15 Financial Myths That Keep You From Getting Ahead

you know the dot bubble wiped $5 trillion off the stock market all because investors entrepreneurs and Venture capitalists believed the myth that traditional business models didn't apply to the internet economy they thought that if a company could attract enough users fast enough profits would just naturally follow grow fast dominate the market then monetize later a myth a myth they believed and a lot of people lost their entire life savings because of it myths big or small shape our behavior when we believe it but what if we don't know it's a myth what if you've heard

something so many times that you begin to agree with it well we're about to burst those myths today some big and some small but each of them has the power to have a massive impact on your financial health so let's dive in myth number one turning down a pay raise saves money because you'd pay more in taxes with a higher salary listen Okay this is just not how progressive tax Works people think that if their income moves into a higher tax bracket their entire salary will be taxed at that higher rate but tax brackets only

apply to the part of your income that falls within that range not your entire salary say you earn $80,000 and you get a raise to 90,000 only that extra $10,000 is taxed at the higher rate not the full 990,000 your take-home pay still increases even after tax if you believe this myth you're leaving money on the table okay a higher salary compounds over time you get a raise now and that means a higher base for future Rises a better position in salary negotiations and more retirement contributions turning down money because of tax fears is like

refusing a bigger slice of cake because you would have to share your crumbs myth number two I'll just save what's left over at the end of the month yeah right if you wait until the end of the month to save anything there is usually nothing left okay your expenses expand to fill whatever money is available it's human nature when you see extra cash in your account it feels like spending money the moment you get paid a percentage should always go straight into savings or Investments you have to automate this process it's the shest way for

you to take the temptation to spend it away and build your wealth without it feeling like a huge effort if your company deducted an extra tax from your paycheck you would adjust your spending and move on so treat your savings the same way if you only have access to what's left after saving you'll naturally spend within those limits the myth that you can just save whatever's left is what's keeping you in a cycle of paycheck to paycheck living number three don't pay off your credit card every month and carry a small balance because it'll help

to increase your credit score this myth refuses to die and it's costing people a lot of money carrying a balance on your credit card does nothing to help your credit score it just makes Banks richer using credit responsibly builds your score but that doesn't mean you need to keep a balance your credit score improves when you make ontime payments and keep a low credit use ratio the percentage of available credit you're using carrying a balance only benefits the credit card company because you're paying interest for no reason if you leave even a small balance you're

handing over money that could have been saved or invested the best strategy is to use your card for things you can afford and then pay it off in full every month this keeps your utilization low avoids interest and builds a solid credit history without making the bank richer and yourself poorer myth number four or more risk equals more reward now let's be clear here okay more risk does not automatically equal more rewards smart investing just doesn't work that way yes in some cases more risk can lead to higher returns but that's when the risk is

calculated and Justified not made on a whim far too many people confuse this type of risk with uncompensated risk which is a risk that doesn't come with any kind of reasonable expectation of higher returns this is when you throw money into meme stocks or crypto coins with no research hoping for overnight riches you bet everything on a single stock instead of diversifying you chase the highest possible returns without understanding what could go wrong this is gambling okay not investing and that's why Masterworks and their Blue Chip art Investments are such sought-after investment opportunities in fact

a 2024 Bank of America survey actually found 83% of high net worth respondents 43 and younger say that they want to invest in art to boost their investment strategy or they're already doing it instead of gambling on trendy or high volatile Investments you can invest in Blue Chip art and that's how you preserve wealth and keep growing it today's sponsor Masterworks has experts do all the heavy lifting for you they analyze the market coordinate the Acquisitions of high value pieces and then buy pieces with proven value you what's more is this blue chip contemporary art

has historically been less volatile than stocks and has outpaced the S&P 500 in some periods in fact Masterwork last sale was the boscat painting in 2024 which sold for $8 million after 1,398 days usually services like mastor have a long wait list and traditionally only High net worth individuals were approved but since you're an AO subscriber you're getting special treatment go to Masterworks / alux or scan the QR code on screen right now to skip the waiting list and invest in Blue Chip art today myth number five that tax-free savings only benefit the wealthy now

the number of people who say this out loud without a second thought is kind of scary if you want to pay taxes on your gains then fine go on believing this one but if you want to actually keep your gains to yourself then a tfsa is for you too not just the wealthy even if you're only contributing small amounts the tax-free Advantage makes a massive difference over time the real power of a tfsa comes from compounding growth and tax-free withdrawals so if you invest $5,000 a year in a tfsa and earn 8% annual return in

