The 5 Essential Financial Rules
Money basics for wealth and prosperity
1) Think about money the right way
What do you do when you have extra money in your hands? Do you think, “Okay, what am I going to spend this on?” Or, do you think, “Great. Where shall I invest this?”
Poor people think of money as something to spend.
Wealthy people think of money as something to have. Money doesn’t ‘burn a hole in their pocket’ or ‘run through their fingers’. They are comfortable simply having it.
Examine your conscious and subconscious beliefs about money and yourself. Don’t fall into the same patterns as people around you by default. Consider who your role models are. You can love and respect people without following their way of being with money.
Learn what a scarcity and an abundance mindset are. Money is a construct and, therefore, infinite. It’s a neutral frequency that responds to your decision. It responds to gratitude and trust. Give these ideas deep consideration until you understand them.
Don’t be a victim. Never ‘poor mouth’ under any circumstances. ‘Poor mouthing’ is casting a negative spell on yourself. You have everything you need to succeed, but you must engage your mind and re-examine what you think you know.
2) Educate yourself
Educate yourself about money and how wealthy people think. Read as much as you can. Learn the difference between an asset, a liability and an expense. Learn about investing, stocks, interest rates etc.
Understand the difference between money and wealth. Wealth is about how much you keep, not about how high your income is. It is also about quality of life, health, time spent doing what you love, peace of mind etc.
3) Don’t be a chump
Never use credit cards unless you’re wealthy enough to pay off the balance every single month. Then they may be useful for getting the rewards and other perks. But, until that point, avoid them like the plague.
Only borrow money if it will lead to making more money. Never borrow unless it’s to spend on tools to help you make more money.
Be very wary of advice and products from institutions who are making money from your debt. Always ask yourself — who is gaining from this? Is it really a good idea to buy the warranty, or are they profiting from my ignorance or laziness? Think! Don’t be a chump!
Most of all, don’t try to appear ‘wealthy’. This is one of the chumpiest of chumpish ways of being. It is much better to actually be wealthy, than to appear wealthy. Remember, most genuinely wealthy people never worry about appearing wealthy. They are often discreet. They don’t usually want you to know how wealthy they are.
Trying to appear wealthy when you’re not will often have the reverse effect. Be authentic. Saying that, it may be desirable to present yourself as a person of taste who understands what quality is.
Don’t try to keep up with what your friends are doing. They are in a different situation from you. Besides, your worth and value are not found in your material possessions.
4) Spend less & save
Always spend less than your income, even if it’s only by 1 dollar. Make it a priority to save up at least one month of expenses, then three months, then much more as time goes by.
Your real wealth is equivalent to how long you can survive if your income dried up tomorrow.
The peace of mind that comes with having a cushion is immeasurable. There is more pleasure to be found in making and having money than there ever is in spending it. If you want to spend money, spend it on assets and tools. Your health is an asset and a tool.
Keep your overheads low and examine your small daily expenses. You won’t look at a single dollar the same way again if you truly consider it.
Example: Three dollars per day spent on a coffee over a year is 1095 dollars.
Frittering money is equivalent to snacking if you’re trying to lose weight. You are much better to buy one good item that will last you a long time than buy ten ill-considered cheap items. Remember all clutter was once money. Go for quality over quantity.
Look after your future self. Get into long-term thinking and lose the immediate gratification mindset.
The majority of people overspend on clothes, meals out, coffees, holidays, gifts etc. It isn’t a sacrifice to be frugal with these things if you are building genuine wealth for your future. If you want to be useful to the people you love, you’ll become wealthy rather than frittering money on them. Paying for things which matter is much more rewarding than buying bits of nothing.
Tightening our belts is much easier to do than most people think. Most people underestimate their capacities by a wide margain. You can easily live for a month on only beans and rice if you decide to. You can easily go a whole year without buying clothes, jewellery, make-up, shoes. Or quit going to restaurants or cafes for a month. You can spend the money you save on tools to make more money. Have you tried?
5) Be generous
You will rarely be able to sort out another person’s money problems out by just giving them money. Wealth is a mindset. On the other hand, generosity is one of the main reasons to be wealthy. So look for opportunities to sensibly give.
Be generous on your terms, never on someone else’s. You must be the one to decide who you give your money to and how. Don’t give your money to moochers, scroungers, scavengers, perpetual victims, or con-artists. It won’t help them, or you. But, by all means, help someone who will genuinely be uplifted.
Never lend money to anyone.
If you can’t afford to give it or don’t want to give it, don’t lend it. This will save you a great deal of distress in life. Give and let go, or keep it, but don’t ‘lend’. Trust me on this.
Most of all give value. Be generous with your energy, intelligence, talents, attention, passion and creativity. Focus on giving value and being a person of value, rather than getting from the world.
The rewards will come pouring in because this is energetic law. Not only this, but giving is its own reward.
Recap
Think about money the right way.
Educate yourself.
Don’t be a chump.
Spend less and save.
Be generous.
