Invest in yourself first
They say the best investments you can make is the one in yourself. I know it sounds like a cliche, but how do I invest in myself? Because I wouldn’t mind skipping the “invest in yourself” conversation and go straight to making the big buck on the stock market. But that’s not how life works. So, instead of skipping the growth lets go over the top 3 investments you need to make for yourself.
Making your Investment with your money personal
For me, I’ve always found it difficult to invest in myself and I still do. But when it comes to investing in my financial standing that is where I love investing. I always remind myself of where I come from and the lack of opportunities Dominicans have back home. It reminds me of all the opportunities and financial benefits that we have here in the USA. I personally don’t take those opportunities lightly. And to be honest, it actually motivates me to financially position myself to take advantage of those opportunities. But we can’t take advantage of the stock market or the real estate market if we don’t have a solid financial foundation.
Now, when I talk to my husband about these investment opportunities, he doesn’t get motivated by that. He finds more motivation from getting the financial freedom and liberation of bills that hold him back. We all get motivated in different ways and learning yourself and what you need is part of that process. You do this by figuring out what you want in return from investing in yourself financially. Are you looking for financial independence, building generational wealth or more options? They all come with money and learning how to manage your funds will be the leading way to gift yourself the best investment of all. Which in my opinion is the time to do whatever you want and to have options along the way.
Here are the top 3 investments to make for yourself:
It took a few wine nights to figure out how to balance both of our financial motivators. But one thing we did agree on was that we didn’t want to build ourselves and our family upon a rocky foundation. And honestly, I don’t want anyone or any family to sacrifice and end up with nothing like my family did. So, here are the 3 investments I added to my portfolio of life to help me invest in myself.
- You need a Budget
- You need an Emergency Fund
- Pay off Your Debt Faster
Sticking to your budget
When it comes to investing in yourself, you have to get organized and create a plan for what you want. But before we jump into what we want, we all have bills and responsibilities to take care of. First, create a budget that prioritizes your income to flow into your bills. This allows you to take care of the roof over your head and food on the table. The best investment in yourself is to have a steady living situation and actually knowing how much that costs.
The second area you want to track your spending on is your lifestyle expenses. These are going to be the expenses we choose to have but don’t need to have. The best way to invest in yourself financially is to not let your lifestyle expenses creep up to your income. Like it or not, you have to find a balance between having fun and having funds. Creating a budget that offers some flexibility will help you from going on a wild spending spree.
Like it or not, you have to find a balance between having fun and having funds.
Beefing up your emergency fund cushion
When it comes to your emergency fund, this is you investing in your safety net. You want to financially protect yourself from any unseen expenses that could cripple you financially. I always recommend saving more than $1,000 and up to one month of expenses for your beginner emergency fund. But stopping at just one month isn’t the goal if you want to build financial confidence. If you want more information on how much you need to be saving then check out my emergency fund video.
The second tip you can use is to save your emergency fund away from your primary checking account. You don’t want to accidentally use the funds for your emergency fund by routinely overspending. Beefing up your emergency fund and keeping it away from your old habits will help you not use it incorrectly. The best feeling of having an emergency fund is knowing that you have it for when you need it. The more months you have saved in your safety net, the higher your confidence starts to grow.
Paying off your debt to lowering your cost of living
The magic about paying off debt is that you get addicted to not owing and throwing money at interest payments. You’re able to lower your cost of living and have more money to show for every time you pay off debt. One of the most impactful benefits of paying off debt is that it lowers how much money you owe to other companies every month. Once you pay off one debt, the stress of how much money you have to make to pay your bills is lowered. Meaning you don’t have to pick up extra hours or an extra job to make ends meet. You now give yourself options on how much you need to make and where your money is going. If you want to start your debt-free journey check out my blog with my step-by-step guide on how my family paid off $99K.
How these tips have changed my life
I know every financial expert swears about budgeting and getting out of debt, but it’s true. I’ve found myself asking myself what else is holding me back from achieving my goals. The list is very very short and my excuses are pretty wack. I find myself now wanting to invest in myself, in my business, and my family. Once you have a handle on your personal finances you’ll see that it becomes very realistic to achieve a lot more. That’s something that has changed my life and how I choose to live. Those options are what I wish for you and your family on your financial journey.
