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Find out the top secret strategies successful people use to save money on a daily basis!

3 minutes to read

Are you looking to save some cash fast? Good for you! It’s never too late to start taking control of your finances and building up your savings. Here are a few tips to help you get started on the right track.

First things first, it’s important to get a handle on where your money is going. Make a budget and track your spending for a few weeks to get a better understanding of what you’re spending your money on. This will help you identify areas where you can cut back.

Next, take a look at your non-essential expenses. Are there any subscription services that you’re not using or that you could live without? How about expensive meals out or regular coffee shop runs? These may seem like small expenses, but they can add up quickly. Consider cutting back on these types of expenses to save some cash.

You can also try finding ways to save on essential expenses, like your phone and internet bills. Check out different service providers to see if you can get a better rate. Negotiating with your current provider can also sometimes lead to lower rates.

If you’re looking to boost your income, consider taking on a part-time job or finding ways to earn some extra cash on the side. This could be anything from freelancing to selling items you no longer need on a site like eBay.

When you come into some extra money, like a bonus at work or a tax refund, put that cash into savings rather than spending it. And to make saving even easier, set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account. That way, you can save without even thinking about it.

One last tip: shop around for the best prices. Look for sales and use coupons to save on your purchases. And try to avoid impulse buying by taking some time to think about whether you really need something before you buy it.

Saving money is all about finding a balance. It’s important to cut back on expenses where you can, but you also don’t want to deprive yourself of the things you enjoy. Just be mindful of your spending and make an effort to save where you can. With these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to a healthier financial future in no time.

  • Make a budget: This will help you see where your money is going and identify areas where you can cut back.
  • Cut unnecessary expenses: Look for non-essential expenses that you can eliminate, such as subscription services or expensive meals out.
  • Find ways to save on essential expenses: Consider switching to a cheaper cell phone plan or negotiating a lower rate with your internet provider.
  • Boost your income: Consider taking on a part-time job or finding ways to earn extra money on the side.
  • Save windfalls: If you receive a bonus at work or a tax refund, put that money into savings rather than spending it.
  • Automate your savings: Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account so you can save without thinking about it.
  • Shop around for the best prices: Look for sales and use coupons to save on your purchases.
  • Avoid impulse purchases: Take some time to think about whether you really need something before you buy it.

Remember, it’s important to find a balance between saving and enjoying your life. Cutting back on expenses can be a good way to save money quickly, but it’s also important to make sure you are still able to live comfortably and do the things you enjoy.

Financial Independence: How do I build wealth and get rich?

14 minutes to read
A happy woman smiles in the background while holding a fan of money in the foreground. Build wealth and get rich.

Can I gain financial independence? How do I build wealth and get rich? These are questions that many people could potentially ask themselves at any stage in their lives. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to find a concrete answer to this that would apply to everyone in most cases. It’s hard to give a straight answer because there is no quick fix, and it isn’t enough to just dream of becoming a millionaire; there is a lot you may need to do to achieve financial independence.

In other words, it’s never too late to start building wealth, nor is it ever too late to start gaining your financial independence. However, we can’t escape the fact that you will have more time and more potential opportunities to build wealth and get rich if you’re from a younger demographic. Regardless of your age, though, the sooner you start to make changes, the sooner you will see results in your life.

Did you know?

The majority of lottery winners will, quite often, return to the same financial level that they were at before they won their jackpot prize.

This is largely to do with the fact that most people don’t have the knowledge that is necessary to keep and grow personal capital.

So, How do I build wealth and get rich?

Build Wealth

1. Adapt your mentality

The first step to wealth is to change your way of thinking. If you do not have the right mentality, achieving your financial goals will be made that but m9re difficult for you.

If you find you look for different reasons for someone else’s success, yet you are always trying to find reasons for why you don’t have money, you will have a long way to go until you achieve the levelled mentality that is needed.

One of the biggest resources that any one of us can use to further ourselves in this field is reading books, especially those that focus on self-improvement and write about financial success.

Best Financial Books

These books are fairly inexpensive, no matter which way you look at it and they will tell you about different practices that will help you start working towards financial independence as well as how to achieve the ideal mindset for wealth building.

1 – Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, paperback and MP3 CD)

2 – Think and Grow Rich, Original 1937 Edition, by Napoleon Hill

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback and MP3 CD)

3 – The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, paperback and MP3 CD)

4 – The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S Clason

(Available on Audiobook and Paperback)

5 – The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, by Dave Ramsey and Thomas Nelson

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback)

6 – The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel, narrated by Chris Hill

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback)

By reading these books you can learn many things, like how to get rid of debts, earn a passive income, and even how to better put away the money that you make.

