How To Plan Your Finances For The Life You Want

When you’re a child, you often have so many big dreams that include living in a huge mansion that has its own pool – both indoors and outdoors, while driving the newest sports car and going on the most luxurious of holidays. These things are all so easy to dream up because you don’t yet have an adult mind that tells you what reality really is. Until of course, you grow up. Then you’re met with bills and insurance and tax and rent and maintenance and groceries, and there are so many more responsibilities to think about that you barely ever get a second to dream about that big mansion anymore, because, well, you just simply can’t afford it.

Having said that, the choices that you make throughout your life will all have an impact on the kind of money that you come into contact with. Although, sometimes it isn’t as simple as getting that super well-paid job in the city. Once that happens, you will start spending what you can, but in the meantime, you will also end up having to pay just as much, if not more. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about this as that is just how the world works. There’s no point wasting your time reflecting on the things that you can’t change – you will only end up miserable. Instead, why not focus on what you can control, like how you manage your money.

Planning is everything, and if you’re clever with a good head on your shoulders, as well as carrying around a bit of luck with you, then there is no reason you can’t get all of the things you want out of life. You just need to take charge and make it happen. Depending on your circumstances will determine what kind of actions you will take, and how long it will take you, but patience is the key here. Sure, you will certainly have your bad days where you get frustrated because you don’t yet have what you want, and maybe others around you do – but again, this isn’t something you’re able to control, so let it go for now.

Here’s what you should spend your time thinking about.

Investing

If you have a decent bit of money and would like to do something with it rather than leave it sitting in your account, then think about investing in a small business. Find an industry that you like – the more knowledge you have about it the better, and then put some of your money into it. There is always going to be a risk, but if you’re lucky, the business will take off and end up becoming a success, and you’ll be a part of that. This means that not only will you get back what you put in, but you’ll also be making a mean profit along the way, as you now have a percentage of that business, so everytime they earn – so do you. A lot of successful investments come from mere luck, you can never really know the outcome, but you never know what kind of turn things can take until your part of the ride.

Saving

You should always want to save your money, especially when you get older because you never know what you may end up needing it for. One of the best ways to do this is to open yourself a savings account. Then just set up an automatic transfer to take out a specific sum from your current account (decided by you), and put it into your savings account. The amount is whatever you can afford without leaving you in a tricky situation by the end of the month, so figure out what will work best given your circumstances. Then all you have to do is forget about it, as this way you won’t be tempted to keep checking how much you’ve saved. Then whenever the time is right, have a look and see what you’ve been able to accumulate.

Spending

When spending your money, you essentially have complete freedom over what you want your money to go on. As long as you have credit cards, you can purchase anything online or other, making it very easy to get what you want – which can also be a danger as you may find yourself getting into the habit of overspending without even realising it. It’s important that you make a point of telling yourself it’s still money – even if you’re not visibly seeing it because you’re paying with a card. One way to make this a reality is to think about how many hours you had to work in order to pay for what you’re buying – this way you are not only able to see what you’re money is being used for, but you can also have a newfound appreciation for what you do. No one can tell you how to spend your money, but make a point of reflecting once in a while.

Earning

The way you earn your money is entirely up to you depending on the kind of job that you have. A career is a very diverse thing, and although you may start out wanting one thing, that can easily change over time, and that’s okay. Some people never know exactly what they want to do in their lives, and so they try many different things until they find something that genuinely makes them happy. Of course, you want to be putting your time into something that pays you back nicely, but it helps if you enjoy it too. If ever you do feel as though you’re in a job where you should be earning more, you can always think about having a conversation with the boss. The worst thing they can say is no. Or search for something else that pays better. Yes, it means change, but change can be so good, and yet you’ll never find out until you take the leap.