13 Traits of People Who Are Good With Money

I didn’t grow up with lots of money. Neither did I ever work in a job that paid well.

I worked as a waitress, in a call center, and much more when I was a teenager because I wanted to be financially independent as soon as possible. I lived with my parents until one year ago, but I barely let them pay for my personal expenses after I had my first job at the age of 15.

For the following seven years, I worked in various positions while finishing school and my studies. Besides, I built my own business by helping students to tap into personal development and unleash their full potential. I worked at 6 am before heading to my internship and at 11 pm after I was done studying for my final exams.

If money were my only motivation, I’d not persevered for long.

My main driver to work instead of joining student parties was freedom. Ever since I tapped into entrepreneurship and read the biographies of successful people, I knew I wanted to live life on my own terms. And I was willing to make many sacrifices in order to create that life.

While money is only one of many components for a life full of freedom and abundance, it’s an important one.

At its core, money is energy.

Only 8% of the global money supply is stored physically as banknotes or coins. The remaining 92% is digital money, meaning that the majority of global money supplies are stored as electricity. And electricity is energy too.

As most of us grow up believing that having money is a privilege reserved to a few people, these limiting beliefs hold us back from increasing our income.

Yet, the good news is that you can change your thoughts as well as your behavior one day at a time.

There’s no such thing as an overnight success and you’ll not become a millionaire by changing your mindset. But given you take the following advice seriously and move forward one step at a time, you certainly have good chances to improve your financial status.

They Know That Working Hard Doesn’t Lead to Financial Wealth

To build financial wealth, you need to combine smart and hard work.

The hardest working people are not the wealthiest. Yet, without hard work, great things won’t happen either.

As Bob Proctor states:

“The only people who are making money the easy way either work in the mint or are on their way to jail, if they have not already arrived there. ”

Every year, the need for heavy work in various industries declines. Most of this workforce is replaced by people who no longer need to use their physical strength. Instead, companies and customers look for people who come up with creative solutions to new challenges.

Hardly anyone ever achieved significant success without hard work, yet, to build substantial wealth, you need to be aware that hard work alone is not enough. It’s about how smart you work and whether you use your resources, such as your time, money, and energy effectively.

They Don’t Deny the Importance of Money

By denying the importance of money, you are blocking its flow.

People who are good with money aren’t afraid to talk about money and its importance.

Bob Proctor once said that money has a more significant influence on your life than almost any other commodity you can think of. Yet, we often feel uncomfortable talking about the truth because we grew up with limiting beliefs such as money is evil, money is dirty, or even: Money is the root of all bad.

If you claim that money isn’t important, you either never had to work for it, or you’re lying. We all need to pay our bills and none of us wants to worry about whether we can afford the next meal.

Money, just like other resources, is a form of energy and enables you to live life on your own terms. Without money, you won’t only lack shelter and food, but you also can’t contribute to making the world a better place.

Their Expenses Don’t Grow Proportionally to Their Income

One significant difference between those who are good with money and those who aren’t is that the expenses of the former don’t change based on changes in income.

While spending money is fun, so is sticking to a budget and watching your funds grow instead of lessen.

If an increase in your income always translates into a rise in expenses, you’ll hardly build wealth. But if you focus on increasing your earnings and don’t change your spending behavior, you’ll be able to save much more than you might think.

They Don’t Settle for Less Than They Deserve

“Ninety-five people out of a hundred settle for whatever they get, wishing they had more all the way from the cradle to the casket, never understanding that they could actually have had all they wanted.” — Bob Proctor

Most people who’d like to make it big in life, settle for whatever they get for way too long.

And most of the time, they do so out of convenience. They’d like to achieve significant results, but they’re not sure whether it’d be worth working their ass off, so they refuse to go the extra mile.

Those who have a good relationship with money don’t settle for less than they deserve. They know their worth and expect people to pay accordingly.

If you don’t know your worth, nobody will. If you don’t price your work appropriately, nobody will pay that price.

They Are Not Afraid to Put Money Back Into Circulation

While greedy people want to keep the money they earned, those who are good with money aren’t afraid to put it back into circulation.

“Money is not meant to be taken out of circulation — rather, it is meant to be used, enjoyed and circulated.” — Bob Proctor

If you’re too stubborn on keeping your money and are afraid of spending or investing it, you’ll likely face unexpected expenditures.

If you, however, let your money flow and put it back into circulation by investing and spending it wisely, you make space for even more money to flow.

Money is here to use and enjoy. It’s not meant to stay but rather to circulate and help you to create a life you love.

They Don’t Make Emotional Purchases

Those who are good with money often value their financial resources more than the rest.

