11 Ridiculous Things People Believe About Money Until They Have To Pay Their Own Bills
Many people have dangerous misconceptions about managing their own money.
Inside Creative House | Shutterstock Research from the McDonough School of Business suggests that financial success and stability is cultivated by a healthy money mindset that fuels better financial habits on a daily basis. When young people aren't taught financial literacy, adopt misconceptions about money from their parents, or act on the many ridiculous things people believe about money until they have to pay their own bills, they're left struggling with money anxiety and a sense of uncertainty about the future.
To truly prepare for the future and cultivate a comfortable financial situation in the present moment, it's necessary to unlearn toxic mentalities around money — whether it's getting a credit card, saving money, or monitoring your spending habits. When you know where your money is, where it's going, and what you need to secure a more comfortable life financially, you're less likely to battle the all-consuming dread that affects personal well-being, relationships, and planning for the future.
Here are 11 ridiculous things people believe about money until they have to pay their own bills
1. Money always comes back
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The sentiment "money always comes back" was originally coined as a thoughtfully optimistic take on finances, a discussion that generally tends to be anxiety-inducing and gloomy. However, using this phrase to justify poor spending habits and misguided choices only hurts young adults in the long-term, crafting and navigating their futures. Money doesn't guarantee happiness, but feeling comfortable and having a stable financial status can make all the difference.
Alarming and unsettling statistics, like research that suggests the majority of Americans are just one or two missed paychecks away from experiencing homelessness, is proof that money doesn't "always" come back. Being financially reckless, overspending, and avoiding healthy money habits only puts adults in a worse position to pay for their necessities and plan for the future.
Of course, it's often an assumption and one of the ridiculous things people believe about money until they have to pay their own bills and fund their own routines, sparking a lot of money stress in people who have relied on outside support or reckless financial behaviors to cope with the stress of everyday life.
2. Using a credit card is irresponsible
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While there are certainly valid fears around using a credit card like overspending or taking on debt, learning how to maximize the benefits of a line of credit can set young people up for success later in life. Not only are they safer to carry around and use, according to NerdWallet, they also make it easier to save and track money.
You shouldn't be spending money you don't have — carrying over a balance month-to-month is where credit card users can dig themselves into a financial hole — but putting daily expenses and bills on a credit card and paying them off at the end of the month can help you to plan expenses and build credit without anxiety.
3. Making sacrifices is the key to wealth
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The idea that making sacrifices is the key to wealth isn't just individually misguided, it tends to fuel larger societal stigmas around poverty that encourage low-income households to feel ashamed, embarrassed, and responsible for their financial situation.
At the end of the day, making sacrifices by cutting out the small joys in life and occasional investments in entertainment aren't helping people to thrive or work themselves out of a bad situation — it's a method of survival.
According to a Bank of America survey, nearly half of Americans are already living paycheck to paycheck, despite only spending on basic necessities like housing, groceries, and healthcare, so preaching about sacrifice isn't doing anyone any favors.
If budgeting and a sacrifice mentality was the key to getting wealthy — or even working yourself out of poverty — the majority of people wouldn't be financially struggling to get by.
By unlearning the idea that poor people are simply lacking self-discipline or don't "want to sacrifice," you not only set yourself up to lead with more empathy, you ensure you're not demonizing or shaming yourself into a worse financial position when you're the one struggling.
4. Investments are only for rich people
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While the average person may not be as well-versed in making investments or understanding the process, that doesn't mean they're only a benefit for the wealthy. Investments are the key to building financial security, especially in the long-term — so finding ways to experiment, learn from others, and teach yourself how to properly invest can make a big difference.
Even if you're only putting a few dollars into an investment every month, that money can quickly add up and become a much larger sum, it just takes the initiative of learning to start.
5. Money only comes from a job
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There are so many unique and underestimated ways to make money, especially in today's digital landscape. While they may seem risky to someone who hasn't used them before or been around people maximizing their benefits, things like picking up a remote side hustle or even referring friends to your bank can give people spending cash that frees them from the anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck.
