We plan holidays, we plan our studies, we plan our meals and we plan our weekends. Why don’t we plan for our financial security? Everyone needs financial security – it’s not a nice position to be in when you’re struggling to make ends meet, yet it’s not something that many young people plan for.
Understandably, many millennials today think that things such as buying a house or going on a nice holiday is too far out of reach. But actually, with a switch in mindset and the implementation of the right habits, financial security can still be achieved by anyone, regardless of their current circumstances. Getting your finances right now will be one of the kindest things you’ll ever do for your future self.
Here are 7 tips to help you reach financial security and get that good mindset going:
- Plan
– Planning and awareness is key. Think about your future and how you want to live. If you’re funding a fancy lifestyle based on debts or living pay check to pay check, how long could you do that for? Things go wrong all the time and COVID-19 is the biggest example of this. It’s finding out where you are, where you’re trying to get to and planning around that. - Don’t Compare
– It’s all about you and your personal financial circumstances – no one elses. At some stage, you have to stop thinking that other people are spoon fed or have everything on a platter; you don’t know what’s going on in their lives, you don’t know how much work they’ve put in to get where they are – it’s a classic ‘grass is greener’ scenario. If you are comparing yourself with others, do it in a positive way and think ‘what can I learn from them?’ - Reward Yourself
– If you’ve set yourself some goals and you’ve achieved them, go and treat yourself – that will probably give you the motivation to do it all over again. However, it’s important that you don’t get silly with rewarding yourself… What I mean is that you shouldn’t spend $5k rewarding yourself after you’ve just saved $10k, but regularly give yourself small rewards. - Take advice
– Get out there and pick the brains of those who have done it – I’m sure you wouldn’t get turned down on every door you knock, so that would be a great learning opportunity. - Discipline
– Discipline is really important, especially when sticking to a budget. When I look back on my university life, I sacrificed and cut back on certain things to stay on top of my savings – instead of going out to the pub with friends after class on most days of the week, I would do it once a week. Quite often though, it can be easy to lose sight of why you’re doing it, but just make sure you keep checking in with yourself – it will be motivating to see your finances going up. Looking back, I’m in a far better place now and I have no regrets on making those sacrifices. - Acquire assets
– Don’t acquire liabilities for taking debts – make sure it’s good debt. No one would ever complain of good debt. If I could borrow $10 million tomorrow to buy $10 million worth of property, I’m not going to hesitate for a second. - Don’t lose hope
– When I was a kid, I remember being told that the word impossible literally says I’m possible. There’s never the last bus of investing or purchasing a house. It’s never too late, it’s never out of reach and it’s never impossible. You just have to learn from whatever went wrong and then change it.
If you’re feeling defeated as a young person in terms of your finances, just remember that whatever is done is done. You can’t hold it against yourself or anyone else – things can easily be turned around if you take the right steps and have patience.