America Has $565k per Person, Study Finds — 5 Reasons You’re Still Broke
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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Sometimes facts and figures can make you feel worse about your financial situation. Hopefully, the stat you’re about to see doesn’t do that. According to Visual Capitalist, the United States has about $565,000 per person.
Here’s how that breaks down. It’s the average wealth in the U.S. That’s found by taking a country’s total wealth and dividing it by the adult population. By doing so, America ranked among the countries with the highest wealth per person.
While the number can be skewed by extremely low or high values, such as those from billionaires, the stat may have you wondering why you’re still broke. Here’s a look at five ways you might be missing out on ways to bolster your wealth.
1. You’re Not Focused on Wealth Building
One obvious reason you may be broke is that you haven’t been intent on building your wealth.
As CNN noted, “Patience is crucial: Seeing the fruits of your wealth-building efforts may take years. That’s especially true if you begin to save and the market goes into a downturn or an especially volatile period.”
2. Your Income Is Too Low
Before you can really start building wealth, you need to have a good source of money. If your income is at a level where it seems impossible to be able to do anything but pay your monthly bills, it may be incredibly difficult to start building wealth.
If you are in a position to go after a promotion, that might be a good goal to set. Perhaps you are considering going back to school. If not, you may be able to find a side gig to help bring in more money so you can start building wealth.
3. You Haven’t Been Saving
If you haven’t had any extra money each month, then it’s been hard for you to build wealth. However, once you are in a position to put some money aside each month, you could start saving some of that money and investing at the same time.
“If you’re wondering how to build wealth from nothing, begin by allocating a percentage of your income to savings and investing,” CNN suggested. “Two popular short-term savings vehicles are high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs).”
4. Your Spending Is Too High
If you’re tired of being broke, it may be a great time to look at your budget. If you don’t have a budget, start by looking at the places your money goes.
One thing to keep in mind for success: Be realistic when tracking your spending and coming up with a budget.
“Keep track of what you actually spend, not what you think you spend,” noted Peggy Olive, writing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Also, be realistic about the amount you can save for your financial goals without feeling deprived during the month.”
5. Your Attitude Needs To Change
Someone may have told you that you’re broke because you feel broke. While that may not be true, perhaps your attitude toward your money could be holding you back.
When discussing how to cut back on spending and how to create a budget, Olive noted this: “THE BOTTOM LINE IS: Are you happy with where your money is going?”
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