Steemit Engagement Challenge (SEC)| S12W1- "Finance and Me"
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My dad was a very wise man. Not that I thought so when I was little. It was only as I was growing up that I came to realize that.
He told us kids, “Maths is taught at school but how to handle your finances is not.”
My views on finance |
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One of our biggest challenges in life is our finances, as they are the tool for managing and allocating resources to achieve our goals. Best of all is that sometimes these goals are small, and other times they are huge.
So often we link "finance" to a business. Little do we realize that the most important business in life is our own finances.
For me, finance goes with;
• Analyzing
• Making decisions
• Saving
• Budgeting
• Financial planning and
• Assessing risks
These elements are like the stars. They don’t line up. The chance of a wandering star is always there.
Do I have all I need or am I facing financial difficulties? |
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I don’t think there is ever one person on earth who doesn’t need "more." It doesn’t matter how rich you are or how much money you are making there will always be a desire to acquire more. I know you are dying to ask me why I am saying this.
Well, there is one tiny little word that determines our lives, and that is the word… "GOALS."
Even when your finances are strong enough, your goals will change and you will start working towards achieving them.
The next word that goes hand in hand with goals is… "FUTURE."
We cannot project the future. We don’t know what will be required of us in the future. We’ve seen over the years that plenty of billionaires lost their wealth due to the stock market crashing, inflation skyrocketing, and circumstances like war.
Let’s take Elon Musk, one of the wealthiest men on earth and a personal icon. He once said in an interview that the best and safest investments we can have are physical assets. Now I cannot help but wonder if his idea is to claim Mars as his personal asset.
Back to myself. I don’t have all that I need when it comes to my finances, but I am at financial peace which I think is of the utmost importance.
“About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends.” - Herbert Hoover
What are the three things that I cannot accomplish due to financial restraints? |
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Umh… If I have to think about the three things I cannot accomplish right now I have to think a bit about “financial freedom, ”pleasure,” and “retirement.”
I don’t think one can ever be financially free, but for me, it will feel like I am financially free if I can finish building our home so that we can have an extra income. Holiday renting is huge in our town and if I could rent out the bottom of the house to holidaymakers, it would give me financial peace of mind.
Right now I just don’t have the money to build the second level of our home even though I have just sold another property.
I have not seen my son and his family in nearly five years. Currently, I don’t have the finances to visit them in Ireland. With COVID-19 putting so many of us one step back with our finances, there are so many other holes that need to be filled first.
It would give me great pleasure if I could jump on an airplane and go visit them.
My retirement was all planned and I was on track, but yah, then the unexpected happened. Currently, the average monthly wage in South Africa is approximately between R22,000 and R 26,000 (South African Rand) is +/- 7,400 – 8745 STEEM.
For me to retire I need to have saved R 4.5 million (South African Rand) or 1513250,76 STEEM.
One of my favorite quotes is from Robert De Niro
“Sometimes if you have financial restraints, it's a benefit. It forces you to come up with a more creative way.”
What I can do to manage my finances wisely in the meantime |
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This is where my mom comes in. My parents were not rich when we were children, but we always had food in the home, the prettiest clothes that mom made herself, and the best cupcakes to sell when it was market day at school.
I always wonder how she did it.
When I had my children I quickly had to learn to be like my mother. I have to count every cent (penny) twice. In other words, I have to watch what I buy.
I have to be SMART;
- Set budgets
- Cut on expenditure
- Control spending
- Track my spending
- Secure emergency funds
I have to put into practice what I taught my children when they were waiters at our restaurant. They should always allocate 50% of their earnings to necessities, 30% to what they want, and 20% to saving.
I have to practice what I have preached.
“Money is always eager and ready to work for anyone who is ready to employ it.” Idowu Koyenikan
Who do I run to for help in financially difficult times? |
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I am lucky, as I never had to ask anyone for financial help. Well, no living person. I was always in a position to take care of myself, even if it meant that I had to take on extra jobs.
There was a stage in my life where I was working three different jobs at the same time. This placed me in a position where I could help my family.
The only place I have borrowed from was the bank for a mortgage loan. I hated doing this as the interest you paid over the 10 – 15 years was almost as much as the purchase price of the property.
“Every time you borrow money, you're robbing your future self.”
― Nathan W. Morris
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Account summary:
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Wow! such an interesting article, the way you present your entry and your choice of words need to be studied in school as a subject/course.
