 The year was around 2006 and I was just 20 years old. I saw a book with someone and I decided to approach him and persuade him to borrow me the book. That book was the famous Rich Dad Poor Dad. Reading this book, I understood a simple yet profound principle about money. Don't buy liability from your income. Buy assets and let your assets buy you every liability you need. That was 13 years ago and today when I look back at my life, I bless that day I came across that wonderful book. But whenever I look around me, I see that most people are not getting this simple financial principle and that's why in today's video, I'll be sharing with you the 5 silly things you should stop doing with your money. If you're new here, consider subscribing so you won't miss other interesting videos like this. 1. Stop being a victim of social proof In the culture where I grew up, people in a club or group usually buy uniform clothes to celebrate whatever they wish to celebrate. So it happened that when I was around 18, every youth in my church buy a particular cloth to celebrate something I cannot remember now. When they told me the amount we were to contribute for those clothes, the first thing that came to my mind was the number of books such money can buy. So I did not buy the clothes. The day we were to use this cloth, everyone in our church club wore uniform clothes except me and the funniest part is that I actually felt that I was far more important than all these people. You see, from age 17, when I started reading motivational books, I've always found joy in being different. Whenever I've found myself doing what nobody's doing, I feel like I'm better than everyone. The opposite of this, unfortunately, is what most people feel. For most people, they are victims of what psychologists call social proof. Social proof means that you are naturally pressured to do whatever other people are doing. Social proof means that when you see all your mates driving a particular car, you naturally want to drive such a car. Social proof means that when everyone in your category is using certain things, you'll feel as if you are less important until you join them. Stop being a victim of social proof. In fact, start having pride in being different. You need to have pride in being different because most people in the world are dumb. Believe me, I'm telling you the truth. Most people in the world don't know anything about anything so being different from this multitude should actually make you proud of yourself. When all your friends are taking loans to buy new cars, go and buy used Toyota car. When all your friends are lining to buy the latest iPhones, be happy with your 3 years old phone. When all your friends are buying a bigger home they never need, with the money they don't have, be happy to leave in the smallest home in your city. Take pride in being different because if you're not different, it means you're as foolish as everyone. Take pride in being a minimalist because nobody is happy because they have every shiny object. Stop seeing your income as a fruit There are two types of people in the world. People who see their income as the fruits of their labor and people who see their income as a seed of freedom. If you see your income as the fruit of your labor, then when you make money or earn a salary, you'll think to yourself, hey, I've worked so hard. I deserve a new phone, a better car, and a beautiful home. If however you see your income as a seed, whenever you earn money, you'll say to yourself, I need to save a part of this so that I may one day be able to invest in my own business or other people's business so that one day I won't have to work on the job I hate anymore. That's it. How are you seeing your income? What do you think about your income? Do you think it's a fruit or a seed? If you think it's a seed, you'll want to plant a significant part of it. If however you think your income is a fruit, you'll want to enjoy it. Most people simply enjoy their earnings as fast as they earn. The problem with this is that you'll work for money all your life, and this is even worse if you're doing the job you hate. Thinking your income is fruit to be enjoyed when you're doing the job you hate means that you'll work the job you hate all your life. What a miserable way to live. 3. Stop telling people how much you earn I'm as stupid about this as most people. I once told a friend how much my business was making, and the next few months, he asked me to give him money to invest in his business. The problem with this is that, even though I told him how much my business was making, none of that money is staying in my bank accounts. When I make money, I invest almost everything, but who will understand that even though my company makes a lot of money, I'm still as broke as everyone? Stop telling people how much you earn because when people know how much you earn, they will never understand that you have a life to protect. They will never understand that you have to save, invest, and pay bills. They will simply think, hey, this guy makes $80,000 a year. He should be able to give me $10,000 to start a business. When you tell them that you don't have much money, they call you stingy. Please pray for me so I'll be able to follow my own advice here. 4. Stop buying things because of social media We're living in an age where most people's identity has been closely attached to their social media profile. Because of this, it's easier to do things simply to look good online. You might be in a boutique wanting to buy a few clothes, but when you remember that you have to take some photos of those clothes when you eventually wear them, then you know that you have to buy really expensive clothes because everyone in the world will see your photos. This way of thinking can influence your buying decisions on almost everything. The phone you use, the car you drive, even the home you leave. Buying things to impress people on social media is stupid. This is stupid because your friends on social media are not your friends. In fact, most people whom you think are your friends simply don't care about who you are. The best you can get from them is their envy. Why would you sacrifice your future simply because you want some people to have a good opinion of you? 5. Stop expecting a raise before you save So many people think, I'll start saving when my income increases. The problem with this way of thinking is that savings and investment is not a product of how much you earn, they are products of your habit. You see, according to the Parkinson law, expenses grow to meet income. Believe me, so many people make $100,000 per year and they don't invest a dollar. If you don't save one out of $10, you won't save $100 out of $1,000. If you can't save $100 out of $1,000, you can't save $1,000 when you earn $10,000. Savings is a habit. Investing is a habit. Though I'm not a good saver, I'm a crazy investor. I don't like to save money but I invest almost everything I earn naturally. When I make money, my default brain setting is to invest it. It's after I've invested my earnings, I think about what to spend. Now this is the summary of everything I've shared with you. 1. Stop seeing your income as a fruit. Don't eat it. Plant it as a seed. 2. Stop trying to catch up with everyone. Everyone is stupid. Why trying to buy what little people buy? 3. Stop trying to buy things because of the social media photos. You have a real life other than social media. 4. Stop telling people how much you earn. They will want to spend a part of it. And 5. Stop thinking that you have to make more money before you start saving. If you don't save with your present income, you won't save when that income is doubled, no matter how small, save something because it's about habit. I hope this video helps. Thank you very much for watching our videos. We would like to give you another interesting video for you to enjoy next but before then, our team would be very happy if you can like this video and share it with your friends on social media. If you're new here, don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss other interesting videos like this. Now look at your screen to see two other videos we handpicked for you to enjoy next. We love you.