The One Key Mindset Shift that Will Make You Wealthy.

 I stumbled on a video on social where a man talked about the difference between how the wealthy and the working-class poor view money.  He said the difference between rich, middle class, and poor isn't mainly about how much money they have but what they believe the purpose of money is.

He claimed that "in the mind of a poor person, the purpose of money is to pay bills. 

They go to work every day to earn a paycheck that will go straight towards paying bills each month.  

He then states that the purpose of the middle-class earner is to establish good credit so they can buy things they can't afford and pay it off over the course of time.

Finally, he describes a wealthy person as those who believe that the purpose of money is to turn it into more money.   Specifically, he states that a wealthy person's thought pattern is to hold on to their money long enough for it to turn into more money by putting it into a "money maternity ward."  

After watching the video, I headed into the comments and saw quite a few people mentioning that they don't have extra money lying around to invest.  This is sentiment probably true for most of us.  But I'm going to show you how the practice of making money from money is easier to accomplish than you think.

Every week or two, you'll get a paycheck from your job.  Then we must pay bills.  Everyone pays bills -rich and poor alike. Once the bills are paid, if there's anything left, it stays in the bank account until the next paycheck arrives.  The money that's still in the bank when more money is deposited becomes part of your savings.  

If you have no money left until the next check arrives, you have either an income problem or an expense problem.  Income problems can be solved by getting a higher-paying job.  Earning even a dollar more an hour will increase the amount of money you can save between checks (if you don't increase spending).  If spending is the issue, you'll need to eliminate or reduce some expenses.  

Even with limited cash flow coming in, you can still earn money on your money by doing something I talked about a bunch of times in the past.  

Leverage the power of a high-interest savings account.

I have a high-yield savings account with American Express.  High-yield accounts require no minimum to start. If you have $5.00 you can get started earning on that $5.00 today.  By doing so, you've taken on the mindset of the wealthy that this man spoke about.  You've essentially put that $5.00 into a "maternity ward" to make more babies.  With a high-yield savings account, you will get free money each month without fail.  The more money you have saved, the more free money you'll get without even lifting a finger (PASSIVELY).  

Another way to make money without doing anything to earn it is via credit card points.  I basically stopped using cash once I learned that using credit cards earned me money via reward point programs.  A new luxury resort recently opened in my city.  The resort is getting lots of buzz from local influencers.  My husband and I wanted to visit for his birthday.  The rooms are over $700.00 a night but our cost will be $0.00 thanks to the credit card points we've accumulated.  How did we build our points balance?  Simply by paying our bills.   We all gotta pay our bills anyway...why not make "money" while doing it?  I didn't have to set aside any additional money from my income to afford this experience.  

There were times when unexpected expenses popped up that I wasn't prepared for financially.  When that happened, I used credit card points to reduce or eliminate the charge.  It's literally free money generated from my normal expenses.  Another form of "putting my money to work." 

This formula only works if the entire balance is paid every month.  Paying interest on credit card balances is a poor person's game.  If you can not pay the balance in full each month, use cash.  Double-digit interest rates on credit cards will keep you underwater. Do everything in your power to attack high-interest credit card balances until they're gone. 

These are two low-effort, entry-level ways to make money from money. The people in the comments were waiting for an influx of income before incorporating wealth-creation strategies.  The truth is if you're doing nothing now to generate money passively, you likely will do nothing if money suddenly comes in.  Some make six figures and spend every dime they make.  Just like some people earn an hourly wage and have a habit of saving and investing.  

The idea that stuck with me from the video is how I need to view the purpose of money. Yes, we have to pay bills, but we also should seek out ways to utilize money to make more.   If you transfer your direct deposit into a high-interest savings account, pay bills on a credit card, let the money earn interest, then pay the card off (in full) every month, you can earn money without little effort.

From there, you can use the accumulated funds to pay down debt, invest in the market, invest in your side hustle or whatever your heart desires.  I was on a forum where someone said they recently earned $350,000 after selling a house they inherited.  Their question to the group was where put the money so it "grows as much as possible".  This person has taken on the wealth mindset and received advice that could eventually turn the $350k into seven figures in the future (the advice was to invest the money in EFTs).  That person could've easily spent the money on lifestyle upgrades and might've ended up back in the same position, they started. But if they applied the advice they received, they could transform their financial future. 

I've seen wannabe entrepreneurs who lived in a house with multiple roommates and no furniture as they worked to build their businesses.   They were earning very little and did everything they could to reduce monthly living expenses to allocate every available dollar into a "maternity ward" that would ultimately produce more money for them.  We don't have to get this extreme but we should take on the mindset of seeing money as more than a way to pay our bills but as a seed that can multiply and produce a generous harvest.