The Number ONE THING That Will KEEP YOU POOR in Canada

A few months later, sitting there, having a great conversation with my wife and we go, and I go to where did all that money go? And. And it's just funny, you know, it's not that funny, but it was funny to just reflect on how that happened. It was just like our experience, our expenses just rose up to meet that new level of income.

What is the number one thing that will keep you poor? That's what myself, Liz Lamond and Dan Allen are going to talk about today. The number one thing that keeps you poor, Dan, that's a really interesting question. And we're going to give three factors around the thing that keeps people poor. And the number one thing that keeps people poor is believing that there is a quick fix. And we're going to talk about that in a little more detail in a moment, but first, in a way of introducing us. Dan and myself are authorised practitioners with the Nelson Nash Institute and we specialize in the concept of becoming your own banker. And we're going to talk not so much about that, but just more about the process of how you can create a different solution for yourself. And we are going to explore why these things need to be considered in terms of creating wealth for yourself. If you're interested in learning more about the process of becoming your own banker, you're welcome to click on any of the videos that are going to appear. So, Dan, what is it about people believing that there's going to be like a quick fix for them in terms of, you know, I think one of the first things that we want to talk about is that because people believe that there's a quick fix, they keep searching for a new solution, something that will provide that quick fix for them.

I think we've all been there at some point in life and we just look for, boy, it would be nice if there's something simple and quick that would get us to our objective. Yet when you think about it, it's always going to involve some kind of effort, something we have to change. If we don't change the way things, the way we're doing things now, and we expect our results to be different, well, I think we're going to really end up with a result that's not going to satisfy us. It just is not the way life works. Whatever we go about to do, we're going to have to take steps to get and achieve that outcome. So that's one thing I always want people to know. It's like it starts here. And if we limit ourselves to believing that there's going to Be something that comes along that's just going to help me get there without us applying ourselves to how we're going to get there. I think that's the one thing, just that mindset.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think part of something that you might have experienced, even if it's not around money or it might be around exercise or diet or anything else that we're trying to improve, is because we believe that there's something that we could do that was going to create that one time fix for us that's going to solve this problem, is we're often reluctant to take consistent, regular action. It almost paralyzes us from taking action, which ironically would move us closer to our goal if we were to take that action. So I think understanding that there's not a quick fix, that it's going to require regular, consistent effort so we don't burn ourselves out on the first attempt either. Some people who might have gone and done a really massive workout at the gym discovered that's not that much fun. And so it's the same with money. Like if we do one big effort to try and create wealth and it doesn't work, then it's discouraging and we're unlikely to continue it. But as to your point, Dan, about those gradual, continual, ongoing steps towards creating wealth and taking that consistent action and understanding that there's not a quick road to this, but the road actually gets faster the more we take the action. So it's about that consistency of effort and making it sustainable. Effort as well, I think is really important too, Dan.

So many inspirational kind of quotes I heard about. You know, just making one small change can lead to a huge difference in your life. And that's the way it works with money. Like, if you're going to go down a journey of changing a behavior and an outcome for yourself, well, it's going to take that action. You're going to have to do something. It's just not going to happen. And as I reflect back in life, and I've had lots of experience with money, some good, some not so good, one of the things that I've really learned is that my behavior is really going to be a key factor. Something that you know is going to make a difference as to whether I achieve my goal or whether I don't.

Yeah. And we certainly, as I mentioned at the start of the video, we talk, we teach people about the process of becoming a banker. And part of that is consistent effort as well. So it's no different no matter what strategy you use. And you know, it's important to understand that anything that you're going to do with regard to building wealth is going to be important, that you are willing to commit to ongoing, consistent effort. Because nothing that we talk about with clients on a regular basis is a quick fix for them either. It's understanding that they're taking ownership of a process, that they're making sure they take regular action steps to create wealth for their family. And their behavior is going to influence the outcome more than anything else that's going on with their finances. And I think that brings us to the third thing that we wanted to talk about is often people won't change their vending habits because they think that if there's a quick fix option, that they don't have to change anything else that they're doing. Do you have something that you've experienced with working with people around that? Dan?

