Being good with cash isn’t necessarily dependent on your mathematical ability or knowing what the earnings ratio is. At its heart, being financially savvy is all about cultivating some positive habits and emotions, and later on applying them assiduously to your financial life.
Being disciplined, optimistic about your future, proactive in your decisions, confident in your abilities, and positive in your perspective are all fundamentals to your finances; comprehending the ins and outs of cash must then follow, fairly easily.
Nevertheless, most of us are still stuck in unhealthy patterns of thinking, which can badly chip away at long-term prosperity.
Getting swept up in peer pressure, refusing to deal with your cash, yielding to unhealthy beliefs, like “I will never be rich or smart enough to handle my cash properly”, could not only be kryptonite for your finances but even speaks to a wider melancholy in your life, which is worth addressing to.
You never know, by getting on top of your finances or by simply saying, “I’m going to be proactive and deal with my cash properly”, could be the spur for other minute revolutions in your life. But, why is money motivation crucial?
This might sound like just a bunch of jargon, so to make it a bit easier for you, let’s understand this with a different example.
Say you’re on a diet, but to follow it properly you’ll need tactics. You have to learn, for instance, to swap that creamy dressing on your salad with maybe low-carb, low-fat yoghurt-based alternatives. You’ll have to learn the tactics of replacing all those junk foods with some healthy ones.
All these are simple tips and tactics, which would help you in continuing your day-to-day dieting.
When you have a proper diet strategy in place, it’d help you figure out why you are actually implementing those tactics. Perhaps, you might have a strategy for becoming a heart-healthy eater or leading a low-carb lifestyle.
But, along with your tactics and strategy, you also require plain old motivation. It does not matter how much you want to become a heart-healthy eater, all this won’t really matter if in a moment of weakness you scoff down a bag of crisps and an entire pack of Maryland cookies.
Motivation is just as crucial to your tactics and vision. Tactics, strategy, and motivation are the three sides of your “success triangle”.
So, now that you know why it is imperative to stay motivated, how will you keep the momentum going when it comes down to finances? Here is some financial inspiration that’d get you thinking more positively regarding your finances:
Be Proactive instead of Reactive
Financial planning is generally associated with older people or the ones who have accumulated substantial wealth. But, the truth is that it’s merely the decision to be proactive instead of being reactive, especially when it comes down to finances.
There are several individuals who deal with money problems only when they turn into issues. One of the classic examples of this is, addressing debts when bills start mounting up and by that time, it becomes even more difficult to ask creditors for clemency.
During such situations, you might also end up taking a loan to get out of the debt. This option is not usually the first resort as there is still a high level of apprehension regarding loans. But it may turn out to be a wise decision especially when the asset finance you avail helps you expand your business or pay off your existing debts.
If you see, there is a connection between life coaching and financial planning; so it is better to ensure that you’ve got a healthy relationship with finances.
Feel Positive about your Ability to Change
The advantage of this “reactive” instead of “proactive” approach is that, not only do the issues become easier to resolve when they’re addressed earlier, but only a few emotions are involved and the ones that you feel are positive.
Being reactive could prompt a sense of guilt and dread, whereas being proactive and planning for your future, could mean feeling not just positive but also hopeful.
So, planning your finances does not just make sense on a practical level, but also makes sense on an emotional level.
Be Aware of How much your Upbringing Influences you
We often end up copying the behaviour and habits of our parents. You can take a look at the extent to which your financial behaviour is determined by your upbringing, in comparison to the culture you presently live in. You’ll realise that so much of it is down to your parents; not just on the basis of what they told you (or did not tell you), but also the way they managed finances themselves.
Your parents’ influence on your approach towards money could go in two directions. Either, you may comprehend and be grateful for why your parents approached cash in a certain way and use it as a template. Or else, you may think that it has had a negative impact on your life as you were growing up, and maybe choose the opposite path.
Also, though as an individual, you can for sure change your habits, it is widely recognised in several quarters that an individual’s approach towards money is formed when they turn eight; an astoundingly early age.
It’s Never too Late (or Early) to make Changes
Starting to make financial decisions is always easier said than done, as it includes looking at the future that has too many mysterious uncertainties. But, many individuals also undervalue the resources they presently have and are expected to have in the near future, such as promising job prospects or a family eager to support them.
Being flexible in your thoughts, like, “Do I have to work/live in this city?” “Do I have to spend this amount to have an enjoyable lifestyle?” also works wonders. Likewise, keeping an open mind about what you will be doing in the future would open doors to several financial options.
Making a key financial decision may be as easy as deciding whether to start saving for a heavy deposit on a property or to rent.
Be Aware of Peer Pressure
It is a real issue these days that many people are against YOLO (You Only Live Once) and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), life philosophies, which underline every message one receives on social media. This is one kind of peer pressure, which was not a concern for the older generation.
Youngsters these days are living most of their lives online, and what they’re doing and how they’re actually spending their cash is being watched and judged. This “public image” has a strong hold over teenagers and twenty-somethings and can have a huge influence on whether they opt to save money or splurge.
Being a sceptic about this online world, and a willpower to live a more “real life” outside of the internet world, would have all types of advantages, which could go beyond finances; from enhancing your self-esteem to being more meaningfully connected to people.
Nurture a Progressive Mindset
Your life is completely about moving on, becoming wiser and making changes in that priority list of yours. Put simply, it means making progress in life. You can do this only of you’ve got all the required resources at your disposal. Also, the irony is that if you do not take decisions early in life, so as to provide for your future, you’ll be unable to offer yourself the option of making progress in life.
So, it is crucial for youngsters to consider how they see themselves in their future. They ought to ask themselves, “What would make me happy and how can I live as per my own rules and values, instead of the rules of social media or the society?”
So, if you successfully take control of your life, your future wouldn’t seem too terrifying. That is what financial planning is all about; looking at your future and not being afraid of it, which is also a way to empower yourself.
Do your Future Self a Favour
As a youngster, you would easily get caught up in your life as it is right now. But, even though the small details of every day may seem crucial at that moment when you’ll look back, you’ll realise that the most of what you were worried about didn’t really matter.
One of the best pieces of advice any youngster could get about money is to take a step back, and think at least twice, that in ten years, what would you thank myself for?
Happiness is not always about being either mindful of your present or looking at your future; in fact, it is a combination of both. Financial planning can be fulfilling and could lay the foundation for a happy future.
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