It seems like everyone has some financial advice they throw out whenever they get the opportunity. The problem is that most of it is generic and, honestly, terrible. The kind of advice that makes you not want to think about finances at all. Enough is enough! I’m going to share the problem with these generic pieces of advice and explain why they don’t work for most people.

Yes, you should have a budget when you’re having financial problems, but the advice shouldn’t stop there, yet it so often does. When you focus only on reduction and not growing more opportunities, it forces you into that reductionist mindset instead of a growth mindset. There’s no ceiling on a growth mindset – but there IS a floor on a reduction mindset.

When you are only concerned with cutting back, that mentality will bleed into all of the areas of your life. Rather than focusing on building up a life that you love, suddenly you’re just cutting things out. And while sometimes that can be necessary, you’re not going to get anywhere if you’re not replacing them with greater things.

The next time you hear this advice, don’t fall for it. Go out there and chase that growth mindset, because that’s the only mindset that’s going to turn your financial life into a dream life.