Most of us don’t think we have enough wealth and are not sure where to start or what to do to create more. First look at what your concept of wealth is, what you have, and where your goal is in creating more wealth. I never expected that after almost 20 years at a company I would be laid off or looking for various income sources to pay rent. The exploration took me to learn much about wealth and what we can do about our wealth.
Next time you don’t think you are wealthy just look around you in your home. The average American home has 300,000 items. Let’s go further and say you have a place to sleep, and you have food. If you are reading this, you have an internet connection and a device to read this article. Take stock of what you have. We are always looking to add stuff to our lives. When I Did Marie Kondo The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up review of all my belongings, I found that many did not spark joy and when you only have items that spark joy and they are where they function best then that impacts your life in many other ways and allows more to come into your life including opportunities, not just other possessions.
Wealth is a multifaceted concept that encompasses much more than just financial assets. While money is certainly an important aspect of wealth, it is not the only one. In fact, wealth can take many different forms, including intellectual, social, and emotional wealth.
Financial wealth (money) – learn how to invest and save and gain additional income.
Social wealth (relationships) – social capital is like who you know.
Time Wealth (freedom) – learn to say no to all that you are not an absolute yes or to have someone else say do your laundry so you could do an income activity for that time you would be doing laundry.
Physician wealth (health) – without health you won’t be able to enjoy your other wealth.
Mental wealth (mind) – invest in learning each day and investing in mental health.
Shared wealth (community) – your community may be able to support you and help you with your wealth goals.
What are some of the ways to build wealth:
Venture into business
Increase your income.
Improve your skill set.
Create a budget.
Start an emergency fund.
Pay off debt.
Live below your means
Diversify your stock market portfolio
What is the cost of owning an item to you? Is there a cheaper alternative? When you buy that cashmere sweater then you are buying the cost to dry clean it. When I was looking to trim my budget, I found that making household products cost way cheaper than buying premade and most times the quality was better. That could be household cleaners like floor cleaner from vinegar, personal hygiene products like mouthwash, or just cooking food, like using my Instant Pot to cook dry beans instead of buying canned. If you want to have $200 dollars or more a particular month to spend, see how much you can eat by using your pantry staples or use other items that you already have on hand.
Are your habits holding you back? From Millionaire Success Habits by Dean Graziosi
Figure out your why.
Stop your self-doubts or that you are not worthy.
Swap your stories for better ones.
Get and stay confident.
Make a don’t do list. Do only the goal you are after say no to everything else.
Learn how to bounce back from setbacks.
Learn how to market and sell effectively.
Get to understand people and empathize with them.
Manage people’s feelings after they say yes to have a positive experience.
Be happy no matter what happens.
Apply the best success habits there are.
Make it your habit to learn and apply to a goal.
Apply all the best productivity hacks as well.
One of the books that helped me shift my habits to successful ones to Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. Small adjustments lead to massive transformations. Small improvements in behavior change your life because behaviors compound – that is, they build on each other to create more and more changes. Performing one good behavior leads to another, then another – and soon, you’ve transformed your life.
Another book that helped me to start my day off and make a difference in my life is Miracle Mornings by Hal Elrod, including his book Miracle Morning Millionaires: What the Wealthy Do Before 8 AM That Will Make You Rich. Everyone can achieve their dreams in every area of life, including relationships, finances, career, health, spirituality, and happiness. The answer is committing yourself to personal development by getting up early and following a simple daily routine of silence, affirmation, visualization, exercise, reading, and writing, which can empower anyone to transform any area of life in a surprisingly short time.
Maintain a long-term vision and plan. Believe in delayed gratification.
Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad the Cashflow Quadrant is divided into four types of people, each representing the four different ways to make money. Each has a different mindset.
Employee
Small business/self-employment
E and S pay the most in taxes and trade their time for money
Business owner
Investing
B or I will help you reach your financial goals more quickly.
When business owners need more money, they create a new product or create or acquire a new system that produces money.
When investors need more money, they look for an opportunity to acquire an asset that.
produces more passive income.
Are you working for someone else? Do you have a side gig? Don’t depend on one source of income. What is the cost of choosing security over freedom?
