10 (More) Reasons You're Not Rich

By Jeffrey Strain
http://www.thestree t.com/



Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.


The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.


The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.


Here are 10 more possible reasons you aren't rich:


You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved.


You feel entitlement: If you believe you deserve to live a certain lifestyle, have certain things and spend a certain amount before you have earned to live that way, you will have to borrow money. That large chunk of debt will keep you from building wealth.


You lack diversification: There is a reason one of the oldest pieces of financial advice is to not keep all your eggs in a single basket. Having a diversified investment portfolio makes it much less likely that wealth will suddenly disappear.


You started too late: The magic of compound interest works best over long periods of time. If you find you're always saying there will be time to save and invest in a couple more years, you'll wake up one day to find retirement is just around the corner and there is still nothing in your retirement account.


You don't do what you enjoy: While your job doesn't necessarily need to be your dream job, you need to enjoy it. If you choose a job you don't like just for the money, you'll likely spend all that extra cash trying to relieve the stress of doing work you hate.


You don't like to learn: You may have assumed that once you graduated from college, there was no need to study or learn. That attitude might be enough to get you your first job or keep you employed, but it will never make you rich. A willingness to learn to improve your career and finances are essential if you want to eventually become wealthy.


You buy things you don't use: Take a look around your house, in the closets, basement, attic and garage and see if there are a lot of things you haven't used in the past year. If there are, chances are that all those things you purchased were wasted money that could have been used to increase your net worth.


You don't understand value: You buy things for any number of reasons besides the value that the purchase brings to you. This is not limited to those who feel the need to buy the most expensive items, but can also apply to those who always purchase the cheapest goods. Rarely are either the best value, and it's only when you learn to purchase good value that you have money left over to invest for your future.


Your house is too big: When you buy a house that is bigger than you can afford or need, you end up spending extra money on longer debt payments, increased taxes, higher upkeep and more things to fill it. Some people will try to argue that the increased value of the house makes it a good investment, but the truth is that unless you are willing to downgrade your living standards, which most people are not, it will never be a liquid asset or money that you can ever use and enjoy.


You fail to take advantage of opportunities: There has probably been more than one occasion where you heard about someone who has made it big and thought to yourself, "I could have thought of that." There are plenty of opportunities if you have the will and determination to keep your eyes open.


