When it comes to money there are only 3 types of people. Which one are you? I am not talking about the poor, middle class and the rich. People can change categories their whole lives. I am speaking about the way people handle their money which can also change if you are willing to change your behavior. I had a great conversation with an investment advisor Herbert Cumming Jr. this week and this is one of the best takes I have ever heard about the 3 types of people handling money.

The first kind of people are the people that need money for yesterday. Simply put the money they earn today is paying for money they spent yesterday.  I would have to believe this is the largest segment of Americans. In debt up to their eyeballs and fighting to pay for things they have already bought. These are usually high stress individuals that are one layoff from bankruptcy. These people purchase on credit cards and rob Peter to pay Paul.  Their financial plan is they have no plan. Retirement is just a pipe dream and they know they will work until the day they die.

The second kind of people are the people that need money for today. Simply put these are the pay check to pay check crowd. Maybe not heavy in debt, because they rent or own an old vehicle, but if they don’t earn they don’t eat. Most live thriftily but just not very motivated folks. These people call in sick, wink, wink, if their gas tank is full and the refrigerator has food for today. They work and earn when they have immediate needs and if they don’t, they are content watching TV, playing video games or going fishing instead of earning any money. Their financial plan is hoping the government or someone else takes care of them. If they have an unfortunate circumstance it had to be someone else’s fault, certainly not their own.

The third and last type of people are the people that need money for tomorrow. These are not only the rich, but those weird people that are not in debt up to their eyeballs. They own everything with no debt. They understand working for money and money working for them. The income or earnings for today are set aside for tomorrow’s unforeseen things in life. These people are self sufficient, plan for their future, and have a retirement goal with a plan they work daily. These are the folks that the other two types call lucky, fortunate, mean rich people because they can’t understand it just takes hard work and a plan to get to be these type of people.

The main lesson here is anyone can be in any category they choose by just changing their thinking about money and earning it. There is no magic, no luck, no born into it, only our own thoughts about what we think about money. Sorry to sound simple, but it is. Which one are you?

Need some free help? Download “The Minimum Wage Millionaire” for free today.

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”― Will Rogers

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.