See, The Thing Is...
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (112864)
United States
December 6, 2022 9:14am CST
It is fun sometimes to read certain statistics, especially ones that pertain to something about money I have said for a long time and harp on whenever I can.
Simply having more money, or receiving more money in a pay raise does not change one's financial status UNLESS one has a genuine attitude toward strong financial management skills.
In other words, as I have often said, it is not how much you make that matters. It is what you do with what you make that matters.
Give a man who is a fool with money $1 more an hour. He will still be broke. Having more money does not solve money problems because money issues are rarely an earning problem. It's a spending problem. It's a poor money management problem.
A man who is smart with his money can make a tiny amount and still be richer than a fool with a higher paycheck.
It's just reality even though many people refuse to accept it.
Did you know that roughly 60% of professional NBA basketball players are broke after 5-years of retiring? Yep. It's true. Despite multi-million dollar salaries, most of these uber-rich players go bust.
Because again, to my point, it doesn't matter how much money someone makes. If they don't know how to manage it, it doesn't make a difference in the outcome.
A fool and his money will soon be parted is not just a saying. It's a reality.
4 people like this
3 responses
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 22
Generally speaking (for people who don’t manage their finances well), their level of spending will always rise to their level of income. I hear people say, “If I only had $10,000 extra, I wouldn’t be In debt.” Yeah you would you fool. You’ll just be $10,000 further in debt.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Oct 23
@porwest Yes, you get it. So many other people don’t understand it. The concept is very easy—spend less than you earn—but people can’t quite grasp that.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112864)
• United States
19 Oct 23
@moffittjc I have been having this argument for too many years to count, and yet...it changes nothing. People believe what they believe and that's that.
The funny thing is that people rarely listen to people with money. Instead, they gather with the rest of their poor friends and simply agree with each other it's impossible to have money or get ahead.
Which reminds me. I was going to stop over and see that homeless guy on the offramp by my house and ask him what he thinks about real estate. I am fairly convinced he can tell me a thing or two.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
7 Dec 22
Yup. It's unfortunately true in many cases these days. My husband worked at a seasonal company and made excellent wages. The other guys would go out and buy new cars and boats...then came the layoffs for the season. The other guys couldn't pay the payments for their new toys. Sad but true.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
16 Oct 23
@porwest No they don't. When it stops s**wing no one needs salt...and then comes the layoffs.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112864)
• United States
16 Oct 23
@LindaOHio Yep. An unfortunate truth.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112864)
• United States
16 Oct 23
Same thing sorta happened when I was working at Coca-Cola. We had almost unlimited overtime for a very long time, and the other guys on the production line used a lot of it to buy all sorts of expensive toys. When the overtime dried up they were devastated, even though so often I always advisded not to consider the overtime pay as part of their pay.
But people don't usually listen. lol
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
8 Dec 22
But, how can a fool ever earn money anyway?
He can't be a total fool to hold down a job, but just foolish about managing his money.
"Do what you love and the money will follow."
Marsha Sinetar, an American writer said this.
If it is true, a fool who loves what he is doing could get rich, so that answers my opening question, I guess too.
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
9 Dec 22
@porwest Well, to my mind, a fool also lacks intelligence, and therefore could never be a lawyer, unless somebody got him there by clandestine methods.
It takes some smarts to earn a big income, but a fool could win money at a lotto game, I guess too.
I take your point that somebody earning a low wage can become rich by wise investing though.
@porwest (112864)
• United States
9 Dec 22
@innertalks A fool does not have to be stupid in all things. He can be a fool in only certain things. Like the lawyer example. He can be smart in law but foolish in finance. Likewise, that Burger King guy may not be smart enough to get a better job than Burger King, BUT knows a thing or two about money and business, he can become a millionaire. But maybe he is foolish when it comes to marriage and has 6 former wives?
A fool COULD win the lottery. But just like the NBA player who gets a big paycheck, if he is not smart with the money it will be gone.
It goes hand it hand to how we use the term fool even. Often times we preface it by saying, "When it comes to," then we fill in the blank and call the person a fool. But it rarely suggests the person is entirely a fool in all things.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112864)
• United States
8 Dec 22
A fool earns money just like anyone earns money. But a fool could earn a little or a lot and still be a fool. For example, a fool could become a lawyer, make a lot of money and be broke. I stand by the idea that how much one makes does not determine how much one has, nor how rich they become.
I know a guy who started off working for Burger King and never worked anywhere else. He now owns over 11 restaurants and is a millionaire. Wise financial planning, money management, and investing is what allowed him to do it. Not the size of his paychecks. Especially starting out.
1 person likes this
