Stop repeating the same patterns that are destroying your net worth.

You might not realize it, but a lot of people are straight-up addicted to being broke.

Not because they want to struggle.

Not because they enjoy financial stress.

But because the behaviors that keep them stuck feel familiar, easy, comfortable, and normalized.

If you don’t consciously break these cycles, you’ll keep recreating the same reality no matter how much money you touch.

This is how you confirm whether you’re addicted to being broke — and exactly what to stop doing.

1. You Keep Adding New Debt

Most people never build wealth because they can’t stop digging the hole they’re stuck in.

If you want to stop being broke, stop adding debt — especially debt that doesn’t increase your wealth.

I’m talking about:

• Credit cards
• Personal loans
• Student loans (yes, those count)
• Payday loans
• Car notes for cars you can’t afford

Debt is a net-worth killer.

Every new swipe is you choosing short-term comfort over long-term freedom.

If you want your financial life to rise, stop pulling it downward.

2. You Live Above Your Means (But Pretend You Don’t)

Living above your means is one of the most common symptoms of being addicted to being broke.

Overspending isn’t an accident — it’s a lifestyle.

People love:

• “Treating themselves”
• Upgrading everything
• Financing phones they can’t afford
• Buying now, paying later
• Flexing for strangers

Advertising is built for this.

Everyone is selling you a lifestyle you can’t actually maintain.

But here’s the simple equation:

If you spend more than you earn, you will stay broke.

You can’t out-manifest math.

3. You Think Like a Broke Person

Being addicted to being broke starts in the mind.

If you think broke, feel broke, and operate from scarcity, you will recreate that reality over and over again.

Your thoughts literally shape your financial ceiling.

What you focus on expands.

If all you do is talk about:

• Struggling
• How expensive everything is
• What you can’t afford
• What’s “too much”
• How money is hard to get

You’ll get more of exactly that.

Surround yourself with people who think bigger.

Consume content that forces your mindset upward.

Reprogram your brain with prosperity, not poverty.

4. You Focus on Spending Instead of Investing

Wealth comes from investing.

Not spending, flexing, or “treating yourself.”

Investing turns time into money.

Spending turns money into trash.

Liabilities feel good today.
Assets feel good forever.

Most people stay broke because they buy liabilities:

• Clothes
• Shoes
• Cars
• Gadgets
• Vacations
• Aesthetic upgrades

Meanwhile, their investment accounts are starving.

Your future self pays the price for your present self’s impulses.

If you want a different financial outcome, change what you feed.

5. You Avoid Financial Education

Only 4% of Americans read personal finance books.

Four.

Percent.

Most people want wealth but hate learning about it.

They want the outcomes, not the education.

But if you don’t study money, you cannot master it.

Financial education changed my life.

Not luck or a miracle.

Not a random breakthrough.

Learning.

Reading.

Studying.

Implementing.

If you refuse to understand money, money will always confuse you — and control you.

6. You Choose Materialism Over Wealth

Materialism is the fastest path to staying broke.

Every new product is an invitation to sabotage your long-term freedom.

This is why people:

• Fill houses with stuff
• Buy endless “upgrades”
• Keep storage units of junk
• Spend to feel relevant
• Buy things they never use

Materialism drains you slowly and silently.

You will never build wealth if every extra dollar becomes an extra item.

Stop buying validation.

Cease buying comfort.

Stop buying “the lifestyle.”

Wealth is quiet for a reason.

The minute you stop performing for society, your net worth will start rising.

7. You Don’t Track Your Money

If you don’t know what’s coming in and what’s going out, you are not managing money — you are guessing.

Guessing is how people stay broke.

Wealth requires awareness.

Money requires attention.

Track everything:

• Income
• Expenses
• Subscriptions
• Debt
• Investments

You don’t need to be extreme.

Just stop being blind.

When you know your numbers, you control your financial destiny.

When you don’t, your money controls you.

8. You Rely on One Income Source

One income is the most dangerous position you can be in.

If that income disappears, everything collapses.

Diversifying your income isn’t optional anymore.

It’s mandatory.

You don’t need to be traditional.

You don’t need to wait.

Stack your income streams:

• A main job
• A side skill
• Digital income
• Passive income
• Investments
• Freelance work
• Creative assets

Money should hit your account from multiple angles.

When you have more than one stream, being broke becomes mathematically impossible — as long as you manage it.

9. You Procrastinate on Wealth-Building Decisions

Broke people don’t make financial moves.

They delay everything.

They avoid:

• Opening investment accounts
• Starting a business
• Automating savings
• Paying off debt
• Learning new skills
• Taking calculated risks

Procrastination feels safe, but it’s expensive.

Wealth is time-sensitive.

The longer you wait, the harder the climb.

If you’re addicted to being broke, you’ll always say:

“I’ll start soon.”
“I’ll do it later.”
“Not today.”

And those three sentences destroy more futures than poverty ever could.

10. You Self-Sabotage When You Make Progress

There’s a reason some people touch money and immediately go backwards.

Self-sabotage.

People who are addicted to being broke panic when life starts improving.

Extra money makes them uncomfortable.

Stability feels unfamiliar.

So they subconsciously ruin it:

• Overspending
• “Treating” themselves
• Taking unnecessary trips
• Making reckless purchases
• Quitting routines
• Letting discipline slip

If you keep breaking the momentum every time you rise, it’s not bad luck.

It’s an addiction to the struggle.

You don’t trust yourself with abundance yet.

But you can learn.

11. You Refuse to Change Your Environment

Your environment determines your financial ceiling more than your effort.

If everyone around you:

• Thinks small
• Spends recklessly
• Complains about money
• Avoids responsibility
• Makes excuses
• Lives paycheck to paycheck

You’ll pick up those habits even if you swear you won’t.

Environment is contagious.

Proximity is powerful.

If you want wealth, get around people who are building wealth.

Want discipline? Get around disciplined people.

If you want financial elevation, get around people who treat money with respect.

You cannot grow in an environment that normalizes being broke.

Final Reality Check

If you recognized yourself in these patterns, that doesn’t mean you’re doomed.

It means you’re self-aware.

Awareness is the first step out of every financial hole.

Being addicted to being broke is just a set of habits — and habits can be rewritten.

Start with one.

Then another.

Then another.

Money responds to consistency, not perfection.

When you change your patterns, you change your entire financial future.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, tax, legal, or professional advice. Nothing here guarantees results or outcomes. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making financial decisions.