I'm Not A Wealth Expert
So I'm not a wealth expert, I'm not a Financial Advisor, I'm not a Billionaire yet, BUT I have made wise decisions with money all my life, I read books so I can be financially literate and I would love to share some tips with you. What makes me qualified to give money advice then? Well, I am 30 years old and I'm not in £1 of debt (I was born and raised in the UK), I'm also not in $1 of debt (I'm Bi-coastal and also live in Florida). Because of that, there are things that I have done that I would just like to share with you in the hopes that it will assist your financial journey.
Now aside from being employed and doing agency work (I do long term temporary contracts with big corporate companies), I am Self-employed, I have several streams of income, some which come in whilst I'm sleeping (that's called a Passive Income), and I am an avid saver and not a big spender. Every week on what I call "Finance Friday" I sit with my money aka my online banking and I work out and manage my money. I work out what I'm saving, what I'm giving as offering, what I need to spend, what I'm using for bills and what is going to stay in my current account so there is always a balance there. I also don't and never have had an overdraft because I don't spend money that I don't have. I have banked with the same bank in the UK since I was 11 years old and with the same bank in the USA for 11 years. I like that stability. I do use a different bank for my business accounts so there are no connections with my business and personal. I also contribute to my pensions. I started when I was 23 years old, like I said above; I'm now 30 so I've been making monthly and weekly contributions for 7 years. If I thought "I won't start now, I'll wait until I'm older I won't retire until I'm 65+" I would have missed out on those 7 years.
So here are some tips, make a note of them, share them with your friends and family - do whatever you can to get the word out because financial freedom should be everyone's goal.
1. Spend less money - That needs no explanation. Don't spend more money than you make.
2. Save more money - Be committed to saving at least 10% of what you earn.
3. Have multiple streams of income - The Holy Bible says 8 streams and I think we should listen and be doers of the word.
Ecclesiastes 11:2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
4. Run a home based business - No need to have a brick and mortar, or have extra expenses when you can start at home and keep the costs down.
5. File your taxes - Keep all of your receipts and invoices and then add on all of your expenses that contribute to the growth of your business.
6. Keep records of everything - Don't discard anything and act like it's not important, keep and file everything away, all of your expenses - business and personal.
7. Spend time with your money - Like I said I have #FinanceFriday which is a time I dedicate to managing my money.
8. Read financial books - Become financially literate. You must educate yourself, get wise and crave knowledge. Yes, read for entertainment, but read more for education and self-improvement.
9. Ask questions - No question is stupid, if you never ask you will never know.
10. Live below your means and act poor - It might sound terrible to say act poor, but by that I mean don't be a big spender because you have money coming in. Live comfortably but not flashy. Just because you can afford to buy things, doesn't mean you should. You have to always ask yourself "Do I need to spend money on this?"
11. Invest in yourself - This should be self explanatory but you need to invest in yourself and your business wisely. People can tell when you don't and they will wonder why they should invest in you if you don't invest in you. Also invest in your education.
12. Have a budget - Give yourself a limit. This is not to have negative restrictions on how you use your money, a budget is a positive thing, it's a guideline. Ultimately it will be a boundary that you will be pleased that you didn't cross when you start to follow it.
13. Pay your bills on time - Have calendar reminders for your bills and your credit card payments so you don't forget and you're never late. Punctuality was important in school and it's important now.
14. Be charitable - Do charitable acts and give to those in need but also to your home church. Your tithes and offerings are a big part of your finances and once you understand that a cheerful giver is protected and blessed, life changes.
15. Start investing in stock and shares - There are BIG businesses out there that we use everyday and week. Those businesses are public which means you can buy shares and benefit from your investment. Your return in dividends can be more than the interest you receive from your bank on your savings, so look into it and start to build a healthy portfolio.
Click To Watch This Motivational Talk Video
I have read books like "Becoming A Millionaire God's Way", "Richest Man In Babylon" and "Go Givers Sell More" etc.
So I'm not perfect. I'm still learning, and like I said I'm not a Money Expert and here's something I need to work on. For years I have been told to literally/ physically keep money in my pocket/ my purse, and that is one thing that I have struggled to do. I don't like coins! I don't like pence or cents. I don't have a massive purse and I like to be able to close my purse so I don't keep coins. I also can't keep notes, pounds or dollars. Every time I withdraw notes to keep in my purse as "just in case money", a just in case moment happens almost straight away or someone says they need money and I give it to them. It could be £5 or $10 and it's gone. So because of that, I don't keep money in my pocket. I'm not perfect, so I am going to work on the "just in case notes" because what if one day all ATMs stop working, the card terminals stop working and I need to buy something urgently. I need to have cash, so I will get there.
Oh My Gosh! Saying that, I watched a movie called How It Ends and it seemed like the world was ending. The dad and son-in-law stopped at a petrol station to fill up and HAD to pay with cash. I need to work on keeping money in my purse, contactless debit card although convenient may not be so convenient in a financial shut down. Anyway, I really hope these help you on your journey to financial freedom. I also hope you were inspired by the video above. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments.
Be Inspired!
Kayisha
www.kayishaonline.com
All Things Kayisha