How do you know if you have no control over your money? See this checklist and find out!
Some people get to a point where they make enough money to get by, but then fall into a series of habits that sends them right back to being broke.
This article is about them, and maybe about you too, so pay close attention!
So here are 15 Signs You Have no control over your money! Don’t worry if you don’t feel like reading, you can enjoy the video below or watch it on YouTube:
1
Impulsive spending
The first thing people do when they start making more money is to spend it on crap they don’t need. They look at their bank account and see more money left over than there used to be. This instantly sparks the question: “Ok, what do I buy with this?”
They get into the habit of buying every new shiny thing that drops, just to feel good inside.
The new iPhone dropped? Instant pre-order. It doesn’t even matter what it does, they just know it’s new.
A new fashion collaboration is announced? “Add to cart”, because they have to be the freshest ones on the subway.
Impulsive spending is the first sign that someone has no control over their money.
2
Financial liabilities
There are 5 big financial liabilities people get themselves into:
- Mortgage
- Student loans
- Car loans
- Credit card debt
- Personal loans
While the first 2 can’t be avoided by everyone, the last 3 are what get people trapped.
As a rule of thumb, you should never spend money you don’t have. As a second rule of thumb, just because you can afford to buy something, it doesn’t mean you should.
Being able to afford something but not buying it is what most people struggle with because it requires discipline and holding back.
Just because you can afford the new whatever doesn’t mean you should buy it. Especially when the new thing comes with a monthly payment attached to it.
3
You don’t know how much life costs you
When you have no control over money, you have no idea where it all goes. You don’t know how much you spend on food each month and don’t know how much you spend on clothes in a year. Maybe you don’t even know how many subscriptions you have. Money seems to just fly away and you have no idea where.
You think life is getting more expensive, but you can’t think of a single thing that’s more expensive now than it was two years ago.
4
You have lifestyle inflation
Lifestyle inflation means your cost of living goes up with your monthly earnings. No matter how much you earn, you always have the same amount of money left at the end of the month.
As you earn more money, you start to adopt a more expensive lifestyle. But your life fundamentally stays the same and nothing changes at an individual level.
You don’t invest in experiences that make you better; you invest in things that make you look more successful.
And soon enough, you find yourself in a circle of debt and financial stress.
5
You have 0 savings
People who have no control over money can’t stand to see their money just sitting there. They feel the need to spend it. In their eyes, money saved is money not spent, and they will justify it by saying things like “I have no use for money when I’m gone”.
But this is a problem, as savings have different purposes. You don’t save money to get rich, nobody in the history of the world ever became wealthy by just saving.
Instead, you save money to give yourself a financial safety net. And most importantly, to give yourself room to grab opportunities as they arrive.
6
You live paycheck to paycheck
This isn’t a “poor people thing”. This is an “anyone who is bad with money thing”. People who have no control over money always find a way to lose it: From lifestyle inflation to poor budgeting or no overview of their finances. Sometimes it’s because of plain ignorance.
The money seems to just fly away every month. God forbid an emergency comes knocking.
7
You constantly borrow
When people have no control over money, spending borrowed cash feels different than spending their own. Even though they have to pay it back later, including interest.
You buy things you don’t need with money you don’t have, thinking you’ll figure it out later. As a result, this not only makes you irresponsible but also ignorant.
When you have no control over money, you overestimate the cost of living because you don’t keep track of anything. This almost always ends up with you living above your means while borrowing the rest to get through the month. It’s a never-ending cycle.
8
You lack financial education
You have never opened a financial book in your life. You’ve never asked your rich friends how they stay organized about their finances. You don’t know how money works and it’s all a mystery.
There is a study that shows that half of Americans who own credit cards have no idea what their annual percentage rates are.
When you feel like you’re one paycheck away from disaster, everything starts to overwhelm you. As a result, you end up clicking on financial advice that bots are spamming in the comments on YouTube videos.
By the way, this goes without saying: Do not fall for scams in YouTube comments!
Now back to the point. Lucky for you, our App has all the necessary tools to get you started on financial education. Start learning and take back control!
9
You borrow money to pay other debts
You know someone has no control over money when they start borrowing to pay other debts. At that point, they are in over their heads. And the only way out they know is to dive even deeper down the rabbit hole. These people always juggle maxed-out credit card debts in hopes of staying above the surface.
Fact: Controlling your money involves clearing out your debts without creating new ones in the process.
10
You are embarrassed by your financial situation
You hate money talks and it makes you uncomfortable and stressed. When someone talks about investments, you panic. You don’t want to hear about it because it makes you feel like you’re being judged for not having any.
You don’t want people to know how randomly you spend money, so you keep it hidden. This also keeps you from getting any help or advice from other people. There is an actual term for this: The Ostrich Effect – You avoid negative information, including feedback and advice.
It’s human nature to do so, but this only makes your financial situation worse.
11
You don’t understand the difference between broke and poor
Being broke means you don’t have money. Being poor means you don’t have any way of making money. There’s a big difference, but when you have no control over money, they feel the same.
If you don’t manage to get past the “broke” mentality, you’ll end up doing all the things that keep you broke.
12
You have no long-term financial goal
When you have no control over money, you have no control over your financial future. Retirement is a mystery. Heck, even next year is a mystery. Your only goal is to avoid bad things happening to you.
You prefer not to think about it and shift the blame to the system or the economy, in hopes that your government will come and save you.
But when it does, you spend the stimulus check on a PlayStation 5.
13
You have a stupid high-risk tolerance
When you have no control over money and your spending habits, you tend to take huge risks for huge rewards:
- You gamble away your life savings on meme stocks.
- You remortgage your house to invest in a project you know nothing about.
- You get a sense of pleasure in a potential reward that can change your life.
That’s never going to happen the way you want it, and you know it. But you still dream about it.
14
You have a scarcity mindset
You believe that what you have is never going to be enough. Now, the scarcity mindset is born from a deep fear of not having enough or of losing what you have. But here’s the thing: constantly focusing on what you lack only creates more of it. It keeps you blind to all the wealth that surrounds you and can prevent you from feeling true happiness and fulfillment.
You’ll never have enough if you believe you’ll never have enough.
15
Financial Ignorance
Some people are bad with money because they simply ignore it. They don’t check their bank account, they don’t check their spending, and they don’t care about increasing their earning potential. None of that.
But the problem is, these people don’t care about money until they’re hit by a reality check. They eventually realize they capped out what they can do with their situation.
They can’t start a family, can’t raise a kid, and have no retirement plan. That’s when reality hits back.
As a thank you for sticking with us until the end – we have a bonus for you.
Bonus
You lack confidence in your ability to achieve financial freedom
When you don’t understand money, it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have: you’ll always feel the danger of losing everything. You constantly worry about the worst-case scenario while any money play cripples you. It’s not a bad idea to have a backup plan, and maintaining a negative attitude toward money will only lead to another maxed-out credit card.
This wraps up our article about the 15 signs you have no control over your money! Hope you found it useful and see you next time!
