Having “enough” money is the gateway to living your most magical life. It’s the key to paradise. The holy grail, if you will.
Having enough money is something a lot of people don’t really believe they can achieve. Except having enough money is totally achievable.
It’s actually pretty simple, too, just takes a little work.
All you need to do is know the rules in order to win the game.
They’re not complicated rules, but I know you don’t want to hear them — too bad, so sad.
Here are 4 money tips I know you don’t want to hear, but I’m going to share them anyways.
Go ahead: roll your eyes at me.
1. You Don’t Want to Hear… that building wealth is a snooze-fest
I’ve written this before: you can’t outsmart the market. There’s a really good chance I’ll write about it again. But If you don’t want to take it from me, maybe you’ll take it from investing great Warren Buffett.
Good investing is a long, slowww process.
We all want money to be sexy. I know I do. There’s just something about the allure of complicated that makes us feel all smart and superior and stuff.
But that’s not how sustainable wealth is built. You might be able to get rich with the shiny, flashy money strategies, but it’ll likely be an easy-come, easy-go kind of money flow.
Building wealth is a marathon endeavor.
There’s a reason the average age of a millionaire is around 57.
The surest way to wealth is through the long-term grind of earning, accumulating, and investing.
Most millionaires reach their status through a 401(k) retirement saving account. There are hard and fast rules around what can and cannot be invested through 401(k)s, and they prohibit a lot of the exotic investment ideas you hear about.
Building wealth is boring. Just accept it.
2. You Don’t Want to Hear… that you are not saving enough
The most common guideline for saving is that 20% of your income should be set aside for future expenses. But that number is a starting point, and applies better to people in their 20s than for those in their 40s.
The vast majority of people I see didn’t start saving soon enough or hard enough.
One of the biggest mistakes I come across time and time again is you let your expenses control how much you save.
That’s totally backward.
Grabbing the reins of your money means:
- figuring out how much money you’re gonna need for the life you want to live
- backing into how much needs to be saved weekly/by paycheck/monthly/annually/choose-your-interval-here
- then figuring out how much you can spend on life right now.
Saving should be the first thing you do if you’re building wealth.
3. You Don’t Want to Hear… that, yeah, you *need* a budget
I’m not saying you need to account for every single cent in and out (although that would be ideal, it’s not necessary).
No, what you need is a set of guidelines.
And I know, I know, even having guidelines can feel suffocating. But I promise that it will turn into a freedom.
Having a budget and knowing where you’re at with that budget is a fast track to taking control of your money.
You’ll know that savings (see above) are taken care of.
You’ll know where you’re currently putting your priorities, by way of where your money is going.
You will be in control.
Getting started is the hardest part. But having a budget is key to knowing money.
4. You Don’t Want to Hear… that saving for your kids’ education comes second to saving for your retirement
This is a toughy for a lot of parents, but…
You gotta put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.
There are programs to help your kids pay for school.
There aren’t a lot of options to finance a retirement.
It’s natural to want your children to succeed in life. It’s wonderful to want to give them a step up. But for goodness sakes, you’re not helping if they have to take over all of your care later in life.
I know it goes against all parental instincts, but you have to prioritize your own saving before helping others.
There you go: 4 money tips I know you don’t want to hear.
They’re simple; but that doesn’t mean they are easy. Don’t expect to a mastery of them right away.
These are mindsets that take time to change.
But if you’re willing to listen, they’ll take you far.
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