12 Things Rich People Seldom Buy While the Poor Are Drowning in Debt to Get Them

You’re doing your best to repay your debts and start saving money but what if nothing comes of it? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your attitude toward spending! Incidentally, all the people who have achieved genuine success in business project and investments and who have earned billions of dollars are very pragmatic about their purchases!

You might think that rich people love spending money. But as it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth! We at Bright Side have analyzed what publications around the world say about billionaires, and discovered several types of purchases which — unlike me and you — the wealthy and successful prefer to avoid!

Impulse purchases

Here’s something that happens to all of us: we see a pretty but useless thing being offered at a discount, we buy it, and then we come home and regret our decision. All too often, we spend money on impulse purchases which is what distinguishes us from rich people, to whom buying an extra pair of jeans holds little attraction. As billionaire Warren Buffett once said, ’If you buy things you don’t need, soon you will have to sell things you need." An effective way to avoid unnecessary spending is to make a shopping list before going to the store.

Expensive real estate

Buying luxury houses at inflated prices is a dubious investment. That is why rich people prefer to buy promising real estate while it’s still cheap to make a profit later on when its price skyrockets.

Clothing and footwear from high-end brands

Rich people can afford luxurious and expensive clothes from the newest and trendiest designer collections. However, if their life doesn’t involve frequent social events, they prefer to steer clear of such purchases. Remember how Steve Jobs used to dress? Similarly, Bill Gates’ watch costs $10; and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is perfectly okay with appearing in public wearing bargain basement t-shirts. Even the wife of the heir to the British throne often goes out sporting mass market outfits!

Latest versions of popular gadgets

A wealthy person will not rush out to buy the latest model of a trendy smartphone or watch even if his or her gadget is out of fashion, time-worn, or obsolete. Millionaires use different reasoning when it comes to making purchases: they ask themselves whether the expenditure will be worthwhile at this particular moment. As for electronic gadgets, they become outdated and depreciate in value way too quickly!

Loans, fees, and penalties for late payments

Rich people don’t take out loans and never lose money on fines, penalties, and commissions for one simple reason: they always pay everything on time, avoiding delays. As billionaire investor, Mark Cuban said, ’If you use a credit card, you don’t want to be rich."

Buying your kids lots of fancy toys

People with average incomes often pamper their kids, buy stuff on their little ones’ slightest whims, filling their rooms with trendy new toys. Now, if millionaires behaved in the same fashion, their children would literally be drowning in toys and gadgets! However, well-to-do people prefer reasonable expenses and don’t buy their offspring a new doll or playset just because it’s being advertised on TV.

Junk food

The most important difference between a millionaire’s daily menu and that of a person with a modest income is not in the cost of products. Rich people are literally obsessed with healthy eating. They might be consuming the same types of cereals and vegetables as we, mere mortals do, but you wouldn’t catch a billionaire wolfing down kebabs, hamburgers, French fries, or mayonnaise-rich salads from the “ready-to-eat” supermarket section.

Representation expenses

Basically, this encompasses the costs of making oneself seem rich and successful. Or to put it even simpler — of throwing dust in other people’s eyes. We’re talking about luxury banquets, business class flights, and new cars. People who want to appear richer than they really are, spend huge sums to this effect. On the other hand, the truly successful ones often lead very modest lives. For instance, Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, always flew economy class and drove an old Volvo. As for the Queen of England, Elizabeth II — she saves electricity at her Buckingham Palace residence.

Additional education for their children

People with an average income often hire various home tutors for their kids. Some do it hoping to reveal the child’s hidden talents, which will serve as his or her ticket to a happy, prosperous life. Others think that the tutors will help the child achieve better grades at school. As for rich people — they know from personal experience that excessive tutoring has little to do with achieving financial success. So they allow their little ones more free time to enjoy childhood.

Psychics, mystics, and fortune-tellers

According to research, for the most part, fortune-tellers’ clientele is made up of people with low analytical skills. At the same time, logical thinking is probably the key quality for achieving wealth and success. Besides, high-achievers tend to believe in themselves — they simply don’t need any otherworldly assistance!

Personal development coaching

Low-earners with lousy careers and private lives are the main targets of unscrupulous life and business coaches. Many words have been said about the uselessness of such training sessions, especially in connection with Tony Robbins. His seminars earn him millions thanks to high ticket prices and the fact that there’s still no shortage of those who want to pump up their social skills. Before spending your money on various motivational courses, take a look at the biographies of famous billionaires: it is unlikely you will find a single story of a person getting rich by listening to overhyped lifestyle gurus.

Trendy interior design

New types of furniture and interior decor appear in shops on a monthly basis. As a result, middle class people spend lots of money, trying to follow the latest trends in house decor. Unfortunately, such design solutions tend to become outdated in just a couple of years’ time. All of a sudden, no one uses floral wallpaper anymore, and bright geometric patterns are all the rage. Time to redecorate everything! But before you do that, make sure to study a few photos of rich people’s home interior. Quite often, when looking at successful individuals’ homes, you can’t guess how old the owners are. Painted walls, whitewashed ceilings, and wooden or tiled floors: the rich adhere to perennial, century-tested options!

Changing one’s spending habits is not an easy task: you’ll have to revise your lifestyle and make adjustments to your worldview along the way! Do you think you’re up to the challenge? Are there any expenses you feel you can ditch with ease? And what money-draining aspects of your life would you never say goodbye to (not even for the sake of having a brighter future)?