No one wants to live their life with financial limitations. While we all want to become wealthy and secure, very few people actually achieve that.
While people want to become rich, most of us still give into the temptation of now and aren’t as responsible as we could be with our money. Many of us make excuses to ourselves and others as to why we aren’t where we want to be financially.
Unfortunately, making excuses prohibits us from achieving our financial goals.
Here’s how to overcome 10 common financial excuses.
1) “I Don’t Earn Enough Money”
This is a common excuse I hear, and I think it drives personal finance bloggers a little crazy to be honest.
If you aren’t making enough at your full-time job, what is stopping you from asking for a raise or searching for a new job with a higher salary? If finding a new job isn’t an option, why not start a side hustle to increase your income?
If you’re willing to commit time and effort into making more money, you can. You can start selling woodworking projects you create, babysit, walk dogs, deliver pizza, or coach sports for extra cash. If you don’t even want to leave your house at night, you can start a blog, begin freelance writing, or pick up jobs as a virtual assistant.
Making extra money, whether it’s $100, $500, or thousands extra a month can go a long way to help improving your finances.
2) “I’ll Never Be Debt-Free”
We’ve all heard people tell us that “debt is just a way of life.” That’s really not true.
I know I can’t live my life to the fullest knowing I owe someone money. With debt, I literally lose ownership over my life.
The good news is you don’t have to commit yourself to a lifetime of debt. Making the choice to be debt-free is the most important step. You can’t be debt-free until you decide to be.
Understand that you can live a debt-free life. Drown out anyone else who tells you otherwise. Make a plan to get out of debt and motivate yourself by imaging what your life might be without the shackles of debt.
3) “I Don’t Have Time for a Side Hustle”
It’s no secret that side hustling is a great way to make extra money and to improve your finances. When people express concern about their financial situation, I often ask if they are doing anything to make extra money, and more often than not, the answer is no. And the most common reason I get as to why is that they don’t believe they have time to make extra money on the side.
Everyone is busy, but we can all make time for the things that matter most to us. Many people who claim they don’t have time for a side hustle haven’t prioritized their financial situation high enough.
If you’re looking to improve your financial situation, you have to be committed. You might have to find ways to improve your time management skills, but it is possible for you to work a side hustle. Plus, with so many side hustle ideas, there’s plenty of ways to make a side hustle a hobby instead of a chore.
4) “I’m Just Bad With Money”
How many times have you heard someone claim they were plain bad at money?
Sometimes, it’s simply that people may not understand how money works in the first place. Someone might not know how to set up a budget, save for retirement, or pay off debt. The good news here is that there are plenty of resources readily available to you to learn, whether its blogs, books, or classes.
If you think you’re bad at money, break it down. Figure out what it is you struggle with the most. Maybe you spend emotionally or impulsively, you don’t know enough about how savings works, or you don’t make enough money for the lifestyle you want. From there, you have a starting point to turn your financial situation around.
5) “I’ll Save for Retirement Later”
It’s expensive to retire. Yet so many people don’t save enough, or any, money because they’d rather use the money to spend on things they want or need now.
No matter if you’re 20 or 50, it’s vital to start saving for retirement so you have the best shot at earning interest on your savings. If you’re confined to a tight budget, try saving at least a small portion of your salary and increase it every year.
6) “You Only Live Once”
Remember the phrase “Yolo,” or “you only live once?” While it is a term to mean seize the day, it can also cause you to spend impulsively.
Making the best of each day given to you is a quality attribute. But don’t forget about your budget. The last thing you want is “Yolo” your way into credit card debt.
Remember, once you become debt free and increase your income and savings, then you truly can live life with no inhibitions.
7) “I’m At Least Doing Better Financially Than [Insert Name]”
Some of us compare our finances to other people in attempt to make ourselves feel better about our own situation.