2. Invest in yourself

This point is more of a continuation of our previous point. Investing in yourself requires you to spend time, and some money, on learning and self-improvement.

What does this involve?

  • Reading
  • Completing courses
  • Refining your skills
  • Building connections

Many people underestimate the importance of getting to know each other and building professional relationships. However, it should be more well-known that people with wealth are almost certainly guaranteed to have important business contacts now that the individual gained by building extremely valuable relationships during the early stages of their mission to build wealth and get rich.

The more skilled and experienced you are, the greater the opportunities you will have.

Get rich

Your first goal in wealth building should be to strive for a wage raise or find a new job that you want to do and can earn more money in whilst being able to do something that you’re genuinely passionate about doing. Ensuring you are in a job role that you can be proud of and earns you more income will prove to be a solid starting point for you. From this, you can create a more robust financial basis for yourself, bringing your financial independence one step closer.

“The most important investment is to invest as much as possible in yourself.”

– Warren Buffett

3. Save

As we hinted at, at the beginning of the article, there is no such thing as an A-Z guide to getting rich. Still, there are good habits that you could consider that will undoubtedly significantly contribute to your future financial success.

Saving should be considered a main priority if you are looking to build wealth as, without doing it even a little a bit, it is almost impossible to begin to make a more considerable fortune.

You can start saving with small steps:

  • Spend within your means and never more than what you expect to earn within any relevant time period.
  • Set a portion of your income aside at the end of each month. If your pay schedule differs from the changeover of the month, do this when the pay cycle refreshes, and you receive your wage. A good level would be around 10% of each wage packet you receive, but only ever save what you can afford to.
  • Investing the money you save is a wise way to store your savings as, if the market is in your favour, it will be working for you instead of lying stagnant in an account. In addition, some stocks can even earn you dividends, meaning you will receive an extra return as a shareholder from the company at a specified time.

Although, because of market volatility and some unpredictability, f you’re inexperienced here, don’t take on too much and revisit this later in your journey, as at least some market knowledge and a lot of due diligence are necessary.

Properly managing your finances is the first step to financial independence. If you regularly spend on unnecessary things and end up being left with very little at the end of your pay period, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep your wealth growing progressively.

Build wealth and get rich

4. Create a budget

Creating a budget to summarise your income and outgoings can be very helpful if you struggle to see where you can start to build wealth.

Keeping track of your expenses and calculating how much you can comfortably spend each month may be more straightforward. You can easily do this with the help of a phone app or even computer programs such as Microsoft Excel.

You may be surprised at how you spend most of your money.

At the beginning of each pay period, determine how much money you will need in different areas of your life (bills, other direct debits, etc.) and set aside an affordable amount of money for savings every month, or pay cycle. This amount will form the basis for the construction of wealth.

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Budgeting in 3 simple steps

Step 1 – Assess your income.

You can’t skip this step, and you must determine precisely how much revenue you have each month.

Step 2 – Determine your expenses.

Create different categories relevant to the different types of spending that you will do in a month, then calculate how much goes towards each category. Classifying outgoings like this will simplify everything to read easily on a page, furthering your ability to determine where you could make changes in your spending.

Step 3 – Calculate the amount you can save.

Suppose you cannot yet pledge a set percentage of your income to savings every pay period. Any money you don’t need to pay mandatory expenses should be put away – still ensure you will have money available to you in an emergency.

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5. Create a plan

If you want to build wealth, you will need a plan and this isn’t just made up of the previously mentioned budget; it will help you a lot to achieve your goal.

With the help of a plan, you can think more specifically about the smaller details and, therefore, more carefully map out the necessary steps you will have to take during your journey.

Your budget and the steps in your plan will undoubtedly adapt and change over time, but if you have a visualised plan, you’ll have a better chance of reaching the goals, further motivating you whilst you work towards the end goal every day.

6. Consolidate any debts

It is important to get rid of all debt as soon as possible if you have any. In addition, if you have previously taken out a personal loan, home loan or other product, it is worth prepaying them as early as you can.

When creating a budget, you also need to consider loans as, until consolidated, they will be an ongoing cost.

If you don’t pay the instalments on time, you will lose even more money due to the rising loan caused by interest. So spend as little as possible and spend as much money as possible to repay the loan.