20 years you'd have nearly $250,000 and every dollar of profit is yours taxfree if the same investment were in a taxable account you would owe taxes on the gains which massively reduces your fin amount anyone can benefit from these accounts okay and the earlier you start the bigger the advantage number six it's better to wait until the price comes down to buy now waiting for the perfect price is just another form of Market timing and it rarely works it's easy to fall into this trap right because you want certainty you think you can predict the

right moment to buy low or sell high but we've seen time and time again that the market doesn't move based on anyone's expectations those prices can stay high for longer than you would expect or they can drop even lower by the time you feel comfortable making a move the best opportunity is usually gone the only fail safe strategy is consistent investing so instead of trying to guess the market you keep chugging away investing regularly no matter what the price is it's called dollar cost averaging where you buy in at different prices over time thereby reducing

your risk of bad timing if you want to build wealth then invest and let time do the work don't wait for the perfect moment it doesn't exist number seven you can protect from creditors after the liability becomes a risk by the time a liability becomes a real risk it's usually too late to protect yourself okay and yet so many people still wait until they're already in trouble before they take action you can't move money around or restructure your assets once you've got a lawsuit debt collection or financial crisis looming courts and creditors see right through

last minute asset transfers and it's actually fraud so it won't hold up legally the real way to protect yourself is before anything happens separate your personal and business assets with the right legal structures use trusts or legal protections to Shield your wealth from lawsuits and have the right Insurance in place to cover potential liabilities you need to set up your defenses before you need them trying to protect your wealth after the risk is already in play is like boarding up your windows in the middle of a hurricane too little too late number eight people only

get rich because they cheat now this myth is one of the biggest excuses people use to justify why they haven't built wealth themselves some people do get rich through Shady tactics sure but the majority don't most of us build wealth through strategy discipline and time not cheating believing that wealth only comes from being corrupt or exploiting people does two things okay first of all it discourages people from even trying if you believe wealth is only for cheaters you won't bother learning how to earn invest or build something valuable and secondly it gives you an excuse

to stay where you are it's easier to assume that success is unfairly rigged than ever take responsibility for your financial growth the truth is that most people get Wealthy by taking calculated risks we start businesses invest early and master high value skills we learn to delay gratification we save and invest instead of spending everything and we see opportunities that others ignore solving problems instead of waiting for permission believing this myth keeps people poor wealth isn't given okay it is built and the sooner you stop a assuming it's all a scam the sooner you can start

playing the game properly and we knew this needed a deeper dive so today on the alux app we have an exclusive daily session just for you we're diving into why myths and lies seem easier to believe than the truth you can download the app right now and listen to it and we've got an extra exclusive offer for you and your partner this week only we're running the power couple deal because look okay couples who grow together Stay Together those Valentine's Day flat hours are only going to survive a couple of days but learning is the

kind of gift that never diminishes so download the app scan this QR code on screen and you'll get 35% off the annual membership which truthfully that's a membership that pays for itself within the first month alone I'll be right there with you every day guiding you every step of the way so I'll see you on the inside number nine having savings is more important than paying off debt now what do you priori TI when you're trying to build Financial stability saving well that's definitely important but carrying highin debt is like trying to fill a bucket

with a hole in the bottom you're never getting ahead so you need to shift your priorities it's partly a psychological thing having cash savings gives you this Safety Net in your mind but having no savings and only debt causes that stress to weigh on you even more you have to understand which of your debts is costing you the most if you've got a credit card balance at 20% % interest but your savings account is earning 1 to 2% keeping a larger savings balance while making minimum payments is a losing strategy the interest on your debt

is draining money faster than your savings can grow the smarter way to do this is to build a small emergency fund first around 1 month's worth of expenses so you're not relying on credit cards for every unexpected expense then pay off high interest debt aggressively throw everything you have at it get rid of those credit cards payday loans and anything with double digit interest once your debt is under control then you can focus on growing your savings and Investments That safe feeling that comes from having money sitting in the bank while you're paying hundreds in

unnecessary interest isn't safe okay if you really want Financial Security then you have to eliminate high cost debt first so that you can start building your wealth on a strong stable Foundation number 10 real estate only goes up now this myth has convinced countless people that real estate is a guaranteed path to wealth but history's proven otherwise okay while property values tend to rise over the long term they don't always go up and they definitely don't go up in a straight line real estate markets crash correct and stagnate just like any other asset people who

believed real estate always goes up got burned in the 2008 financial crisis when home prices collapsed by 30 to 50% in some areas even in smaller downturns some properties lose value While others take years to recover the real mistake is thinking that buying any property at any time guarantees wealth success in real estate comes down to buying at the right price you make sure you're not overpaying in a hot Market understanding local Trends because not all markets grow at the same rate and calculating the actual costs far too often we see people ignoring the maintenance