Yet, being good with money doesn’t mean avoiding purchases. If you’re using money to buy stuff that makes you happy in the long run, it’s well invested.

Yet, that’s not the case with most impulse purchases because these don’t make us happy in the long run. As we’re constantly bombarded by ads and millions of products we can choose from, avoiding sudden purchases is hard. But it’s possible and one way to prevent mispurchases is by setting a minimum time rule and waiting for that time to pass until you make a purchase.

For some people, 24 hours are enough to make a rational buying decision. Others need 30 days.

This period can vary depending on the cost of the purchase, but in general, taking counsel with your pillow before making significant buying decisions is a great habit.

They Create and (Mostly) Stick to Budgets

People who are good with money are well aware of their finances. They create budgets (e.g., for a month), are aware of their income, and track their expenses.

By creating and following a budget, you don’t only avoid living beyond your means, but you take full control over your finances.

For instance, tackling unexpected costs is less frustrating when you know your numbers.

They Use Money to Increase Their Wealth and/or Happiness

People who are good with money use it to further increase their wealth and happiness.

You can, of course, use money for evil purposes. But you can also use it to either a) make more money by investing it or b) do good by investing in your or somebody else’s happiness.

Money is just a tool and how you use it is entirely up to you. If people do evil things with money, it’s their fault, not the fault of money.

You can use a knife to make a sandwich or to harm a human being. Either way, the knife is not good or bad, it’s you deciding how to use that tool.

They Can Comfortably Talk About Money

“People don’t feel comfortable about money because they have it; they have it because they feel comfortable about it.” — Bob Proctor

In some circles, talking about money is even more taboo than talking about sex.

Even though I never lacked money, I didn’t enjoy talking about it. I’d never ask somebody how much they earned or how they’d use their money, even if I were genuinely interested. And the only reason for my shyness around the topic was the wrong attitude and a negative money mindset.

Yet, during the past years, I changed my mindset from I shouldn’t talk about Money to Talking about Money is necessary and fun.

Once you let go of the pressure and don’t take yourself and money too seriously, talking about it will feel more natural and come with many benefits.

The first step you can take is to start a conversation around money with your partner or one of your close friends.

You can, for instance, talk about topics such as budgeting and discuss whether you both do it or not and learn from each other. During such a conversation, you don’t even need to reveal your income, but you’ll slowly get used to talking about money.

They Invest in Themselves

Those who are good with money know that the best investment they can make is an investment in education and themselves.

That’s why they spend money on knowledge and education, but also on experiences that make them feel good and improve the quality of their lives.

They Differentiate Between Wants and Needs

This might sound ironic, but most people can barely differentiate between wants and needs.

Spending money on stuff we want can make us feel pretty damn good, which makes it even harder to differentiate between the two.

Women, for instance, often claim they need something to wear for the next party even though they have enough cute dresses they could wear.

Men, on the contrary, often feel the desire to upgrade their electronic devices because of the launch of a newer model.

These examples are pretty cliché, but you get the point.

You should never feel guilty for spending money on needs, but you should indeed draw a line between needs and wants.

Transportation is a need, but a new car probably isn’t. It’s the same with many other expenses such as clothes, but also food: Sure, you need to eat, but do you need to eat outside if you’re on a tight budget?

Your ability to differentiate between wants and needs will significantly influence your bank account.

They Automate Savings

One of the core lessons you can learn from Warren Buffett about money management is:

“Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.”

That’s why people who are good with money automate their savings so that they don’t even have to bother about it. You can easily set up a standing order to transfer money to your savings account in just a few minutes. Once set up, you can be sure that you put some money aside every single month.

If you wait until the end of the month to save, you’ll likely fail at putting money aside. But if it’s a priority and done automatically, you might be surprised by how much you’ll be able to save instead of spending it on needs.

They Set Up Automated Bill Payments

Besides automating their savings, people who are good with money also automate their bill payments.

I still see people going to the bank to pay their monthly bills which I find horrifying.

There’s no valid reason not to automate your regular bill payments. It will save you time and energy, two of your most valuable resources.

Final Thoughts

Advice about money doesn’t need to be perplexing to be useful. At its core, money is a form of energy and your mindset plays a significant role in your ability to make and keep money.

That’s why most lottery winners lose their cash quickly and end up with even fewer funds than they had before the win.

If you build wealth gradually and learn how to manage your money and your mindset, you’ll be well prepared. But if money suddenly enters your life, you might be overwhelmed and lose it rather sooner than later. That’s why it makes sense to work on your money mindset and get ready to attract wealth, even if you start with a small income.