What does it mean to invest in yourself?
Author: Danielle Miura
Source: Wealthtender
Many people live day in and day out repeating the same routine every day. It's like we're a hamster on a spinning wheel doing whatever we can to impress our bosses and get our jobs done so we can get our weekly paycheck. However, when it comes to ourselves, we often set that at the bottom of the totem pole.
Even though investing, in general, can be overwhelming, investing in yourself can be one of the easiest, cheapest, and most rewarding benefits of your time. By starting to make small changes to your lifestyle today, you can create a higher return for your future. As you start investing in yourself, you will soon realize that you are making an impact on others around you as well.
What does it mean to invest in yourself?
Investing in yourself means you are putting in the time, money, and energy into making your current and future life better. Instead of focusing on things that will not increase your wealth in the long term, look for ways to expand your knowledge and make your life better.
When you focus on improving yourself and reaching your goals, you will notice the positive domino effect on your finances, career, health, and happiness.
Investing in yourself can be one of the easiest, cheapest, and most rewarding benefits of your time.
Why is it important to invest in yourself?
When you invest in yourself, you gain knowledge and skills that can lower the amount of time you focus on things that are less important to you and more time on things that make you happy. Even though you may not see the impact of your investment right away, investing in yourself can greatly impact your life over time.
Investing in yourself can:
- Build your confidence,
- Broaden your perspective,
- Develop your purpose, and
- Increase your wealth.
Eight Ways to Invest In Yourself:
1. Set Goals: Putting your goals in writing is one of the easiest ways to invest in yourself. Creating a clear set of goals is like creating a list to go to the grocery store. A grocery list will help you have a clear vision of what you plan to cook and notify you of exactly what you need. You will not be wandering aimlessly through the aisles, instead, you will have a clear action plan of what you need to do. Spending five minutes each month to map out your goals can be one of the most painless things you can do that gives the most lucrative returns.
2. Create a Spending Plan: Having a clear spending plan is an easy way to have a rough idea of how much you spend, save and invest per month. A spending plan can be as simple as an app that keeps track of your expenses or as complex as an excel spreadsheet. Find a way to track your monthly income and expenses that works well for you and stick with it. Remember that you are in control of your spending plan, therefore you get to decide what you spend your money on.
3. Reduce your Debt: Debt can cause more harm than good. Not only can it negatively affect your relationships, but it can hold you back from achieving your dreams. As you wait to pay off your debt, the bigger it grows. Once you have evaluated your spending plan, calculate how much you are spending to pay off your minimum debt payment each month and consider how you could be using that money elsewhere. Getting out of debt can be difficult, but the benefits are well worth it.
4. Invest Your Money: If you have extra money put aside each month, it is important to consider investing part of your savings to keep up with inflation and accumulate your wealth. Investing your money can be as simple as a savings account or as complex as stocks. When you are learning how to invest, it is important to learn to not put all your eggs in one basket to decrease your risks. The longer your money is invested, the larger your money will continue to grow.
5. Keep Learning: People who are successful, never stop learning. If you stop growing your skills, you will be left behind as technology and research continues to evolve. Luckily these days, learning a new skill or continuing your education is available at your fingertips. Learning can mean listening to a podcast, reading a book, watching a Youtube video, or signing up for an online course.
6. Get Healthy: Living a healthier lifestyle can not only help you live a longer life, but it can also reduce the number of doctor visits you will need in the future. Maintaining a healthier lifestyle has many benefits: you will feel more comfortable in your skin and less fatigued throughout the day. The key is to find what health care routine works best for you, whether that's going for a walk every day or setting up yearly health checkups.
7. Start a Side Hustle: Do you ever wish that you could turn a hobby into a business? A side hustle is a form of employment that's an addition to one's full-time job. The goal of most side hustlers is to supplement their income to pay off debts, save for the future, or live a more comfortable lifestyle. Not only can side hustles provide extra income, but can also provide a confidence booster that can help provide you with higher life satisfaction.
8. Invest in a Financial Planner: Investing in yourself can be challenging to do alone. Financial planners are experts who can teach you how to budget, pay off debt, and invest your money. Finding a financial planner can keep you accountable, help you avoid mistakes, and create a path to achieve your goals. When searching for a financial planner, look for one who educates and guides you, not one who will make all the decisions for you.
How to Start:
Think Small: Don't expect to tackle everything at once. The best way to start is by choosing one or two things on this list and doing your best to implement them into your life.
Be Practical: There are going to be times when you forget or you are not consistent with investing in yourself. When you feel that you need to focus more time on investing in yourself, revisit this list and get back into your routine.
Be Patient: Investing in yourself takes time and effort. If you do not get the results that you expect right away, focus on the small achievements that you made. Over time, small wins can create large accomplishments.
Reach For Help: When in doubt, find someone that can support and help keep you accountable. This person can be a gym buddy, friend, family member, or financial planner.
Here are some last-minute tips to help you on your journey to investing in yourself:
- You are your best asset. Therefore, it is important to use all your tools and skills wisely.
- Words of encouragement can help you temporarily, but you are the one who gets yourself out of bed and gets to work on time every morning.
- Learning from others is one thing, but analyzing and interpreting what you learn is a whole different story.
- When you invest in the stock market, there is a possibility that you can lose money. When you invest in yourself, you may make mistakes, but that knowledge that you gain will carry on for a lifetime.
This article was written by Danielle Miura from Wealthtender and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
