In the mainstream personal finance conversation, we talk a lot about things that hold people back from making financial progress.
The cost-of-living crisis, systemic injustices, inflation, unfair tax structures, poor wage growth and so on. These are important issues, no doubt.
There’s one aspect of financial advice that doesn’t get a lot of airtime – and it starts with how you think about money.Credit: Simon Letch
But there is something I noticed we don’t really talk about much. When we do, we might use it as a criticism of younger generations but we don’t have a real conversation about it.
To give some context, I’ve been helping people with their finances for several years now. Early on, I started to notice that the people who made the most progress were not the people I would have necessarily picked – and I discovered a pattern.
I’d talk to people who had everything going for them on paper. They earned good money, they weren’t in financial stress, they were actually financially comfortable.
I knew that all it would take was a few small tweaks, some guidance in the right direction, and they could easily double or triple the financial outcomes they were currently on track for. Sure, it would take a little work, but it wasn’t a huge jump from where they already were.
But years would pass, and they would have made little progress. I’d hear them complain about how complicated it was, but they had taken little action to move themselves forward. In contrast, I worked with people who, I thought, had some hard work in front of them.
Maybe they were living paycheque to paycheque and they were financially stressed. Maybe they came from a background of financial struggle and their parents role modelled some poor financial habits. Or maybe they were starting over after some unexpected life turmoil – a health crisis, separation or a loss in their family.
Is apathy the real obstacle to financial success?
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27.02.2024
In the mainstream personal finance conversation, we talk a lot about things that hold people back from making financial progress.
The cost-of-living crisis, systemic injustices, inflation, unfair tax structures, poor wage growth and so on. These are important issues, no doubt.
There’s one aspect of financial advice that doesn’t get a lot of airtime – and it starts with how you think about money.Credit: Simon Letch
But there is something I noticed we........
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