Are you tired of struggling financially and missing opportunities just because you are a student? This article is here to help you break that barrier.
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When was the last time you were able to buy exactly what you needed to buy? Do you earn as you study or are you completely depending on parents, guardians, or other supporters? Have you ever thought of investing and growing your wealth? When in your life would you like to achieve financial freedom? God Forbid, but if your financial supporters, for reasons out of your control were no longer able to support you, how would you survive?
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Most students feel very comfortable with their financial situation because they assume that their parents’ money or wealth belongs to them! Others forget that the sponsorship they are getting whether to accommodate themselves or study won’t be available forever. Unfortunately, that is far from reality. In short, time is running out, way sooner than you think! Before you know it, you will be either moving to the next level of education or graduating to start work. Responsibilities will start knocking at your door earlier than you anticipate. You need to get prepared for your future and there isn’t a better time to do so than now.
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Kindly note, this article does not teach you how to get rich fast, how to get free money, or how to get easy money. After high school, I tried almost all ways on the internet to get free or easy money to become rich fast! That was one of the biggest mistakes in my life. I wasted so much time just to discover that such a thing DOESN’T EXIST! Make no mistake, whoever you see or know that is rich (with their own earned money) they worked hard for it, even if they try to make you believe otherwise. In this article, we will learn how to start building wealth legally and steadily to ensure that we attain financial freedom.
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I wonder if you have asked yourself why the title says millionaire and not a billionaire? It is important to note that it is very hard to get to a million dollars worth than it is to get to a hundred thousand dollars worth. However, it is “almost” impossible to get to a billion dollars during one’s lifetime. On the day of writing this article, in a world of 7,753,000,000 (7.753B) people, only 2,755 people are billionaires. That is only 0.000036% of the world population. 26% of these billionaires come from the US, and 25% from China, which together, the two countries contain more than half of all billionaires in the world. On the other hand, estimates show that there are at least 56 million people (0.72% of the world population) who are millionaires. Which one of the two groups do you think you are likely to be in the next ten to twenty years if you started investing now? So you see, it is important to set a hard but reasonable financial goal for yourself. Which is to have a worth of more than a million dollars in the next ten to twenty years depending on how aggressive you will be in achieving this goal.
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You are welcome to join me in my journey to becoming a millionaire.
It begins in the mind; Whatever you want to do or become, you need to first have the mindset to support it. If you do not believe that you can be a millionaire, you most probably won’t be able to become one during your lifetime. Now that you know everything begins in your mind, protect it. Be careful of what you read, watch, learn, and who you associate yourself with. All these things will either help your mind or destroy it.
Expose Yourself To Financial Education; Reading this article is a great step, but it shouldn’t be your last. Before you start investing it is important to learn what to invest in and why. Start by watching videos about money, investing, and saving. Read books that inspire you to reshape your spending habits.
Don’t Lose Focus On Studies; Do you believe that education is not important? Do you believe that if you drop out you will be successful easily and quickly? I am sorry to tell you that there is a very low chance that will happen. As a student, make sure that although you are saving and investing, you are also performing well in your academics and you finish whatever educational level you are in. If you can move to higher levels of education then that would even be better.
Save Per A Fixed Percentage; In most cases, you will not always receive the same amount of money during your school or academic life. I suggest that you have a set percentage that will guide you on how much to save depending on the money you get at that time. I recommend that you save 20% of every allowance/income that you get, but you can use a percentage that works for you. This means you will save high or low depending on your income.
Start Saving, To Invest; If you haven’t started saving yet, what are you waiting for? if you have been saving, then what have you been saving for? You need to make sure that you save a portion of your income while in school or university, not to spend it, but to invest it.
Involve your guardians in your investments; If you can not tell your parents/guardians about that investment, then there is a big chance whatever you are investing in will cause you to lose your money or end up in trouble possibly even jail. Because not all families are the same, you might not be able to share with your parents/guardians about your investments, however, it is important to have views from a third party. This person(s) should be someone you trust and they should be old enough, not your same-aged friend(s).
