Most people struggle with managing their finances. The more I converse with people about money, the more I see how ignorant many of them are.
It’s not very shocking. The educational system has never educated you about money, and even worse, it has never taught you how to handle your money so that you can choose the best course of action for your future.
You should keep in mind the following fundamental principle, which is applicable to all domains, including finances:
“You run a higher chance of losing a lot of money the less you know about it.” This rule holds true whether you’re extremely wealthy or extremely poor.
You can still get wealthy if you lack financial management skills, but you won’t stay wealthy.
Here are 4 money rules that you shouldn’t ignore…
- Pay yourself first — We all know the cycle. Earn a salary, pay taxes and then bills *rolls eyes*, leaving you conditioned like a robot to pay all your bills as soon as your paycheck comes in. Then, once all your bills and other credits are paid, you will fall into the trap of the consumer society that pushes you to spend your money on a whole bunch of things that you absolutely don’t need — so exhausting!
At the end of the month( what am I even saying..middle of the month), you realize that you have nothing left to save. Try flipping the cycle. Instead of being at the bottom of your list, you should be at the very top of your list when it comes to the payments to be made each month. This means that as soon as your paycheck arrives, you should immediately set aside the amount you predetermined. To ensure that you always pay yourself first, it is best to automate this process — You’ll lose track of how much money you’ve saved, so you’ll need to make sure you have enough to cover your living expenses and enjoy life.
- Don’t get into debt — “Never spend your money before you have it.” — Thomas Jefferson
Remember our post “The truth about what loans do to us”? One of the key takeaways from that post was “They Create a Cycle of Debt”. Debt gives you that feeling that everything is free, and that’s a mistake. Try to stay away from debt as much as you can and save what you can from what you own which brings me to my next point:
- Live below your means — You probably might have by going by the “live within your means” mantra but I’m here to tell you that living below your means is actually better. If you do not have a need for a particular thing (like changing your phone every year), then don’t. If you take a step back, you’ll realize that you’re buying a lot of things you don’t need. A lot of us are guilty of this. There is a Swedish proverb that says, “He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself.” Need I say more?
- Learn to Invest — Investing is one of the most effective ways to accumulate wealth and achieve long-term financial objectives and the good part is, you can start investing with just about any amount of money.
Once you set up your investment accounts, you’ll be well on your way to saving for goals like retirement, purchasing a home or even future travel plans. Developing a consistent approach to saving and investing will help you stick to your plan over time.
You can diversify your portfolio with various asset classes such as Stocks, Treasury Bills, Bonds, Eurobonds, Agriculture, Wealth Cash available on Wealth.ng. Simply sign up or login to your account to get started. You can also install the Wealth.ng mobile app for Android or iOS and invest freely from the comfort of your mobile device.
Start investing today and remember, It is your ignorance that costs you money in life!
