Money mindset- First step towards making money

Hey! Look at your room, look at your home. Do you feel like you could own atleast ten things less around you which you don’t need?

Do you really need that jacket you bought impulsively at the sale the other day? While you wear it just twice a year or even less.

If you are a woman, ask yourself. Do you really need to splurge on those five lipstick shades that are minutely different ?

Are you feeling guilty? A little, maybe? 

You could do perfectly fine even without these things. Right?

Ask yourself, why did you become hoarder of things over time without realising?

What if you had all that money in your bank account right now, that you spent impulsively on unnecessary things?

You could save it for your child’s education fund or plan for a break from work for atleast the next three months! Not just that, had you put that in stocks with adequate management, the same money would have grown 5x!

But you just traded that money for the things lying around you. Loss of opportunity and lost profits !

I am guilty to admit that I was a hoarder of jewellery, clothes, bags, shoes and gadgets in my early 20s. Which eventually became clutter because I hardly used them.

Shopping more gave a sense of pride and control. But without my knowledge, I was losing control over my finances.

Most people in their 20s believe that saving, budgeting and investing is for people in their 30s or people who want to ‘settle’ down. 

Wake up buddy! Everyone needs money and money needs management! 

Money stays only with those who respect it by planning and directing it. 

Haven’t you read about Mike Tyson, the world famous boxing champion?

He had received over 300 million dollars over his career and about 30 million dollars for several fights! 

That’s hell-lotta-money, right? Two more generations ahead could live a luxurious life!

He  filed bankruptcy in 2003!

But as mismanagement and improper planning had it, he lost it all and got into a debt of 23 million dollars!

It is sad that most people ‘love’ being identified by the things they own.

“That man with the blue car or that woman with Gucci bag” 

Objects have become central for personal identity.

Society measures success on the basis of the materials we own.

The so called success measures can be a fancy phone or a car (even though on EMIs) , a big apartment (even though mortgaged) or the dresses(bought on credit cards) you wear without any repetition.

Mostly, we tend to buy objects to seek validation from the people around us. To feel liked. Or at times, to enjoy others’ envy.

Along with the above science has proved that constant and impulsive buying gives our brain shots of dopamine. Dopamine is a temporary shot of ‘feel good’ hormone that plays a pivotal role in addiction and hoarding. 

With every purchase, with addiction, dissatisfaction creeps up.

It’s just like drugs, after a point, the addict needs bigger shots of drugs to feel the kick.

Now imagine, instead of buying objects, we buy investments!  

There! That’s the solution to all long term money problems!

“But hey, the investment can depreciate and I can lose my money!”

I totally agree! But see the flip side of the coin. 

The probability of returns is definitely better on investments like gold or stocks  than the probability of getting returns on a dead investment like that jacket. 

And of course, higher risk brings higher returns, but needs better education and dedication.

Would you buy a phone just because a friend hyped it? No! You’d do a research yourself and read about it before buying it, correct?

Similarly, why would you buy stocks of a company just because your uncle told you to?

Will you be so careless to invest your hard-earned money on the basis of a non-financial expert’s advice?

Educate yourself about investment and tax saving avenues. The internet can give you the same information, what an MBA gets by paying in lakhs! Just be mindful and pick the right sources.

For managing your money, you don’t have to be an MBA or a CA graduate.

Have the dedication to park money in the right investments for a longer time. 

Little investments with regularity and disciplines compounded over time make a huge difference. 

Your daily spending habits determine your end goals. 

Procrastinating your money planning will procrastinate your financial freedom and retirement.

You should try to achieve  balance- a financial balance where you find stability and achieve debt elimination and also have an emergency fund.

Also, don’t get so busy planning your budgets for today that you ignore your retirement plan.

Those fancy stuff in your closet would just weigh you down and make one feel miserable if you still have to work post 60. Right?