Debt settlement loan

A debt settlement loan can help you, especially if you need to pay off several loans simultaneously.

With the help of the current debt settlement loans, you can redeem your old high-interest loans and repay the amount at a more favourable interest rate.

We spoke a little more in-depth about the methods that you can use to settle debts, in our article here.

7. Surround yourself with the right people

If you want to be successful, it is important to invest time in quality friends who have goals like you.

It is also necessary to be able to talk to these people about things that will help you move forward, energise you with positive energy and give you strength in difficult times.

If you have friends who encourage you, this can be a great help in difficult moments and difficult decisions.

“Great people talk about ideas, ordinary people talk about things, and small people talk about other people.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

8. Invest in shares and real estate

Passive income is one of the best ways to make money. You would find that, if you asked them, almost every wealthy person would likely have investments that make them money, even while they are sleeping.

If your only income is through working, you essentially have to sell your time to make ends meet.

You don’t need a lot to start and could begin investing with very low capital amounts today. If you already have a significant amount of money and just want to build on it, you can even invest in real estate when the market is in a period of stability.

Best investments?

There are many forms of investment, so before making a choice, it would be a good idea to compare the yield and risk levels of different methods before choosing.

Financial Independence

9. Start your own business

Setting up a business of your own can sometimes be highly profitable. Although success here relies on several factors that you will need to consider – for example, are you offering people a valuable and useful product or service?

It is not easy to create a successful business, but if you are willing to put in enough time and work and can cover any initial investments you may need to make, you can certainly earn a great income level over time. It is a sure thing that hard work will bear fruit here.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket

In the beginning stages of building your business up, if possible, only work for it in your spare time and definitely only leave your current job if your company reaches a stage where it can easily provide you with a secure livelihood.

10. Take risks

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It is important to preface this point by saying always pay due diligence and be sure to always stay within your financial means.

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Don’t be too afraid to take risks. If you always air on the side of caution, at least too much anyway, you will find it is a difficult way to build wealth and get rich.

Those who live too comfortably and find it difficult to do anything outside of their comfort zone will not try new things, even those that have the potential to put them in a better position.

People who know how to build wealth and get rich will dare to take risks, try new things, and learn from the mistakes they have made.

Do you want to invest, but have you always been afraid to make the wrong decision? The internet is full of free courses to help you get started on the path of investing. It is important to not feel like spending on paid learning materials is a bad thing or like it will set you back; it won’t: these resources often contain information that will serve a much higher value for you in the future.

11. Think about variety

Even though risks can prove to be a good move and have a good payoff, it’s not the best decision to just focus on only one area.

Although over-diversification can be a bad thing, don’t just strive to be good at one thing, try to improve in as many ways as possible.

If you focus on just one thing and ignore everything else, you can potentially lose out on a lot of useful information and opportunities. This could cause a lot of harm to you and your potential finances in the long run.

For example, say you did set up a business – you invested all of your money into it and it became very successful. What if, after a while, your circumstances change and you no longer have time to serve the business but don’t want to employ staff? this could cause you to have to give the business up and you would financially have to start building all over again.

However, if you have gotten to a stage in your mission to build wealth that means you can confidently accept any potential losses, investing some of your money in real estate, stocks and shares, means that your risk exposure would be divided. This means that the successes you have would compensate for any loss you may experience in another area of your portfolio.

Our article here looks deeper into the subject of Diversification. It talks about topics such as why it is a good practice and the different types of available investment products. Also, it discusses the subject of over-diversification and the adverse effects this has on a portfolio.

Create more sources of income and always have an asset that will passively generate money for you – this should be the main goal as a successful passive income will take you leaps ahead.

Find new opportunities and try out more new things to try and further yourself. This increases your chances to get rich and build wealth successfully.

12. Don’t procrastinate

If you postpone everything, you will never achieve your goals or find it more difficult than you should. We understand it is easy to think you have plenty of time left or you will do a particular task “tomorrow”.

This way of thinking can be seen a lot in younger individuals. You think you will have plenty of time to achieve your goals.

Unfortunately, this mindset will help you to get nowhere fast. You may realise in 10 years that if you had taken that first step today, you would have been miles ahead from where you ended up and much closer to where you want to be at that stage.

Conclusion

In summary, wealth can only be achieved through developing useful habits and attributing yourself to proper, invested work. Try to spend less from month to month and, once you would able to financially recover from any potential loss without too much difficulty, invest a large amount of your savings to increase your money’s value.

