Life is full of lessons that teach us different things and we can use them to learn how to manage our finances. The principles we learn in life can also be applied on other areas of life, including our finances. Below are some lessons to learn in order to improve yourself and your finances.
1. The only way to make progress is to start
The only way that you can make progress in life is by actually doing something. There’s absolutely no progress in simply complaining. Likewise, you can’t make progress in your finances if you don’t start. You’ll never be able to save money if you don’t start with your first dollar. You’ll never pay off debt if you never make the first payment.
Progress begins with starting. A huge part of starting is setting goals. Set your financial goals and then create a plan to accomplish them. you can even have a plan to get 1% better every day.
2. Failure to plan is planning to fail
A plan is a guide of how you intend to do things in order to reach your goals. It’s good to note that, success does not happen by coincidence. Once you fail to plan, you set a room for failure. A plan guides your actions towards your goals.
Start by preparing your financial plan along with a budget. With a solid roadmap for reaching your financial goals, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll achieve them.
3. Try again if you don’t succeed the first time
Many people will not encourage you to try if you fail the first time. Failure is feared by many people. Mostly in adulthood, we lack resilience and so we end up failing. Resilience enables us to keep trying until we are able to achieve our goals. So, if you fail the first time, ensure you try again for success.
Perhaps, you have not achieved any of your goals. Don’t let a minor setback or delay in your progress cause you to quit. Get back out there and try again! Your financial goals depend on you being resilient no matter what is thrown at you.
4. It isn’t failure until you decide to give up
Mostly, we make mistakes on our journey to success. It’s good to note that, it isn’t failure until you decide to give up. It’s inevitable that you’ll experience some financial mistakes that feels like failures. Perhaps you’ll make a bad investment that costs you a lot of money. You can turn this bad decision, or failure, into a lesson and keep trying until you are successful.
5. Practice patience it is a virtue
Success requires patience. It is a virtue we all need to learn and practice severally for success. Patience can be defined as the ability to wait and persevere without being frustrated by the delay.
Patience is a requirement when managing our finances. For example, you need to be patience and not tire with the time required to save and pay off the debts.
If you can learn to have patience on your financial journey and not be deterred from your goals, you’ll be able to experience true financial success.
6. Your network Determine your net worth
Your social circle influences your net worth. The people you spend time with determine the kind of a person you will be. If your friends are bad, it is likely you also have some bad aspects. When you surround yourself with successful people it is likely you will also be successful.
Your network of friends has an influence on your finances. If you know many people and the right people, you will have access to opportunities of making money.
7. Seek wise counsel
It is wise to seek wise counsel every time you are making decision. Getting such counsel does not mean you will follow everything you hear. But the information will help you in making or improving your decisions. The same is true for money. At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you; however, it doesn’t hurt to also the advice of experienced financial advisors. Hiring a financial advisor is great if you’re stuck on how to manage your money, you’re just starting on your financial wellness, or you have a complicated financial situation.
8. Keep your words positive as they create your world.
Have you ever heard of the saying “there is power in the spoken word”? The words we say on ourselves have the power to build or destroy our lives. Our lives are a subtotal of what we speak about ourselves. When we are positive our lives demonstrate positivity. It therefore prudent to always speak positive words.
It also applies on areas of our finances where you can keep confessing positively. You can recite the 45 financial affirmations that can help you to remain positive on matters of your finances.
9. The early bird gets the worm
In life, when you’re first to arrive or adopt something, you usually have an advantage over latecomers. For instance, if you arrive at an event early, you get to pick the best seats and even meet some very important people. There are benefits to being the first and starting early.
You can take this lesson into your finances as well–specifically when it comes to investing. The earlier you invest, the more of an advantage you have. Your money has more time to grow in the market, which means that you’re able to build more wealth.
10. Give and it will be given to you
In life, there is a law of reciprocity. It means that when you do something, it’ll be done to you. So, if you give, others will give to you as well. This doesn’t mean that you do things just to get something in return. Instead, you do things out of the kindness of your heart.
This principle works with your money too. When you learn how to be generous with your money, you’ll find that you’ll be on the receiving end of generosity too. So, as you budget your money, make room for giving. This can be to a religious organization, a philanthropic cause, or even a stranger in need.
