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“Every time I rise up, I have confidence that I’m going to make it.”– Stephen Curry.
I love board games. I enjoy learning a new game and defeating the person who taught me. Time and again, I practice so hard to play against the person that taught me and beat them. Sadly, I do not read instructions, so I learn the rules as I play the game repeatedly. I might lose a turn for not following the rules or lose on the first round, but eventually, I will be the best. I waste time by not learning the rules upfront while I could shorten the learning curve.
In short, shorten the learning curve for yourself by having a game plan. In sports, the greatest of all time knows the rules, practices and builds a muscle of self-confidence to put up scores that seem impossible to most ordinary people. Our personal finance game plan is to apply winning money practices and to make these habits.
In part, this personal finance journey is influenced by imitating the characteristics of people who have been successful with their finances. I call winners in personal finance ordinary wealthy people and not rich people. A person can be rich for a short time and live lavishly for that time. In contrast, a wealthy person can stay rich and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. A wealthy person’s lifestyle could be lavish if they chose to, but sustainability is critical.
Rich people are recognized mainly by what they wear, buy, cars they drive, restaurants they visit. They seem to have the latest and greatest of everything, nothing wrong with that if it is sustainable and not short-lived. Social media generously displays the things and experiences of the rich and maybe wealthy. It is easy to want that lifestyle but very hard to distinguish what is an illusion of wealth.
The illusion of wealth and success reminds me of a friend and co-worker we’ll call Leah; she had everything a girl would want. I met Leah at my first job, at 18 years of age. We were both working as salesgirls. I walked from one shop to another, selling products to shopkeepers. It was a very tedious, poorly paid, and embarrassing job for a teenager. Leah had the same position as I but also had the latest and greatest paraphernalia. She looked glamorous as she worked; she wore designer clothes, nails well-manicured, cool sneakers, everything was on point. At work, many of us admired and envied everything Leah had.
Our jobs were seasonal, and the work fluctuation meant sustaining your lifestyle through the seasons. Meaning that money previously saved would come in handy during these dry spells. I watched Leah struggle during these periods of unemployment as she borrowed from others to keep afloat and maintain her lifestyle. The lesson I am driving at is the importance of adopting a sustainable lifestyle and having a healthy balance of identifying needs and wants. Needs are goods and services necessary for existence; they take top priority; an example would be food and shelter. Wants are things we desire, but we can do without them. Having a healthy balance involves recognizing wants’ unlimited options, practicing to say NO to self, and prioritizing needs. This mindset takes the recognition that money is a limited resource; it runs out, and managing it well means prioritizing needs, limiting wants, and living below your means.
Below are the characteristics we should imitate of the greatest of all time regarding personal finance.
1. Live below your means – contentment
2. Follow a budget – a plan for your money
3. Goals- have realistic short-term and long-term goals
4. Save, invest and build wealth – start small, where you are
5. Avoid borrowing money and debt – especially predatory lenders
6. Generosity- practice giving
7. Protect your money.