Hey, hello and welcome to the Learn Every Day English Podcast – Your Road to English Proficiency.
Hey, you've come to the right place to improve your listening comprehension skills and mastery of the English language.
My name is Gary and I will be your host today.
I am a native English speaker born and raised in the United States and a retired engineer living in a small Texas town about one hour north of Houston, Texas.
I'm also a language learner just like you learning Spanish, so I know what it is like to learn a new and different language and how difficult and sometimes frustrating it can be.
So now, hey, let's jump right in to today's episode.
Hey, howdy y 'all and again, welcome or greetings from Texas.
Hope you're going to enjoy this episode number 11 of the Learn Every Day English Podcast.
We're going to be talking about six signs or six reasons or six things that will keep you from becoming rich.
Not that we will always be able to become rich, but these things will make it a lot more difficult for you to be rich and rich means you'll just be able to have a lot of money.
But before we get into today's episode, I just want to remind you again that we do have a Learn Every Day English webpage.
Just go to www .learneverydayenglish .com and there you can find links to all the podcasts.
Also, you will find links to the podcast resources and podcast resources page where you can get, look at, and even download the show notes or the episode notes.
And finally, you can access our Learn Every Day English YouTube channel from that webpage or you can always go to YouTube, the YouTube channel, type in Learn Every Day English and look for our videos there.
Well, without further ado, hey, let's jump right in to today's episode.
In today's episode, we're going to talk about six signs or maybe six things that will prevent you from maybe reaching your goals, your monetary goals or your goals of being rich or becoming rich.
And I'd just like to start off saying that just be careful.
You know, money, we have an expression in here in English, money doesn't buy happiness, although it does make life and things a lot easier and sometimes a lot better, but it can also make things worse.
So it all depends on your frame of mind or what it is or what is the reason that you want to be rich.
But listen to these six things that I'm going to be talking about today.
And it just makes common financial sense that you want to try to be as wise, we say in English, or prudent with the money that you do earn because you work very hard for your money.
So you just don't want to waste it or sometimes we say you don't want to squander it.
So while many of us say we dream about winning the lottery, maybe there's a lottery that you have in your country, you can buy a ticket at a local store and you can have a chance to win a big prize of money.
Or maybe you think, hey, I can invent a something that's very unique item or a product or an invention and I'll make a lot of money.
So a lot of times we dream about winning the lottery and that people will buy our inventions.
But the sad fact is that unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and that's an expression we have in English, to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth means to be born into a rich family, which most of us aren't, the chances of you enjoying the millionaire lifestyle are very slim.
And that means it's very unlikely to happen.
And this is just not an accident of birth either, because there are things that we can do that will deter us or keep us from becoming wealthy or more wealthy than we want to be.
So there are people who do become wealthy, but they actually don't start off that way.
They don't have a lot of money.
There are a lot of people that have become wealthy that grew up very poor.
What likely distinguishes them from you and me has to do with their behaviors, their attitudes, and their habits.
And here are some things or signs that may determine or show that you will never be rich.
So the first thing is that you spend more than you earn or you spend more money than you make, or more money that you take home, or we say that you bring home.
So a 2018 joint study by the Association of Young Americans and the nonprofit organization AARP, which is an organization for, we say, retired people here in the United States, found that more than half, and that's more than half, of all Americans spend more than they earn.
That's a very sad fact, I would have to say.
So let me repeat that.
More than one half of all Americans spend more than they earn.
So I don't know if it's the same way in your country, but that's what it is here in the United States.
Almost half of those surveyed reported having credit card debts.
More than 40 % had a mortgage, and a mortgage is a home loan mortgage, or they had a car loan, or sometimes we say a car note.
And while over 30 % were struggling to pay off student loans, and that's a big problem here in the United States, many people have a problem paying back their student loans after they go to college.
So in simple terms, spending more money than you have coming in, or more money than you make, is never a recipe for long -term financial success.
And funding the shortfall, and a shortfall is just like a difference between, say, how much money you have and what you owe.
So funding the shortfall, or the difference from savings, that may seem to be a good answer to solve your problem, but that normally is not the best way to handle your situation.
The second sign that you will maybe never become rich is that you carry or you have too much debt, debt, and that's spelled D -E -B -T, and debt is just money that you owe to other organizations, other people, institutions like banks.
So that same survey found that 70 % of Americans consider their own level of debt to be a problem.
Wow, that's very high.
70 % of Americans say that they have a problem with their debt, or how much debt they owe.
So statistics released early in 2019 revealed or showed that the average American has a credit card balance of $4 ,293.
Wow, can you believe that?
The average American has a credit card balance, or we could just say credit card debt, of over $4 ,000.
That's just incredible.
I'll tell you a story.
I remember when I recently graduated from college, back then it was very easy to get a credit card.
So I think I had several credit cards and I was young.
So I said, hey, this is kind of free money.
