7 Mindsets Keeping You Broke: What Kamel Reveals About Overspending Justifications

Only 43% of Americans feel financially secure, according to recent surveys. The rest are drowning in justifications for why they can’t stop spending. Money expert George Kamel recently broke down the most dangerous excuses broke people use to defend their overspending habits—and why each one is sabotaging their financial future.

The “I Deserve It” Trap

The most seductive lie we tell ourselves is that we’ve earned the right to spend beyond our means. That luxury vacation, the premium car, the expensive gadget—you convince yourself you deserve it, so you go into debt to make it happen.

Kamel cuts through this rationalization with a hard truth: “What you really deserve is freedom, options, breathing room, and margin. That only comes through delayed gratification—saving up, paying cash, and not owing money to others.”

The cost of ignoring this? You’re locked into a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle where one emergency destroys your finances completely.

Banking on a Future That May Never Come

Many overspenders operate on blind faith that tomorrow will fix today’s problems. They assume a raise is coming, an inheritance will arrive, or expenses will magically shrink. This is fantasy.

Kamel’s conversations with older financially struggling callers reveal the harsh reality: things rarely work out as imagined. The habits you refuse to fix now don’t self-correct later. Building solid money practices—actual saving, real discipline—has to happen today, not in some imagined future.

The “YOLO” Generation Problem

Young adults fall hardest for the “live for today” mentality. Why sacrifice now for retirement or home-ownership that feels impossibly far away? Research shows 69% of young adults think long-term financial planning is unrealistic given current economic conditions.

But here’s what they miss: spending recklessly for temporary enjoyment creates lasting stress. Kamel’s advice flips the script: “Figure out how to enjoy your life without spending beyond your means. If you can’t, ask yourself why you need money to be happy.”

The “I’ll Handle Debt Later” Delusion

A staggering 68% of Americans worry about their debt levels—yet many keep borrowing anyway, telling themselves they’ll clean it up eventually. There’s no logic here. Your future income isn’t guaranteed to be bigger or better positioned to absorb debt payments.

The real risk isn’t just the debt itself—it’s the interest you’ll bleed on purchases you forgot about, plus the psychological weight of knowing your future earnings are already mortgaged to your past spending.

Calling Luxury Purchases “Investments”

Expensive gadgets, lavish vacations, designer items—overspenders rebrand consumption as investment. Kamel makes a crucial distinction: investing in things that directly maintain your income (reliable transportation, professional development, necessary health care) is legitimate. Everything else? That’s just consumption dressed up in investor language.

The psychological trap is real: calling it an “investment” soothes the guilt, but it doesn’t change what it actually is—money leaving your account forever.

Playing Down the Red Flags

Some people dismiss valid concerns about their spending. Friends comment on excessive shopping or credit card use, and they either shut it down defensively or laugh it off. Internally, they know something’s wrong, but admitting it means facing the consequences.

Kamel’s prescription: acknowledge the problem and its costs. That debt stress, the shrinking options, the inability to build wealth—these aren’t abstract concepts. They’re limiting your life right now.

The Comparison Trap

“At least my car payment is smaller than yours” or “I make more than most people so it’s fine” are classic lines. Financial comparison creates false comfort. You’re not living in someone else’s situation with their income, expenses, and obligations.

Kamel’s wisdom: “Run your own race. Set your own goals. Try to do better than yourself yesterday, not better than your neighbor who has a completely different life.”

The Bottom Line

Breaking the overspending cycle isn’t about shame or deprivation. It’s about redirecting your mental energy from justifying bad decisions to building the actual financial security that 57% of Americans are currently missing. Every excuse Kamel identified is a choice—and so is choosing differently.