There’s an interesting maxim about how long wealth actually stays with a person and their descendants. The saying is three generations, tops: one to make it, one to spend it, and the third to blow it. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but have you ever sat down and seriously thought about wealth and what it means to you? Or do you figure, “What the heck, I’ve always been broke, my forefathers were broke; it’s generational” – it’s just a rite of passage of sorts. If you feel that wealth is out of your reach, you aren’t alone. According to some experts, there are millions of ‘clueless potential millionaires’ who could be at the top of the wealth ladder if they only reined in a few bad habits. However, you may be a skeptic, and rightly so. Being wealthy means different things to different people. But according to the experts, there are financial mistakes many people make that keep them away from their possible wealth。

What is Wealth Anyway?

Most people do not equate wealth with a mansion or a big yacht. In fact, a scanty 7% of people surveyed associate wealth with material possessions like cars, houses and boats. Rather, to many, being rich means having just enough to not worry about the next payday – that’s according to 33% of those questioned. An additional 26% define being wealthy, or rich, as having more than enough money to quit their jobs. Still, few people place an actual dollar amount on what it means to be wealthy. Only 17% felt that being rich means having at least $1 million or more, and 11% stated a six-figure yearly income would make them feel rich. Yet most people who are rich don’t even consider themselves rich. Maybe it’s because being ‘rich’ or ‘wealthy’ has very little to do with material possessions, and more to do with how people feel about themselves. Nonetheless, according to financial experts you will never be rich if you are bogged down by anything on the following list:

1. Overspending

If you have a ferocious appetite for spending beyond your means, you’re not alone. According to a survey, of the 52% of people who habitually overspend, many balance the shortfall by taking from their savings, and 22% rely on credit cards. Blowing all your money each month is not a realistic pathway to wealth. Start tracking where your money goes each month, check where you can cut back, and create a ‘realistic’ budget that allows you to pay your bills and invest in a retirement account or an emergency fund。

2. Not Saving Enough

Welcome to the club! The personal savings percentage in the US is a measly 4.9% of disposable income. Saving should become a priority if you want to accumulate wealth. Start with an emergency fund. Once your emergency fund is substantial, you can redirect small amounts toward other goals like purchasing a home or paying for college。

3. You Have Too Much Debt

Certain debts are a precursor to financial success, like purchasing real estate or starting a business; however, a high-interest credit card balance is not. Pay off credit cards with the highest rates first。

4. You Don’t Have a Plan

Without a definite, clearly defined plan, becoming rich will seem like an unbelievable dream. This alone will solidify your excuses for overspending and not saving. As the saying goes, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail。” Putting together a financial plan may seem tedious, but it doesn’t have to be, and you can get used to it。

5. You Don’t Have an Emergency Fund

Experts say you need at least six months of income saved in case of an emergency. Life is tricky, and not having some type of safety net can turn a comfortable situation into a disaster。

6. You Started Late

Time is slipping by. Just like starting an exercise routine, the most difficult part about saving is getting started. Even if you have debt, a small income, or many expenses, you can save something, even if it’s only a small amount。

7. You Complain Rather Than Commit

“I don’t earn enough money”; “Life is too expensive”; “It’s hopeless, I’ll never get out of debt。” Have you uttered any of these statements before, or perhaps all of them? Old habits die hard; however, as long as you do nothing to change, nothing will change. Stop complaining and making excuses. Instead, take responsibility for your non-productive habits and concentrate on how to change them – and then do it!

8. You Live for Today, and Forget About Tomorrow

It’s no fun getting serious and thinking about retirement and all that stuff. Nonetheless, eventually it has to be done. The problem is that impulsive and unregulated spending leads to debt… period! Do yourself a big favor: Get rid of the ‘buy now, worry later’ attitude, and switch to a ‘save now, get rich later’ way of thinking。

9. Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket

You might get lucky by wagering all your money on one type of investment. Just like you might get lucky winning the lottery. But that’s not a strategy to live by, or for getting rich. Putting all your money in one place is not advised because it puts you at too much risk. Your investment portfolio should include multiple investments with varied levels of risk and ROI potential and liquidity。

10. You Just Don’t Get It!

You may be one of those people who believe that somehow something will come along and save you, so why bother with saving or trying to get out of debt? Maybe you will get lucky and land a fantastic job, receive a big pay raise, inherit money, hit the lottery, or whatever! But ‘whatever’ won’t cut it if you really want to become rich. Yes, life is uncertain. No one knows what will, or will not, actually happen; therefore, why not focus on what you can control today? Get it together now and save yourself, in case someone or something else won’t。

One thing you can be sure of: You are already rich. Think about it. If someone came to you and offered you a million dollars for your arm, would you give it up? Why not, you have two; you can surely spare one of them! Of course the answer would be no! Being rich is more than physical ownership; it’s a state of happiness and well-being, while wishing the same for others. So while you are working on getting rich materially, remember to be happy along the way!

據(jù)lifespan網(wǎng)站報道，有句關(guān)于財富在人們及其后代中保留時間的格言，非常有趣。格言中的答案是富不過三代：一代賺，二代花，三代敗。當然，凡事總有例外，但你曾經(jīng)是否，冷靜下來，認真思考過財富及其對你的意義?或者你是否想過：到底是哪門子的事，我祖上曾破產(chǎn)，我也總是破產(chǎn)?世世代代都這樣。”或者只是思考財富的方式各有不同。如果覺得自己跟財富無緣，要知道有這樣想法的人不止你一個。一些專家認為，還有著千百萬毫無頭緒“潛在的百萬富翁”，只要他們控制好自己的一些壞習(xí)慣，他們的名字就會出現(xiàn)在富豪榜單前列。然而，你也許是個懷疑論者，或者恰恰如此。不同的人對富裕有著不同的概念。但有些專家表示，錯誤的財務(wù)決定導(dǎo)致人們與財富無緣。

那么，財富究竟是什么呢?