Well, not really free, but I thought, okay, well, I can use these credit cards to pay for certain things that I shouldn't have been paying with.
And after maybe five, six months, I had accumulated a debt of, I don't know, remember exactly maybe four or $5 ,000.
And I was just paying the minimum amount or the minimum payment on my credit card.
And after a while I realized, I said, hey, my balance or the amount that I owe, I have to pay back on my credit card wasn't going down.
It wasn't reducing.
And I realized, hey, if I just continue to pay the minimum, I will never pay off this debt.
So I buckled down, as we say in English, or I became serious.
I took the problem seriously and I began to pay more than the minimum payment and eventually paid off the credit card.
And I learned a valuable lesson that it is best not to accumulate a lot of debt on a credit card because the interest can be very high and it is very hard to pay it back or you'll be paying back a lot more money and for a long period of time.
So that's some advice that I've learned that I want to pass on to you.
And while some type of debt can be considered good debt and an investment in the future, for example, a mortgage for a home usually is a good investment, a good type of debt because normally real estate or homes increase in value or increase in price over time.
And that increase in prices called equity.
So you can earn a lot of equity in your home.
And also student loans can be a good investment because it can provide you the ability to obtain a better job.
But these good types of debt needs to be distinguished from bad debt or sometimes we say bad credit where you have to meet interest rates that are very high and they can really be a drag on your finances or that means they can pull you down financially or be a problem for you financially.
Like I said, because of the high interest rates that a lot of companies charge on their credit card balances.
So the final lesson is if you want to get your finances into better shape, start paying down your credit card debt as a matter of priority or one of the first things that you need to do and continue to do.
The third thing or sign that you will never be rich or that will cause you to not be rich is that you put off your thoughts about retirement or that you don't think about retirement.
And we have an expression in English.
We say many people just live for today.
They only think about today, maybe tomorrow, but they don't think about what's going to happen a year from now, five years from now, say 10 years from now, or 30 years from now.
What are you going to do when you retire or how old will you be when you retire when you are 60 or 70?
Are you going to have enough money to retire or are you going to have to continue working?
So these are things you need to start thinking about right now in your teens or even in your twenties because what you do now can have a very big impact on what happens to you in the future.
So when you're young, retirement, like I said, can seem a long way off or very far in the distance, but there are many things you want to do or buy or bills you have to pay and starting to save for the future seems like a very low priority.
Hey, however, the reality is that the longer you wait to think about your retirement, the harder it is going to be to build up a sufficiently large pension pot or a large savings account.
So for example, assuming that you have an 8 % annual return on your money to reach $1 million by the age of 65, you need to set aside or you so comparing compare that to this.
You can save $286 a month if you start at the age of 25 and you'll get a million dollars at that same interest rate.
So that's a big difference.
It's just a difference of 10 years starting to save at 25 instead of 35.
You can have to just pay less per month, but you can still get that $1 million if you can achieve that 8 % annual return.
But just remember, it is never too late to save either and save what you can.
The fourth thing that you can do that may will make it or may make it difficult for you to be rich is that you retire too early.
And I know retiring early is usually a dream for many people and dream for most of us, but it often doesn't make sense from a financial point of view.
So for example, if you choose to take money out of your 401k and here in the United States, a 401k is kind of like a savings plan that your employer has for you where you can put money into.
But usually there are some limitations on 401ks that you can't withdraw or take out the money before you are age 59 and a half, or you will earn a early withdrawal penalty of 10 % usually.
So that means if you decide to take out money from your 401k, the government or the lending institution will penalize you 10%.
And equally, there's something here in the United States called Social Security, and people can start claiming that money when they reach the age of 62 years old.
But there's kind of a catch.
The earlier that you start to take the Social Security or withdraw Social Security is lower or you get less money the younger you are.
So you can start drawing or taking out Social Security at age 62, but it will be at a lower amount and maybe as low as 30 % lower than at full retirement age, which is between 66 and 67 years old.
And equally, to qualify for Medicare, you need to be 65 years old here in the United States.
And Medicare, it's kind of like a government health insurance plan that anyone who reaches the age of 65 can receive and apply for.
And it's a pretty good system and it's maybe better and cheaper than your private insurance plans.
But retiring early and depriving yourself of access to a company sponsored medical plan may mean you have to pay a lot for private health care until you are eligible for Medicare.
The next thing that will make it may make it difficult for you to become rich is that you ignore free money.
You might say, Hey, what do you mean by free money, Gary?
Well, I'm going to tell you.
So say most people, if you saw a $50 bill blowing down the street, you would probably run after that and pick it up, right?
Wouldn't you? But however, you're much less prepared to take advantage, say of free money that is offered to you every day.
So for example, here in the United States, there are certain companies that you work for.
And I know my brother works for a company and they have what is called a matching program for the 401k savings plan that I mentioned earlier.
So what does that mean?
A matching program.
So that means say if you put $200 a month into your 401k, your employer or the company that you work for, they will match that amount or they will also put in $200 to your 401k plan.
