Most people simply aren’t confident about where they stand financially. Partly that’s due to a lack of knowledge, but it’s also in part due to information overload. We’re bombarded every day with ads telling us what we should be doing with regard to every facet of our lives.

Here are five things your older self wants you to know now:

1. Financial planning is essential.

Becoming wealthy doesn’t happen by accident, it happens with a plan. Working out where you are now and where you want to go is the only way you’ll be able to work out what you need to do to fill the gap in between. Empower yourself to have a healthy, ongoing relationship with your money so that you have the options you want to have later in life.

2. Quality financial advice is out there.

Too many people believe that money is a science that they’re not smart enough to understand. If you were able to learn to read and tie your shoelaces, then you have the brainpower needed to take control of your own financial situation… you just need the right information.

The key is finding advice free from commissions, free from conflicts of interests.

3. Spend less than you earn.

There is one rule that rules them all! Once you have a plan, there is no way you can make it happen unless you spend less than you earn. There are no excuses. It’s not about what you earn, it’s about what you spend and if you want to be able to create wealth you have to spend less than you earn. No ifs, no buts, no maybes.

4. Borrow less than you can afford.

While we are bombarded with sellers trying to part us with our hard earned money, we’re equally bombarded with lenders encouraging us to borrow more… to borrow up to our eyeballs and sometimes beyond. Borrowing too much sets in motion a sequence of events where it takes that much longer to repay the debt, which delays the ability to redirect mortgage payments to creating wealth. Borrowing more than you can afford will almost certainly lead to a massive reduction in lifestyle in the future because there will not be enough time to create the wealth needed to pay yourself a decent income when you stop working.

5. Discuss finances at least every 12 months.

Set a date in the calendar and sit down to spend a few hours checking over your financial situation. What’s changed? What needs to be reviewed? People go years, sometimes a lifetime, without reviewing where they are financially. Make it a priority at least once a year. If you’re single, this allows you to take stock. If you have a partner, it allows the two of you to make sure you’re still on the same financial wavelength. And if you have kids, it allows you to demonstrate to them the sorts of behaviour that creates financial success.

Most people consider their parents their most trusted financial source of information… so you owe it to your kids to make sure you’re a trusted source with the right information.

None of the things listed above needs to be painful. There are simple and proven ways to manage your money to get the results you deserve from all the hard work you do.

Cheers,

Daniel