What i find more interesting about this article is the last part that quote, Everytime you borrow money, you're robbing your future self. that reminds me of a friend that collect a loan from a firm in our community Which it didn't end well, So pathetic.
Wish you all the best. One love 💙🌹✌️
It is for me to say thank you for the visit, the engagement, and the kind words.
My parents taught us that you should never borrow from anyone. If you cannot buy it yourself, you don't need it, and you can therefore go without it.
So often, it is true. There are alternative ways with everything in life.
Love your parents teachings of discipline. One love 💙🌹✌️
I really appreciate you for learning from your mum that's very good to hear.
This is to show how important women are.
Women have this management gift in them. It is given to us by God. But some men does not understand. We deserve more respect than men is just that here in Africa women are being maltreated.
Thank you for the visit and the engagement, my friend!
I must admit, I had two very wise parents. I just wish I had listened more to them when I was younger. (•ิ‿•ิ)
Time is changing, and soon we will see that women are treated equally.
There is already a huge shift here in South Africa.
Wow I wish is the same here in Nigeria too.
Sangat luar biasa, tuan @patjewell
Anda telah menyajikannya dengan sangat bagus.
Semoga keuangan anda selalu akan berjalan lancar, dan setidaknya anda dapat menjadi peluang untuk meringankan beban yang lain.
Semoga harimu menyenangkan tuan @patjewell
Thank you for the visit and your engagement with my post.
And a big thank you for your kind wish for my finances to always run smoothly.
We can give our finances our best. More than that, we cannot do as it is not always in our hands to control it. (•ิ‿•ิ)
Good luck Mr. @patjewell 👍
Hola amiga @patjewell estoy totalmente de acuerdo con usted porque la fianza son esos recurso qué nos permite mantenernos activos a través del trabajo para satisfacer nuestra necesidades básicas, por eso debemos ser buenos administradores, para comprar lo necesario, eso se lo dijo porque aquí en mi país venezuela el sueldo del trabajador no alcanza para comprar un kilo de leche. Éxitos y suerte en el concurso.
I've seen from the posts of fellow Steemians that many citizens are leaving Venezuela because of the poor economic circumstances. It is so sad, but unfortunately, if our countries cannot look after us there is no other option. We are also experiencing South Africans leaving the country.
Thank you for your engagement with my post. It is appreciated.
Saludos amiga su padre tenía mucha razón ya que las finanzas ni se aprenden en la escuela sino en la vida misma poco a poco vamos entendiendo que debemos ser más precavido en cuanto a nuestros gastos, veo que en su país se gana muy bien ha de ser por eso que sus finanzas van bien, casi 9000 steem un poco más de 1200$ wow,acá en mi país Venezuela apenas llega a unos 5$ un salario mensual
Wow! 5$! That is shocking, my friend! My heart is bleeding for all of you.
South Africans don't know how lucky they are. As for the prices of goods. I've seen that our two countries compare well. The cost of goods is nearly the same.
We need to look after our finances if we want to survive in the years to come.
Dear-@patjewell
Wise people always have better intellect like your father.You are really lucky not to have to borrow your money from anyone.Anyway, trust your topic.Thanks a lot for mentioning me.Best wishes to you always.
Thank you for repaying the support! It is appreciated.
I indeed had a very wise dad. I am sure you had the same experience with your dad.
Thank you, best wishes to you also.
https://twitter.com/pat_vs01/status/1701000070416716266?s=46
It's actually true what your dad say about finance, we only thought about Meths in school but how to handle it you have to figure it out by yourself, and your target in life is actually so amazing financial freedom pleasure and retirement and we have to analyse, make decision before budgeting anything with our finance, you have well spoken mummy and I wish that the Lord will Grant your heart Desire for retirement, thank you for the invitation.
Let's just all follow the 50-30-20 rule!
If we can do that we will be on our way to a good retirement.
Thank you for the visit and the engagement my friend.
It is a appreciated.🎕
Our finances have been described very well that we should have a very good amount of money for retirement. How to manage your house and run it in budget. Even with less money, we can be happy by running our house in budget.
Best of luck for the contest 🤞
Yip! The economic times we are living in these days are not easy, and I doubt they will get any better. This across the globe!
Balancing a budget is not easy at all. This makes saving and retiring even more difficult, especially when there are still kids in the house.
Thanks for the visit and the engagement! 🎕