Avoid Quick and Easy money; I can not stress this enough. Free or easy money doesn’t exist, at least not at the time I am writing this article. All I can say is, if it’s fast, easy, has high risk, volatile, or too good to be true, then do your best to not be involved in it (as a student). This includes all range of activities, from stock-trading to buying hyped cryptocurrencies.
Relationships cost money; The more friends, you have the more it will cost you financially. Instead of looking at quantity look at the quality of friends you have. If you have people in your life that only want you to spend on them and you don’t receive the same favor in return, it would be best to cut them off as soon as you can, unless they are worth it for you (For example a lifetime best friend who you know will not be able to survive without you. Emphasis on LIFETIME, meaning you must have known each other for a very long time of not less than 8 years).
Own It Personally; Your relationships are not a guarantee no matter how much you love your partner. Students at a higher level of education like university make the mistake of assuming that investing in your partner is investing in themselves! If it’s not in your name, it’s not yours. No matter how much you love your partner or how many investments you have together, have investment funds that only you can control and that are in your name. You can give each other information on how much you have saved or how much you have, but do not give them access to your investment funds until you are married (or think its the right time, which I recommend to be after marriage or maybe never), unless they are the ones helping you manage that fund, which I do not recommend. In the end, relationships do end sometimes, you will be safer if you are in control of your money. Note, If someone wants you to give them access to your money to show them you love them, DONT DO IT! If possible let them go, Just my personal opinion. PS, your partner’s money, car, house, IS NOT YOURS, start working to also get your own.
Fun Doesn’t Pay You; It’s not a must for you to have fun just because you are young or because everyone else in your school is doing so. Stop copying lifestyles. Some students have very wealthy parents. Copying their lifestyle could cause serious financial strains for you and your family. Is it worth it? Plus, it’s clever to invest than to spend your money on fun. After you save 20% for investing, you can try to use some of that remaining money to have fun once in a while, but don’t make it a priority.
Work On Holidays; If possible, find work to do during holidays. Instead of staying home and watching cartoons, or movies all day, be productive. Look for legal ways to earn money. If you are at university, then you should try to start a small business that does not require you to spend much time on it. Nothing is more important than the experience you will get, so when you start working now or engaging in business you will have an advantage over your fellow students.
Be Patient And Continue To Invest; Having financial freedom doesn’t come in one year. Be patient as you grow your portfolio slowly. In due time, you will reach the ultimate goal you have set for yourself. Do not give up. Also, avoid withdrawing your investments frequently or giving yourself loans from your investment funds.
Don’t Love Money More Than Your Soul; At what cost do you want to grow your wealth? Avoid doing anything illegal, and engage in other important activities in your life like making friends, connecting with family, and so on. Do not lose who you are, because of money. In the end, money is just one of the tools for getting a better life, but a better life does not mean having a lot of money. In life, some things are more valuable than money, including True Love.
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By this point, I am thinking there needs to be a part two of this article! There is so much yet to be said but it would be too much to put all on this article. What I can add is to say that saving, investing, and having good budgeting skills are not enough to help you achieve your financial goals. You need to have FAITH. Faith not only helps you to have a better discipline in life but it also helps you emotionally to handle problems that you will most definitely face in school and your life. Most people assume that only their hard work is enough, or having a lot of money will give you a happy life! You would be wrong because as I said in the previous section, there are more important things in life than money!
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NB: Here are some takeaways!
- Save 20% of your earnings (allowance, pocket money, petty cash, etc)
- Don’t save to spend save to invest
- Learn more about money and investing through books, audios, videos, and discussions with experts
- Involve your guardians to help you make better decisions in investing
- Avoid making money your priority
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Do you feel that you have been good in other areas than you have been in Faith? Do you wish to know God more and follow his guidance in all that you do? Then do not miss next week’s article, “Growing Your Faith”