You can always make extra income by selling items don’t use, working part time on your days off, answering surveys or other online tasks, investing, and many other ways. There are many class action suits that may apply to you. You need to look and be open to diverse ways of making money.
Your knowledge is an asset – Most people have experience and/or knowledge that people will pay to know. Whether that is from work or from a hobby or even from a bad experience you have experience as well as how you dealt with that experience afterwards that others don’t, and they would like to know how your experience was and what they could do to solve a problem. You could create an online course, write a book, or even get paid to speak to groups of people interested in your topic.
If you feel that what you do is not where you want to be then it may be time to change your mindset and find a new path. To discover your life’s purpose, why you were given this gift called life, and what the gift is that you should give back to the world.
Many books are available for you to expand your knowledge of wealth from your library, online, and for purchase to read or listen to.
Money management class
A friend approached me and said that she had a class that I could take for free on Money Mastery but there was a catch we would be reading a book a week, meeting for an hour a week, and this would be going on for 18 weeks. This was to transform our individual relationships with money. I could not pass up an offer like this, but I felt how could I spend that much time reading books. I was reading other books and had a full-time job and a few side gigs. It is amazing what you are capable of if it is your priority. I got the book list I got a library card I found the books mostly online I found an app to take the online books and convert them to PDF to then have an app read the book to me. I then would listen while I drove to work and did my daily chores and any spare time I had. I learned a lot and changed my relationship with money. I didn’t fear it, I was looking for money in many ways. Money found me in unexpected ways. I sorted out all my paperwork. If you are motivated, you find time to take action to expand your wealth.
Your passion is key to your wealth – My husband was looking for something besides his full-time job. He wanted something that he would be passionate about. They say that when you do what you love you won’t work a day in your life. He has knowledge in magic and playing cards. He was not sure he could make money at it. How can I afford the startup costs? What if no one buys my product? I asked what he spent on his card collecting and used that as a basis for the startup costs. He sent his product to friends in the industry and friends of friends for professional review. He was surprised that he found a niche that was not really being served. He is now making a good side profit. People overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate how well they can do in 5 years.
Find out what your financial profile is:
Consult an expert financial advisor or AARP Money Map to find out what you have, what you spend, and what your plan is for retirement, investing, and savings. You will be surprised. Most people don’t keep a formal budget and tracking or forecasting. Most people don’t ask for each item if they really need to spend the money, is there a cheaper alternative, or can I make money here?
AARP Money Map has:
Budget Builder
Debt Manager
Savings Planner
Unplanned Expense
Use any or all of the online tools based on your goals and track your progress along the way.
The four elements of wealth are assets, debts, income, and expenses.
Use the book Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod for results – the miracle equation is unwavering faith in the goal and extraordinary action to get to the goal. I am committed to maintaining unwavering faith that I will (fill in the blank to your goal), and putting forth extraordinary effort until I do, no matter what. Articulate why your missing is deeply meaningful.
Use the 15-minute method for paying bills or dealing with finances for a better experience.
First, prepare your space make it not a pile of messy papers but an area that is inviting and comfortable with all you need to pay bills.
Ground yourself take some deep breaths.
Set a timer for 15 minutes if the timer goes off and you don’t want to finish then schedule another 15 minutes later that day or the next day.
First look at all the income you received from all sources, did you get a gift, or someone gave you something (does not have to be cash), did you get a discount or a coupon, did you find something that you forgot you had.
Look at all the things you paid for or will pay for that month and what you received from it. When you pay rent or mortgage you have had the enjoyment of the place you call home from what you paid.
Now you can pay bills with the abundance of what they provided you.
If fear comes up, then right down what desire is behind the fear and what one step towards your desire you will take. For example, if you fear you don’t have enough money, your desire is to have more money, your next step would be to research how you can receive more money like an additional source of income, and what you would desire doing for it.
What is your excuse for not being in wealth? From the book Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer
Which excuses are holding you back?
Is the excuse true?
Where did the excuse come from?
What would your life look like if you couldn’t use these excuses?
Can you create a rational reason to change?
Can you shed these old habits?
How can you continuously reinforce your new way of being?
So, as you can see you are already wealthy so make use of some of the suggestions to go be wealthier with your goals and gifts to the world and your life.