costs property taxes and interest real estate can be a great investment sure but only if you treat it like one if you buy blindly assuming prices will always go up you're not investing okay you are speculating and speculation is just another form of gambling number 11 if you skip buying your daily coffee you could afford that million dooll thing now this myth has been repeated so often it's practically Financial folklore the idea that if you just skip your daily coffee you'll magically be able to afford a new house a luxury car or some other million-dollar

goal but that's not how wealth building Works yes small expenses add up sure but cutting coffee isn't going to make you rich even if you saved $5 a day that's $1,825 per year over 30 years invested at 8% it might grow to around2 $200,000 a solid amount sure but nowhere near a million dollar the real issue is that this advice distracts from the real drivers of wealth like increasing your income you have to negotiate raises earn a high value skill that pays or start your own business you have to invest wisely put money into assets

that grow instead of just cutting small expenses and making financially smart decisions like avoiding bad debt and understanding cash flow skipping coffee will save you a little bit but it's not going to replace the need for better Financial strategies higher earnings and smarter Investments you don't want to deprive yourself of your simple Joys to build wealth this is a bigger Longer term game alixir and you need those small Joys to give you the extra power and boosts when you need them number 12 working overtime is not worth it do you know how much you actually

make make from overtime if you're earning time and a half or more those extra hours can massively accelerate your financial goals now obviously this depends on what you would be missing out on but you need to calculate that against the extra payment not your usual amount if your regular hourly wage is $20 then overtime at time and a half means you're earning $30 per hour that's a 50% increase just for working a bit longer if you put in 10 extra hours a week that's an extra 300 bucks $1,200 per month $5,600 a year now ask

yourself is overtime worth it what are you really trading because if overtime means missing out on your life burning you out or damaging your health well it might not be worth it right but if it's helping you to pay off your debt faster invest or hit a major Financial goal it can be an incredible tool if overtime is just keeping you in a cycle of working to spend it's not going to change your future at all but if you use it strategically to build wealth gain skills or create opportunities that can be a powerful Financial

move which brings us to our next myth number 13 save or invest all of your extra money now you'll hear this Mantra in the intern section of financial institutions but it usually Fades out within a few years investing is great for your future but your money is worthless once you're in the grave no amount of money can buy a life's worth of memories and experiences so it's okay to go on that vacation okay do stuff with your friends or family buy something you've always wanted Building Wealth is important but as we always say money is

a tool okay not the end goal balance is really important here no amount of money can ever buy back time missed opportunities or moments with people who won't be around forever so yes invest and save enough to secure your future but spend enough to create a life you act actually enjoy living what's the point of it all if you don't have the freedom to do what matters to you money should support your life not replace it number 14 rent is throwing money away now this myth has convinced so many people that owning a home is

always better than renting one but it's just not true people act like a mortgage is a free ride to wealth ignoring the fact that in the early years most of their payment goes toward interest not equity if you're paying two to three times your rent just in mortgage interest you're the one throwing away money except instead of a landlord it's going straight to the bank renting gives you flexibility lower upfront costs and fewer Financial risks overall a mortgage locks you into a massive debt plus maintenance taxes and the possibility of Market downturns buying only makes

sense when the numbers work in your favor not because some outdated advice tells you you should both renting and buying have tradeoffs okay the best option depends on your financial situation goals and market conditions not some blanket rule that says renting is bad and myth number 15 that happiness plateaus at earning 75k per year now do you remember that study that capped happiness at earning $75,000 a year now while it's clearly true that endless riches doesn't make you endlessly happy this $775,000 per year is a bit of an arbitrary number new research and Real World

Experience proves that it's not really the full story the original idea was that once people make enough to cover their basic needs and some Comforts any moreal income doesn't really make them happier but more recent studies including research from Matthew Killingsworth at the University of Pennsylvania show that happiness continues to rise with income just in different ways below a certain income stress about bills health care and emergencies can be a major happiness killer after reaching stability extra money brings freedom and the ability to say no to things which you don't want to do you can

take more time off and enjoy life without Financial anxiety the key isn't just about making more it's using your money wisely someone earning $200,000 with crushing debt and no time for themselves might be less happy than someone making $80,000 with low expenses and more freedom money isn't the only factor in happiness right but the idea that money stops improving your life at 75k is outdated earning more money gives you more control and that control can absolutely make your life better and that's all we got for you today my friend don't forget to download our app

and listen to today's daily session on why myths and lies seem easier to believe than the truth here's that QR code again just in case you missed it I'll see you on the inside