What Did I Learn About Money?
The Reality Of It All
Most people have their own preconceived ideas of money and what it means to them. Some view it as the root of all evil, others view it as just a tool and for some, it is a prized possession to them.
I think I view money differently at each stage.
In the early stages of life, from childhood to young adulthood our views of money are moulded by the people around us. It is usually our parents or friends. This is when we first come into contact with money and how to use it.
We then navigate through life with the principles our parents taught us. If not, our own assumptions on what we deem are the best practice.
For some, this means saving a little and spending the rest. For others, this means spending everything once they receive it. Then some invest 90% and live off an extremely frugal life. To each their own as everyone has their own personal circumstances.
As we enter young adulthood, the things that we feed our minds largely influence our money-making which inevitably affects how we get to our lives.
What I’ve found to be helpful for me is to:
- Watch personal finance videos on Youtube
- Read personal finance books
- Stay up to date with market ongoings
It isn’t really difficult when you have a passion for it
Most importantly have basic financial literacy and just take it from there.
This includes:
- Paying myself first
- Saving at least a portion of my income to invest
- Learning to invest
- Finding new ways to make money
- Frugality
- Not allowing lifestyle creep
Final thoughts
Financial literacy is an important skill and everyone should have a basic understanding of it. After all, everything that we do in life revolves around money. It would be ignorant to ignore the role money plays in our lives.
Understanding basic financial literacy can help you go much further in life compared to if you did not have the knowledge at your disposal.
