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Reshape your money thoughts

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“Do you think that money grows on trees?” I cannot begin to think of the number of times my father asked me the question after my requesting what seemed like a pittance of a handout as spending money when I was a youngster.

Of course, at the time, I never once thought that money could possibly grow on trees. Still, as I reach my more mature years, I am beginning to believe that there must be orchards full of “Randsandcentstrum floribunda,” commonly known as ‘the Money Tree.”

I say this because I observed money being spent on day-to-day non-essential items and luxury goods at the expense of financial security, future or present. This leads me to believe that this genus of overgrown shrubbery must be hidden somewhere in a valley I have not yet discovered.

To my knowledge, there are only four ways of obtaining money. You can win it, inherit it, steal it (refrain from doing this) or earn it. So if we rule out having a “lotto mentality,”  “silver spoon syndrome,” or being a thief, then the only realistic way to obtain money is to earn it. I like to think that anyone who chooses to earn money must have worked hard for it, as the word earn implies. Yet having worked hard for it, little thought goes into the planning of its use.

Generally speaking, people fall into two categories of income earners. They are either employed by a company and have a job for which they receive an income, or they generate their own income by becoming self-employed or investing and managing their existing wealth.

The employed person has a job. He has a finite income; in other words, his income is “capped” to his net take-home pay. He can’t earn anymore unless he has a job that offers incentives or belongs to the third group of hybrid income earners, also known as moonlighters, who hold down a position and operate a small business on the side. However, the self-employed income earner has an unlimited capacity to earn income based on his skills and abilities.

  • Regardless of which category you fit in. Think like a self-employed person.
  • Learn Money management skills
  • Always Budget
  • Pay yourself 1st
  • Have a plan
  • Stick to it
  • Review often

Allen Hargreaves Financial Wellness Coach
Invest in Yourself

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