To put it bluntly, comparison is a waste of time. It shifts the focus from being on ourselves to focusing on others, which decreases our productivity and the likeliness of improving our own financial situation. Plus, though we may think we have an idea about other people’s financial situations, we don’t.
For instance, many millionaires live in small, humble homes, while many wealthy looking people support their lifestyle by credit and are drowning in debt. We truly don’t know anyone else’s financial situation, and it only distracts us from focusing on what we can control.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on what is in your control. You can get your financial freedom back by paying off debt, sticking to a budget, and building up savings.
8) “I Deserve to Spend Money on This”
How we spend our money can often be demonstrations of our emotions. For example, have you ever gone shopping after a bad day to make yourself feel better? And told yourself you deserved to spend the money?
The issue with this is it causes us to make unwise, impulsive decisions with our money. If we are thinking about money emotionally, we forget how much we can actually afford.
To combat this, figure out small, affordable ways to treat yourself in accordance with your budget so you don’t feel deprived. If you find yourself impulsively spending on things you think you deserve, ask yourself why you are feeling that way and consider if spending money on something is really worth it.
9) “Budgets Are Too Tedious, So I Estimate”
Budgets get a bad reputation of being confining, time-consuming, and worthless, and a lot of people choose to forgo a budget entirely.
If you’re serious about your money, you need to know where each dollar goes. It’s the only way to gain true control of your finances.
Commit to at least trying out one month of tracking your finances. Compare what your estimated budget was versus what you actually spent. You might find the difference surprising, but it will show you a clear picture of where you can improve your spending.
And thankfully, budgeting is easier than you might think. If you are looking to start your own budget, get your free download here.
10) “I Can Live Off Credit Cards”
When used correctly, credit cards can have many rewards. But when used incorrectly, however, credit cards pose many dangers.
No one can live on credit forever. There is always going to be a limit to how much credit you have available, and there is certainly a limit in how much you will be able to pay back. Financing your lifestyle with money that isn’t yours is simply irresponsible.
Instead, make sure you only purchase items with money you have in the bank. If you use credit cards for rewards, never charge more than you can pay off every month. Focus on building an emergency fund and a buffer so any unexpected costs don’t have to be carried over on a credit card. Take time to reevaluate your budget and consider what lifestyle you can actually afford.
Have you ever been guilty of making any of these financial excuses? What did you do to combat an excuse? Are there any other excuses you’ve made?
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I think I’ve either been guilty of many of these in the past and definitely have heard all of them over the years. Looking back on my own life, I used many of these excuses because I was comfortable in the given situation and didn’t think I could change or see a difference. One I commonly hear is related to #4 – people think you need to be an expert at something to really do something. Thankfully, that’s not the case, but what it does mean is you need to be willing to take steps and focus on what you can control – if you do that, I think many things will work themselves out in the long run.
Great points here, John. I know I am definitely guilty of making many of these excuses in the past and I still make some periodically now! But at least now I am aware that it is an excuse and I know what to do instead. You are right – you have to take that initial step in actually wanting to improve your finances.
I’ve done a few of these before in the past. I’m glad that I changed my mindset. Once I did that, my situation started to get better. It’s not where I want it to be, but I am working hard.
Great to hear! We are all probably guilty of making one or more of these excuses at some point in our lives. But awareness is key to improving our finances.
I know so many people who say these things to me and as a result they have a mountain of debt. I think the most common one is “I’m bad with money.” In this day and age there’s really no excuse to be bad with money. There are so many tools, articles, courses and blogs that provide free help and tips for managing your money.
I agree, Leah. It’s so easy to learn about money, but people have to take the initial step to seek out resources and teach themselves. This is probably why we all started finance blogs!
I’m totally agree with this post in 2012 I had a little debt and I’ve lost job so at that time I understood that was right time to think about future, I understood the importance of budget, serached several side hustle (I still managing a copule) and in September 2015 I became debt free, but i still have budgeting day every week also if I am became a more consious spender I am a work in progress into money field!!!