If you want 2022 to be a better, stronger financial year, then you will have to do things differently. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. So even though the date changed, your financial situation will not change unless you do.
Your habits are a strong indicator of what your results will be. Now is the time to cultivate habits that propel you towards your money goals.
Here are seven wealthy habits to establish for the new year.
Organize Your Money
Financial overwhelm, chaos, and confusion are a thing of the past. Chaos and confusion will rob your peace and distract you from doing the things that move you forward in life.
If you are experiencing any of the following, frequent unexpected bills, late fees, lack of clarity on where your money is going, and/or you are making money but your net worth does not reflect it, then it is time to get organized.
Order presents a sense of calmness and steadiness that allows you the free mental and emotional space to focus on fresh ideas. Wealthy people have time to think about ideas rather than worry about money. Worry distracts you from focusing on what you were called and created to become. It’s time to stop worrying and get organized.
If you desire financial success, then you must be intentional because it does not just happen. You must master your money and command that your money works for you. Organizing your finances is a prerequisite.
Simplify Decisions
Decision fatigue is real. Medicalnewstoday.com states that decision fatigue is a psychological phenomenon surrounding a person’s ability or capacity to make decisions. Essentially, the more decisions you have to make in a day the worse your decisions will be as the day passes.
We have all experienced it, but I know you remember when your mom would say, “Don’t ask me about another thing.” She was over it.
That was decision fatigue.
The wealthy understand that decision-making requires attention and active energy. Your energy depletes as the day goes on. This is why they want to limit and simplify the number of decisions made in a day. All remaining decisions are reserved for high-value areas.
Many financial decisions can be simplified through automation and/or decided in advance. This saves you time and energy to focus on the major decisions that need to be decided at the moment.
Here are some financial decisions that can be automated:
- Rent or Mortgage
- Utility Bills
- Investments
- Tithes & Offerings
- Savings
Here are some activities that can be decided in advance.
- Meals for the week (Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
- You can simplify this more by having the same meal multiple times a week
- Plan what you will wear
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- Planning outfits can be time-consuming and an energy drain especially when you feel like you have nothing to wear. Create the outfits in advance.
Free up your mental space from routine decisions by automating or proactively deciding.
Learn New Skills
Technology is changing the world at a rapid pace. If you are not increasing your skills to keep pace with the changes, you will not be in the same place, but you will be moving backward.
Wealthy people are continuously honing their skills or learning new skills to serve more people and provide more value in the marketplace. If you are interested in increasing your income, then learning a new skill is a great way to do it.
New skills allow you to exchange higher quality services for higher compensations. The more you can offer to the marketplace, the greater the salary you can command. Unlike the traditional thinking, earning a new skill does not require you to take on student loan debt for an advanced degree. There are many skills that you can develop online.
- Here are some sites that offer low to no-cost education to learn a new skill or sharpen your current ones.
You must be proactive in developing new skills sets. It’s not your employer’s or anybody else’s responsibility. As the world moves forward, your skills need to as well.
Read More
In high school, my accounting teacher told the class that if we wanted to be rich, we needed to read more books. I didn’t quite understand the concept. Like how could reading more books make me more money? I didn’t understand it then, but I get it now. And it proves to be accurate.
According to a study of 1200 wealthy people, one commonality that they have is reading. In fact, Warren Buffett states that he reads at least 500 pages a day.
He states “that’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
But the wealthy aren’t reading any books. They mostly read nonfiction books focused on self-development, success, and education.
Reading expands your thinking and perspective. It encourages you to think critically and stimulates creative thought. It encourages you to think differently; and we know from the wise words of King Solomon,
“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
The more you read, the more your perspective will expand and influence your desires and how you interact with the world. This is why it is important to read the material that is going to influence your actions towards your goals rather than distract you from them.
The moral of the story is less entertainment distraction, more reading.
Live Within Your Means, But Also Expand Your Means
Most financial professionals will state that you need to live within your means. This is sound advice because overspending destroys wealth and it can affect every income bracket. Everyone needs to do this. Why? Because It’s basic math. If you continuously spend more than you make, you will be in a deficit.
The difference comes in what happens next.
The wealthy don’t stop at living within their means, they also focus on expanding their means.
This theory is not taught often enough:
Live Within Your Means, but Expand Your Means.
You don’t have to stay in the same income bracket. You don’t just have to make what your employer pays you. You can if you want to, but you can make more. It’s not limited.
So yes, stay within your financial means but also increase your means so that you can create wealth, give more, and make a bigger impact in this world.
Give More
We were created not to serve ourselves, but to also be a blessing to others. The law of sowing and reaping works. You must sow the seeds first before you reap a harvest. The wealthy understand this. Most others don’t. Most believe that they can give from the harvest, but the first step is to plant the seeds.
Wealthy people give. Now some people may think, “the wealthy should give because they have the money”. But what if they have the money because they also give. Giving has a reciprocal effect. If you hoard your money with a tight fist, you keep what you have but also are not in position to receive.
However, the motive should not be to give to get, but give just to give; to bless someone else. The interesting thing is that you will receive; maybe not from the person you gave to but in other ways.
Seek to be a blessing to others and in turn, you will be blessed.
Invest in Assets
Along your journey to building wealth, it is important to have cash reserves or savings, but you cannot stop there. You must invest your money for it to work for you. According to Bankrate.com, the average savings interest rate is less than 1 percent. While the average return on the stock market is 10%.
There are some risks to investing in the market or any industry, but there are also strategies that the wealthy use to win in both a growing and declining economy.
Check out this blog post for investing options to create wealth: 3 Paths To Wealth
You must focus on not just consuming but investing your money in asset-producing investments. Make it a point to study an investment strategy this year. If you want to be good financial stewards of the resources you have, then you must manage and multiply your income, not just consume.
Conclusion
Above are just a few simple habits that you can embody to increase your wealth. Start with just one. Execute it over and over again, and then add another. Small steps done consistently over time will create an easy path that will be on autopilot.
While the items mentioned above are simple, they are also simple not to do. Be intentional. Implement these habits into your daily life and watch your finances change.
That’s getting your Finances On Point.
