What’s the difference between looking wealthy and being wealthy, and why does it matter?

I think understanding the difference, between being wealthy and looking wealthy, is key to changing your financial situation. Our culture today almost encourages looking wealthy as being the ultimate aspirational target.

With beautiful Instaperfect homes, 2 shiny new cars, amazing garden makeovers, £1200 phones and £200 trainers being shoved down our throats, many people desperately want a piece of that. Reality TV and social media encourages us to have that perfect lifestyle and  it can be really difficult to avoid the trap of looking wealthy. 

Keeping up with the Joneses now seems to be even more popular than ever.

But while some can afford this lifestyle, many of these "Joneses" simply cannot. They might look wealthy, however they are anything but. Many of them are up to their eyeballs in debt, are continually spending more than they earn, and constantly worrying about how they can afford to pay their bills.

Is that what you aspire to?

Are you being duped into believing that other people "have it all" Many people who actually are wealthy, don't look it.

You can read more about it in The Millionaire Next Door, which is a fascinating insight into the lives of the very wealthy. They often drive older cars, live in modest houses and spend less than they earn. It's making decisions like these that allows them to grow their wealth, and create financial freedom and security.  

I think growing our wealth, throughout our lives, is something that everyone should aspire to.

I can already hear the naysayers.  Those who believe that wealth is a bad thing.  Is something to be despised.  That wealthy people are essentially greedy, selfish and get rich by taking advantage of others.

Bollocks!

Yes, there are wealthy people who are all of that, and more! But it's not their money that makes them that way.......it's their personality. Chances are we wouldn't like them, regardless of whether they have money or not, because they are just assholes!.

To assume that all rich people are the same, says something about your own money blocks. 

I used to have to a similar viewpoint, but have been able to change it totally, by working on my own money mindset.

Rather than seeing wealth as being a negative concept, which so many in this country do, I think we need to see wealth as being something positive.  If we have more caring, wealthy people, paying more tax, giving more and being willing to help others more, then the whole country benefits.

There is not a finite amount of money in this world.

As you become wealthier, it does not mean that other people become poorer.

Every single person can become wealthier, and I want to help you to do just that. 

Why?

For me the reason is threefold.

Giving

Being able to give more. I think we need more wealthy women in this world. Women who are enthusiastic about creating wealth for themselves, and their family, and who also want to help others to improve their lives.

Health

Knowing that you have enough money to pay your bills, to buy the things that are important to you, and to be able provide for your family will give you security and peace.  This allows you to create a life that is happier and healthier, simply by removing any stress around money.

Freedom

Increasing your own wealth gives you more financial freedom. Being able to make decisions that will help you and your family, such as part-time working, taking time out to travel or even giving up work totally, is a game-changer.  You can choose what to do, and when to do it, without having to turn up to work each day.

See how  you could start your journey to being wealthy today

For you

It's about growing your wealth, to suit you and your family. It's not about becoming a millionaire, though for some that might be a goal, it's about identifying what is most important to you, becoming more financially resilient, and choosing a journey that works for you and your family.  Growing your wealth can simply make this journey easier, and more enjoyable. 

It all sounds good. But how do we go about achieving this?

I think we can learn a lot by looking at the habits of wealthy people.  These are some of the things that wealthy people do, that could make a difference in your life too.

Financial education

Educating yourself about money, and how to make good financial decisions, is something that will always pay off in the future.  Whether it's reading blogs or books on Financial Education , watching You Tube videos or investing money in yourself by spending money on courses  doesn't matter. What does matter, is that you do learn about money, and how to use it to your advantage.

Don’t leave things to chance

Been fully prepared for anything that life throws at you is one of the best ways that you can start to become financially resilient.  Building a small emergency fund, before getting any debts paid off will help you to create a stable base.

Once you have done this, you should concentrate on building an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months's worth of essential expenses, to provide you with security and allow you to make decisions that will work for you and your family. You should also ensure that you are adequately covered for any other unexpected events, by ensuring that you have suitable insurances in place for your car, home and life.

Never spend more than you earn

Wealthy people don’t spend more than they earn each month and they also pay themselves first. This means prioritising bills, paying off debts and investing in your future, before buying anything else.

To do this you must start by working out your income and expenses to check that you are not spending more than you earn.  This is a vital first step and one that will help you to identify any money leaks, and allow you to quickly plug these leaks.

Always get good value for money

People who are wealthy have no hesitation in asking for discount or in getting good value for money. For many, that’s how they become wealthy in the first place.  By making the most of the money they have, and getting the best deals, they’ve got more money to invest in their future.

Don’t be embarrassed to ask for discount.  Don’t be ashamed to use coupons.  Make it a habit to always compare prices and always look for a discount on everything that you buy.

Growing your net worth is vital

Do you know what your net worth is and how important it is?

Your net worth is simply the value of what you own minus what you owe.

You can increase your net worth by reducing what you owe and increasing what you own, which simply put, is reducing your debts and increasing your assets, savings and investments.

If you want complete financial freedom, then you should be aiming to grow your net worth year-on-year until the point where you have enough money to allow you to do what you want, when you want, without having to work.

Get rich slowly.

Avoid opportunities that sound too good to be true, because mostly they are.

Instead get good advice, learn as much as you can about investing for the future and take your time over making big decisions.

One simple thing that you can do today is to look at the percentage of money that you are spending on each area of your life.  Elizabeth Warren suggests that you should spend 50% of your budget on needs, 30% on wants and 20% on saving for the future - how does your budget stack up? 

I hope that this post has inspired you to start growing your own wealth, and improving your life and your future by doing so.

You can get started on becoming happier, healthier and wealthier by downloading my free booklet today. 

Why not come along and join my Your Money Sorted Facebook group, for women who want to grow their wealth?