Ways To Secure A Bright Financial Future
No matter which way you cut it, denying an association between the amount of money you make and your subjective happiness is simply inaccurate for most people. It’s a fairly well-researched phenomenon in the world of psychology that your physiological well-being is a precondition for your happiness. This means having food, a roof over your head, and other necessities that require money.
The bad news is being part of western society renders the necessity of money more or less unavoidable, but the good news is accumulating wealth is entirely possible regardless of your current position and bank statement. The amount of money to your name can be thought of as the sum of your habits, so it’s a good idea to indoctrinate routines to build your affluence and nix any that are counterproductive.
Below, we will explore ways to increase your wealth, as well as ways in which you may be hindering your finances.
Getting Out From Under Debt
In the modern age, many people need to contend with unprecedented pressure of student loan debt. In fact, the average cost for a year of tuition at an in-state public college is now over $25,000. Even when inflation is accounted for, this amount is incomparable with tuition costs of previous generations.
While student loans are unavoidable for most, there are sometimes ways to optimize payments. This may include consolidating loans, and/or increasing or decreasing your monthly payments to suit your current level of income. Other considerations involve getting out from under any other, smaller debts as soon as possible to avoid the threat of penalties. For this, there are loaning services that help in taking care of short-term commitments.
Find Meaning and Purpose
Working at a job that you hate merely for the sake of producing a paycheck is generally a dismal situation. Unfortunately, this accurately describes the lives of many people; oftentimes, people either cease to, or never consciously examine the possibility to change the situation. All people will need to do these jobs for a certain duration of their lives, but enclosing yourself in a job you disdain indefinitely is setting yourself up for a miserable existence.
The truth is that people with purpose in their lives benefit from reduced feelings of anxiety and increased feelings of well-being and resilience. If anxiety levels or resilience are in poor standing, you become far more vulnerable to a downward spiral characterized by dread and misery.
In addition, job satisfaction has been linked to work performance, meaning you are more likely to become a dynamo of positivity and productivity if you are doing something that you find meaning and pleasure in. In theory, this translates not only to mental stability, but also material wealth.
It can be a trying process to find out what you truly enjoy doing, but the worst thing you can do is remain stagnant in an uninspiring occupation. Trying something else and reaching the realization that you don’t like it is still a step in the right direction of finding out what you really want. In other words, trying anything is always better than inaction.
Work Hard
In a world of instant gratification, it can be tempting to veer from the path of hard work. However, paying your dues in the meantime yields you a great return in the future. In life, there is generally a trade-off between momentary indulgence and long-term benefit. To understand this and work hard in the present is to make a bargain with your future self.
This is a phenomenon that recurs across domains, from dietary choices to exercise, to the proposition of work versus play. Of course, all work and no play carries its own deleterious effects, so striking a balance in this regard is paramount for its long-term sustainability.
Learn To Invest
Learning how to build and cultivate a stock portfolio is one of the most valuable things a person can do. The average person need not learn all the intricacies of how the stock market works to benefit from it. Taking just a few minutes a day to use online resources to learn about stock market investments can go a long way.
The sooner a person begins to invest in stocks, the better. This is because of what is known as compound interest, in which exponential wealth accumulation is a function of time. Thus, the more time you have with the investments, the better. Studies show that a significant slice of the population owns no stocks at all, which translates to missed financial benefit in times of market prosperity. This potentially results in a great deal of money left on the table simply from not owning stocks.
Consider The Costs and Benefits Of Real Estate
Owning property has always been one of the greatest strategies in terms of cultivating intergenerational wealth. Mortgages are often cheaper per month than rent for a comparable property, plus this is money you will likely see again when the property is sold. In contrast, rent money will never be seen again.