If you know your financial goals already, in order to have more money later, it is always best to take the first steps today rather than waiting and putting it off until later.

How to manage your finances like the top 1% for success

11 minutes to read
manage your finances

Have you ever wondered how rich people have come to have more money than most?

Commonly it is believed that those who are more financially well-off either just struck lucky, gained fortune from wealthy families, or somehow made their fortunes fraudulently.

This is most usually a massive misconception and those who believe this have to change a lot in order to be able to make a great fortune for themselves.

Most rich people have worked very hard to achieve their financial goals. Over time, these individuals have learned how to manage money and know what needs to be done to ensure that their passive income – if they have one – continues to increase their wealth.

In this article we will overview how to manage your finances

Table of Contents

1. 1. Tracking Costs and Creating a Budget

2. 2. Set up an Emergency Fund

3. 3. Repay Your High-interest Loans

4. 4. Invest in Yourself

5. 5. Invest in Shares and Real Estate

6. Act!

Money is an integral part of our lives because it affects all areas of it. If you don’t have much money, then you may find that at least one of the following applies to you:

  • You have to work very hard in order to make a living.
  • You don’t have any disposable income and so can’t spend on your own needs.
  • You don’t have the opportunity to travel abroad and see the world.
  • You find it difficult to create the right environment for your family.

How much of a relief would it be if you were in a position were all of these things could be done at any given moment.

There is no recipe for wealth

Everyone gets rich in different ways, this is because each method will suit different people differently, but rich people have many similar habits and qualities.

It is a fair suggestion to say that the top 1% share the same view of the benefits and importance of money and that these people live almost identically when you take most of their spending habits into account.

1. Tracking Costs and Creating a Budget

How can you change something you aren’t aware of?

You can only create a better financial situation for yourself if you know exactly where your money is going.

Richer people may have more of a healthy level of wealth, but they know exactly how much they pay, where they spent it, and on what.

Most people don’t pay much attention to a budget and in fact, most of us only know how much we get paid in a month and manage our finances according to that entire amount until we get the next payment, when we do the same thong all over again.

That’s not how successful people manage their money.

For the next two months, track your expenses, as well as your incomes.

You can do this with the help of a piece of paper, but then you will have a better chance of forgetting certain things. The easiest and most effective way to track your spending is to use a phone app that will track both incomes and outgoings for you. Note, this will require you to input data as you go.

Some useful income/expense tracking apps include:

By following these steps, you can also increase your savings:

Tracking costs

Step 1

Record all expenses and incomes

As well as noting what incomes you have within any given month, also keep track of all expenses that take place in that month, all the way down to the last penny/dime. This ensures that all of your money is accounted for and you know where it is all going, giving you a much clearer bigger picture.

Step 2

Assess each month

At the end of the month, work out what you’ve spent most of your income on and identify if and were changes can be made to your spending habits. This is a crucial part of how you will now manage your finances.

Step 3

Don’t buy because of sudden urges

Most people realize that impulse buying greatly increases spending. Despite this realisation, it may not occur to the same individual that, if you only buy what you really need, you can improve your financial situation a lot.

Of course this isn’t to say that you can’t treat yourself every once in a while, but just be sure to keep a handle on unnecessary spending as this can absorb a lot of your income if you aren’t careful.

Step 4

Work out how much you can reasonably save

Once you’ve gone through all of your expenses, you can then compare these figures to your level of income to be more able to determine just how much money you could set aside and invest into more useful purposes each month.

Try to continually work on this so that you can gradually increase it from month to month.

2. Set up an Emergency Fund

Every person with considerable wealth, and even as well as those with any level of disposable income, almost always have an emergency fund that allows them to cover their expenses for at least 3-6 months simply to have just in case their personal circumstances change.

So how do you go about building up this fund?

The answer to this is simply using an appropriate proportion of the money you can now regularly save each month to set up your own emergency fund and to then manage your finances so that you don’t use that money unless you find yourself in a situation when you really need to – for example, if you were to lose your job.

As we had said earlier, if you keep track of your expenses properly you’ll know exactly how much money you spend each month. It is then this figure that will help to determine how much your emergency fund needs to be in order to cover everything you will need it for when the time comes.

Your goal should be to save this amount as soon as possible.

Only use the money you save if you have unexpected, urgent costs. This will protect you from borrowing, which usually is a long-term commitment that may even take years to be paid off.

It can be a lifesaver

For example, when you have your fund mostly set up, should you have a large unexpected expense, you won’t have to make arrangements with your landlord to be able to afford your rent payment and you certainly won’t need to take out a loan.