Yeah. So I think it's really a key element that you bring up there. Liz, is like one of the things that we both study is Parkinson's law and how as income rises, your expenses will rise to meet that new level of income if you don't do something differently. And I've experienced that many times in my life. Like I can remember getting substantial pay increases and then a few months later sitting there having a great conversation with my wife. And I go, so where did all that money go? And it's just funny, just reflect on how that happened. It was just like our expenses just rose up to meet that new level of income. And that is a reality or behavior. And one of the best things I've read around this whole topic and someone said.

One of the most critical expenses or bills that you should have each month is the one that you're paying yourself. So actually, you should feel like I'm worth a lot. What I do, I'm probably worth more than what I've been paying everybody else. All this money, I should be worth something too. And so if I set up a way that I bill myself and then I start to build equity. And that's what I love about this process called becoming your own banker. It's a way that I coach people of billing yourself that equity that you're putting into your banking system and your policy is a form of billing yourself because you are starting to build equity in something that you control and will give you lots of options through life. And again, one of Nelson's golden rules is think long range. And that's what I think fits really well with our topic of what's that one Thing? Well, it's thinking, it's going to be a quick fix. You got to think long range. You got to start applying some principles around discipline and how to control your spending. Because I know, I'm sure you've got some great examples too that you've seen in life, Liz, where if you don't control those expenses, what would happen?

Certainly people find that when they have more cash available to your point, they'll start saying, oh well, we can just afford to add this and add this and then suddenly they've got massive credit card debt. Perhaps you've experienced that yourself where you've bought something as a one off, as a treat, but then everything else crept in and perhaps you forgot about your annual expense of something that was coming up and suddenly that bill gets bigger and, and then all you're doing is working to pay the credit card effectively and that's, that's actually not very satisfying. I certainly pay a lot in groceries, but it's not satisfying to work just to pay the grocery bill. Like there needs to be more happening. There needs to be things that I'm building for myself and my family that create that ongoing wealth building activities that, so that you can create things for yourself that are more enjoyable over the longer term, that are sustainable, that are creating the lifestyle that you want. That will take some time. It will take some very simple changes in looking and really understanding where is your money flowing. So understanding that if we need to change our behavior, that you need to take a really good look at where your money's going out, just look at your credit card statement and say where is all my money going to? I had an example of somebody who was surprised by how much they were paying in bank fees every month. They didn't realize how much it had at added up to until we calculated them over a year. They were a little bit horrified as to how much money was leaving their bank account just in bank fees. So if they had put that money somewhere else or used a different bank account, for example, that didn't charge those kinds of fees for their transactions, that money could have been built for them for a long period of time. And to your point Dan, about thinking long range, it's not just what could have that money done for me this month or this year, but what could this money do for me over a period of time? And we have a great video on compound interest if you want to understand more about how that works and why that's important. But just understanding that the ability for your money to compound over time makes an enormous difference if it's uninterrupted because the objectives that you can achieve are greatly different over a period of time. And making sure you know where all that money is flowing so that you can make sure that to Dan's point, that you are paying yourself first, that you really put yourself as the most important one for creating that wealth for yourself and your family.

I really like that, Liz. And just that good clarity that you give people about it really gets to be about your thoughts, your choices. And the other thing I'd really like for you to do is just below you can put comments down. We'd both like to know what you think is that one thing that keeps people poor. I'd love to know that because it really comes back to our mindset and our behaviors. But I'd love to know what you think about what is that one thing that you believe keep people poor. And again, like Liz did such a great job of speaking to, there's lots of great content on our YouTube channel. I just encourage you to go take it in. We enjoy working with people. We like to help them. We like them to think about how they can make a difference for themselves and their families. And I've learned in life it all starts with the way I think. And as soon as I started to realize that, I started to make different choices. And those choices can make a big difference for you. And I'm just going to encourage you to do that. Take in some more education and.