money management: how not to fall into the rat race

Everyone – and I mean everyone – has the ability to build wealth. It’s just a matter of developing the right strategy and mindset.
 
You are just one tactic away from having all you ever wanted. We live in a world where there is a magnitude of success coaches, transformation gurus, personal development specialists – promoting a huge menu of courses, conferences, motivational workshops, mastermind groups, and 1-to-1 coaching sessions – all aimed at increasing your wealth.

Now, with this huge variety of choices available, you will derive great value from many of the experts and you will undoubtedly learn, grow, and move towards becoming rich as a result of what you learn from them and apply to your life. However, there is a huge caveat. These courses, teachings, and transformational interventions don’t come cheap. To afford them, you often have to be well on your way to wealth, or already be pretty rich! There is no denying that a one-day course with Tony Robbins is life-changing and will provide you with tools and a shift of mindset to develop a new you. But it comes with a huge price tag that isn’t realistic for most people.

So, I want to share with you a very simple strategy that, once applied, will change your life forever. It’s so simple, it’s hardly a strategy – more like a change of perspective, but I assure you that if you adopt it, will take you closer towards your goal of being rich.
 
It comes from an understanding of general human behaviour. As soon as you experience an increase in income, your cost of living moves up accordingly, to balance out this increase. You end up no better off.
 
What do I mean by this? Robert Kiyosaki, the property and wealth expert, explains it in his best-selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, like this:
 
“Life, for many, is a constant cycle of chasing their tail, playing catch-up on their finances but never managing to get ahead. Some would argue that this system, by design, means to keep the poor poor and the rich rich.”
 
As soon as we enter the workforce, we start living from paycheque to paycheque, becoming part of this process designed to keep the status quo, wealth-wise – the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich.
 
To achieve wealth, some people knuckle down to work, go above and beyond, and secure a more senior position and accompanying pay-rise. For a few weeks, there is cause for celebration, and they feel richer. Maybe they even treat themselves – upgrade their phone, or their car, or their house… but within a few months – guess what? They are back to square one. Maybe, even worse off.
 
How can this be? Surely if you’ve had a pay rise, you should automatically have more left at the end of the month? No! The error most people make when experiencing any increase in their income is that they begin spending the excess money before it’s even arrived in their account. As soon as a pay increase occurs, within a short period of time, an increase in outgoings occurs, too, to counterbalance the credit. This is why so many people never escape the rat race. Their standard of living, and its cost, grows in line with their income.
 
Our money is often spent on items we desire, but do not need. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more possessions, but when this behaviour has the power to hinder your future wealth and happiness, that’s a problem. Conspicuous consumption is not going to make you rich.
 
One of the major principles of achieving wealth is to address this human tendency to spend our credit and achieve a deficit.  
 
Simply change your perspective.
 

• Keep your outgoings low and don’t buy into the pull of online shopping, luxury holidays, or whatever your vice is. Sacrificing life’s little luxuries is hard in the beginning and can be a great test of character – but the consequence of not doing this can be a life of financial difficulty, instead of the financial freedom you crave.

 

• Give yourself a monthly challenge to budget for how much you can save and invest, as opposed to how much you can spend. Instead of spending it, invest any surplus money in assets that will provide a return.

 
Maintain this discipline over a period of time – perhaps a few years – and it will soon produce the bounty that will set you on your way to further wealth – and true financial freedom.

Author

Ryan Jackson is a serial entrepreneur and success coach who runs multiple businesses in the UK and abroad. He is passionate about inspiring others to become the best versions of themselves through personal development. www.ryanjackson.org