If you have sufficient reserves for such an expense, you will be able to pay the amount without any problems and no sacrifices are necessary.

3. Repay your high-interest loans

Whatever credit you have, it is worth consolidating where possible and getting it paid off as soon as is reasonably possible. If you are paying off a long-term high-interest loan, in some circumstances, it may be worth replacing;

Debt settlement credit is beneficial

With the help of a debt settlement loan with a favorable interest rate, you can pay off your current loan and replace it with a cheaper, more affordable loan.

A debt settlement loan can be applied for at almost any bank and operates on similar terms as a personal loan.

Before entering any contract it is important to pay your due diligence, but you should certainly find out more about debt settlement loans before deciding to use one to try and help your personal situation, if you don’t then you may make it even harder for you to manage your finances, but as long as you listen to advice and don’t rush into anything, you should be perfectly fine.

If you do not want to apply for a debt settlement loan, you can also use one of the following methods to help make repaying your loan easier:

Avalanche method

This is usually the best way to repay your debt – especially when you have multiple loans – as it will cause the least amount of extra cost.

The essence of this method is to settle your loans based on the level of interest they carry. Put simply, when following this method loans with the highest APR are the first to be paid off.

Further to this, once you have then managed to pay this higher rate loan off, continue by paying off the second-highest until, eventually, you only have to pay off the last loan which has the lowest interest rate.

Snowball method

This method is similar to the avalanche method in the way that you pay your debts in a predetermined order, only here you will first pay off the loan that equates to the smallest amount of credit. This will certainly be easier to sort out, and so you should see the results of your work sooner.

As we have already said, in the snowball method, you do not take into account interest, only the total amount of credit to be repaid.

The advantage is that you will feel the success and therefore it will be easier to pay off the next loan.

The disadvantage of this method is that you will pay more on interest than in the case of the avalanche method.

4. Invest in yourself

Once you’ve set up your emergency fund, paid off your debts, you should invest in yourself and gain knowledge which will, in turn, help you to make more money looking forward.

What is considered to be self-improvement?

  • Reading new, informative books
  • Investing in learning a new skill (i.e. completing a course)
  • Starting your own business
  • If you already have your own business, you can invest in it to improve and develop it further

If you’ve done everything you can to create a better financial situation for yourself, for example, you now have savings, can effectively control your money, and money doesn’t dictate how you live, then you can now manage your finances well, and it’s time to consider the different ways to bring in new forms of income and start earning more.

You can’t completely create a better financial situation for yourself if you don’t take the opportunity to learn new, important ways to make money.

The possible result of having an open mind to these methods could be:

  • A raise in pay
  • A promotion
  • Movement into better, more well-suited job roles
  • Being able to start your own business

If you have money set aside and get rid of loans as we previously explained, you could potentially take on more risk, which is usually essential to successfully gaining more money.

5. Invest in Shares and Real Estate

Starting your own business is not an easy task: it takes a lot of perseverance to get started and for a company to succeed a lot of time, effort and general work is needed to be put into it. This also includes developing a portfolio of assets and, if you work hard enough, your business can be your most profitable asset.

If you are a person that aspires to be able to eventually live a quiet life whilst knowing that you have a secure job: there is a way to earn more income.

The most affluent people invest their wealth in different areas and diversify their investment portfolios. The most popular investments are usually stocks and real estate.

Investing safely

Before you invest, it’s good to identify the area that piques your interest the most.

It is important to note that, before you choose the area you are wanting to invest in, examine the different areas and compare their level of risk. Find an investment that suits you both in terms of capital and risk.

Remember, long-term investing is usually safer and more rewarding. For novice investors, it is not recommended to think in the short term.

The best way to manage your finances? Act!

These steps can seem very difficult, especially if your personal situation means you are currently still struggling with debt.

If you follow the aforementioned steps and feel like you aren’t getting anywhere fast, don’t be too concerned and carry on accordingly. It can sometimes take years for most people to turn their personal situation around and get to the point where they can begin to think about investing.

Try to complete the steps in sequence and begin developing the right habits. It is these appropriate spending and accounting habits that can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Synopsis

The top 1% live by strict rules and manage their money so that every penny/cent has a purpose

Investing is a very important part of collating wealth, so it is worth starting to manage your finances as soon as you can so that you can then begin putting your money to actual constructive use as soon as possible.

Read more about how to manage your finances and gain financial independence here.

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