The most important requirement to building wealth and saving money
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Why Most People Struggle With Saving and Building Wealth
Given that their are thousands upon thousands (maybe even millions?) of personal finances blogs on the internet, and endless amount of books written about saving money and making money, it’s pretty obvious that money issues are fairly common. A lot of people hope to make more money than they currently do. And almost everyone wishes they had more money than they currently have.
If so many people are looking for ways to make and save more money, then why are people struggling so much?
The reason is typically more simple than you would think.
We all want to be the person that has a high-paying job or profitable business, and at the end of each month we hope we are saving and investing a large percentage of that money so that we have a comfortable financial future. Unfortunately, most people don’t do that.
We might have a budget in place, or save some money each month, but we also want to live the good life. We want to reward ourselves now, not 10 years down the road of diligent saving and investing.
We could live in a $200,000 house, but wouldn’t a $500,000 be so much nicer?
Driving a used car would be alright, but have you seen the new Tesla Model 3? That car does look pretty cool!
The latest gadget or a fancy vacation is just too tempting. And it’s just so easy to stay at the comfortable job that pays a decent salary.
If you’re not where you want to be financially, either because you want to make more money or because you want to save more, the reason is probably because you just don’t want it bad enough.
How Bad Do You Want It?
Think of the last thing that you desperately wanted. Was it to graduate from college, get a new car, get a date with your current sweetheart? Whatever it was, think of what you were willing to do to get it. The time you put into pursuing it, the sacrifices you made.
Now that is how bad you need to want to reach your financial goals. Because reaching financial goals, such as retiring early, starting a profitable business or saving $1 million all require hard work, dedication and sacrifices. Along with some great financial education from yours truly of course 😉
When it comes down to it, no budget app, detailed spreadsheet, book, blog or financial advisor can get you to where you want to be. There is no secret ingredient to reaching your goals. You just simply need to want it bad enough. If you aren’t willing to do what it takes then you probably will get sidetracked by using your money or time on what feels good NOW, instead of what is best for you in the future.
I know, it sucks.
Once you want it bad enough, all of the tips and tricks from personal finance blogs, books and anywhere else will push you along to success, but if you don’t want it bad enough, nothing can help you.
Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life
Now to move away from the doom and gloom. The good news is that if you do want financial success bad enough, then you’re in luck! You’ve made the most important first step! And here are some things you can do to get yourself to want it bad enough, or keep yourself motivated once you have set off on the path to success.
If you need help to motivate yourself to want financial success bad enough, then your first goal should be to change your mindset. Because once you change your mindset then you can start to change your habits, and once you change your habits you can change your future.
Here are a few things you can do to change your mindset:
- Read a book or follow a regular blog related to personal finance. This will reinforce positive financial thinking on a regular basis.
A few great blogs (other than this one, of course) are Rockstar Finance, Millennial Money Man and Think Save Retire among many others
For great PF books, check out The Millionaire Next Door
or Money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins.
- Associate with friends or colleagues who share similar financial goals. Talk about starting a business, savings goals for each month, budget tips, etc.
- Start your own blog where you can write about your own personal finance journey and receive feedback and support from like-minded people.
- Write your goals down on a notecard and put them on your bathroom mirror. This will remind you each day what you are working towards
Once you change your mindset, then you need to change your habits. Here are a few tips for changing your habits that will push you along to reach your financial goals:
- Use a personal finance software, such as Mint or Personal Capital, to track your spending. Make sure you check it daily or a few times a week to reinforce your saving thought process!
- Set an accountability buddy who you need to ask permission from before you can withdraw any money from your savings account. This will hold you responsible for sticking to your savings plan each month.
- If you are working on a side business or project to generate extra income, find a friend who is also working on something similar. Check in with each other on a weekly basis to see what each other have accomplished.
The consensus is that it takes somewhere between 3 weeks and 3 months to completely drop a bad habit and develop a new positive habit, depending on how strong the bad habit was to begin with. So don’t get discouraged if you’re overspending doesn’t magically stop right away, or if it takes you some time to get used to reviewing your finances on a daily or weekly basis. Great habits take time to develop.
You can be a spender and constantly reward your NOW-complex, or you can take the time to develop your mind to be a value-finder, money-saver and investor. All it takes is developing your mindset and changing your habits.
But it starts with wanting it bad enough.
Have you struggled to get yourself on the right track financially despite all of the tips and tricks you’ve heard? What do you think is the key to reaching your financial goals? Leave a comment or send me an email!
NYPFGuy
