Do you wish you had the knowledge to generate true wealth when you were young? I certainly do. There are so many things I would tell my younger self about creating a secure money mindset.
True wealth is simply seeking deeper relationships and more meaning in life. This includes having a better relationship with money.
There are soooo many things that I wish I could tell my younger self about this topic.
This goes beyond investing in Amazon or Apple 20 + years ago (even though I wish I did).
I wasn’t bad with my personal finance. If you were to ask my 21-year-old self I would have proudly declared I was really good with it.
This is because I was quite frugal and had some savings. And I left university with under £5,000 of Student Loans and no overdraft. I also entered my working life in a relatively stable job market. I also never spent excessive amounts on clothes and socialising.
Subscribe to the Unique Money Mission newsletter below to get more money tips straight to your inbox
Let’s start with the biggest financial mistakes I made in my 20s
The biggest mistake that made was not investing after the dot com bust. This is because I put my spare cash into a tech fund that plunged in value and closed. It took more than a decade after this occurred before I invested in the stock market again.
I also waited until my 30s until I finally started to contribute into a pension.
Some of the clear financial mistakes I made include losing hypothetical money, by not investing when I was younger. I would definitely tell my younger self to understand investing strategies sooner!
Another mistake I made was thinking that being frugal alone was the only key to financial prosperity. Being frugal, has many advantages. On its own doesn’t build wealth especially if this means NOT investing in yourself.
Read more: 4 really BAD financial advice tips from your immigrant parents
There are lots of things I would tell my younger self to create a rock-solid foundation.
These mostly have nothing to do with money, investing or finance. More importantly, I would tell my younger self some unconventional things that would affect my long-term prosperity and wealth.
1. Unclear about life’s purpose
I spent a lot of my 20s in survival mode.
I never really asked myself any deep questions or investigated what I really wanted from my:
- Life
- Career
- Relationships
- Or had any understanding of my life.
I didn’t even know what I liked. I am not sure if I was even curious. This caused a lot of pain as I always felt that I was missing out. I wish I took the time to ask deeper and more probing questions. I would have probably realised I was not missing out.
Then I would not have wasted so much time, money and energy on experiences (like learning to code) that didn’t fit with my values or my interests.
2. Be a producer, not a consumer
Being a producer first. This is one of the keys to wealth I feel that no one ever talks about – except those in the know. This means if you enjoy:
- Going to parties (consumer) create a club night or event (producer)
- Watching YouTube videos (consumer) create a channel (producer)
- Reading Harry Potter (consumer) write your own fantasy novel (producer)
There are so many opportunities when you create a producer mindset. Being a producer creates a different perspective. You also ask different questions. You shift perspective and see more opportunities.
Read more: Compound interest isn’t the only gadget in your investing tool kit
3. Emotional and physical health equals wealth
Taking care of your physical and emotional health is important. I wish I:
- Went to therapy sooner (read more about me here)
- Created healthier boundaries in many of my relationships
- Prioritised exercise to produce and release happy hormones
- Be clear about what my values are.
Being in a great place physically and mentally CAN enable you to enjoy the present moment. It also avoids traps like spending money not based on your values or jumping to the next shiny new goal, relationship or thing.
Being in good health means that you can fully enjoy all aspects of your life.
4. Adapt to change
When I was younger change was one of the hardest things that I had to adapt to. I never really understood that I am a participant in a continuously adapting, evolving and changing universe. The only constant in life is change. Resisting this is painful.
Being flexible means:
- Fulfilling my unique mission
- Overcome obstacles
- Enjoy the journey
- Create opportunities
5. The best return on your investment? Yourself
Remember I stated earlier I wish that I invested in Apple and Amazon. This is true. But I regret not investing in myself more.
This would have enabled me to have a secure foundation and have very strong roots. This means that when you hit inevitable obstacles and problems I would be able to see the potential opportunities.
It is very easy to get stuck into a routine of not advancing forward. Not advancing is regressing. This is fine if you are completely happy about your life. For example, if you are unhappy in your day job commit to one hour a day to change this. An example of this is Unique Money Mission, I have been able to create to develop new skills, like:
- Graphic design
- How to write for blogs
- Find solutions when stuck
- Social media management
- How to design a website using WordPress
When I bought the domain website on 27 December 2020 I had none of the above skills or knowledge.
6. Be kind to yourself
It is important to be kind to others. It is also equally important, if not more, to be kind to yourself too. It promotes confidence and happiness. It also sets the tone for how others treat you.
Being kind to your self includes:
- Having nice conversations about yourself with yourself
- Not comparing your life with someone elses
- Not judging yourself too harshly
- Being perfect
In terms of finances, spending some money on fun, rather than saving every penny, is an excellent example of being kind to yourself.
Recap
There is so much more to generating wealth than saving, investing or getting your finances in order. Creating a strong emotional, physical and spiritual foundation is just as important.
To get more unconventional money tips please subscribe to the Unique Money Mission newsletter below.
Leave a Reply