Financial freedom begins from your mind long before it appears in your pocket. A friend once said that "a poverty mentality is actually worse than the poverty of the pocket." What you think in your mind will translate into what you do and act. The journey to wealth is not about how much is in your bank account, but what is in your mind. That is; it is not about how much money you earn, but it is about how you think about money. You cannot say you desire financial freedom, yet your daily lifestyle is built on just spending and not investing. It is your investment mentality that actually secures a financial future for you. When you shift your mindset from spending to building financial freedom, you will be surprised how your life will change positively.
Having a mindset of spending is often driven by emotions, by impulse, and by the need for immediate satisfaction. Some people even spend so much just to look rich without even being rich. A friend once told me about how she borrowed money to buy a particular iPhone version. Not because she did not have phone, she had a previous iPhone version which was still very okay, but because her friends have upgraded their own phones. She bought the phone to look what she was not. When it was time to pay back the debt and the money she was expecting did not come, she started running around. She just wanted to look rich and ended up putting herself in trouble.
In this era that we live in, a lot of people are pressured into spending unnecessarily on what does not even add value to them, and on what they do not need. Some even try to replicate what they see on social media and the lifestyle flaunted there, at the expense of their pocket. Buying things that you do not need just to impress people is a very easy way to put yourself into financial struggles. But financial freedom is rooted in purpose, discipline, and intention. That is, spending on something that brings value in the long run, not just for some temporary satisfaction.
I am not saying that enjoying yourself is bad, it is actually very good. But you have to be able to afford it to go for it. As a business person for example, you do not take the money you are supposed to invest as a capital for your business and go for an enjoyment vacation. But if it is coming from your gain, then you will know that you have worked for it. Remember that any serious farmer will not eat their seed, they will only eat from the fruits when they are harvested, and they will also save some to plant later. This is the same thing that happens in the business world. Your priority should be to invest and not to spend first. Before you spend, try to ask yourself the purpose of your spending and the value it adds to you, then you will know if it is worth it or not.
Changing your financial mindset requires awareness. Not just self-awareness, but awareness of your spending triggers. That is realising what actually prompts you to spend excessively and unnecessarily - things like your mood, your friends, stress, boredom, etc. When you have understood this, you will be able to control it. Always try to take a pause before any non-essential purchase that you want to make and ask yourself if it will draw you closer to achieving your financial goal. Of course you should have a financial goal in the first place so as to have something to guide your financial activities.
Another very important factor to shift your mindset from spending to building financial freedom is education. You will be surprised how lots of people fear investing because they know little or nothing about it. When you gain financial literacy, it will turn your fear into confidence. The more you learn about budgeting, saving, investment, and passive income, the better and easier it will be to make wise financial decisions. It is knowledge that actually replaces your anxiety with better clarity. Doing what you are knowledgeable about usually feels easier than what you lack the knowledge of. If you want to gain financial freedom, then you have to go for more knowledge - attend seminars, read materials, interact with people knowledgeable in the field. Remember that your choices and decisions can be greatly improved by education.
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