Having money does not equate to being rich, when it comes down to it, it all depends on how you manage what you have and what uses you put your money to, and irrespective of whether you are currently living paycheck to paycheck or you are well off, there are some essential money goals you should always have and make an habit of, the habits of the wealthy as they are popularly called:
- Living Debt Free: It’s so easy to get mired in the vicious cycle of debts, most times people incur a debt just to pay off another debt somewhere else and the habit of being always in debt is one that eats deeply not only into finances but also into one’s state of mind, for one trapped in debts, getting out of it might seem an incredibly daunting task but it is one that should be made a priority, to get out of debts, it is best to set specific goals.
- Save for emergencies: No one prays for having to deal with an emergency but sometimes these things happen and you should always make sure you are adequately prepared to deal with such emergencies, our recommended course of action is for you to have a savings plan strictly for emergencies so you don’t find yourself out in the breeze in the event of one, better safe than sorry.
- Invest for the future: Yeah, I know this is something you have heard enough times, but that only serves to underline how extremely important investing is, it’s all about having your money work for you by putting it to smart use. As Idowu Koyenikan puts it, “The more your money works for you, the less you have to work for money”
- Avoid Impulse Spending/Spend Less: You can’t have much of what you don’t keep, the same logic applies to money, and you need to be more conscious and mindful of the things you spend money on and how you spend money, as it stands impulse spending accounts for a sizeable portion of most people’s expenses, more than think. One of the best ways to deal with impulse spending is by drawing up a budget with the 50/20/30 rule. The 50/20/30 rule is one of the most tested and proven finance principles out there. Spend 50% on things you need, 30% on things you want and save 20%, drawing up a budget within these parameters and sticking to it helps deal with the issue of impulse spending.
- Increase your streams of income: This sounds like a no-brainer but it is still a scary prospect for most people, increasing your income generally means you have to be bold and go for something bigger, and leave your comfort zone by testing out new things, even a small side hustle can give you some flexibility financially, so examine your prospects carefully and your skill set and try to do something new that has the potential to bring you more earnings, more often than not, we usually have an opportunity right in front of us that we are sleeping on and for clarity sake, side hustle here does not in any way refer to Ponzi schemes or anything of that sorts, do something within legitimate parameters.
- Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle: Living paycheck to paycheck makes it harder to dig yourself out of financial emergencies, to break of this cycle, try living below your means and essentially pretend that you make less money than you actually do, and save whatever is left, this requires you to be strict and monitor your finances properly, luckily there are a couple of financial planning apps that you can easily download to your mobile that help you track what you spend such as mint, expense tracker, clarity etc
Save for your personal goals/dreams: This one in particular, you owe to yourself, we all have dreams and goals personal to us, maybe you want to vacation abroad, get yourself a new ride, a new house or even get a new degree, one underlining factor is you need money to actualize these goals and the best move you can make is to start saving towards these goals of yours now, no matter how much you are earning, always try to save towards your goals.
And you know, the best time to start committing towards these goals is today, like the popular saying goes ‘talk is cheap’, when it comes down to it, action is all that matters. So what do you say, are you ready to stop making excuses and smashing those money goals??
