I know …your Instagram feed is full of mouth-watering offers on everything you desire – from designer clothes, to the latest shoes, bags, and even hair! E-commerce platforms promise to deliver to you after a few clicks. Pop-ups ads are jumping in your face. You really want to be wealthy but it seems like everything is telling you ‘Buy! Buy! Buy!’
The key to wealth is to think beyond the present. Still, there’s an incredible pull that comes when you see something you’d love to have and you have the money to buy it. It takes incredible ounces of self-control to snap out of the reverie at that moment and ask yourself – Do I really need this?
Read on and find out a few money mistakes you could be making right now that may be pushing your dreams of a life of wealth farther away:
Spending Every Kobo: You can blame it on the ‘Gram or on that friend of yours who seems to always show up with goods to sell just as soon as your salary is paid, but the truth is, it’s not a wise move to keep spending everything you earn. Life is way more than immediate gratification. You have to have money goals. What are the projects you would like to accomplish in the short, medium and long terms? What are the assets you would like to acquire? There’s great pleasure in being able to set money goals (and goals of any sort) for yourself and end up smashing them successfully!
Not Thinking ‘Assets’: One of the money mistakes you may be making might be that you’re thinking in terms of liabilities not assets. Interestingly, liabilities make you feel good because you can handle them tangibly and people can see them and compliment you. Think: a new car, new clothes, etc. They are called liabilities because they don’t earn income for you. Rather, as in the case of a car, you spend on them and cannot re-sell for the same value or higher as when you bought them.
Becoming wealthy will require making a lot of mind shifts and this is one of the fundamental ones you’ll have to make.
Not Setting Priorities: When you start making money, you discover the power that comes with financial freedom. But, as powerful as you feel when you get the alert at the end of the month, knowing what to do with the cash is what really matters.
It’s important that you realise that your wishes and desires are not more important that necessities and obligations. Practically put, hanging out at the cinemas several times a week is not as important as setting cash aside your transportation fare to work. If you prioritise hanging out and don’t remember to set money aside for your important bills, you may find yourself asking friends for loans before the month is over. And then the cycle repeats itself all over again when you have to re-pay and find yourself low on cash again.
Not Saving for Emergencies: This is closely linked to point one. While you should have longer term goals, you should realise that life happens and sometimes scenarios crop up that you’re unprepared for. These situations could range from an emergency trip to the dentist, to being caught by the dreaded Road Safety Marshalls for traffic violations. For my family, our emergency situation was having the wall of our compound collapse after a very heavy thunderstorm. That was a situation we definitely did not see coming but had to attend to.
During situations like this, in the midst of chaos and panic, you don’t want to be wondering who to call for a loan. You need to have a stash of emergency cash that is readily accessible to you at that time. Have savings for unforeseen circumstances, or for the rainy day, as the saying goes.
Spending too much on housing: Yes, we know that there’s the Mainland vs. Island struggle, but you need to look beyond packaging and having a Lekki address, to actual substance. If your accommodation costs more than half of your annual salary, you just might be spending too much on it. Ask yourself: Can having a house-mate or two splitting the rent help you save significantly? Is there an equally nice but not so expensive area you could consider moving to? Is getting an apartment without having to pay a monthly service charge something you can consider? Is it absolutely terrible to live with your parents or relatives?
There will definitely be an option that works for you and for your pocket!
Are you making any of these money mistakes? Don’t be shy – leave a comment?
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