There is so much money advice out there and some of it you wish you had known sooner. Some certainly, is advice you may feel is not helpful and you may well be right but, there are some things that have stood the test of time.
The money lessons that will never fail you are
Have a Foundation
To be financially secure and have some form of financial independence a foundation must be built. The two most important things to begin with are reducing spending and increase earnings.
To reduce spending the very first thing you must do is to know your expenditures for each month. This month or the next if this one is now over, start asking for receipts, don’t throw those you get and write down anything that came with no receipt.
At the end of the month, look at your spending patterns. Are you spending a lot on internet bundles, on making calls, on clothes, shoes and alcohol? Or are you eating a lot of store bought cooked meals? Look at this list of expenses and be serious about where you can eliminate or reduce. This is the first part of your foundation.
The second part is to increase your income. This is an important step on the road to financial independence but, how do you increase your income? Believe it or not, getting better educated is a sure way to more money.
Improving your knowledge and working on your skills will get you more money. It will make you more marketable and desirable to head hunters. If you do stay on at your present job, make sure you keep adding on to your CV so that you qualify for raises and promotions.
If you do have a hobby that leans into your normal work skills, make it profitable. In other words, start a side hustle. A side hustle is a great opportunity to test things out and see if they lead to something profitable.
Start Investing
Start looking for investing opportunities that can help you in the future. Imagine having money somewhere that can keep you afloat for three to six months in case you find yourself without an income. Where can that money be found? In an investment you made.
Find places you can put your money into that will help you when you are not making money with your normal work or business. These places are different for different people and could be a fixed deposit, a bond, stocks or maybe an investment in a property.
What it does not mean is buying a car or furniture. These things may be assets of a sort, but they are not income-producing assets. Once you have put money into something that will make you more money, wait. Achieving full financial independence depending on your circumstances, takes time. A lot of time!
