PERSONAL FINANCE
Do This if You Want to Be Rich
Change your relationship with money.
You are your biggest enemy when it comes to getting rich and becoming financially secure.
“History never repeats itself, man always does.”
— Voltaire
Doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave. You can be crazy rich and still blow it all away if you are reckless. On the other hand, even if your income is modest you can retire a millionaire if you save enough and invest it wisely.
Financial success is a soft skill
Unlike many other areas of life, doing well financially does not require you to have any formal training, have fancy degrees from an elite college, no training, no background, and not even a network of financially skilled individuals.
This is why you have so many rags to riches stories. People who have no formal education, who come from poor backgrounds, who seemingly have all the odds against them when it comes to financial success, still make it big. The only thing they have going for them is their money skills.
And by money skills, I don’t mean money-making skills, although if you have them then it greatly accelerates the process. They pay themselves first before spending on their wants. They keep some money aside every month, save it for a rainy day and invest it.
Getting rich is simple, but not easy
You are only required to follow some simple steps. But simple is not the same as easy. Everyone wants to be rich, but very few want to cut their spendings and increase their savings and investments.
People want to get rich but don’t want to reduce the frequency with which they eat out, they don’t want to stop buying fancy cars to impress other people, they can’t stop themselves from buying the latest iPhone even though the new one isn’t that much better.
Look, I get it. Like everyone else in their 20’s I never gave a second thought to my finances. I would spend every dime I had and would then had to borrow from my friends or family to get through the month.
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
Why do you even want to be rich?
Everyone wants to be rich, yesterday. Which is why you have the side hustle culture, the gig economy, and digital nomads. But why do you want to be rich? Very few people know what would they do with a million dollars if you gave it to them today. Get rich, or die trying, is the new trend. They see swanky cars, palatial houses, chic clothing, private jets and they want it all.
Everyone sees money differently. Some see it as evil, the root of all problems, some see it as a means to impress others while some see it as an escape route. You have to know why you want money and if you even want to be part of the new side hustle culture.
Maybe all you need is a job that pays well enough to pay the bills and look after your family. Maybe you want the extra cash to go on that dream vacation or buy the latest supercar. Maybe you want to earn to secure your finances and do something which doesn’t pay so well but you are passionate about. Maybe you want enough money to pay for your children’s higher education. It all depends on what you want to do with money.
But how do I get rich?
Getting rich is simple but not necessarily easy. The steps given below are nothing original and you’ll find them in any half-decent finance book that you pick off the shelf:-
- Start saving some money, however small amount it might be, every month and invest in an appreciating asset such as stocks, real estate, crypto, or anything else that you’re comfortable with.
- Save some money as an emergency fund to be used in case you have unforeseen expenses such as a medical emergency or losing your job.
- If you have goals such as going on an international vacation or buying a new car or that shiny new gizmo then save for it and don’t buy it on credit.
- Be very careful when using your credit card. Use it only if you’re 110% sure that you’ll be able to pay off the dues at the end of the month.
What’s difficult however is implementing them. As you can see there is no rocket science behind them. But they are not easy because knowing what to do tells you nothing about what happens in your head when you try to do it.
Remember — money in itself is meaningless. It is just a store of value. Don’t let money or its pursuit define your life. Instead, think about why you want it and how will you use it to enrich your life.
Disclaimer
This article is solely for informational purposes and represents the writer’s personal opinion. Please seek professional advice if required.