Of course, many individuals struggling financially don't have a lot of free-time to spare, especially if they're already working more than one job, so it's important to make the most of the time they do have. If that means spending time with family or investing in experiences, that's perfectly acceptable, but doing research on low-effort passive streams of income can be beneficial for young people starting to pay their own bills who also want to free themselves from constant money stress.
6. Only high earners can save a lot of money
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Many young adults and teenagers have misguided perceptions on the reality of saving their money. They may believe that only wealthy people making a lot of money can save a lot of money, despite the fact that compound interest, high yield savings accounts, and investments can be incredibly beneficial for people of all income levels.
Research, like one study from the Journal of Consumer Affairs, suggests that these misguided ideas about money and saving are largely a result of lacking financial literacy that seems to be declining in younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Not only did they not learn how to manage their money in traditional educational contexts, their parents were less inclined to talk about money with them growing up, motivated by stigma around finances from their own parents.
When you take the time to invest in your own financial literacy, many of the seemingly ridiculous things people believe about money until they have to pay their own bills become second nature.
7. Financial mistakes won't affect your future
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There are a million different financial mistakes that many people tend to fall victim to, largely due to financial instability and lacking financial literacy, but there's still a misconception that making mistakes with money when you're young won't follow you into adulthood. If you're maxing out a credit card, overspending on weekly entertainment, or agreeing to long-term payments, you're taking away the freedom of choice from your future self.
Of course, whether you're young or not, it's natural to make mistakes — not everyone is privy to the financial knowledge and literacy many wealthy people learned from their parents or alongside the security of financial comfort growing. But finding ways to minimize their impacts is essential to living a stable life in the future.
8. Young people don't need to worry about saving for retirement
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According to a TIAA study, only around 20% of Gen Zers are currently saving for retirement, despite working full-time jobs and bringing in a stable income. While misguided mentalities around not saving for retirement are some of the ridiculous things people believe about money until they have to pay their own bills, many aren't doing so by choice.
The study's researchers found that nearly 40% of Gen Z "doesn't know where to start" when it comes to saving for retirement or putting money into an emergency fund, especially when they're already living paycheck-to-paycheck and struggling to afford basic necessities like housing.
Even if it's only $20 or $50 a month, contributing to a retirement account from a young age can make all the difference in just a few years, especially with compounded interest and employer matching programs.
9. $20 is nothing
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Whether it's $5, $20, or $49.99, many young people have a distorted view of spending money — especially cash — while they're growing up, especially when it's not their money.
A small monthly subscription for just $10 a month doesn't seem like an issue, but over the course of the year, the $120 annual expense it culminates to can make all the difference if it was being compounded in a savings account or added onto a rent payment.
According to a University of Michigan study, many children learn these distorted views about money from their parents at a young age, influencing the way they save, spend, and invest in adulthood. If their parents consider spending cash to be "free money," overuse their credit cards for fun, or lack the financial literacy to teach their children healthy habits, their parents' mindsets will follow them for life, until they make an intentional change.
Understanding the value of a dollar seems easy, but it's important, especially for young people who don't have a lot of extra spending money to throw around on unnecessary subscriptions, material goods, or experiences.
10. If you have enough money, you don't need to budget
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Even if you have enough money to fund your lifestyle and pay your bills, financial habits like budgeting are still essential. Budgets and financial plans not only ensure consumers know where their money is going, they protect financial goals by giving people the tools to save, spend responsibly, and learn about their financial habits.
For example, you may never realize you're overspending on unnecessary subscriptions or clothing month-to-month if you're not checking your accounts or casually budgeting your paychecks. It doesn't have to be a rigid budget, but having an idea of where your money is, where it's going, and when it's coming in can be the key to planning for the future without anxiety or fear.
11. You must be rich to live your best life
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Especially in today's consumerist, comparison-driven, competitive society, it's not surprising that a lot of young people — spending a lot of time online, watching influencers, and being informed by social media — have adopted the mentality that a rich life equates happiness, experience, and freedom.
Of course, having financial comfort, stability, and security informs our happiness, but having a lot of money isn't everything. There's healthy ways to budget, save money, and invest in experiences in life without digging yourself into an impossibly large financial hole, but it takes unlearning these unhealthy mindsets about money to achieve.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
