You won a jackpot worth over Ksh 200,000,000! That’s a pipe dream. Gambling won’t make you wealthy. If you’re younger with an income, do not hesitate to open a savings account. I strongly recommend you join a registered Savings and Credit Co-operative Society (Sacco) of your choice. Make sure you save regularly, say monthly without fail, no matter the amount of money you make. Starting your life with those good financial habits will bleed over into your success in building wealth. How do you build wealth fast?
- Drop your living expenses like crazy
“Great wealth builders focus on both saving money and earning more”- Todd Tresidder. The gap between your expenses and your income: expenses should always be lower than your income. The larger that gap, the more wealth you can accumulate. You can’t invest unless you have money to invest. If you’re currently living beyond your means and have no additional money to put to work for you, you’ll never build wealth.
- Buying a car
“The biggest mistake a car buyer can make, especially in the age of the Internet, is to buy a car without doing research first. Some buyers are so eager to get through the car-buying process that they don’t take the time to find out everything they can about vehicle reliability, pricing and financing”- Jason Fogelson. Period. Car loans can have ridiculous interest rates that nobody should have to pay for to obtain transportation. If it isn’t helping you produce wealth, it is not necessary. Instead, think of better options; there are so many.
- Buy what you need
Never buy a crap! Ask yourself what you really need and really don’t need. Do you really need that big-inch flat-screen TV? No, you don’t!
- Save a Percentage of Your Income
Haba na haba hujaza kibaba so goes a Swahili saying.“You have to have money to make money.” You have to change your mindset and believe that you can find a way to make more money.
- Work Extra Hard. Earn More, Much More.
- Expand Your Education. This enhances your chance of earning a high salary.
- Think Entrepreneurship. Your salary is not enough. Your average millionaires have more than seven sources of income.
- Buying a house or renting
“Rentals offer far more flexibility. Buying a home typically means committing to a 30-year mortgage. Most people don’t stay in a home for anywhere near that amount of time, but it’s much harder to pick up and move from a home you own than it is to leave a rental”- Beth Braverman.
However, owning a house has so many benefits. It would be best if you weren’t discouraged from buying one when you can afford it.
What prevents people from saving?
We all have things in life that keep us from saving money. Some might keep you from saving money at all; others unnecessarily hold you back and prevent you from saving as much as you can.
Here are some:
You are spending too much on rent or a mortgage. Are you taking on more than you should?
Having no defined budget or better understood a financial game plan. It helps you set limits on how much you spend in specific categories.
You are waiting to “save when I make more money” mindset. Ok, making more money certainly makes saving money a lot easier. But do you expect your expenses to stay the same?
Lack of a measurable savings goal such as a monthly savings target that enables you to track your savings habit.
Staying in your comfort zone: start small so that you can ease into these new habits. Once you get more accustomed to this new way of managing your money, then you can increase your savings targets accordingly.
