Why Your Parents, Schools and Culture Set You Up to Stay Broke — And Why Most People Still Don’t See It.

After speaking to thousands of people globally and working directly with over 500 clients, I can tell you something most won’t admit out loud:

Everything you were taught about money is wrong.

Saving into the bank isn’t financial planning. Buying a house and rushing to pay off the mortgage isn’t a wealth strategy. And the classic line — “you’re young, enjoy life now, plan later” — is financial suicide disguised as advice.

People tell me, “I don’t earn enough to save or invest.” And it’s usually the same people on holiday three times a year with the latest iPhone and a designer bag.

This isn’t an income problem. This is a conditioning problem.

The Real Divide Isn’t Income — It’s Financial Behaviour

Almost everyone I speak to fits at least one of these patterns:

  • No goals.
  • No plan.
  • No financial structure.
  • No investment discipline.
  • Blind trust in employer pensions.
  • Emotionally driven spending.

This is why people feel poorer than ever despite earning more than ever.

It’s why homeownership feels impossible while wealthy people keep buying more properties. It’s why the rich keep getting richer — and the average person stays stuck.

The wealthy don’t just earn differently. They think and act differently. And those behaviours compound for decades.

The Pension Crisis Nobody Talks About

In the UK, the average pension pot is £250,000.

If that number sounds impressive to you, you should be concerned.

To retire comfortably today, you need closer to £3 million. Not £250k. Not £500k. Not “enough to get by.”

Here’s the part that shocks me every week:

People haven’t reviewed their pensions in 10–20 years.

Just last week, I spoke to seven people — every single one invested in a money market fund, basically cash.

No growth. No compounding. No diversification.

Fifteen years of returns — gone.

Let me put it in perspective:

£50 a month — the cost of 10 beers — invested from age 20 to 65 = £250,000+.

You can recreate the “average UK pension” with £50 a month.

But people don’t, because nobody taught them:

  • compound interest
  • fund selection
  • planning
  • contribution strategy
  • risk management

School teaches you Pythagoras and Shakespeare. It doesn’t teach you how to avoid being broke at 60.

Culture Is Making You Broke Faster Than Inflation Ever Will

This will offend some people, but it’s true:

If you have debt, you shouldn’t be going on holiday.

If your savings haven’t grown in the last two years and you still book flights three times a year, you are the problem.

Living in a first-world country doesn’t entitle you to luxury. You earn it.

We’ve normalised:

  • constant holidays
  • buying every new iPhone
  • designer everything
  • lifestyle inflation
  • performative spending
  • dates that cost a fortune
  • “treat yourself” culture

People are drowning financially, not because of low income, but because of emotionally driven, socially validated spending.

Nobody wants to admit it, so nobody fixes it.

Schools Don’t Prepare You For Real Life — And You’re Paying For It

Most adults are financially lost for one simple reason:

Schools prepare you to be employable, not financially independent.

Nobody taught you how to:

  • budget
  • invest
  • file taxes
  • build wealth
  • understand pensions
  • structure your accounts
  • manage debt
  • plan long term

You’re expected to “figure it out”, and most people don’t — until they’re in their 40s or 50s and the mistakes compound.

Financial literacy is not optional. It’s the foundation of every future decision you’ll ever make.

What a Financial Advisor Actually Does (Hint: It’s Not Just Investing Your Money)

Most people think my job is to “invest their money.”

They couldn’t be more wrong.

My real job is to:

  • build you a plan
  • educate you
  • structure your finances
  • remove emotional decision-making
  • hold you accountable
  • create wealth-building habits
  • protect the assets you accumulate
  • help you avoid blind spots

Wealth is built from clarity, structure, discipline, and consistency — not from guessing or hoping.

If You Have Goals But No Plan, You Don’t Have Goals — You Have Wishes

You want to buy a house? Great.

But have you:

  • set a timeline?
  • broken the goal into steps?
  • calculated what you need monthly?
  • created a separate account for it?
  • automated contributions?
  • reviewed your progress?

Probably not.

In school, every lesson had an objective. You knew what you needed to learn. You knew what the outcome should be.

Apply that to your financial life.

If you go through adulthood with no structure, no goals, and no plan, you get whatever is left — not what you want.

SUMMARY (THE PART MOST PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR)

Most people don’t struggle because of income. They struggle because they:

  • follow bad conditioning
  • avoid planning
  • spend emotionally
  • don’t review anything
  • rely on hope
  • wait for “later”
  • avoid discomfort
  • lack accountability

Your parents meant well. Your teachers did their best. Your culture shaped your impulses.

But none of that excuses doing nothing now.

Your future is your responsibility. You either rise above the conditioning — or you repeat it.

CLOSING STATEMENT

If you’re reading this and you know you’re drifting, guessing, or hoping things will “work out,” that’s already costing you.

If you want clarity, structure and a plan that actually gets you to where you want to be — send me a message.

Not in a year. Not when it’s urgent. Now.

Your financial future won’t fix itself. But you can fix it — starting today.


WRitten by Max Gerstein

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Smart Money Doing?

Image
  Why Panic is Your Worst Enemy: What Smart Money is Doing During a Crisis The reality is, market crashes are inevitable. They happen regularly and are often triggered by crises – political conflicts, economic downturns, health scares, you name it. But the real question is: What are the smart investors doing when everyone else is panicking? 1. The Contrarian Mindset: Why Smart Money Buys When Others Are Selling When the market drops, panic ensues. Retail investors scramble to sell off their stocks to “cut their losses.” But the smartest investors view downturns as an opportunity. Historically, market corrections are followed by significant rebounds. Look at the table above — even the worst crashes have recovered impressively over time. If house prices drop, everyone rushes to buy. But when stocks fall, people panic and sell. This irrational behaviour is what separates the wealthy from the average. They see discounts while others see danger. 2. The Danger of DIY Investing and Lack o...
Read more

The Biggest Money Sink Expats Fall Into: The Currency Trap

Image
  If you’re still using your bank to send money home or convert your salary, you’re likely losing thousands — and you probably don’t even realize it. Many expats believe their bank is giving them a “good rate” — they even advertise “no transfer fees” . But the catch isn’t in the fee — it’s in the spread . What’s the spread? It’s the hidden difference between the real exchange rate (the one you see on Google) and the rate the bank gives you. That small percentage difference goes straight into the bank’s pocket — and out of yours. In the example here, sending 20,000 AED : Using a specialist platform: ~20,000 AED → £4,012 Using a bank: ~20,531 AED → £4,012 That’s 531 AED wasted — on just a small transfer. Imagine the loss when sending a house deposit or school fees. Why do banks get away with it? Because they advertise “no fees” , and most people don’t question the rate itself. If you’re serious about keeping more of your money — stop using your bank for transfers. Be smart an...
Read more

How to Use Mortgages to Build Wealth — Even If You Live Abroad

Image
  Most people think a mortgage is just a way to buy a home. Smart investors know it’s one of the most powerful tools for building long-term wealth — no matter where you live. Let’s break it down. What Is a Mortgage, Really? A mortgage is simply a loan to buy property. You put down a deposit — usually 10% to 30% — and a lender covers the rest. You then repay that loan monthly, with interest. But here’s the part most people miss: You’re not just buying a place to live. You’re buying an asset that can grow in value — often with someone else (like a tenant) helping to pay off the loan. That’s where the opportunity begins. The Two Main Types of Mortgages There are two common types: repayment and interest-only . With a repayment mortgage, you pay off both the loan and the interest each month. By the end of the term, you fully own the property. With an interest-only mortgage, you only pay the interest each month — not the loan itself. The full amount is paid off later, usually by sel...
Read more