Financial Education

For our family, financial success seems to ebb and flow. With two young boys and a baby on the way, we’re confronted with financial hurdles on a regular basis. These hurdles got me to thinking about what makes families financially successful? What are the core habits leading to their success?

I did a bit of research on these habits and have some recommendations to help you clear the hurdles in your life. Most of these seem simple, but making them a habit in your life will likely be a bit more of a challenge.

1. Live within your means. Simple enough, just spend less than you earn and save the rest. We see people with a beautiful new car and a big house. Then we think to ourselves, how can they afford that? How are they making it happen? Well, in many cases it might be an illusion, where they satisfy their wants at the cost of their financial future.
2. Learn to say no. This comes down to “wants and needs”. It’s easy to get excited about that new shirt, workout clothes or toys for the kids, but separating want and what you need is will prevent you from over spending.
3. Pay yourself first. This means putting money away every paycheck before you can spend it, then build your budget off the remaining funds. Usually people try to save after their “budget” then realize nothing is leftover.
4. Spend time with people with similar goals. If you want to be a saver, then get in the habit of spending time with people with similar mindset. Habit #2 becomes much easier if your wants list is reasonable.
5. Plan ahead for big purchases. This takes patience. Save for your big purchases so you can make a sizable down payment on vehicles, a home, home improvements, a boat etc. This act will prevent being upside down where your purchase is worth less than you awe. A major cause of many financial headaches.
6. Have an emergency fund. No matter how hard we plan, financial hurdles will come up. So, plan for the unexpected and have an emergency fund. This will prevent you from going deeper into debt every time something unexpected comes up.

These are all great, but believe me, I understand how hard these habits are to develop. So, take time, make steps in the right direction and be patience. Life is a marathon not a sprint. If you ask anyone who is financially independent, it didn’t happen overnight. Unless they won the lottery! Which I don’t recommend as a you’re only strategy for financial success. Good luck everyone!