As you know, spring has finally sprung, so the plan for the blog is to talk through a bit of spring cleaning over the next couple of weeks. Basically, I will release two articles a week (Monday and Thursday) that help de-clutter one aspect of life. This week, I have been writing about money, how to make it and how to maintain it. Speaking from my personal experiences, I know that money can be quite a difficult thing to manoeuvre, especially because in this time of millennials, money and personal financial patterns have fundamentally changed. Thus, it is important to be vigilant and adapt. On Monday, I spoke about making money moves and focused on the role of making connections and building a professional network in securing the bag. However, making money moves also means literally racking up a good amount of money in your bank account, which is what I will be speaking to in this article.
American feminist, journalist, and social political activist, Gloria Steinem once said “the truth will set you free but first it will piss you off,” so get ready because if you are anything like me, things are going to get real very quickly. Let’s start at the beginning. I think the first misconception about money that I have started trying to shake is that one needs to be in a place where they feel comfortable financially, before they can start making better financial decisions. It is just not true. It is quite the opposite actually. The best time to start is right now. Start right now. I recently started reading financial blogs and some specifically tailored to millennials and I have learned so much. The first step to breaking a cycle is to recognize that there is a cycle to begin with. After all, we repeat what we don’t repair. People think travelling to the past and doing something small will drastically change the present, but no one in the present thinks they can drastically change the future by doing something small now. **drops mic… and then picks it back up, because we are not done and I stole that from Instagram.*
You know what else works great? Making someone else responsible for your savings, someone else like your bank, trust me they won’t forget. Having your desired monthly savings leave your account every month and getting charged if you spend it, takes some getting used to but trust me, you’ll survive. As Martha Stewart says, “the more you adapt, the more interesting you become” and truer words were never said. The months where I haven’t had as much money as I expected to have are usually the months where I manage to be so efficient that I end up having some to spare at the end of the month.
Slowly cutting down and creating a budget can be so incredibly powerful. As American author, John C. Maxwell says “a budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.” I can’t tell you how many times I have wondered where all my money went and at this point, I am done, something needs to give. I mean, nobody has to eat out two times every week. I am a typical abuser of the overdraft feature on my account. The overdraft feature is for EMERGENCIES and just so I’m absolutely clear, a 20% off flash sale at Topshop isn’t an emergency. Another thing, I find that when I go shopping alone, I daydream less and it is the strangest thing, but the clothes don’t talk to me.
Choosing to have more positive financial habits and be more of an adult lasts longer when you do it for you and nobody else. Money and personal finance is about as personal as it gets, and the journey to financial independence can be incredibly lonely. Unfortunately, everyone has to deal with their own excesses and carry their own baggage and decide when it is time to let go. Everyone wants to have a nice body and yes I am fully aware that “nice” is relative but everyone has their own definition of nice. Whatever that is, unless you work out or eat less or eat more or eat more healthy, nothing is going to change. In the same way, most people wouldn’t mind earning a six-figure salary but unless you put in the work, everything will be the same. So, I guess it is up to you to decide what is most important to you, a pair of shoes that your friends will appreciate for all of two seconds or your dream house in a couple of years. As the original #GIRLBOSS Sophia Amoruso says “money will always look better in the bank than on your feet” and as Suze Orman says “stop buying things you don’t need, to impress people you don’t even like.” Because whether you know it or not, if you have to keep buying things you cannot afford to keep someone interested in spending time with you and investing in a relationship with you, well then, guess what? They aren’t your friend honey.
“Little things” add up. As author and one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin says “beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” I spend the largest percentage of my income on food and clothes, so over the past month or so, I have made a conscious decision to be more mindful of how often and how much I spend on those two things. I have decided to eat more home cooked meals and to, like I say, do less shopping online and go shopping by myself. In terms of shopping (and this may sound counterintuitive or like a conflict, but it isn’t) I have also decided to invest in a couple of staple items for my wardrobe. I figure it is better to invest now than to keep having to buy a new outfit every time I have an interview or a birthday dinner or any sort out event where I need to dress up a little. I say “invest” because I’m leaving the cheapskate tendencies behind for a moment, and looking for pieces that can last at least a little while.
Give. I have literally never heard anyone say something negative about giving or regret their decision to give, so I have decided to start in my own little way. Firstly, as you may or may not know, I am a Christian, and the Christian faith encourages giving, mainly through tithes and offering. In the past couple of months, I have given the same amount every Sunday and this is a very big deal for me. In the past, I just gave what I had in my bag at the time, which would have been totally fine if it didn’t carry an air of nonchalance. I wasn’t giving certain amounts because I couldn’t afford to give more, I was giving those amounts because I hadn’t put any thought into it and it was just something I felt I had to do at the time. This is why I am very proud of the changes I have made. Plus, it is impossible to receive with a tight fist. Thus, in order to receive, one has to be willing to give. It is true that my giving habits are rooted in my faith but the theory of giving is not biblical, it is common sense. Most people are aware that they get what they put out there in one form or another. And whether or not you know, the more you hoard, the less space there is for new and positive things like the mental freedom and sense of satisfaction that comes along with giving.
Gratitude. Not like #blessed, like really taking the time to think about your life and think about all the many blessings you have to be grateful for. Because first, as Oprah says “be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more, but if you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” A grateful heart is really a magnet for miracles because it gets rid of all the negative thoughts and negative energy and makes space for positive manifestations. Don’t ever be so comfortable with your blessing that you start to take it for granted.
Oscar Wilde once said “when I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know it is.” And I could and totally condemn Oscar Wilde because he is a monster and how dare he suggest that money is vaguely important in life? Or there’s also the all too familiar, judgmental and hypocritical telling you something soppy and vaguely soothing like “everything will work itself out. But I mean, money is not THE most important thing, but it is pretty up there. And no, that doesn’t make me shallow or short-sighted, it makes me honest. I feel like we all could make so much progress if we just admit that money means a lot to us. Thus, I feel conversations like this are extremely important because although Gloria Steinem warns us that the truth is often a bitter pill to swallow, she also makes it a point to include the fact that it also sets you free, and any kind of freedom is always the greatest blessing and worth the risk, if you ask me.
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