How is it that some people seem to have truly mastered the money game? They enjoy life, free of financial distress, while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet. Are they born smarter than the rest of us? Do they possess some special money secret? Not necessarily. Money smart people simply do what the rest of us are unwilling to do.
1. Money smart people take charge of their financial situation.
“You have to believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggles around money and success. Consciously or unconsciously, it’s still you.” — T. Harv Eker
Here’s a sobering but simple truth. No one cares about you or your money. They could care less if you’re suffocating in credit card debt. They don’t care if you’re constantly stuck with more month than money. They’re oblivious to the fact that your meager retirement savings doom you to spending your Golden Years eking out a meager existence on social security.
No, they are too interested in seducing you into purchasing the latest iPhone, leasing more car than you can afford, or buying more home than your budget can handle.
We’re alone in a sea of financial predators, and like pigs we make our way gleefully to the financial slaughterhouse. But for many of us, that’s fine because the future isn’t immediate. There is always tomorrow, until there isn’t, and the day of reckoning arrives.
If you don’t take charge of your financial situation, no one else will. You must become your own financial advocate. Motivational speaker Wayne Dyer once said, “Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.”
Money smart people understand that financial success is created one decision at a time. Take charge. Become mindful of every spending decision. Become aware of every earning opportunity.
2. Money smart people people become owners
With few exceptions, you’ll never become rich working for someone else. It’s a simple fact. In America, financial independence is achieved through ownership, whether it’s owning your own business, controlling your own side hustle, investing in rental property, or purchasing stocks and bonds.
Unfortunately, in the Black community we’re raised to be consumers rather than owners. We’d rather buy iPhones than purchase Apple stock. We’d rather complain about a problem than build a side-hustle that solves it. We’d rather let others build businesses in our own communities than starting our own.
3. Leverage time and money to become an owner.
1. Stop wasting time. Use it instead to work on becoming an owner. Trade time spent with Facebook, for instance, for time spent developing your side hustle.
2. Create the capital needed for becoming an owner by spending less than you earn. Use the difference to invest in your business/side hustle, purchase investment properties, or buy stocks/bonds.
4. Money smart people invest in themselves.
You are a walking, talking ATM machine. Your skills, experiences, and creativity hold the keys to creating immense wealth for you and your family. Investments in knowledge and learning are the best investments that anyone craving financial success can make.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” –Benjamin Franklin
Any one of us have the God given ability to learn a skill that will command a higher paying job. Consider attending a local community college, enrolling in an online course, or finding a mentor who will help you obtain premium skills.
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5. Turn off the television and pick up a book.
African-American households watch more than seven hours of television per day. African-American millionaires, on the other hand, read nearly two books per month. Reading just one book a month in your career field could make you an expert at your company in less than a year, and the expert in your field within three to five years.
6. Take responsibility for your actions.
You can blame your poor financial state of affairs on a host of factors, – lack of education, lack-luster economy, divorce or racism – but in the end, you are responsible for your station in life. Money smart people take responsibility for their actions. They don’t blame external forces but become active participants in building the futures they desire.
BMWK, what are you doing to become financially successful?