There are big differences in the habits of the wealthy compared to the habits of the poor.

Financial literacy or financial intelligence is the foundation of wealth creation.

It isn't about how much money you make, it is how you manage the money - how you spend, save and invest it.

It is about expectation and mindset - what you believe you deserve in life, what you believe you are capable of, and then working out how to make things happen.

The fundamentals are not difficult.

As Warren Buffett once stated: "It is not neccessary to do extraordinary things in order to get extraordinary results".

Being wealthy or being poor is a matter of choice. No, I am not joking or trying to be arrogant. Just read on and you will see that it really is a matter of choice....

• Weathy people believe they create their own life. They create a plan and execute it. They will revise the plan and adjust where necessary, and keep focus on their goals. Poor people believe life happens to them. The mindset of the two are opposite.

• Wealthy people are goal oriented. They believe you cannot hit a target you cannot see, so they create targets to aim at. Poor people just ride life as it comes and have no compulsion to strive for anything.

• Wealthy people have the habit of thinking big, they shoot for the stars. They continually ask themselves "what else can I strive for, where else can I go, what is my next goal"? Poor people think small, they fail to set big goals.

• Wealthy people will always look for opportunities. They understand that opportunities can come from anywhere, at any time. They see obstacles as just challenges that need to be overcome to take advantage of the opportunities before them. Poor people just see the obstacles and not the opportunities. The obstacles are immovable road blocks to those with a poor mindset.

• Wealthy people have the habit of always learning and growing. They understand that the more they learn, the better they become in their endeavours - whether in business, investing, relationships etc. Poor people think they know everything.

• Wealthy people try to learn from other wealthy people. They try to emulate other wealthy individuals in order to learn their habits. Poor people resent wealthy people.

• Wealthy people understand the difference between assets and liabilities. They focus on spending their money to acquire income generating assets such as property, shares, businesses etc, that will provide passive income and future capital growth. Poor people do not understand the difference between assets and liabilities and spend their money in obtaining depreciating liabilities such as cars, boats and big TVs and believing they are "investments" or "assets".

• Wealthy people base their income on the value they can provide, the deals they can make and the assets they acquire. Wealthy people get paid on results. Poor people base their income on selling their time for a salary.

• Wealthy people make sure their money works hard for them by investing wisely. Poor people have little financial knowledge and as such, their money is wasted on frivolous items, or it loses value sitting in bank accounts that allows inflation to eat it away.

• Wealthy people understand the importance of compounding, inflation, taxation and their effects on wealth creation. Poor people do not understand how compounding, inflation and taxation affects their wealth.

• Wealthy people understand that markets have cycles, that history repeats itself, that there are lessons to be learned from studying financial and economic history, and that patience is paramount when it comes to investing. Poor people are oblivious to the lessons of the past, and believe what they are facing today is unique to their generation.

• Wealthy people question everything and say "no" to most "deals". Poor people question very little and believe most of what they hear, which allows them to be taken advantage of, or to make fundamental mistakes when it comes to investing.

• Wealthy people are aware that they do not know everything. They seek relationships that will help them develop better skills and knowledge in order to achieve their goals and in doing so, seek to make friendships with other wealthy people and people that are better than them. They know that they are the average of their 5 closest friends. Poor people do not like to feel inadequate or ignorant, and hence seek out friendships with people of their own calibre or below in order to protect their feelings of inadequacy.

• Wealthy people understand that selling is paramount to income generation and hence wealth creation, whether it is selling a product, a service, and idea/concept or one's self. Poor people are repulsed by the idea of selling, so much so in fact, that they fail to realise that every time they go for a job interview, they are literally selling themselves to a prospective employer.

• Wealthy people invest in things they understand. Things that have real value. Things that will appreciate over time. Things that will provide a future passive income. Things that provide positve cashflow. Poor people invest in things that they do not understand. Things that provide negative cashflow. Things that often depreciate over time. Things that often provide no passive income. Things that other poor people invest in - if everyone else is in it, then I should be too! It is the fear of missing out.

• Wealthy people do not follow the herd. Their confidence in themselves, their convictions and focus makes them unafraid to walk alone. They know that they are part of the elite 2% - the ones that will stand above the masses. Poor people seek to follow the herd. They are afraid to break away from the masses and choose to believe that if everyone is doing the same thing, then it must be right. The poor fail to see that the masses are also poor.

• Wealthy people manage their own money and investments OR they oversee someone that manages their investments on their behalf. They follow their investments closely. Poor people will blindly pass their savings and all responsibility for their money on to a financial advisor or fund manager, and hope that the advisor/manager will do a good job with their money. They rarely question, follow-up or scrutinise the person looking after their money - thay assume the advisor/manager knows better than them.

If you look at the differences above, you will notice that there is nothing ellusive about becoming wealthy. It is purely a state-of-mind.

Everyone can choose the wealthy habits, however, the vast majority choose not to.

Everyone can choose to expect a higher standard from themselves, however, the vast majority choose not to.

Everyone is capable of seeking help from those that have achieved wealth, and learn what it takes to create their own wealth, however, the vast majority choose not to.

Wealth or poverty.................. the choice really is yours!