Well I am still in my late 20s, but I have learnt some very important lessons from a financial as well as a general standpoint, sometimes through my own mistakes and often by observing others. Here is what I can share:
- Saving money is good. But Save to invest and not just save to save
Often we save money and keep it in the bank and boast about a high bank balance after having saved for a few months. There has to be an emergency corpus set aside of course, but make it a rule to invest at least 30% of your savings every month. You can make that investment into stocks, mutual funds, real estate, startups, cryptocurrencies, or whatever you see fit according to your risk profile.
- Try to develop multiple streams of revenue
One way to earn more money is to increase our sources of income. In today’s high intensity work environment, even if you are working hard at a top firm, you are always dispensable. So creating a second source of income will definitely help out. Also I studied the earning habits of about twenty millionaires and one theme common amongst them was that they all had three or more than three sources of income.
- Don’t show off
I think the best example you can take in this case is Warren Buffet. For instance, Buffett still lives in a pretty small house in Omaha, Nebraska despite his billions. His reasoning behind staying there? The home has everything he needs. And since he doesn’t need anything bigger or better, he simply doesn’t need, at the moment, to buy another house. The below quote I think actually sums up this point:
- Set goals and imagine achieving them
We must have not only clear objectives, but also a specific plan to achieve them. Money does not grow on trees, we must work hard to earn it. Many people don't achieve what they want because they don't really know what they want. Rich people know very clearly that they want to make a lot of money, and they work vigorously towards that.
- Spend time and make friends with people who are smarter and better than you
An athlete participated in a 100 m race in the U-17 age category. He would always finish in the top 3. This went on for a year. Then he decided to take part in the U-21 category, as he thought he was better than the others in the previous category. Only this time he finished in the last spot in the first six races. But one thing happened. His speed was better than ever. This story teaches us a lesson. If you want to be better and smarter, spend time with people who are better and smarter than you. You will feel inferior at first, but gradually you will improve and become a version of yourself you could only dream of at one point.
- Think Big and Believe that you can make it too
We all have potential. We’re unique but we’re not special, or different. We all can be someone, but how much we want to become that person is what shapes your actions from today. So Dream Big. Think Big. and most importantly Act Big.
All the best. :)
