The Fallacy Of "Saving Money" Pt. One

How This Highly Regarded “Truth”
Is Making You Poor, Not Rich

Today I’ve decided to take a big chance and stir up some controversy…

Now while I fully realize that why I’m about to say could cost me subscribers and I run the risk of being ridiculed tremendously, I think it’s about time that someone brought this topic to light and really exposed the truth behind what I feel is one of the biggest misconceptions behind what it actually takes to build wealth and create a life of abundance.

Yes, I’m talking about the idea of “saving money”.

Now before you claim that I have no idea what I’m talking about, just hear me out first before you come to your conclusions.

At this point in your life, I’m positive that you’ve heard the importance of saving money and living within your means.

In fact, there are scores of books and courses that speak to this very notion. The fundamental and underlying problem of many of them however, is that they don’t actually speak to what creates real wealth & a life of abundance.

Let me explain…

Many of the so called “financial pundits” that you see on the media today always talk about different ways for people to save money.

They claim that the way to wealth is for people to not purchase a latte each day, to cut back on their cable subscription service, to not take the vacation(s) that they’d like, to perform their own handy work -such as car repair, plumbing, renovations, etc. – and to stop doing/buying/enjoying (fill in the blank…).

In other words, their advice is centered around being a miser & a scrooge and instead of enjoying life and doing the things that give you pleasure, they say you should abstain your desires, save that money instead, and allow the “miracle of compound interest” to work its magic.

The problem with this way of thinking is that it is grounded in scarcity and not abundance.

The Mental Block To Wealth & Abundance
Think about it this way…

When you deny yourself something that gives you pleasure so that you can “save money”, really what you are telling yourself is that there is not enough money for you to live the way you want to live…

You are indirectly affirming to yourself that there is only a fixed supply of money and that in order to gain something (i.e. savings in the bank or making an investment) you first have to give something else up (i.e. your daily coffee fix, that health club membership).

When you view your financial situation in this manner, you are unconsciously forming a scarcity mentality. And believe me, a scarcity mentality does not simply affect your financial situation… It pervades into every single facet of your life.

When opportunities come up to advance your life to the next level, a scarcity mentality will do everything possible to hold you back.

A scarcity mentality will tell you that it’s not the right time…

A scarcity mentality will tell you that you can’t afford it…

A scarcity mentality will tell you that it’s too risky…

A scarcity mentality will say you’re not smart enough…

A scarcity mentality will… well I think you get the idea.

Now let’s take it a step further…

Let’s assume that you subscribed to these ideas that in order for you to have an abundant future life (which is an arbitrary concept to begin with anyway), you deny yourself the things that give you pleasure and save those assets instead.

While you’re not happy with the way that you’re living, you keep telling yourself that if you have less NOW, you can have more LATER.

As time progresses, you start to accumulate a growing sum of money and while you are satisfied that you have cash, you are dissatisfied that you are unable to use it and enjoy the benefits that could be had.

Because you continually deny yourself what you want, you start to con yourself and start saying things such as, “well I guess that trip isn’t that important anyways… I’ll just be happy with what I have now…”

Then as the end of your life approaches, you look back and realize that you never lived the way you wanted…

Although you may now have the money to do what it is you would like, the manner in which it was accumulated caused you to be a miser…not a creator.

The Solution To Creating A Sensational Life
Consider this…

Look at the wealthiest people in the world. Look at someone like Donald Trump. Do you think Mr. Trump accumulated his wealth by not having a coffee every day? Or by not travelling around the world and saving that money instead?

How about Bill Gates? Do you really think that Bill became one of the richest people in the world because he dialed back his lifestyle and stopped enjoying what gives him pleasure?

No. The reason why these individuals (along with many others) are as wealthy as they are is because they have created MASSIVE value for society, not because they abstained their desires.

Therefore, the key to creating a sensational life – one that is filled with abundance – is to focus on creating more value for others, NOT by consuming less for yourself.

By adding more value for others, this will in turn cause others to create more value for you (i.e. increasing your income, growing your business, etc.)

As the old adage goes: Give and you shall receive.

Keep in mind however I’m not saying that you should become a mass consumer and go on a spending spree (we already have enough of that as it is).

Living a life of abundance is not about accumulating “stuff”. It’s about living life on your own terms and designing your lifestyle so that you get pleasure from what it is your doing every day.

If you enjoy having a latte every day, then for frick sake go and have one! But first ensure that you’re not going into debt to make it happen and ideally, you should setup a passive income stream that can pay for it rather than your own physical effort (we’ll talk more about this in future posts).

Okay so I know I’ve gone on a bit of a rant in this post but here’s the deal…

As far as we know we only get one opportunity to live on this world. And I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy my life and to experience the absolute best life has to offer.

While I’m certainly not saying that you shouldn’t be a prudent money manager (you must), the secret is to witness how you are going about doing things and where you are placing your focus.

Are you focusing on lack & scarcity? Or are you focusing on what you want & how to create more value?

Though the distinction is subtle, the difference over a lifetime is ENORMOUS.

So what was your big takeaway from today’s lesson? Share your comments and feedback in the box below and let me know what you thought.

I’ll be answering questions and reviewing comments personally.

Also stay tuned for part two of our series tomorrow where I will talk about and discuss Why Savers Are Losers.

See you then!

To your abundance,
Michael Stead
Founder, The Abundance Society