One of many reasons why some people don’t get wealthy is because it’s too hard. And they’re not lying. Especially when the lessons were not taught at an earlier stage. It takes time, lots of research and a lot more money. And that’s probably it, right? A lot of money will be lost in trying to get wealthy.
But guess what, you’re already living a life where you’re losing money as soon as you get it and you’re not even trying to get rich, can you believe it?
And here you are thinking, ‘I need to get rich’, so you might as well try. Go on, try to get rich and see what happens.
It will have to be like that sometimes, you need to give yourself that pep talk. Every day. You actually need to convince yourself you need to get rich. It’s either that or you wait for an impact on your life before you think you need to make a change. I need to do this. No one is going to walk you into a rich mindset. But you know you need to get in there though.
After reuniting with a friend at a summer barbeque we got to chatting and he spoke of his time wasted not trying to build wealth.
“I was hooked on the celebrities and nightlife. I knew them all (not personally) and their birthdays. I went to all the parties, bought all the bottles, paid all the deejays’ rent in one night and later fed the aftermath to the ducks as the sun rose up. But slowly I started to pay attention to my life after the nightlife. I asked less questions on what celebrities were doing and more about what I was doing.”
He asks himself,
‘How much do I earn?’
You cannot get rich without earning. This is the money received from completed tasks. So, if you don’t earn. Start earning.
‘How much do I need to spend?’
Keyword being ‘need’. Don’t even look at how much you do spend… Yet. Just calculate the needs. And just in case you weren’t sure, this must be less than your earnings. If your needs are more than you earn, you don’t need more money, you need less needs.
‘Where should my leftovers go?’
One person doesn’t know everything and nobody knows the future. We can’t escape emergencies, so we might as well get ready, then stay ready.
Definitely have an emergency fund. And no, this is not to be included as an expense. Treat it like you never had it. You can treat it as a payment to yourself that you will only use to save a life. As soon as you earn, you set it aside. And here’s to you not having an emergency every month.
‘I direct a manageable percentage (5%) of my total monthly expense to my emergency fund as opposed to a fixed amount. A fixed amount wasn’t flexible enough for me.’
Conclusion
‘So.., no investments?’
‘Of course. Investment is a must. But what to invest in? You haven’t been taught this… about the things and people that deserve you and your time. You’ll need direction. You’ll need to develop your compass.’
Only after managing what you have to survive, will you know what you need to thrive.
But most importantly, it’s all about investment.
