staying idle doing nothing hoping to find a better job? If you are a goal oriented-person whose objective is to come out of poverty one day, live a financially worry-free life, then you should embrace the low paid-jobs that comes your way. Because the big takeaway from this is the experience you acquire in doing that particular job.
Everyday people seeing Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and the likes, on TV or the web, are constantly awed by how wealthy they are. Look at the Forbes 2022 list of the world's richest. But they, too, started somewhere doing menial jobs, knowing that it was only temporary. They had bigger dreams and pursued it because they wanted only one thing, and that is to have success in life.
And while everyone wants to be successful in life like the Elon Musks of this world, it will be hard for some people to make money because,
Many are living paycheck to paycheck
In today's world, perhaps due to the rising cost of living or because most people don't earn enough, too many people are living paycheck to paycheck. But this is not limited to the low-income groups. In fact, according to a recent report, about 48% of Americans earning an annual income of over a $100,000 live from paycheck to paycheck source
This means that each month many people find it hard to make ends meet. So it's a struggle paying rent/mortgage. And its a struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table. Living paycheck to paycheck keeps rising.
One reason attributed to this is rising inflation. This has increased the living costs affecting the pockets of some of those even in the high-income group. But far from rising inflation, here are a few other reasons holding people back from making money.
They are living far above their means
Most people have the tendency to live a lifestyle far above their means. What this simply means is that for example, if you work a 9-5 job and come home with a 2k a month paycheck, what most people would do is invest that money in an expensive lifestyle that far exceeds this income.
An expensive lifestyle means taking luxury vacations, wearing costly designer clothing and where you could buy a used car until you earn more to buy a new one, you take up a car loan and buy an expensive one. All of this on a $2k monthly paycheck.
What happens at the end of the month when you receive your paycheck? It goes into paying rent, bills and outstanding loan settlements. At the end of the day, you have little or nothing left to live by until you get your next paycheck. To survive you have to go borrowing and this leads many,
Being constantly in debt
Debt is one reason why it is hard for most people to make money. When you are constantly in debt and borrowing money from family and friends, as a result of your expensive lifestyle, then making money will be hard if not too difficult.
Then again, if you have a gambling and drug use problem and this has grown into a steady addiction, then not only will you gamble or smoke away your paycheck, you will also be selling your items just to satisfy your cravings.
Making unprofitable investments
Many are willing to invest as the money comes in, but are sometimes lured into worthless investment programs that promise great returns. These are get-rich quick schemes that are designed with a specific purpose-to lure people without the proper financial knowledge, to part with their hard-earned money with the promise of great returns on their investment capital.
Many have no savings
Many people do non have money set aside for emergency purposes. In fact, they do not have a life's savings at all. As the money comes in, so it goes out into payments and things like that. Not have savings or money set aside for emergency purposes is one reason why it is hard for some people to make money.
When you or someone you know worries too much about not making money, find out if they are doing any of the things listed above. As long as you do not overindulge in whatever you are doing, you can at some point take back control of your financial life.
How you can take back control
For those struggling to make ends meet due to living far above their means, you are not alone. Many are struggling to pay off loans such as student loans, money borrowed from the bank, etc. If you find yourself trapped in a cycle where you live from paycheck to paycheck, don't be discouraged. You can overcome this problem by making some adjustments
So where do you start? Or how do you start your journey towards richness or having lots of money?
The Mindset
There is a mindset that accompanies money, and this mindset allows you to see money in a different light. Call it the money mindset because it allows you to re-examine your relationship and approach towards money.
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It allows you to have an open-minded approach towards money, far from whatever religious or fixed belief notions that you hold about money, which of course probably makes you see money as evil.
Once you confine yourself to this 'money is the root of all evil' mindset, you may limit yourself from achieving wealth and your desired dream life. And the dream life everyone wants is
- to have financial abundance
- to own a house,
- to be debt-free and,
- to be able to provide enough for their family.
- and live a worry-free life.
If this is also your dream, then you need to change the way you think about money and see it for what it really is. And that is, as a tool you can use to obtain so many of life's needs. Your need for education; your need for a new dress, your need to put food on the table, etc.
Changing the way you think about money will help you learn a lot about money and will help you challenge a lot of the many negative notions about it.
1) Appreciate money
The first thing to do to change your mindset about money is to show your appreciation of it, no matter how small or how big in value it is. When you appreciate something, you value it and is therefore of great importance to you.
And so you need to treat $1 just as you would treat $100,000. Both have the same value because both can be used to buy you something. The same $1 if saved overtime can grow into a large amount of money.
And so no matter how small the amount of money is that you have, or that comes your way, always embrace it and treat it with the same amount of care and respect that you would treat a $100,000.
2) You have to work for it
Money is never given freely. You must always work for it, one way or the other. If it is given to you freely, then know that along the line you will always be expected to give back something or render some kind of help or service in exchange for it. And this sometimes knowingly or unknowingly.
