Dusty Habits that are Keeping You Broke

Most of us grow up with the same “starter kit” for money: a cute piggy bank, birthday cash, maybe a savings account when we get older. And that’s great for learning how to keep money safe.

Which leads me to…

Habit #1 — Believing Saving Is the Final Goal

Let’s be clear: saving is absolutely commendable and super necessary in order to implement wealth-building strategies.

Creating the habit of keeping money instead of spending every dollar is huge — it’s the foundation for everything that comes next.

But money can’t grow if it’s sitting in a place that doesn’t pay you enough interest. And by “enough,” I mean interest that keeps pace with — or outpaces — inflation. Think of inflation as the rising cost of everyday life. If $20 used to get you a movie ticket and snacks, and now that same $20 won’t even cover the ticket, that’s inflation.

To actually grow, money needs:

• a place where it can earn interest,

• time,

• and a system where growth can build on top of growth (compound interest)

Habit #2 — Thinking Insurance Is Only for When We Die

Most of us were only taught one version of life insurance:

You pay premiums while you’re alive so that your family receives money after you pass away.

That’s it. End of story.

But that’s just one type of life insurance.

There’s a whole category called cash-value life insurance, where a portion of your premium can build money you can use while you’re still alive. And now there are versions where the growth inside the policy is linked to a stock market index — like the S&P 500. One example is an Indexed Universal Life policy — IUL for short.

Very simple version:

• It’s life insurance

• It has a cash value component

• That cash value can grow with compound interest

• The growth is linked to a stock market index

• But it’s not actually invested in the market

So if the market does well, the cash value can grow.

If the market drops, the policy has protection to keep it from going negative.

It’s not magic — just a tool most people were never told about.

Habit #3 — Waiting Until “Later”

There’s a funny thing about money:

we always think we’ll figure it out later.

• “I’ll start investing later”

• “I’ll learn how this works later”

• “I’ll save more later”

But here’s what most of us don’t realize when we’re younger:

smaller amounts of money can build real wealth when they earn interest and compound over time.

And time is the one ingredient we can’t get back.

We lose opportunities when we wait — especially the chance for compound interest to work in our favor. The same goes for insurance: premiums for policies like IULs are often cheaper when we’re younger and healthier, because age and health play a big role in the cost.

Time is one of the biggest ingredients in money growth — the earlier money can earn interest and compound, the more powerful it becomes. That’s why waiting can quietly slow us down, even when we’re trying to do the right thing.

But here’s the encouraging part:

you don’t have to be an expert or wealthy to start learning.

Most of us were simply never taught this information, which is why “later” feels safer.

The Bigger Picture

There’s nothing wrong with piggy banks, savings accounts, or taking your time.

Those are often our first steps with money — and every step counts. We’ve all got to start somewhere.

But sometimes the habits we learned early on can quietly keep us stuck:

• saving without growth,

• assuming insurance is only for the end of life,

• and waiting for “later” to learn more.

When we understand how money can grow — through interest, compounding, and tools built for long-term growth like the stock market and cash-value life insurance — the possibilities get bigger.

And so does our opportunity for financial freedom.

Friendly reminder: This is for education, not personal financial advice. Everyone’s money situation is different, and any decisions should be based on personal research or speaking with a licensed professional about your individual situation.