We are millennials who live in the era of the carpe diem and relish being young, wild and free! Unfortunately, money doesn’t understand our different lifestyles and we end up broke. However, one way we can get our cash life in check and enjoy our yolo moments, is to understand and learn to become better managers of our financial lives. Here are some of the money mistakes we may.
1. Misconception that you need to earn a lot of money before investing or saving.
A lot of people fail to make investments or save because they feel they don’t earn enough or don’t have enough. What they don’t realize is that it is best to start small, start early but most importantly start now. There would never be a better time to invest or save.
2. Setting financial goals & developing plans:
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound (SMART).
3. Living pay check to pay check:
A lot of people live from pay check to pay check. Before the end of the month, they are broke and have to borrow to make ends meet and once their next pay-check comes, they are paying off debt from the previous month and the cycle continues.
4. Leaning too much on parents:
A lot of people depend on their parents for everything. They don’t know how to create wealth on their own and cannot survive without their parents. It is best to “leave the nest” early on in life. If you wait, you may never be able to do so.
5. Failure to plan for the future:
A lot of people fail to plan for the future. They don’t start planning for retirement or partake in estate planning in their early years.
Not paying yourself a salary:
You should consider paying themselves by saving. Savings should be perceived as paying yourself a salary or paying yourself first. Furthermore, entrepreneurs should put themselves on a salary so that they do not hinder the growth of the company by dipping into companies’ cash flow.
#sheVestors, all hope is not lost, in order to avoid such mistakes and secure the bag, here are 3 ways to heap your coins!
• Have clear goals and a plan: It is reported that a study was done in Yale. According to the study only 3% of a graduating class had clear written goals. 20 years after the same 3% were earning ten times more than the 97% who didn’t have written goals.
• Financial planning: Know where you are financially. Details on how to do this are on the blog. Set goals, develop plans, keep records, and review progress periodically.
• Cut your coat according to your material and not your size: Learn to live within your means. If you have investments and savings, then by all means buy what you like however, if you can’t afford it, instead of borrowing, save towards it. There is a time for everything.
Omilola Oshikoya is Africa’s premier wealth coach with over 12 years’ experience in finance and Investment banking. Omilola’s goal is to inspire this generation to live the Richer Life & to help eradicate poverty in Africa through a tool she created called “The Hand of Wealth”, which focuses on five areas, what true wealth is, how to create wealth, how to manage &grow wealth &how to use wealth. She does this through two of her brands, “Do It Afraid & PocketFinance”. She is the author of the Richer Woman.