A typical example of money given freely is when you sign up for an online service that gives you, say, $10 upon registration on their website. The registration process always involves you giving out your personal data during the sign-up such as, email address, name and surname, phone number, etc. in exchange for that $10.
However, and as most often happens, once you give away your data during the sign-up process, you then have to work to earn the free $10 given to you upon registration. Because just by signing up, you will not be able to cash out that $10. You must earn an amount equal or above that to be able to cash out.
3) You have to use it wisely
The misuse of money is quite common among people, and it is not limited to younger people alone. Even adults and the elderly misuse money. For money to stay in your hands, you must understand that it is hard to get but easy to spend.
A typical example is when you work for hours just to earn say a $100. But meet a few good friends after work who come around and take you out. What you worked to earn in 12 hours could be spent buying drinks in a matter of minutes.
4) You have to save the money you make
You cannot work so hard and not keep some money aside for future needs or for emergency purposes. This is like crucifying yourself to a life of penury. Understand that money comes and goes quite fast, and you are not growing younger as the years go by.
Soon you will reach that age where you will no longer be able to work or retirement will set in. It is at this time that the money you saved or invested much earlier in life will be a lifesaver.
5) You must understand the highs and lows
Money has highs and lows, just ask any businessman. That is because there is a time when people spend more money, and a time when they spend little to no money at all. Think of the holiday seasons like Christmas and Easter.
Or such periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday when huge discounts options abound. There are also times when a lot of money is circulating in the economy and times when the circulation is limited.
Understanding the highs and lows of money will help you prepare yourself better in organizing yourself financially.
Why the rich have more money than the rest of us
Behind every yacht or a private jet owner is a story of how to get to a point in life where they could own that private jet or luxury yacht. It's luxury at its finest that only heavy pockets can afford. You see, Yachts are quite expensive and can have a price range of up to $500,000 depending on the size, to about $600 million for a mega-sized model. source
But private jets are also expensive too, coming with a price tag for a new one that ranges from $2million to about $500million. Source
Seeing these jaw-dropping, mouth-watering figures is enough to make you want to you ask, "What did Mr. John Doe do to get all that money?" Let's try to answer the question by citing one example why they are ahead of the rest of us without showing any signs of relenting.
The Covid Pandemic
The rich are getting richer every day, and it doesn't matter if there's a crisis, a pandemic or an ongoing war. The rich it seems know no limits to what they can achieve. According to an Oxfam report at the start of the year,
the ten richest men as of November 2021 saw their incomes double from US$700billion to $US1.5trillion or $US15,000 per second or $US 1.3billion per day-during the first two years of the pandemic. Source
With the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world introduced lockdown measures to contain the rapid spread of the virus. Along with the lockdown, many companies had to lay off workers, leading to an increase in unemployment figures.
But with the pandemic came new opportunities which opened up a whole new world of money making. And certain operators in some sectors of the economy reaped the benefits. Among those were the health and the technology sectors.
Healthcare
The SarsCov2 virus was considered the threat of the century and the only way to contain it then until vaccines were produced was to adopt preventive measure. These measures, such as washing of hands thoroughly, using hand sanitizers containing alcohol and wearing disposable face masks, were the norm to help contain the spread of the virus.
The main products of this prevention exercise were hand sanitizer gels, face masks and disposable hand gloves. All of these were essential items that people had to use to prevent the spread of the virus.
On top of the above-mentioned items, people had to line up at the pharmacy to take rapid Covid-19 swab tests for a fee to test for positivity or not, which in the European Union averaged about 15 euros per test.
Internet and digital technology
The Lockdown period was an opportunity that knocked on the doors of many of the world's richest people, who saw it as a chance to net a few more millions and upgrade their status.
And even though it was a time of great crisis where government lockdown measures forced people to stay at home, life had to continue as usual, but this time virtually.
This is where digital technology became useful in helping people not only bridge the communications gaps that came with lockdown, but also to find alternative income sources through the internet.
Using the internet meant a massive increase in data consumption, as documented by a World Bank report which highlighted the increase in use of digital tools for videoconferencing and calls. But increase use of social media was also prominent.
There are opportunities even in a time of crisis
The pandemic in the 2020-2021 period created a whole plethora of money making opportunities for those who knew how to spot them. It was a time of great physical and emotional stress for a lot of people. But even with all the setback that came with the pandemic, the rich and those who knew how to spot opportunities greatly benefitted from it.
When you look at the pandemic, all you may have seen is a plague or a crisis that came to disrupt normality. But for those who saw opportunities, it was a different story.
The rich, being ahead of the rest, knew how to think differently about the pandemic. And so while 90% of us lived in worry and fear, the rest 10% were smiling their way to the bank.
Conclusion
Every human condition, such as the pandemic, brings with it problems, but also opportunities. You may look at it as a crisis, but think of the many crises around the world and how people in such areas are being supported, and you will understand that a lot of people are making money. All it takes is finding out what areas lie the opportunities.
On a last note, if it is hard for you to make money, then changing your mindset about money might just be the start you need. In the end, it all boils down to having enough to live a decent, worry-free life.
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