Guest post by The savers :
Find your why with personal finance
For us, the meaning of money is a way to create opportunities. It is a means and a tool that we use to reach our dreams more easily.
If we strive to achieve our dreams and get what we want out of life, we are guaranteed to be happier and more at peace. It is important to find our why with personal finances in order to be as conscious as possible about the choices we make and not look back and regret what we have done.
Financial choices in life
Now take a moment and think about what financial choices you have made in life that have affected how your financial situation looks today. What has the money that trickled into the account been used for?
Perhaps you have consumed more than you have saved. A good housing deal, a secure job or a bargain car purchase can be one of many factors that have led you to how your circumstances now look the way they do.
By looking back, we can get clues to what has given us added value in life and which failures to avoid repeating.
What is important for you in the future?
Now it's time to define what is important to you. For some, experiences such as discovering the world or doing activities can provide great value. For others it is material things like cars, technology or clothes.
What is most important to someone else may rather be about a feeling such as security. Security of having a buffer if something unpredictable happens or reduced worry that the bills cannot be paid next month. Maybe you have a home that you dream of one day living in.
What is important to you is not the same as to me. It can of course also change over time.
Money as a tool
Once you know what you want, it's time to make a plan to get there. This is where the money should kick in and maximize the opportunity to achieve the dream or desired state. Here it is really important to study the private economy and question habits and behaviour.
We cannot expect a different result if we keep doing the same thing. We want as much control and power over our financial situation as possible and there are many ways for us to influence it.
For example, we can review and reduce our expenses, save more or in a different way or change behavior and habits. By having a clear why with our finances, we increase the motivation for realization.
To maintain our why, it can also be good to set up a timeline or break the dream down into smaller goals.
Test yourself with "5 whys"
Finally, to find our why with personal finance, we can ask ourselves "five whys" to really be sure that we have made it clear to us.
Let's take ourselves as an example. Our reason for personal finance is that before we turn 50 we should be financially free.
Why is it important for us to become financially free? Because we want to own our time.
Why do we want to own our time? To have more time for our relationships and our health.
Why should we have more time for relationships and health? Because it makes us happier and our bodies feel better.
Why do we want to be happier and for our bodies to feel better? Because we want to be the best versions of ourselves.
Why is it important to become the best versions of ourselves? Then we are the happiest in life.
For more inspiration about everyday finances and long-term saving go in and listen to The sparmaker podcast or check us out on Instagram where we are The savers .
