Wealth Accumulation vs. Money Drains

A necessary ingredient to having a high money consciousness, or acumen for wealth, is the accumulation of wealth. This sounds simple, of course—to be wealthy means we have a lot of money! But there are some misperceptions in many people’s minds that are sabotaging their wealth accumulation.

The growing popularity of positive thinking and the Law of Attraction are opening vistas of new possibilities. This is wonderful. But for some people, the Law of Attraction doesn’t work. Why not?

One reason could be their spending habits; the other side of the coin. You’ve got income. You are working on increasing your income. That’s great. But what are you doing with that income? We can fall into the trap of thinking we need to act as though we are rich. We try to look rich and spend like we are rich, thinking this demonstrates confidence that we are moving into true wealth.

If we look at truly wealthy individuals though, we find that most live moderately. Most put a priority on accumulation: investments and savings, as opposed to worrying about appearing wealthy. Thomas J. Stanley (in his new book Stop Acting Rich…and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire), looks at how the wealthy live, and how so many people who have second and third homes, boats and several cars are so steeped in debt that they aren’t millionaires.

It all comes down to our view of our selves. Somewhere deep in our minds we might be uncomfortable with how much we are spending, but we act as if we are rich in an attempt to convince our selves we are successful.

There is the conflict. If you are spending more than you’re acquiring, not saving for retirement, or not building that golden nest egg, where is your wealth going?  Here is a suggestion. Take out a lined piece of paper and begin writing down every penny that comes to you, whether it is income, interest, gifts, refunds, whatever its source.  Focus on the income. Shift your attention from the outgo to the inflow. Set up automatic savings. For the spending, do a gut-check whenever you are ready to make a purchase. Is this necessary?  Do I want to be wealthy or just look wealthy? Your gut will answer for you. The discomfort you feel when spending instead of building is your obstacle to success. You are sending mixed signals to the universe that you want to be wealthy, yet you are choosing not to accumulate wealth.

Of course some of your spending is purposeful, necessary, and should feel good and be fun!

We all know it isn’t things that make us happy; it’s what is going on inside our hearts and heads.

Imagine the freedom we can experience when we watch our money grow; when we develop more resources, more creativity, more security, and less stress! This is true confidence and peace of mind—and it is what I wish for you.

Copyright © 2011 by Kasey J. Claytor