So that means that you are doubling your money.
So you're getting $200 free money by your employer.
But a lot of people don't take advantage of this because either maybe they don't have enough money or they just don't want to part or spend with that extra money.
And they are not thinking in the future about how much that extra money will benefit them down the road.
So equally allowing say credit card schemes or credit cards to expire without claiming reward points is just throwing money down the drain or throwing money away.
And for example, I'll give you a personal example.
I have a credit card through a local lending institution, we say here in English or just really a bank.
And if I spend money on the credit card, I get reward points or bonus points based on the amount of money I spend or use on the card.
So I'd say after say six months, I may earn $400 or $500 in reward points.
And what I can do is I can redeem those points.
So we say I can cash those points in and I normally do that and they can transfer that money as cash into my checking account.
So that is free money that is available to you.
A lot of people may not realize that they have that opportunity or this is part of their credit card if they don't look into and check out these things.
The next thing that will keep you from becoming rich, and this is a problem I'm sure that happens for a lot of people and a lot of families in any country all over the world is that you buy everything new.
For example, you buy new clothes and I tried to come up with a list of things and I am guilty of this as well.
I'm into photography, so you buy new camera gear.
Gear is just things, cameras or lenses, maybe musical instruments.
So while buying items that are brand new, I know it can be really exciting.
Look at this new thing I just bought and we get a high.
We say in English a temporary high.
We feel excited and exhilarated and satisfied.
But that does not necessarily mean that it is a good investment.
For example, automobiles are a specific case in point.
The average American car drops or decreases in value 30 percent in its first two years and 44 percent over the first five years.
We have kind of an expression in English.
Maybe jokingly we say, hey, as soon as you drive your new car off the car lot, it's already decreased in value.
I know lately and especially during the pandemic, used cars have become a lot more popular and in that effect have become a little bit harder to buy or find a good car, used car at a good price.
So similarly, there are a whole host of other products that can be bought for substantially or a lot less and you would pay for them new.
For example, you can buy designer clothes, use consumer gadgets.
Gadgets are just things or items, furniture, musical instruments, household tools, mechanic tools, or just a few dimension.
And in most cases, they can be found in near mint condition and near mint condition means a nearly new condition.
And I'll give you another personal example.
I like to play some musical instruments and I play the guitar.
So I've actually bought quite a few guitars over the years used.
And there's some local services here in the United States where people are trying to sell their stuff used.
And you can get very good deals, things that are hardly used for half the price.
Another example is I bought my wife a set of conga drums that I think retailed for and retailed for means they sold at a original price in a store for say $400.
I was able to buy them used from an individual for $200, which was half the price of them new.
And they were in excellent condition.
They had hardly been used.
I've actually bought a camera used and paid about half the price and the camera was in excellent condition as well.
So again, you don't have to buy everything new.
You can save a lot of money by buying used items.
The last thing I want to tell you about is you don't have to have the latest fad item.
A fad is like a popular thing that is going around that everybody has to do or everybody has to have.
For example, it's really bad here in the States and maybe in your country when the new iPhone comes out.
Hey, there's a lot of people that are standing in line early waiting to get the new iPhone, but do you really need that iPhone?
And here in the States, the iPhone is very expensive.
I think the latest models cost about $1 ,200 or a lot of people have to get the latest Xbox or PlayStation or Air Jordan tennis shoes or the latest GoPro camera or the latest car or truck that comes out.
And how about this?
A lot of people have to get the latest and the biggest TV or television, flat screen television that comes out, but you need to ask yourself, hey, do I really need to buy this item or can I live with what I have right now and maybe wait?
So these are certain things that will keep you from being able to save money or save as much money as you would like and maybe to meet your financial dreams or goals.
So keep this in mind.
So while becoming a millionaire is just a dream for most people, what many of us fail to realize is that one of the biggest impediments, an impediment is a thing that prevents us from doing something or to ever accumulate any serious wealth or amount of wealth, has to do with our behaviors, our attitudes
and our lifestyle. So consider these items that I have mentioned and maybe how you can make changes to how you approach your attitude to money and see if you can improve your financial expectations and thus your financial situation.
So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
Again, hey, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Learn Everyday English Podcast.
I'd love to hear from you and what you thought of this episode.
Are you going to put some of these things into practice?
If you have any questions for me, let me know.
And if you have any suggestions for specific topics you would like me to discuss, things you want to know about Texas or the United States, let me know.
Drop me a line. Go to the Learn Everyday English webpage and the homepage.
And at the bottom, there's a contact form.
Just fill that out and send me a message and it'll go to my email and I'll respond back to you.
Well, I think that's it for now, listeners.
Hey, be sure to check out our upcoming episodes.
We try to put them out every Monday so you'll get an episode a week.
And just hopefully this will help you with your listening comprehension skills and help you improve your mastery of the English language.
So again, thanks for listening.
Hey, and goodbye.
