Introduction
74% of Millennials believe millionaires inherited their money. It’s going to take you a lifetime. Even $100,000 is not enough. You have to pay rent, take care of your kids, and put food on the table.
However, it’s not a subjective question. Around 80% of millionaires are self-made, and only a small minority of them, 20%, have inherited their wealth.
In fact, just 16% of them inherited more than $100,000. Only 3% of millionaires inherited more than a million dollars. In other words, 97% of people have put their blood and sweat into being where they are.
It’s great when your parents can help you financially, but it’s not enough just to pass you some cash. At the end of the day, if you don’t know how to manage that money, you are destined to go broke.
So one of the best things your parents can give you is financial education. However, most people are not financially free, so they end up giving their kids bad financial advice.
You can’t blame them because they are teaching you what they think is best. My parents, for example, I love and respect, but they have grown up in the Soviet Union, where trade was illegal, money was seen as the root of all evils, and the concept of financial education didn’t even exist.
So they grew up with that mentality and did their best to give me the best possible advice. But that mentality has no place in the capitalistic world we live in. When I talk to people, it seems like I am not the only one who gets so much bad financial advice when you grow up in a poor environment with no fault of your own.
You start seeing the world that way. So here in this video, I want to share with you seven dumb money advices my parents gave me and yours probably as well. The only spoiler I give you is that number five is one of the worst ones since this alone is probably the major cause of 99% of people being submerged by debt.
1. Good grades mean more money.
Good grades mean more money. When I was a kid, you have no idea how much my parents emphasized my grades. Every conversation I had with my parents was somehow related to my grades.
I have been a terrible student since the day I stepped foot in school. I don’t know why, but I really hated school with my entire being. But when you hate the school, the school hates you back. You know those teachers who, when they see a kid doing poorly in class, instead of helping him to do better, pressure him to fail?
I mean, your job as a teacher is to help kids improve, not worsen their lives. And here is my favorite part: for some reason, you are expected to know everything when you come to school. I am coming to school to learn.
I tried to argue with my parents that school is an absolute waste of time, but my parents kept telling me how getting good grades would secure me a good future.
The world doesn’t give a damn about your A’s or C’s. Not my employer when I got my first job, not my customers when I started my first business, nor my real estate clients when I got into real estate.
All that matters is how interesting or helpful this video is. That’s the only reason you’re going to watch this video, not because I got good or bad grades back in school.
2. Don’t Waste Your Time With Friends Parties
1. Don’t waste your time with friends or parties.
It doesn’t matter how much you know. You can have the whole Wikipedia in your head, but it won’t help you if you don’t know how to use that knowledge. We, as humans, are social creatures; we can’t survive on our own. We do better when we work together.
Your iPhone, MacBook, or Amazon Prime wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for collective work. And the best way to use your social skills is to spend time with other humans by going to parties, events, or simply going out with friends.
2. Some parents try to isolate their kids.
Some parents try to isolate their children as much as possible so that they become distant from other people, filled with insecurities and lacking confidence.
Going to parties or spending time with friends is a crucial component in forming your character and skills to be able to either build a successful business or a solid career.
3. Play it safe.
You are the most precious thing they have. They are the reason you are in this world, and they have spent years of their lives feeding you and taking care of you until you grow up.
That’s why parents usually tell you to play it safe and don’t take unnecessary risks.
Get into college, then get a job, move slowly through the ranks, and by the time you’re 60, you will be successful by traditional standards, where you finally pay back your mortgage, and if you’re lucky, you will be left with some savings.
However, that’s not how you make money in this world. There is a simple rule in business: the more risk you take, the more money you could possibly make. The less risk you take, the smaller the reward. If you invest your money in government bonds, for example, which are super safe, the maximum that you can hope for is 2%, which is lower than inflation. But if you take a slightly higher risk and invest it in the stock market, you can expect to get 10%.
But if you want to go extreme and invest in crypto, you might be able to double your money in a matter of a few months.
This is, of course, not financial advice, but the point is that you can’t make real money by playing it safe. You should find common ground where you both understand what you’re doing, and there is an element of risk.
4. You get what you deserve.
Let me disappoint you; life is not fair. You don’t get what you work for; you get what you fight for. I know that it sounds brutal, but that’s the honest truth. Yeah, sometimes you actually get what you deserve, but that’s an exception. You could be working for a company for 20 years, and no one would give you a raise unless you got out there and brought it up. Or you might have a boss that cares for you, which is also an exception.
I have seen countless examples, especially in business. Business is war; it’s literally modern warfare, and war is never fair. Your competition will use various vicious tactics to crush you; your colleague might use Machiavellian tactics to get that position instead of you, who deserves it more. I’m not saying that you should be super aggressive, but forget the idea that life is fair. It has never been, and it will never be. Get used to the harsh reality of life, learn how to survive in it, and use it to your advantage instead of complaining about why you are not getting what you deserve.
5. Do better than your peers.
One of the worst ones: do better than your peers. This is probably one of the worst pieces of advice parents often give their children, and it slowly leads them to financial misery. When your parents compare you to other kids, when they say to you, “Why can’t you get good grades like the other kids in school?” You slowly start developing this comparison mindset, where you start measuring your success by comparing yourself to your peers.
So when your friend gets a better car, you get into debt to drive a better car as well, although you can’t afford it. You try to keep the image that you’re doing as well as that of your peers, but the goal at the end of the day isn’t to look rich but to be one. Your life and your circumstances are entirely different from everyone else. You have a different set of strengths and weaknesses, so you should forge your own path to wealth and not follow what everyone else is doing.
6. Prioritize job security over your passion.
Here’s another not-so-smart piece of advice parents give: stick to a safe job and forget about your dreams. They might say, “Get a steady job with a regular paycheck and don’t take risks.” But here’s the deal: following this advice might mean you never get to do what you’re truly passionate about. Sure, having a stable income is important, but it’s not the only thing that matters in life.
Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams and take some calculated risks. Sometimes, following your passion can lead to real success and happiness, even if it’s not the most conventional path. So don’t let anyone hold you back from pursuing what you love.
7. Follow in Our Footsteps; Don’t Stray
That’s a terrible one. For example, they might say, “We’ve done things this way for generations, and it’s worked for us.” While family traditions and wisdom have their merits, it’s essential to remember that times change and opportunities evolve. Especially in the last decade, it has transformed our world and our economy completely.
Blindly adhering to the past will limit your potential for growth and exploration. Embrace the chance to forge your own unique path and learn from your experiences. Your journey may lead to unexpected and exciting opportunities that can enrich your life in ways you never imagined.
