What separates those who build wealth from those who stay stuck in financial struggles? According to financial psychologist Dr. Brad Klontz, it’s not just about income—it’s about mindset. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Klontz, a USA Today bestselling author of Start Thinking Rich and an expert in the psychology of wealth, to discuss the key differences between a poor mindset and a rich mindset.
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Key Takeaways
Here are my top three takeaways from my conversation with Brad Klontz.
“Do-It-Yourself It-ise” Can Impede Your Progress
Brad mentioned there is a thought from people who grew up in a lower-income or middle-class household that “doing it yourself” is important.
Don’t spend money on something you could do yourself. Right?
Well, what if you’re not that good at doing it yourself? What if you doing it yourself actually has you spend more time, energy and potentially money in the long run?
It may be better to outsource the work to someone else.
Financial support is an important one for this conversation. If you’ve been trying to DIY-it for a long while and you’re not building wealth like you’d hoped you would, it may be time to seek help!
There are financial advisors, coaches, tax professionals and estate planners who can help you with your very specific needs, often for a fair hourly rate.
Many Employees are Millionaires, Not Business Owners
We love to hold up our society's billionaires as huge success stories. But do you know how many business failure stories you’re not hearing?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately ¼ of small businesses fail in the first year! The first year!
And then closer to 50% when you get to 5 years.
Now, I’m a solopreneur myself so I’m not knocking it, but I felt comfortable taking the risk on business ownership once I had ALL my financial ducks in a row.
That was becoming debt-free, achieving Coast FIRE, becoming mortgage-free, piling up a year's worth of expenses in savings, testing out my business as a side hustle, getting enough people to pay me money outside of my job AND then going for it.
Even then, things have been difficult along the way.
The easier path to your first million is as an employee investing 10-30% of your income in your 401k or in a Roth IRA.
Rich mindsets focus on long-term investments rather than quick gains.
Day trading, meme coins, crypto, going all in on one business idea … These are romantic stories of wealth success, but they are similar to the stories you hear about hitting it big at the casino or the lottery.
For every one of those stories, there are thousands of stories of people who lost it all.
Go with the rich mindset of long-term, slow, and steady wealth building.
Invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks through low-cost index funds for the long term.
If you decide to go the solopreneur route, do it slowly. Make sure people are willing to pay you for your services before actually calling it a business. Make more in your side hustle before you leave for your full-time job.
Those are slow and boring ways of building wealth, but they work. Think rich. Be patient.
Your family, your children, and your children’s children will thank you.
Guest Bio – Brad Klontz
Dr. Brad Klontz, Psy.D., CFP®, is a renowned financial psychologist and Managing Principal at Your Mental Wealth Advisors. He serves as an Associate Professor of Practice at Creighton University's Heider College of Business and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Klontz has co-authored several influential books on financial psychology, including “Money Mammoth,” “Mind Over Money,” and “Start Thinking Rich.”
His work has been featured in prominent media outlets such as ABC News 20/20, Good Morning America, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. In addition to his academic and writing endeavors, Dr. Klontz co-founded the Financial Psychology Institute and has served as President of the Hawaii Psychological Association.
Carpe Diem Quote:
“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
What do you think of our discussion with Brad Klontz? What steps are you taking to fight a poor mindset?
Please let us know in the comments below.
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