Do these 20 things and you'll always be poor

Avoid these mistakes if you want to lead a richer life!

Staying solvent is tough enough without throwing money away by making silly financial mistakes. If you do the following, you will always be poor.

1) Spend now, pay later

Don't throw your money away when you're young, assuming you'll be richer when you're older. People in their 40s and 50s actually have the most financial problems, according to Halifax, with one in five so stretched their budgets would snap if they had to find an extra £24 a month. Enjoy your financial freedom when you're young, but don't squander it.

2) Fail to save

Too many people claim they can't afford to save while blowing their cash on gadgets they don't need, clothes they never wear, digital TV channels they can't find and nights out they regret in the morning. Set up a savings direct debit, so you don't notice the money leave your account. Then have fun with what's left.

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3) Only pay the minimum on your credit card

Say you owe £5,000 on a credit card at an APR of 18.9%. If you only make the minimum repayment every month (either 2% or £5), you will take an incredible 50 years and nine months to clear that debt, and pay £12,182 in total interest.

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4) Miss a monthly payment

Missing a single mortgage, credit card, loan, mobile phone or hire purchase repayment can wreck your credit rating and make it harder to get cheap finance in future. Set up a direct debit to make sure you don't miss payments by mistake.

Missed payments: how long do they stay on your credit record?

5) Fall for get-rich-quick schemes

If you think you can get rich by day trading shares, replying to letters from Nigerian princes or sending cash to claim the jackpot in a Spanish lottery you never entered, you will always be poor.

6) Drive like a boy racer

The more you rev, the more petrol you burn. Driving at 70 mph uses 30% more fuel than 60 mph. A speeding conviction adds £200 to the typical premium, being caught using a hand-held device can add more than £300.

7) Get addicted

Addiction comes in many forms, all expensive. A 20-a-day smoking habit can cost £2,700 a year. A morning latte and muffin could eat up £1,500. Serious addictions such as gambling will leave you broke.

How much money will I save by quitting smoking?

8) Have children

Raising a child to 18 costs £222,500 on average, according to insurer LV =, and no, that doesn't include private school fees. If you have two kids, you will blow an unbelievable £445,000. Think what you could have done with all that money! Worse, the Bank of Mum & Dad never shuts these days, but stays open throughout adulthood. Abandon financial hope all ye who have children.

9) Compete financially

Keeping up with the Joneses is expensive. They're richer than you.

10) Lie to yourself

Please don't kid yourself that you don't need a pension because you plan to work till you drop/downsize to a cheaper property/scoop a massive inheritance/live fast, die young/win the Lotto.

11) Impulse buy

The odd impulse buy is fine, but don't turn it into a lifestyle. Before the financial crisis, people used to joke about maxing out their credit card. Not so funny now.

12) Be loyal

Loyalty is an admirable trait... in a dog. But it's daft to be loyal to your bank, insurer or utility company. Loyal customers get worse savings, mortgage and credit card rates, and pay more for their insurance and energy. Stay loyal, and you will be treated like a dog.

13) Hoard your old stuff

Don't let your belongings gather dust, turn them into cash. Cashinyourgadgets will buy your old mobiles, laptops, tablets and digital cameras. MusicMagpie.co.uk helps you sell clothes, CDs, DVDs, games, gadgets and electronics. Or try a garage or car boot sale, or eBay or Amazon.

Recycle your things for cash!

14) Trust sales people

Everybody knows you shouldn't trust a sales person, especially if they work for a bank. But we still do. The result: mis-sold pensions, endowments, payment protection insurance and plenty more. Your life savings are on the line. Be wary.

15) Buy an old property

Old houses need constant care and repair. They will swallow all your spare money. I know, I bought one.

16) Take out a payday loan

You probably can survive the odd payday loan, but only if you clear it in full by the end of the month.

17) Rely on somebody else

Love is a wonderful thing, but so is self-reliance. Too many women rely on their partner for a pension, only to end up divorced and broke. The average Briton is banking on a £78,000 inheritance from their parents, but four out of 10 will get nothing, according to Skipton Building Society.

18) Buy your holiday money at the airport

Nobody likes to feel poor on holiday, and you'll feel a lot richer if you pre-order your foreign currency online from companies such as ICE, FairFX, the Post Office, Tesco, Travelex, Marks & Spencer and Moneycorp. Those airport foreign-exchange boots are a rip-off.

19) Take the first annuity you see

An annuity is the income for life you buy with your pension at retirement. Too many wrongly people think they are obliged to buy it from their pension company, but shopping around can boost your retirement income by between 10% and 40%. If you don't, you could get up to 40% less income, for the rest of your life.

20) Stick your head in the sand

If you're in debt, face up to it. Get free advice today from a debt charity such as National Debtline, StepChange Debt Charity, the Debt Advice Foundation or your local Citizen's Advice.

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