多數(shù)人并不會把財富等同于豪華大宅或游艇。事實上，在受訪人群中，僅7%的人認為財富與車子、房子及游艇這樣的物質(zhì)財產(chǎn)密不可分。但是對于多數(shù)人，有33%的受訪人群表示，富裕意味著有足夠的經(jīng)濟實力，且不用擔(dān)心工資不夠用的問題。另外的有26%認為富�；蛘哂绣X就是家里的錢足夠多，可以不用工作。但是，很少人會用具體多少錢來衡量富裕與否。只有17%的人表示有錢意味著你至少得有一百萬美元以上，11%的人表示六位數(shù)的年收入才會讓他們覺得自己富有。但是大多數(shù)富人并不認為自己有錢。也許因為他們認為“有錢”或“富裕”與物質(zhì)財產(chǎn)沒多大關(guān)系，更多的是人們自己怎么看待自己。然而，理財專家表示如果你有下列壞習(xí)慣，那么你就富不起來：

1. 過度消費

很多人消費欲望強烈，常常入不敷出。據(jù)一項調(diào)查顯示，52%的人已養(yǎng)成過度消費的習(xí)慣，其中許多人動用存款平衡收支，還有22%的人對信用卡產(chǎn)生依賴。每個月浪費掉你所有的錢，你怎么能富裕的起來呢�，F(xiàn)在開始記錄每月用錢情況，看看哪里是否可以節(jié)省，制定一個“切實”的預(yù)算方案，該花的花，辦個退休賬戶或是留些應(yīng)急基金。

2. 儲蓄不足

歡迎加入這個行列!在美國，個人存款占可支配收入的比重僅有4.9%。如果你想要積累財富，那么首先，你就應(yīng)該存錢。先設(shè)立應(yīng)急基金。當應(yīng)急基金存夠了以后，你可以花一小部分錢用作他途，比如買房子或者付大學(xué)學(xué)費。

3. 負債累累

某些負債會帶來成功，比如說買地產(chǎn)或創(chuàng)業(yè);但高利率的信用卡債務(wù)絕對是個災(zāi)難。先還清利率最高的信用卡吧。

4. 缺乏計劃

缺乏一個明確清晰的計劃，想要富起來就像白日做夢。僅僅這一點，就會為你美化過度花費，存款不足的種種借口。常言道，“不制定計劃的人注定失敗。”制定理財計劃也許單調(diào)乏味，但也不一定無聊，習(xí)慣就好。

5. 無應(yīng)急基金

專家表示每個人至少需要半年工資收入作為應(yīng)急基金。畢竟，生活沒有一帆風(fēng)順，缺乏相關(guān)安全保障有時也會將安逸順境轉(zhuǎn)為苦難逆境。

6. 起步較晚

時光消逝，歲月如梭。就像要開始日常鍛煉，最困難的一步就在起步階段�？v然你欠有債務(wù)、收入甚微、或是花錢如流，你也可以存點錢，哪怕只是一點點。

7. 光說不練

“賺的不多”;“物價太高”;“債務(wù)纏身，毫無希望。”你有過其中的想法嗎?還是全都有?江山易改，本性難移;不付諸努力，什么也不會改變。那么，不再抱怨，不再尋求借口。而應(yīng)該為自己無用的習(xí)慣買單，專注于如何改變他們，且說到做到!

8. 不話當下，只論明天

認真思考退休生活等類似事情，毫無樂趣。但是，你還是會這么想。原因在于沖動無節(jié)制的開銷導(dǎo)致了負債生活沒有終日!幫自己個大忙：轉(zhuǎn)變“現(xiàn)在買入，日后擔(dān)憂”的態(tài)度，開啟“現(xiàn)在存錢，日后富有”的思維方式。

9. 把雞蛋放在一個籃子里

將所有的錢投在一處，你或許會有好運氣。但，機率就像是中彩票一樣。所以，這不是一種適合的生活準則，更不會使你富裕起來。在一棵樹上吊死存在巨大的風(fēng)險。投資組合應(yīng)該搭配不同風(fēng)險，回報率、流動性均不一的多種形式投資。

10. 就是不明白

你也許屬于這樣的人，想著無論怎樣，總會有好事出現(xiàn)，拯救你，所以，為什么去費腦子，非要存款，或是還清債務(wù)呢?可能，你會交好運，找到份好工作，再來個大幅度加薪，或是繼承錢財，中彩票等等!但是，如果你真想富起來，這些還不管用。是的，生活無常，沒有人知道將來會發(fā)生，不會發(fā)生什么;因此，為什么不集中精力做你今天能做到的呢?如果沒有人或事幫你的話，那就打起精神，幫幫自己吧。

有件事你可以確信無疑：你已經(jīng)是百萬富翁了。想一想，如果有人打算出一百萬美元買你的手臂，你愿意嗎?為什么不呢，你有左右兩支手臂;你完全可以出賣一支!當然，大家的回答都是不可能。富裕不僅僅是身體要健康，還是一種快樂幸福的狀態(tài)，當然，同時也不忘祝福他人。所以，努力奮斗在致富之路上，請記住，要一路幸福。