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TRIK DI TILANG POLISI !
>
>
>
> Beberapa waktu yang lalu sekembalinya berbelanja untuk kebutuhan lebaran,
> saya sekeluarga pulang dengan menggunakan taksi. Ada adegan yang menarik
> ketika saya menumpang taksi tersebut, yaitu ketika sopir taksi hendak
> ditilang oleh polisi. Sempat teringat oleh saya dialog antara polisi dan
> sopir taksi.
>
> Polisi (P) : Selamat siang mas, bisa lihat Sim dan STNK?
> Sopir (Sop) : Baik Pak…
>
> P : Mas tau..kesalahannya apa?
> Sop : Gak pak
>
> P : Ini nomor polisinya gak seperti seharusnya (sambil nunjuk ke plat
> nomor taksi yg memang gak standar) sambil langsung mengeluarkan jurus
> sakti mengambil buku tilang…lalu menulis dengan sigap
> Sop : Pak jangan ditilang deh… wong plat aslinya udah gak tau ilang
> kemana… kalo ada pasti saya pasang
>
> P : Sudah…saya tilang saja…kamu tau gak banyak mobil curian sekarang…
> (dengan nada keras !! )
> Sop : (Dengan nada keras juga ) Kok gitu! taksi saya kan Ada STNK nya pak
> , ini kan bukan mobil curian!
>
> P : Kamu itu kalo di bilangin kok ngotot (dengan nada lebih tegas) kamu
> terima aja surat tilangnya (sambil menyodorkan surat tilang warna MERAH)
> Sop : Maaf pak saya gak mau yang warna MERAH suratnya…Saya mau yg warna
> BIRU aja
>
> P : Hey! (dengan nada tinggi) kamu tahu gak sudah 10 Hari ini form biru
> itu gak berlaku!
> Sop : Sejak kapan pak form BIRU surat tilang gak berlaku?
>
> P : Inikan dalam rangka OPERASI, kamu itu gak boleh minta form BIRU… Dulu
> kamu bisa minta form BIRU… tapi sekarang ini kamu Gak bisa… Kalo kamu gak
> kamu ngomong sama komandan saya (dengan nada keras dan ngotot)
> Sop : Baik pak, kita ke komandan bapak aja sekalian (dengan nada nantangin
> tuh polisi)
>
> Dalam hati saya …berani betul sopir taksi ini …
> P : (Dengan muka bingung) Kamu ini melawan petugas!?
> Sop : Siapa yg melawan!? Saya kan cuman minta form BIRU… Bapak kan yang
> gak mau ngasih
>
> P : Kamu jangan macam-macam yah… saya bisa kenakan pasal melawan petugas!
> Sop : Saya gak melawan!? Kenapa bapak bilang form BIRU udah gak berlaku?
> Gini aja pak saya foto bapak aja deh… kan bapak yg bilang form BIRU gak
> berlaku (sambil ngambil HP)
>
> Wah … wah hebat betul nih sopir …. berani, cerdas dan trendy … (terbukti
> dia mengeluarkan hpnya yang ada berkamera.
> P : Hey! Kamu bukan wartawankan! ? Kalo kamu foto saya, saya bisa
> kandangin (sambil berlalu)
> Kemudian si sopir taksi itupun mengejar itu polisi dan sudah siap
> melepaskan 'shoot pertama' (tiba-tiba dihalau oleh seorang anggota polisi
> lagi )
>
> P 2 : Mas, anda gak bisa foto petugas sepeti itu
> Sop : Si bapak itu yg bilang form BIRU gak bisa dikasih (sambil tunjuk
> polisi yg menilangnya)
>
> lalu si polisi ke 2 itu menghampiri polisi yang menilang tadi, ada
> pembicaraan singkat terjadi antara polisi yang menghalau si sopir dan
> polisi yang menilang. Akhirnya polisi yg menghalau tadi menghampiri si
> sopir taksi
> P 2 : Mas mana surat tilang yang merah nya? (sambil meminta)
> Sop: Gak sama saya pak…. Masih sama temen bapak tuh (polisi ke 2 memanggil
> polisi yang menilang)
>
> P : Sini tak kasih surat yang biru (dengan nada kesal)
>
> Lalu polisi yang nilang tadi menulis nominal denda sebesar Rp.30.600
> sambil berkata 'nih kamu bayar sekarang ke BRI … lalu kamu ambil lagi SIM
> kamu disini, saya tunggu'.
> S : (Yes!!) Ok pak ..gitu dong kalo gini dari tadi kan enak…
>
> Kemudian si sopir taksi segera menjalnkan kembali taksinya sambil berkata
> pada saya, 'Pak .. maaf kita ke ATM sebentar ya .. mau transfer uang
> tilang . Saya berkata ya silakan.
>
> Sopir taksipun langsung ke ATM sambil berkata, … 'Hatiku senang banget
> pak, walaupun di tilang, bisa ngasih pelajaran berharga ke polisi itu.'
> 'Untung saya paham macam2 surat tilang.'
>
> Tambahnya, 'Pak kalo ditilang kita berhak minta form Biru, gak perlu
> nunggu 2 minggu untuk sidang Jangan pernah pikir mau ngasih DUIT DAMAI….
> Mending bayar mahal ke negara sekalian daripada buat oknum!'
>
> Dari obrolan dengan sopir taksi tersebut dapat saya infokan ke Anda
> sebagai berikut:
>
> SLIP MERAH, berarti kita menyangkal kalau melanggar aturan Dan mau membela
> diri secara hukum (ikut sidang) di pengadilan setempat.
> Itupun di pengadilan nanti masih banyak calo, antrian panjang, Dan oknum
> pengadilan yang melakukan pungutan liar berupa pembengkakan nilai tilai
> tilang. Kalau kita tidak mengikuti sidang, dokumen tilang dititipkan di
> kejaksaan setempat, disinipun banyak calo dan oknum kejaksaan yang
> melakukan pungutan liar berupa pembengkakan nilai
> tilang.
>
> SLIP BIRU, berarti kita mengakui kesalahan kita dan bersedia membayar denda.
> Kita tinggal transfer dana via ATM ke nomer rekening tertentu (kalo gak
> salah norek Bank BUMN).
> Sesudah itu kita tinggal bawa bukti transfer untuk di tukar dengan
> SIM/STNK kita di kapolsek terdekat dimana kita ditilang.
> You know what!? Denda yang tercantum dalam KUHP Pengguna Jalan Raya tidak
> melebihi 50ribu! dan dananya RESMI MASUK KE KAS NEGARA.