Learn to Manage Your Money Like a Decamillionaire (Part 2 of 3)

In this post, we’ll talk about part 2 of 3 of learning to manage your money like a decamillionaire:

1. Yes, you are the problem.
2. The entire world is out to get your money, literally.
3. In America we’re conditioned to have a false concept of real wealth.

Part 2: Problem #2 – The entire world is out to get your money, literally.

Consider for a minute the goal of almost every ad you see; it is trying to sell you something. Why? They want your money. These marketing and human behavior experts will stop at nothing. They promise fame, comfort, ease, sex, popularity, fun – whatever it takes – to persuade you to do one thing: transfer your hard-earned money out of your bank account and into theirs.

Does this sound cynical? AI has become the new driver of almost all email marketing campaigns. Check your junk or spam folders and consider the barrage of marketing emails you find there. How many of those do you think were written and sent by humans who were trying to help improve your money? Answer: zero.

Additionally, in our modern computer age, these wealth-transferring geniuses have devised ways to make this transfer easier and more convenient than ever. Amazon is the best among them. Consider these “conveniences”:

• “Alexa, order me a pepperoni pizza.”
• Free 2-day shipping to your doorstep, if you’re in the cool club (a Prime member) – or free shipping over a certain amount of dollars spent even if not a Prime member
• “Buy Now with One-Click”
• Set up recurring delivery through subscriptions (I did this with a protein shake and in 6 months needed to remodel my pantry just to hold all the powder!)

All of this can also be done with a few screen swipes on your smartphone; touch-touch-spend, touch-touch-spend, touch-touch-transfer wealth to them. At PFG we’re not against convenience. But if you’re going to become wealthy (which means having financial freedom), you need to figure out a way to immunize yourself from the materialism and spending craze that is plaguing our society. For starters, consider these helpful tips to have more control over your spending:

• Follow the Dave Folsom rule: Never buy something you just saw from a store; rather, leave the store, and if you still want the thing days later, then go get it. (Credit to my father-in-law, Dave Folsom, for this rule. Relative to his income as a heart surgeon, Dave was one of the most frugal people I’ve known, living far below his means).
• Remove the temptation to buy things you don’t need by:
  • Take the Amazon app off your (as well as other shopping apps).
  • Make sure you have two separate emails: one for real people, the second to get bombarded with AI-driven ads.
  • Stop following “influencers” whose primary objective is to sell you stuff.
    
  • Consider getting off social media altogether.
• I don’t want to be “judgy,” but stop viewing spending as a socioeconomic status symbol, but rather view it for what it is – the amount of money someone no longer has. (Old you: “Wow, that guy drives a Cybertruck, he’s rich!” New you: “That guy drives a Cybertruck, I now know how much money he no longer has.”)
• Realize that your kids want quality time with you far more than they need lavish vacations.
• Don’t give up! Smart spending is like smart eating. You’ll need to keep at it constantly!