Where Do You Start?
My focus for building a better mindset for money is on making saving a priority in managing money. However, to save, you will need an income that will cover your basic needs and provide a surplus for adding to your savings for future needs.
All that sounds simple until you question where the income will come from. Then, the second question is how much income is enough to cover your needs and provide that surplus?
Before you can answer those questions with any certainty, you will need to review what skills you have that can make you valuable in the job market. You need to assess yourself.
Make an Assessment
Right or wrong, good or bad, most job listings note what skills and experience are needed, if not required, to do the job well, as described. This is why your self-assessment becomes crucial to your view of yourself and your value as a potential employee.
I know that you may already have a job. If you are young, your job may require very few skills and experience. If you are older with growing family responsibilities, you need to start planning for better income options.
Making a conscious, persistent effort to build a store of knowledge and skills will give you a better perspective for seeking better income opportunities.
Read job listings in various industries and related companies that may be of interest to you. Observe what skills and education and experience is noted. Keep in mind that these ads are trying both to limit and qualify applicants. They are looking for related knowledge and abilities to be able to do what the job requires.
I want you to make a list of what the job listings note as required skills, education, and experience. Then, assess where you are lacking. What do you need to do or learn to be a better qualified candidate?
Build a Willingness to Learn
The habit of reading will be very important to your ability to learn new skills, which will translate into learning potential.
You may gain some insight through reading fiction and reading randomly as you come across something. However, if you want to make real progress concerning your skill levels and understanding of how things work, you must do that on purpose.
You must ask yourself questions and read about a topic when you do not know the answer. Seek out those who do know. However, seek out at least three sources to get the widest exposure to options. There is often more than one way to do things.
Be Your Best
No matter what job you have now make a promise to yourself to do your best, be the best employee you can be! This requires an attitude change from being “normal”. There is a difference between just showing up and doing more than the job requires. The latter attitude will get you noticed and often promoted. If not, then, you should be looking for a better job (while you are employed). However, are you ready?
While you are working and living your life outside of work, you will need an incentive to become the best version of yourself over time. In other words, you can become smarter, more skillful, and more understanding. You are responsible to grow yourself and your potential over time. No one cares as much about your future as you do.
I want you to care a lot about your future, especially if your present living conditions are not ideal. And, to aid that feeling, you can build an incentive into your planning and considerations for the near future and a long-term look at your potential. That incentive comes in the form of giving yourself the freedom to dream, to have a vision of what you would like to have, to be, and to do in the future.
That vision can be translated into some simple goals. Of course, time and experience may cause some of your goals to change. However, the beauty of this process is the fact that by trying, striving, and being persistent in your efforts to reach those goals, you will grow as a person. You will learn to be your best.
And you will continue to grow. Your best in a year will be much better than your best today. It is an attitude and a process.
Plan Over Time
“Instant answers” is the catch phrase of today. AI and Wikipedia have a lot of answers coming from a large base of data. However, false information could also be in the data.
Always try to read at least two sources to verify what is true. And, as you plan each day, make reading a standard item on your plan. Ask questions and find answers. Make each day count.
It is important to be aware of time, how much you have available and when things need to be done. However, most deadlines are somewhat subjective. The bigger issue is giving value to what needs to be done first rather than just getting things done.
Personally, I have found that by purposely writing down what I think needs to be done, more things will get done! And, better yet, over time, the value of what needs to be done first becomes more obvious.
The time when things need to be done can come outside yourself, like when a bill is due to be paid, or an appointment with a doctor, etc.
Other items are like getting an oil change for your car. It can be delayed but ignoring it will shorten the life of your car. It is a form of stewardship, of taking care of responsibilities.
Your Future—You Are Responsible
It is so easy to point to others when life does not go as we hoped. The job did not work out, the company closed, inflation limits my spending, etc. The truth is that most of those things are out of our control.
The important point to remember is that our future depends on how we react to events that affect us. You can choose to be discouraged and stop trying to make changes. Or you can try to learn from the experience and consider what you can change or do differently to avoid that problem or take advantage of the situation or the environment.
As a simple example, those who have success trading in the stock market learn to study how well companies are managed and how they position their products or services versus competition. Then, when the market dips, they buy those stocks because they know value, true value, always reflects in the market with better returns.
Give Yourself Value
Not all jobs are easy. Easy jobs do not pay well. Higher pressure, higher stress often means higher pay. Do not shy away from demanding jobs. Give them a try. There is some truth to the saying, “We can adjust to most anything.”
Busy people often gain respect and responsibility because they learn to plan their days and get good at setting priorities. Though it may seem difficult, it can be done, and it can be learned. That is a skill you can learn to give yourself more value on any job and any application for employment. That is a soft skill. It is a personal management skill.
Manage yourself. Manage your job. And you will give yourself value and add to your income potential and build a better mindset for money!