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Your financial journey is personal
Your financial journey is unique
Each person is unique and personal finance really is personal.
It might be why we don’t talk about money as often as we should.
It might be why we feel lost when trying to find a way to fix our money situation.
Starting to think about your financial life is often terrifying.
Whether it’s coming to terms with where you are or figuring out where to go next, each step has its own challenges.
If you are starting to get your financial life in order, CONGRATULATIONS!
Trust me, it’ll be worth it!
Financial Life: Where to get started?
Are you just starting out? Somewhere in the middle? Are you advanced? Really, how comfortable are you about your money?
You should be able to answer this for yourself.
Your gut will tell you. Trust it. But here are some guiding thoughts to evaluate where you are.
The nitty-gritty:
- Are you accumulating more debt: Is your monthly income greater than your expenses?
- Do you have high-interest debt that is not being paid off?
- Do you have an emergency fund?
- Are you saving for the long-term?
- Are you investing your money? With a plan and process?
Because everyone’s journey is unique, what works for others may not work for you!
Create a plan for your Financial Life
Once you know where you start, you need to take the next step.
Creating the Plan
Setting some money goals, and creating an action plan are all part of the journey.
Having a plan for you money goals will serve you well.
KNOWLEDGE
Do you have enough knowledge to start moving onto the next step?
If not, start reading, online, in books, take a course. There is an abundance of knowledge out there, to figure out how to move forward.
Or ask for help! I bet you have people in your life who know how to manage money.
Avoid the information overload trap:
We’ve all been there: that endless Google search loop, where we feel like we’re reading the same things over and over again?
Yeah, that means you know what you need to do.
Now, as Nike says, just do it!
EMOTION
We are often emotional about money.
Part of your financial journey may lead you to realize that you have some emotional biases related to money.
It is important to be cognizant of these traps. Traps like fear, loss aversion, or a feeling of not enough will ultimately impact how you acquire it, and what you do with it.
Create a vision for your Financial Life
The beauty or frustrating fact of the financial journey is that it is always a journey.
Money is so deeply intertwined with our lives, that we will always have a use for it: acquire more, spend more, donate more.
The destination or goal post will keep changing. The process starts to become more important than the journey itself.
When you’re out of debt, your next goal may be to save a particular dollar amount or to start investing a portion of your savings more aggressively. Or you might want more to donate, or help others.
But again, that journey is yours.
The important thing is to feel secure financially.
To become comfortable with what you have.
To have a plan: the next step for your money.
Keep it simple.
Of course there’s an overwhelming amount of information to sift through when you’re starting to get a handle on your money. If you’re just starting out, here are some ways to simplify your money.
Stay consistent.
JUST START
There is often an overwhelming amount of knowledge around us, especially from a personal finance perspective.
The key to success is to just begin!
Use the resources around you, but don’t get bogged down in the details.
What’s next?
Now that you’ve acknowledged that you want to embark on this journey, the next step is to evaluate where you are in your journey.
This will guide your goals and your action plan!
Financial journey – a journey you embark on to secure your future
Cheers,
