The reason many of us are struggling financially is because we live beyond our means.
I saw a high school student wearing a gold necklace. I was wondering if her parents must be very wealthy to buy such an expensive gold chain for her.
She had a problem: she could not afford to buy school uniforms and notebooks after she was promoted to the next class.
I knew she had a big problem; as a school counselor, I decided to call her, asked what happened to her.
I tried to find out what really happened to her. I discovered she was a girl that wanted to live a flamboyant life despite of his background.
She did a dirty business before she got the money to buy the gold. She always wanted to use something that is beyond her capacity financially.
All she wanted was to be a center of attraction for everyone both in the school and outside the school. When she could not get money from men, she became dejected and frustrated.
She began to struggle financially to live in her former life.
Another reason is that many struggle financially because they borrowed money for the things they can't afford. Last year Salah, the father of one of my students, borrowed money from the cooperative to buy a big ram for Salah. He bought that big ram with loan money. The father could not afford to cater for his son in junior school because of the loan.
He came to meet me in my office. “Master, did you know that my father did not buy me notebooks for this team? He borrowed money to buy ram, and he's paying the money back every month. Now the whole family is suffering from it. We can't do very well at home, there are times I don't eat breakfast at school because of the loan”.
I asked him a question, what is the reason for buying a ram?
He replied, “most of his friends bought a ram, and because of that he said he must buy a ram”.
Let me tell you, if you borrow money to kill 10 cows, people will join you to eat everything. You can only enjoy short-term joy and happiness; and that is when the ceremony is going on. You can feel the sense of accomplishment and fulfillment at that moment. After that moment, such a person begins to swim in the ocean of debt. There are many people that banks have confiscated their collaterals or sold them when they can't afford to pay their debt. This alone leads to financial Struggle and abject poverty.
Though, being in debt doesn't mean that you are struggling financially. Ability to pay back without stress or pressure is a sign of financial freedom.
Most of the richest men in my country borrowed money from our government and banks. Yet, they don't have financial pressure because they will surely pay back.
Here are the tips for resolving Your financial struggles
Cut your cloth according to your Size: there are shoes for $10 and shoes for $200.
Financially, if you are not capable of buying a $200 shoe, you can go for $10 even though you have more than $10.
A friend of mine said something one day, he said, “Chris, what you bought at rate of #187,500 ($150), I bought it at #62,500 ($50) in a market but it is a used one; it is a first grade”.
Today he is using the product without fault.
Do not Compare Yourself: because your friend buys a Gucci shirt worth $30, you also want to buy a Gucci shirt for $30 when you don't have $20 in your account. Such a person will end up in a financial struggle because he will surely borrow money before he can buy the shirt. Go for what you can afford without stress.
Spend wisely: Wise spending will save you from financial problems. Buy what you need at home, not what you don't need.
Make a budget of important items you need at home; do the list of those items with their prizes. If the expenses are too much after the list, cut it down. It is not bad to cut down your expenses.
Do not borrow money you cannot pay back: I will even advise you not to borrow money at all. It is best to manage what you have. Mismanagement can lead to overspending which can result in borrowing.
Investment: honestly! You need investment, no matter how small it is. Do not spend all your money; invest small out of it for something. Start from a little beginning.
Be consistent in your investment no matter how small it is.
Don't buy what is not necessary at moment:
Increase your income: if it is possible for you to work overtime, do it. You just have to think about ways to increase your income. You need to double your hustling life. If it is possible for you to do 3 jobs in a day, do it. But, it is good to consider your health first.
Just because you need money so badly, don't run into scammers, they will collect that one you are managing. Don't be freaked with their styles of scamming.
Avoid Gambling: very important, avoid gambling. Do not raise your hopes on gambling.
I played gambling for years, I ended up with nothing. The money I lost is more than the money I won.
Run away from gambling.
In conclusion, I did not inherit any financial struggles from my family but I'm not financially stable… . My father worked to gain financial freedom. That is what I inherited from my father. My father worked his way to financial freedom by doing the following:
He was a good entrepreneur
He lent money from the bank to increase his business paid back without stress.
He was into many cooperatives.
He was very active in his business even after church he opened his business,
He doesn't tolerate debt from customers but customers could deposit for a product and after they balanced him, they would be allowed to take their goods.
He was a friend to all his customers. He doesn't fight customers even if customers want to fight him.
He was a dealer of the most wanted products in his region; that made people from far places patronize him.
He always told us to fight for our financial freedom.
I stand up for success, and success is not achieved by merely making mouth, No room for laziness, no room for idleness. Success comes to the people who are desperately and consciously searching for it. When it seems unsuccessful or you smell failure around you, never discourage yourself from being successful.
“Discouragement and failure are the two surest stepping stones to success.” - Dale
Thank you for reading my post.
